Celebrating the release of remarkable debut album Pain To Power, breakout jazz punks Maruja discuss improvisation, the rejection of hatred, and why their live show needs to be seen to be believed…
“We were noticing these magical moments where we thought, ‘Fucking hell, I didn’t even know we could play that!’ Looking for those became our North Star.”
Joe Carroll from Maruja is explaining the quartet’s improvisational approach in the studio.
“We went into a sort of flow state. Everything was born from that mindset and that collective energy. Anything that we’ve never done before is what excites us the most, so that makes our output pretty diverse.”
The saxophonist isn’t kidding. Their long-awaited debut Pain To Power is an incredible piece of work, presenting jazz, punk and noise rock not as separate elements but part of a unified whole. This is a world where the distinctly hip-hop-flavoured Trenches co-exists with the delicate sensuality of Saoirse, and where a sense of spirituality pervades alongside heaviness and fury. There simply isn’t anybody else making this particular blend, and the sheer potency of their music makes Maruja one of the most astonishing bands in the UK right now.
“Because we love so many different genres, we’re keen to be involved in as many of them as possible,” says Joe, as part of a conversation about influences that takes in jazzers Kamasi Washington and BADBADNOTGOOD, legends like Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and Rage Against The Machine, and contemporaries including Chat Pile, Knocked Loose and Enola Gay.
To find out more about the band responsible for one of the year’s most impressive albums, we’re chatting with Joe, vocalist/guitarist Harry Wilkinson and bassist Matt Buonaccorsi. (Jacob Hayes, described favourably by Matt as “an absolute menace on the drums”, is absent due to public transport woes.) And we have much to discuss: Maruja think and feel deeply about both their music and message, though there is also space for mischief. Asked to sum up their live experience for people who’ve yet to have the pleasure, Matt’s two-word reply of “Be careful” is met with laughter all round, before he expands on the subject.
“I would describe our shows as cathartic. They’re known for their pits and the walls of death, but also we’ve got songs that showcase the more emotional side of us, the more intimate side, like Resisting Resistance. We have people that cry to that song all the time, they’re closing their eyes, swaying their body, and you’ve seen them a few minutes ago trying to punch someone’s teeth out (laughs). It’s magnificent, and I think that’s the true power of our shows.”
Dental injuries aside, Maruja are about bringing people together, with a keen sense of community that’s even represented in the way they prefer being interviewed collectively, giving each other space to answer questions rather than deferring to an appointed spokesman. It’s why they’ve toured as hard and far as possible, taking their message to different cultures and continents, the potency of their music cutting across language barriers. Whether listening to young Romanians talk about a determination to transcend their country’s violent history, or winning over hometown festival Outbreak’s hardcore crowd, these Manchester musicians seek to make and strengthen connections in a disconnected world.
Their lofty aims and ideals find clearest expression through Harry’s lyrics. Onstage, his intense delivery borders on the intimidating, but in person he has the bearing of a philosopher-poet, someone who considers his subject matter far more carefully than most rock singers.
“A lot of the times I’m choosing topics that have impacted us, or the way we look at the world. Trump was coming into power for the second time, that happened while we were in the studio writing and recording this album. What’s been going on with Palestine is more prevalent than ever. The world’s kind of on a stage at the moment, through social media and whatnot. It’s the artist’s job to reflect the ever-changing face of culture, so it’s important to document these times and try to get across a message that’s gonna inspire solidarity and love.”
On that last point, Maruja’s songs don’t just run an anger. On Saoirse, Harry sings ‘It’s our differences that make us beautiful’; Look Down On Us moves from a critique of late-stage capitalism to consider ‘all the hateful people out there / If they were only shown more love they wouldn’t be so spiteful’. Does he think that seeking to understand rather than simply condemn is a better way to get people to listen?
“Yeah, definitely, man. We’ve gotta break the cycle, you can’t keep fighting violence with violence all the time. Just ’cause we’ve got a difference of opinion shouldn’t mean that we should hate people. This world wants you to be fearful so it can divide you, so you feel more alone, so you’re more likely to consume. I think it’s really important to talk about love, and how that is the over-arching message. I like the phrase, ‘God still loves your enemies.’ I find that quite humbling. All this hate, all this anger, what does it all do? You have to take a step away from it to be able to find an answer for it, and to do that it takes reconciliation and forgiveness.”
Speaking to Kerrang! a few days before Pain To Power’s release, the band can’t wait for what comes next. Joe is looking forward to having “the time and space to create the best stuff we can, and putting the best performances across”, while Matt says that, “Now more than ever, it’s our deepest pleasure to be showing this to the world.” To that end, more touring is imminent, with Maruja set to spend the rest of the year playing in North America, the UK and Europe. The possibilities feel boundless: Joe is keen to play jazz festivals, and Harry brings up an ambition to perform live improvised soundtracks to films. In the short term, though, you really need to experience this band live, to bear witness to their roiling cauldron of sound, fearsome and overwhelming one minute, spiritual and emotionally vulnerable the next.
“Performance is so important to us,” emphasises Harry. “If you’re improvising as we do, with all these different interpretations of sound, you can push it to places that you couldn’t even dream of in your own imagination.”
Don’t just take his word for it: dive into Pain To Power and you’ll find yourself experiencing something original, enticing and absolutely life-affirming.
Pain To Power is out now via Music For Nations
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