Marube

question: We are loving your new album ‘Coldbrook’, can you tell us a little about the backstory of the album? When was it written and recorded?
answer: I wrote the songs during the quarantine in 2020 then hashed out the music with the rest of the band members during early 2021. We got in the studio and started recording around Fall of 2021 until the end of 2022. Coldbrook is the name of the street where our practice space (house) is located. We wrote all of Marube’s material there and it’s a very important space for all of us. There could be a possibility of that space being gone at some point so we wanted to dedicate our album name to that house in Coldbrook. The music is everything we worked on during that time period.
question: What is the song “When 2” about specifically? What are your favorite lyrics on ‘Coldbrook’?
answer: “When 2” is about me reflecting back on my lack of self confidence and how I should stop overthinking and do things my way. This song was written at the time where I felt stuck in my life, and was going through emotional distraught from the break up I experienced. So a part of me thought the solution was to leave the home I was living in and experience what else I can do out there. I did enjoy writing the lyrics on “When 2”. My favorite lines are in the chorus where I say “why do I compare myself to the ones I feel really close to, just think of good times”. I do also like the lines I wrote for FREE. “Can’t keep up with all these tears I been holding, especially when you hold me in your arms.” Using “holding” in 2 different ways felt clever.
question: If you could add any musician, dead or alive, to Marube, who would it be? What are the interpersonal relationships between the band mates like?
answer: That’s a great question, I would add Johnny Marr to see what other genius guitar melodies he can add to the songs. I’m also a big fan of Saves The Day so it would be cool to work with Chris Connelly on songwriting and have him sing on some songs. Everybody in Marube is basically like a family to me. My older brother Taka plays bass and my best friend Sami plays guitar in the band. Ben and I are close friends and we’ve been jamming together for a really long time. I put this band together with all of them to see what we can create with this crew and it has been a rewarding and fun experience.
question: Growing up, did you see yourselves as musicians? Was the music you listened to as a kid influential to your current process?
answer: Not at all. I saw myself as just a fan of music. I listened to a lot of music on my CD player and didn’t see any possibility of playing music until I started learning piano during senior year of high school. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of video game music. I downloaded a bunch of video game remixes on kazaa and I think that has definitely influenced the way I compose music. One of my earliest music memories was listening to The Beatles and Carpenters in the car with my parents. I can see my vocal influence coming from that.
question: What has the musical journey of Marube consisted of thus far? What is the ultimate goal for Marube?
answer: The musical journey of Marube has been a great experience. I never started my own band before and to be able to see what we have accomplished so far is amazing. The ultimate goal for this band is to keep Marube as a creative vehicle for all of us. We always look forward to writing new music and we keep evolving our sound. It is important for our music to reach many people, but I think it’s more important for us to be happy as we do it. Small bands can feel discouraged and quit anytime. But for us we like being consistent no matter what. There can be sometimes where life can take over, but Marube will always be here as an outlet.