SPECTRUM: Interview with Murmur

We caught up with George, lead singer of Murmur, one of the unique acts featuring in the upcoming SPECTRUM day festival.

 The four piece's massive sound is all about rumbling, fuzzy bass lines, guitar filled choruses and socially conscious lyrics.


When did you start writing music?
Ben and I have been writing all heaps of stuff since we were 15. Being in bands prior to Murmur and having a similar ear makes it easier.

How did you meet?
Ben and I met a while back in college – we’ve been mates with Jack for just under a year now. He was a friend of a friend at uni, but we hit it off pretty quick, with him being a fellow midlands lad!

What track are you most proud of? 
Our release, Fragile – we were chuffed with how that turned out – Fragile was the first track that solidified the direction of the band but we’ve evolved so much from when we recorded it.

How would you describe your music?
I like to think of it as a sandwich of The StrokesQueens of the Stone Age and Killing Joke... It's an alternative noise made by confused grungers… 

What are the main influences on your sound? 
We heavily listen to Queens of the Stone Age. They’ve been a big influence in our sound over the years, both within previous projects and now - I guess that’s were the discordant melodies are birthed from. Notably, Black Rebel Motor Cycle were a band for us that stood out live. I guess we always want to bring that kind of energy to our live shows.

Have you released any albums yet? Are you signed to a label?
Nah, we intend to keep writing and gigging through the year - we have plans to release more singles and maybe an EP early next year. We haven’t really thought about putting an album together yet, and we’re not with any label. All our stuff has been put out by ourselves so far.

What are you listening to at the moment? 
I’m listening to a lot of new bands at the moment really into Our Girl’s new single and another band Crows, who I caught couple months back,

What are your plans for the near future?
We’re currently in the process of writing newbies and demos for the live set. We’ve got a couple of local shows and we intend on doing a little stint around the UK in the summer along with a new single and video to come later on this year. We’ll also be at Great Escape and couple other festivals too this summer so yeah will be alreet like…

What does it mean to you to perform at Brighton Dome?
We really appreciate getting asked alongside some great bands, being on a line up with pals Ditz and Atlas Wynd – having seen some of our favorite bands here it’ll be top playing a venue that’s a favorite of our influences, so yeah pretty stoked canny wait!

For more information on the SPECTRUM Record Store Day festival and to see the full line up, see our event page.