Secrets of Mariana

This year there are FemME Battles again with preliminaries in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. And I will introduce you the bands which go to the Finals. I will do so by ask all of the bands the same questions. So, you have the same information about all the bands which are in the finals.

The next one is ‘Secrets of Mariana’, winner by audience of the “UK Battle”.

The band members Amy, Nick, Ash, Matt and Adam answered the questions. So, thank you very much for this!

First of all, can you tell us something about the name of your band, ‘Secrets of Mariana’? What does it mean and which one of you came up with this name?

(Amy): Nick and I came up with the name ‘Secrets of Mariana’. Originally, we were going to call the band ‘Safe As Secrets’, but we felt it didn’t really fit our genre. We were talking about Mariana’s trench being the deepest part of the ocean, so we just incorporated that into what we already had.

And it’s become the theme of our artwork (as you can see here).

What can you tell us about the history of the band?

(Amy): Ash and I have known each other for over 20 years now. On my 22^nd birthday, after a few drinks, we got talking about starting a band and we made it happen. We quickly recruited our mates Nick on drums and Jay on bass and started the hunt for a second guitar player. Matt came to audition and gelled with us instantly.

Unfortunately, we parted ways with Jay in December last year as he and his girlfriend had a baby. However, we’ve gained Adam, our new bassist, who’s fitting in really well!

(Adam): I can give you precisely three months of band history (lol).

Please introduce yourself to us. Who are you, which instrument(s) do you play and about your musical background.

So, this is ‘Secrets of Mariana’:

Amy (vocals): I started singing from an early age. Music is a massive part of my life as I’m a vocal teacher, and also work as a sound engineer in a studio.

Nick (drums): I’ve played drums for 17n years now. I’ve played in various bands and gigging since I was 13 years old.

Ash (guitars): I’ve been playing guitars for 12 years and studied music at the University.

Matt (guitars): I’ve been playing guitars since I was 13 and played in various bands since.

Adam (bass): I started out as a guitarist since I was 11 years old. I moved to bass when I was 15 and have played in various bands on both instruments as well as vocals.

Which one of you is “responsible” for the songs (lyrics and music)?

(Amy): I write the lyrics, but we all have a hand in writing the music.

(Nick): Music is a group effort. It usually starts with someone bringing in an idea and we all help to develop it.

Did you release any records already and can you tell something about them?

Yes we did!!

(Amy): We have 2 EP’s out. The first one is “Reach”, which we released in 2014. In 2016 we released our first single and music video for “Eat Me Alive” (which you can find on YouTube), quickly followed by our second EP “No Escape”. In between the EP’s we released a free single, which you still can download from our Bandcamp page (secretsofmariana.bandcamp.com).

          

Are you full time musicians or do you have other jobs also?

(Nick): The band is a hobby for us. We all work full time jobs around the band.

(Amy): We all have very different jobs outside “Secrets of Mariana’ but are very passionate about music. We’re regular gig goers and put as much time as we can into the band.

Can you describe your music? How would you call it?

(Adam): Death Reggae

(Nick): Trash Classical (“Trashicall” if you will….)

(Adam): Heaviest band on te UK-grime scene

(Nick): Red glass as opposed to blue grass

(Amy): On a serious note, it’s hard as each song varies, but we’d mainly call ourselves alternative/melodic metal

Are you influenced by other bands?

Our influences change regularly because we all listen to a lot of varied music. These are the bands we’re all currently listening to:

(Nick): ‘Misery Signals’/’Four Years Strong’/ ‘After The Buriel’

(Adam): ‘Soen’/’Coheed and Cambria’/ ‘Leprous’

(Amy): ‘PVRIS’/’Marmozets’/’A Perfect Circle’

(Matt): Ópeth’/’Metallica’/’Ghost’

(Ash): ‘Architects’/’Trivium’/’Mastadon’

What was your most cool gig so far?

Best bands we’ve seen live:

(Amy): ‘Memphis May Fire’/’Flyleaf’/’Underoath’

(Nick): ‘Misery Signals’/’Lamb Of Gods’/’Coheed and Cambria’

(Adam): ‘Ghost’/’Muse’/’Deftones’

(Matt): ‘Opeth’/’Slayer’

(Ash): ‘Motley Crue’/’Gojira’

Best show we’ve played:

(Amy): Our EP launch for “No Escape” is right up there for me. The FemME Fest heat was also great. There’s nothing like a hometown show.

(Nick): I agree.

(Adam): I obviously only joined recently, so for me it’s got to be getting through the final of FemME.

(Matt): EP launch show for me and our FemME Fest too. We also played a wicked gig at The Rainbow in Birmingham.

(Ash): We recently played Heaven and Hell Festival in Sheffield and that was awesome.

Is there a band you want to go on tour with?

(Amy): I personally would say ‘Marmozets’. I think we’d fit on a bill with them.

(Adam): ‘A Day To Remember’ would be pretty cool!

(Nick): “Chunk No Captain Chunk’

(Ash): I Think ‘Killswitch Engage ‘would be a great band to tour with, as we have influences of them in our music.

What do you think of FemME?

(Amy): FemME is a great idea! It’s a brilliant platform for women musicians around Europe to get some recognition and a great opportunity for everyone involved.

Are you looking forward to come to The Netherlands?

(Nick): Hell yeah!

(Adam): Yeah man. We’re excited to travel for music.

(Amy): This is the first gig we’ll be playing outside of the UK, so we can’t wait.

 

Social media links:

secretsofmariana.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/SecretsOfMariana
Twitter @SOMOfficialUK
Instagram: @somofficial