Attendees at this year’s Great Escape had plenty of occasions to go see some of the most interesting names on the long list of new Manchester artists and get a sense of what the excitement is about for themselves - and Martial Arts are very high on that list.
Tapping into the original spirit of classic rock with a guitar-heavy line-up and a love of broad sounds with a sharper edge, anthemic enough to sing along and punchy enough to hit hard where they should, they have the kind of energy that can very quickly get a whole room moving - even at an early afternoon set, like the one they played at a packed Dust at this year’s festival. We caught up with them after they left the stage, to discuss their favourite bands and the direction their music is taking.
MITB: That was a very crowded set you played at TGE this year, how was that?
Martial Arts: It was a pleasant surprise, considering it was one of the first sets of the day. We were sort of apprehensive. We didn’t know whether it would be an empty room, but in the end it was quite busy all the way to the back. We were slightly worried that three guitars at 12.50 on the Saturday were not going to be everyone’s favourite thing to listen to, but a lot of people came down. It was great fun.
MITB: I was going to ask about the pressure of the early set.
Martial Arts: We have done it before, it’s a different sort of thing, but at the same time, you don’t necessarily have time to get nervous, because you wake up in the morning, you get to the venue, you’re pretty much on stage. You’ve got two days of build-up, so it can be a bit of a funny one, because it feels like you’ve got more to be nervous about, but at the same time, it’s the first set of the day, everyone is keen to listen, which is fantastic. But you definitely have something to prove at that time of the day. There’s no beer in anyone’s system to lubricate things.
MITB: Have you been around the other days of the festival?
Martial Arts: Yes, we came down on Thursday, and we’ve had an absolutely fantastic time. Met a lot of people. Our expectations were pretty high, but it’s blown us off our feet. There’s a lot of people that we keep track of, and that we listen to as well, which is nice, because it shows that we’re switched on with what people are really obsessed with.
MITB: You are, after all, from Manchester, which has one of the best music communities in the UK.
Martial Arts: We’ve always been excited about what’s going on in Manchester, but we just keep getting more and more excited by it, because there are some amazing groups about it, like Holly Head - we went on tour with them at the start of the year, they’re incredible, sort of like Afrobeat mixed with post-punk, really interesting rhythms - Westside Cowboy, we share a room with them in Manchester, and TTSSFU, who was great this weekend. People are onto Manchester now as a place to be looking for upcoming artists. There’s lots of independent venues that people can go and play and try stuff out. It feels less distant from London now.
MITB: What’s your favourite venue in Manchester, both to play and to attend?
Martial Arts: The Castle Hotel is great, it’s like a 60-cat tiny room - the sound can be brilliant or it can be rubbish, but it’s got a real atmosphere. Yes, the Pink Room, obviously, that’s a harbour to artists from all over, but when a Manchester band plays there, it feels like they’re getting somewhere. And then Fuel in Withington - that’s where the students band go and hone their craft, a really open-minded venue. It’s a bit like the Windmill in London, really a crowd of people who just want to go and listen, and a lot of experimenting going on. People aren’t too bothered about the volume being perfect, and it’s really raw, and it’s sweaty. It feels like every band makes it their mission to make the floor cave in.
MITB: It’s good to see so many Manchester bands who are not trying to sound like Oasis.
Martial Arts: Yeah, Manchester has been locked in that kind of retrospective outlook for a while. No one can try and sound like Oasis because they can’t do it, just like no one can try and sound like Joy Division, because they can’t do it. But it’s not the 90s anymore, things have changed, and you have to change with the times.
MITB: You’re very much a guitar band. Do you feel like guitar music is making a comeback now?
Martial Arts: Honestly, yes - and people in guitar bands sort of have to believe it. It feels like people are looking forward to more melodic and optimistic guitar music, rather than the sort of 2019 period of post-punk, which was fantastic in its own right, but now there’s a bit more time for optimism. It’s kind of needed. The world feels so negative now. There is a time for a few major chords, more positive melodies.
MITB: Do you have anything planned for the Summer?
Martial Arts: We’re getting together some dates in London. We’re playing Brighton Beach with Bloc Party, which is a step up for us, but we’ll do our best to rise to the occasion. We keep walking around on Brighton Beach going, like, we’re going to be playing here, and laughing at ourselves. But the plan, really, is to do a lot of writing, and try to nail loads of new stuff down. We’ve probably got a good eight or nine good songs in the pipeline, and then loads of stuff that’s not made its way into the set. It feels good, really, because we used to be like, can we get to six songs?
MITB: Can you give me a sense of the direction you’re going in?
Martial Arts: A bit more melodic, and sort of on the heavier side of guitar music, but it’s got a good melody, and the right sort of attitude to it. Especially with pop music, you want to have a bit of a bite. You want to write music that makes people feel happy, but you also need an outlet, so when you whack the pedals on it, you can make it loud and a bit aggressive. Not too much. It’s got an edge, for sure. So keep your ears open.
Chiara Strazzulla
Images: Aoife Hyland
