Sarpa Salpa set for hometown Roadmender gig this weekend

The band will be joined by Maddox Jones and bloody/bath at the Northampton venue.
Sarpa Salpa are headlining the Roadmender on Saturday.Sarpa Salpa are headlining the Roadmender on Saturday.
Sarpa Salpa are headlining the Roadmender on Saturday.

It’s been a busy few months for Sarpa Salpa. After a run of gigs across the UK, the Northampton indie quartet played at Sound City Ipswich last week having also recently opened for Lottery Winners in Milton Keynes.

It’s more than a year and a half since Sarpa Salpa last played on home soil, but on Saturday they will headline the Roadmender with Maddox Jones and bloody/bath in tow.

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Speaking after the recent gig in Milton Keynes, frontman Marcus Marooth said: “It's been a bit weird because when we started, we played a lot of hometown shows, about 10 a year, maybe more.

“And, as bands do, we started going to the surrounding areas and venturing to cities.

“But there were still places we hadn’t played and wanted to get out to. We’ve recently played in Blackpool, Glasgow and Newcastle which were all great.

“Glasgow was so far from home but there were still a few people wearing merch.

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“Before the pandemic, we were starting to see the returns of touring.

“At Glasgow, despite being so far from home it actually felt quite nostalgic, like we were at the start again.”

Marooth is joined in Sarpa Salpa by George Neath, Meg Amirghiasvand and Charlie Doe.

Recent singles Another Life, Stick To What You Know and Forwards Backwards featured on the EP A Feeling You Can’t Replace, and new single Your House is due out this month.

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Talking about the new single, Marooth said: “George wrote the lyrics to this song and George has a way of telling stories that's different to how I would.

“I think it's about pandemic vibes, being stuck in a room or in a place with someone – when you house doesn’t feel the same as it maybe once was.

“If you're there all day every day, it sort of changes things.”

While the song still has the familiar traits Sarpa Salpa have become known for – synth, guitar driven, indie with danceable beats - Marooth admits it’s something slightly different from them.

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“It’s quite a different style to our usual, it's quite noticeably different,” he explains.

“It’s quite synth-heavy - which obviously is something we've definitely done before – but it’s different and hard to exactly pinpoint how.

“It maybe doesn't have a drive to the chorus, it's got more of a swing to it.”

Your House, along with other new track Somebody, are among a series of new songs Sarpa Salpa have been working on which are expected to be released in the coming months.

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The band has also been refining its sound and live set up since becoming a four-piece with Amirghiasvand moving to bass guitar.

“There's a moment in a newer song which isn't out yet which just drops to the three of us singing,” explains Marooth.

“I've never been in a band with another singer, I've always wanted to.

“I always wanted to do harmonies and stuff but I don’t think everyone was confident enough before now.”

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Talking about Saturday’s show, their first Northampton gig for more than 650 days, Marooth said time away from performing during the pandemic was a ‘make-or-break’ moment for him as a front man.

“I’m quite an introverted shy person,” he explains. “It took me quite a long time to get the sort of skills to address a crowd, especially a crowd in my hometown.

“The pandemic was sort of a ‘make-or-break’ moment.

“I'm either going to forget everything or I need to completely stop caring about what people think and just go for it and do what I need to do and just express myself.”

Turning to the future, Marooth said Sarpa Sarpa at some stage would be looking at a debut album, admitting “I’ve dreamed of a body of work my whole life.”

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“I nearly did it when I was about 15-years-old,” he adds, “but it’d have been total garbage.

“I want to do it and put absolutely everything into it – if I get fired from a few jobs because of it – that’s fine, I don't mind that,” he jokes.

Sarpa Salpa headline the Roadmender on Saturday, October 9.

Tickets cost £8 in advance via https://www.musicglue.com/sarpasalpamusic