Getting To Know: Marketplace

Get ready to dive into the infectious vibes of MARKETPLACE as they drop their latest single "Edroom" today. Following the success of their debut track "Fruit," which made waves on BBC Radio 1 and earned them the title of “Ones to Watch,” this Hartlepool-based quintet is back with a catchy, sun-soaked anthem that’s sure to have you hooked. Inspired by the chaotic romance of *Love Island* and driven by a blend of influences from Alvvays to Talking Heads, "Edroom" offers a playful, tongue-in-cheek look at love in the digital age. With their debut EP set to release on October 4th, MARKETPLACE is a band you won't want to miss.

1) Your new single "Edroom" has a playful and somewhat satirical take on modern relationships, inspired by watching Love Island. How did you come up with the concept for the song, and what message do you hope listeners take away from it?

I (Evie) was watching the 2022 season of Love Island, and although I don’t watch it now, at that point, I’d watched every single one - and the girls are treated SO awfully!! Every single time and they never realise until it’s too late and it blows up big time. So for Edroom specifically, although it probably doesn’t come into play in the song, it was the moment when Andrew and Tasha cleared the air after Casa Amor. Andrew had brought Coco back to the main villa, while Tasha chose to stay with Andrew, and he then had to admit to Tasha that he had “just sucked her tit or whatever”. I just found that hilarious for one, and absolutely absurd for another. I thought it was a really fun little microcosm of the relationship dynamics that often come into play when things aren’t that serious and people are afraid of commitment. As for the message, I think it’s just, we’re all young and stupid anyway, so just have fun while it lasts.

2. With influences ranging from Alvvays to Talking Heads, how do you blend these diverse inspirations to create the signature MARKETPLACE sound that fans have come to love?

We don’t normally go into writing a song with too much of an idea of what it should sound like. Maybe the person who came up with the idea is like “it should sound like this” but by the time we’ve played it together and everyones has added their own parts with their influences, its changed into something completely different. Our music tastes within the band are on abit of a spectrum but there is some overlap where we all agree and I think thats where our music sits really.

3. Your debut EP "MARKETPLACE HAVE MADE AN EP!" is set to release soon. What can fans expect from the EP, and how does "Edroom" fit into the overall theme or story of the record?

The EP is a collection of what we think are our best songs to date, which we have wrote over the past couple years. We really tried to capture the fun energy we put into our live shows as much as possible and the songs encapsulate who we are as a band at the moment.  The tracks themselves don’t necessarily all fit together or have a story but they definitely do all compliment eachother and fit together in a way. Edroom is the climactic ending to the ep where we just let loose. We’ve been closing our live shows with it recently so it seems fitting to have it clsoe the EP. When recording it we had our friends come round and shout and sing random parts for the ending, it’s chaotic but making the EP was a bit chaotic so it feels poetic in a way! We hope people love it because the track’s a special one for us and was a lot of fun to write and record.

4. You’ve already played sold-out shows and supported artists like Alfie Templeman and Swim Deep. How have these live experiences shaped your growth as a band, and what’s the most memorable moment you’ve had on stage so far?

Our live performances have always been an important aspect of us as a band. An audiences reaction has been important in shaping our songs since we started the band, and helps us decide what works and what doesn’t. We used to play songs at a gig that we had only just wrote that same day. Don’t really do that anymore because it rarely went well but I think the fear of not knowing if something would be the best song of the night or a complete shambles did help make us a better band. One of the best moments for us was supporting Alfie Templeman at Newcastle SU, followed by our first headline tour that same week. The Alfie Templeman show was mad. Played to our biggest crowd to date at a venue we used to go see our favourite bands at as teenagers. Felt like a bit of a full-circle moment.

5. As a band that's been named “Ones to Watch” by BBC Introducing, what are your thoughts on how platforms like BBC Introducing have supported emerging artists, and how has it impacted your journey so far?

BBC introducing is an extremely important platform for artists who are just starting out. Our local BBC introducing show in the North East gave us our first radio play and have continued to support us with each release. Platforms like this really help artists reach a wider audience. Especially for bands like us who aren’t from a big city like London, the network BBC intro provides really allows us to reach people we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to