Introduction: The Marra

Brace yourselves – there’s a storm coming out of Derry. Rising Irish rock outfit The Marra crash onto the scene today with their blistering debut single ‘Falling Off’ – a track that fizzes with attitude, swagger, and serious intent. Blending razor-sharp guitars, moody grooves, and magnetic vocals, it’s a bold opening salvo from a band dead set on shaking up Ireland’s musical landscape.

“Falling Off” is such a bold debut — can you talk us through how the track came together and what it represents for this new chapter as The Marra?

‘Falling Off’ was written around the end of last year. I have this weird thing that every year when November would swing round I would ‘Fall off the wagon’ in terms of just drinking excessively and getting myself into messy situations. That’s essentially what I was trying to convey through the song. I was listening to a lot of Fontaines and Wunderhorse at the time and was inspired by how simplistic some of the songs were. I think the advantage in keeping it simple is that it leaves space for the dynamics in a song to play a bigger role, which is what we aiming for with ‘Falling Off’.

The single blends 90s rock swagger with a darker, more modern intensity — was that contrast a conscious choice, or something that emerged naturally as you began writing together?

I think it’s something that just emerged naturally that sort of “genre” or whatever you want to call it seems to be where a lot of our individual influences find common ground so I suppose it’s only natural that it sounds that way. 

You've each come from bands with strong reputations — how has merging those past experiences shaped the sound and chemistry of The Marra?

They haven’t really in any sort of conscious way. It’s not something that we’ve thought about or analysed. Everyone is influenced by their past experiences and we’re no different. I think we are all complimentary to each other and it works well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fmGdNZZMPI

There’s a strong literary and cinematic thread in your influences — how do those elements feed into your songwriting and the way you craft atmosphere in tracks like “Falling Off”?

Influences can come from anywhere at anytime and it’s about being open to them and recognising when they appear. I think that all forms of art is essentially the act of conveying a mood. So in that sense it’s easy to see how a song can match the vibe of a film or a book. Also it can be as simple as seeing a line in a book that stands out to you and then that line can snowball into an entire song or similarly with a piece of dialog in a film. It’s all just art.

You’ve already caught the attention of some major names like Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller — how has that kind of early backing impacted your confidence or goals going forward?

We have got to know Paul over the last while and he’s been sound on. He has given us a few wee pointers with our tunes… but it’s fucking Paul Weller it’s mad! He sent it to his mate who’s Noel and Noel got back liking the tunes…. It’s fucking madness 2 heifers of the rock and roll world! It’s deffs a good sign we are doing something right I suppose?