Marseille Figs
Encyclopedia
Marseille Figs is an experimental pop
band from London
. With roots in the improvised music
and performance art
communities, they have been a fixture of the London underground music scene since their formation in 1999, with audiences centred mainly in London
and Berlin
. Their music is an aggregate of honky tonk
, free jazz
, American folk music
, psychedelic music
, pop
and punk
, which incorporates fast, high energy country-based dance music, melodic ballads and expansive structured improvisations. Their membership includes or has included members of Cinematic Orchestra, the Eddie Prévost
Trio, and the Pogues.
Their line-up consists of Tom Chant (saxophones, bass clarinet, keyboards), songwriter J. Maizlish Mole (guitars, ukeleles and vocals), and Dorian McFarland (accordions, mouth harps, flugelhorn, trombone and vocals). Between October 1999 and June 2003, they were joined by Darryl Hunt
(bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals and percussion).
at the Slade School of Art in London. Through mutual friend, Marcia Farquhar, they met saxophonist Tom Chant, who had been performing in various improvised music ensembles centred around the London Musicians Collective
. Beginning from a position of relative inability, and with an interest in finding "a common ground between the 'amateurism' of avant-garde music, folk music and punk", the Figs have developed a somewhat idiosyncratic style of composition, arrangement and performance, while maintaining an accessible, song-based approach. Before their first public performance they drafted in the Pogues' bassist Darryl Hunt, who filled out their line-up for the ensuing two and a half years.
Beginning in 2000, the Figs have been based in separate cities, with Maizlish moving to New York City at the end of 1999 and to Berlin in early 2002. Since 2006 they have been based in London (McFarland), Barcelona (Chant) and Berlin (Maizlish). Partly as a result of this, they have come to be known for performing irregularly and in unconventional venues, often at events which they have themselves organized.
The son of Scratch Orchestra
composers Michael Chant
and Carole Finer, Chant is a ubiquitous figure in the UK avant and improvised music community, and also performs with the Cinematic Orchestra, the Eddie Prévost
Trio, and numerous other small and large ensembles. Maizlish and McFarland are both practicing visual artists, with Maizlish contributing the majority of the band's graphic material.
They have self-released two limited edition CDs: Resonance FM 9 September 2002 and Boum Boum Constant (New Demos &c. 2005). Their first official release, The Dirty Canon, was produced by Jem Finer
, DM Bob and Brian O'Shaughness, and released on their label Figs of London in 2007, through Cargo Records.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. With roots in the improvised music
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
and performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
communities, they have been a fixture of the London underground music scene since their formation in 1999, with audiences centred mainly in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Their music is an aggregate of honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
, free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, American folk music
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
, psychedelic music
Psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop is a psychedelic musical style inspired by the sounds of psychedelic folk and psychedelic rock, but applied to a pop music setting...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, which incorporates fast, high energy country-based dance music, melodic ballads and expansive structured improvisations. Their membership includes or has included members of Cinematic Orchestra, the Eddie Prévost
Eddie Prévost
Edwin Prévost is an English drummer and percussionist.Prévost began as a jazz drummer before branching out into entirely improvised music. He was a co-founder of the group AMM, and remains its only constant member...
Trio, and the Pogues.
Their line-up consists of Tom Chant (saxophones, bass clarinet, keyboards), songwriter J. Maizlish Mole (guitars, ukeleles and vocals), and Dorian McFarland (accordions, mouth harps, flugelhorn, trombone and vocals). Between October 1999 and June 2003, they were joined by Darryl Hunt
Darryl Hunt (musician)
Darryl Hunt is an English musician, most famous as the bassist of The Pogues from 1986 until their breakup ten years later...
(bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals and percussion).
History
Marseille Figs were formed in early 1999, while Maizlish and McFarland were studying together under Stuart BrisleyStuart Brisley
Stuart Brisley is widely regarded as the seminal figure of British performance art. Over a career of half a century Stuart Brisley has come to the conclusion, as stated in his recent novel "" that 'what goes down comes up'...
at the Slade School of Art in London. Through mutual friend, Marcia Farquhar, they met saxophonist Tom Chant, who had been performing in various improvised music ensembles centred around the London Musicians Collective
London Musicians Collective
The London Musicians' Collective is a cultural charity based in London, England devoted to the promotion of contemporary, experimental and improvised music...
. Beginning from a position of relative inability, and with an interest in finding "a common ground between the 'amateurism' of avant-garde music, folk music and punk", the Figs have developed a somewhat idiosyncratic style of composition, arrangement and performance, while maintaining an accessible, song-based approach. Before their first public performance they drafted in the Pogues' bassist Darryl Hunt, who filled out their line-up for the ensuing two and a half years.
Beginning in 2000, the Figs have been based in separate cities, with Maizlish moving to New York City at the end of 1999 and to Berlin in early 2002. Since 2006 they have been based in London (McFarland), Barcelona (Chant) and Berlin (Maizlish). Partly as a result of this, they have come to be known for performing irregularly and in unconventional venues, often at events which they have themselves organized.
The son of Scratch Orchestra
Scratch Orchestra
The Scratch Orchestra was an experimental musical ensemble founded in the spring of 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, Michael Parsons and Howard Skempton....
composers Michael Chant
Michael Chant
Michael Chant is an English composer and political activist. Born in 1945, he became politically active in the 1960s while associated with another composer, Cornelius Cardew....
and Carole Finer, Chant is a ubiquitous figure in the UK avant and improvised music community, and also performs with the Cinematic Orchestra, the Eddie Prévost
Eddie Prévost
Edwin Prévost is an English drummer and percussionist.Prévost began as a jazz drummer before branching out into entirely improvised music. He was a co-founder of the group AMM, and remains its only constant member...
Trio, and numerous other small and large ensembles. Maizlish and McFarland are both practicing visual artists, with Maizlish contributing the majority of the band's graphic material.
They have self-released two limited edition CDs: Resonance FM 9 September 2002 and Boum Boum Constant (New Demos &c. 2005). Their first official release, The Dirty Canon, was produced by Jem Finer
Jem Finer
Jem Finer is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.-Life and career:...
, DM Bob and Brian O'Shaughness, and released on their label Figs of London in 2007, through Cargo Records.
External links
- Band website
- MySpace page
- [ Allmusic's page on Marseille Figs]