Getting to know Alt-Folk 7 piece, The Mariner’s Children (+ free download)

I popped down for a small chat in Angel, North East London with Ben and Dan from the 7 piece alt-folk amazement that is The Mariner’s Children a few days ago. With their recent success of the release of their beautiful, angry and haunting EP, New Moore Island on Broken Sound I decided to get to know Mariner’s Children a little better. They have of course been on a few Communion bills with some fellow talented artists such as Johnny Flynn, Marcus Foster, Emmy the Great, Peggy Sue, Fanfarlo, Cherbourg, King Charles, Kurran and the Wolfnotes, The Ryan O’Reilly Band, Charlot Webster and bloody hundreds more it seems. The Mariner’s Children were formed in Brighton, via London and Norfolk and over a hot chocolate and some questions scribbled on a Nat West bill, I got to know The Mariner’s a little, asking a few serious business questions and a few less so (think death-row, advent calendars & Wetherspoons…). Free download below too.

Is the name of the band from the infamous poem, The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner or is it completely separate?
Ben: I wish we could say that.
Dan: Ooh, there’s an exhibition about that poem in the British Library at the moment. But it’s not from the poem, no.
Ben: It was just a name that sounded sad and nostalgic and we wanted a name with something to do with the sea as we were writing by the sea.

Aside from Folk can you describe your sound in any other way?
Ben: Alt-folk. We get described that a lot, we’re not traditional folk.
Dan: With the ‘folk scene’ at the moment, it’s just an easier way to describe a lot of bands, people need an idea of the sort of music bands are making, but people like Peggy Sue getting bracketed with Johnny Flynn, they do a very different thing [in folk]. We have a folk influence but we don’t make ‘folk’ music or claim to either.

What are some of your influences when it comes to music?
Ben: I like Angels of Light, Arcade Fire and Iron and Wine.
Dan: I like Grizzly Bear, but I mean in the band, every one of us comes from a slightly different musical background and brings that to the table. Felix, who plays drums comes from a jazz background and Emma who plays fiddle is classically trained.
Ben: I’m not sure you can really hear that in our music though.
Dan: It’s not there in the music, the individual background is there as a reference point though.

As there are 7 of you, it must be very loud and chaotic when you get together to write your songs or practice, do you have a particular process for this?
Ben: If we’re arranging a song, we don’t, generally get together and arrange it. Certain people are in one room. We have tried, but more often than not, it’s quite painful! I’ll go to the individuals with the song and we’ll work out the components then get all together and work it out.
Dan: Yeah, sometimes it comes together for the first time on stage, because we don’t all live in London.

Any pre-gig rituals?
Ben: Marcus has his own rituals, his stage Whiskeys.
Dan: I was talking about ‘the feet’.

The feet?
Dan: Something about feet, I can’t tell you, we’ll leave you with mystery.

Get your free download of the animalistic yet beautiful ‘It Carved Your Named Into The Ground’ from the New Moore Island EP by right clicking here.

Have you got a gig, so far that really sticks out in your mind as being special?
Ben: Our EP launch in November at The Luminaire in Kilburn because it was the biggest London show we’ve ever played and the venue is closing down now, which is really sad, pretty heartbreaking.
Dan: It was really exciting for it to be ‘our show’. It was the end of the tour, it was a significant point.

So tour, or homecoming gig?
Dan: Tour, always. We had lots of fun, it was just seven mates driving around the country playing music.
Ben: It was fucking exhausting! It was great though.

Dreamworld venue?
Ben: On tour we stopped in Cheddar Gorge at 3am and the reverb was amazing so I’d really love to play there.

I love the way you put space in your songs, from the angry to the quiet lull, is there a reason you put this in your music?
Ben: I love contrast.

Silly question time. In the spirit of Christmas, what one Christmas tune do you wish you’d written?
Ben: We Three Kings is pretty cool.

Elf or Home Alone?
Ben: Home Alone is amazing. And the 2nd one too.

Marmite on Toast or Jam on Toast?
Ben: I’m Marmite.

Did you get an Advent Calendar this year?
Dan: Yes! I got a Malteser Calendar.

Favourite watering hole?
Ben: As in pub?
Dan: Well I don’t think she means bodily orifice.
Ben: The Compton Arms in Islington, behind Union Chapel. It doesn’t feel like a London pub.
Dan: The Island Queen in Islington, they give you the vodka and you make the Bloody Mary yourself.

I had a really awful 99p glass of wine in Wetherspoons recently, that sounds a lot better.
Ben: They have coffee and bacon sandwiches for £1.85 in Wetherspoons!

Wow. That’s not right. What would be your deathrow meal?
Ben: A £1.85 bacon butty & coffee from Wetherspoons.
Dan: Mine would be the same, I assume we’ll be in prison together.

Would they let you two in death-row together, too much havoc?
Dan: Probably. With lots of quiet folk music.

If you could be the love-child of two musicians who would it be?
Dan: John Coltrane and Bob Dylan.
Ben: Michael Gira from Angels of Lights and Win Butler from Arcade Fire.

What’s the one song that you’d wish you’d written?
Ben: I love Tristram’s ‘Coleacanth’ from his recent EP.
Dan: Something by The Beatles, just for the royalties.

What’s next for you musically?
Ben: We have quite a few songs that we haven’t recorded yet, so hopefully we’ll be doing that and we have a few shows lined up next year too.

In fact you can catch The Mariner’s Children at The Cecil Sharp House in Camden on January 22nd. Don’t forget you can catch the free download by right clicking here. Visit The Mariner’s Children at their MySpace.