Riley Marsh at Y Not

Having just come off the BBC Introducing Stage at Y Not, the rising Derbyshire-based star Riley Marsh has the style, the lyrical and vocal talent to be huge. Despite his clear exhaustion, he sat down with The Gryphon for an interview, greeting us with a smile.

Gabe: So I’m here with Riley Marsh at Y Not. How are you?

Riley Marsh: I’m very well, thank you. Yeah, just come off stage, so I’m a bit… 

Gabe: How’d you find it? 

Riley Marsh: Really, really, really good. That was a lot of reallys. Yeah, it was busy, and it didn’t rain. So that’s always good. 

Gabe: Your new single was recorded at Eiger Studios in Leeds. 

Riley Marsh: It was. 

Gabe: What brought you to the studio, and how does it differ from recording and writing in your usual space? 

Riley Marsh: Well, my drummer goes to Leeds Conservatoire, so we thought we’d check that out, and it turned out really well. If you listen to my older stuff, it’s very produced, which I really hate in a way. I like the raw sound of this new stuff. I’m booked to go next week again. 

Gabe: Do you think that the grassroots community for music in Derbyshire currently has enough support and interest to garner growth for new artists, such as yourself? 

Riley Marsh: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of potential for it. I mean, especially in Derby, I think it was really good, and then it went downhill a bit. Now I think it’s on the way back up. More venues seem to be open, and BBC Introducing really helps. Dean Jackson’s just great with that. 

Gabe: On that, how did it feel being played on BBC Introducing for the first time, and how has this ongoing support helped you as an artist? 

Riley Marsh: It was really cool to be played for the first time. I think I sat, listened to it and then played the song through afterwards. But yeah, the support’s been really, really cool for it. I’ve got loads of opportunities. They’ve played my song so many times as well on the rotations and things like that. Then obviously this has come through, and it’s the biggest gig I’ve ever done, so that just shows where it can take you.

Gabe: Speaking of gigs, what has been your favourite gig to play so far? 

Riley Marsh: Probably this one. Either this or maybe I did one a couple years ago in this old dingy little pub acoustic, and it was just a nice little intimate thing.

Gabe: No in between? 

Riley Marsh: Yeah, no in between, no. 

Gabe: Do you have any pre-gig rituals? 

Riley Marsh: Someone asked me this earlier as well, but I don’t really. I need to start! 

Gabe: Have you got any sort of favourite lyrics that you’ve written or lyricists that inspire you?

Riley Marsh: A lot of my lyrics in my new song ‘Castle Made of Sand’ are quite, there’s a lot of metaphors in there. I like metaphors. I think lyrically, Jeff Buckley inspires me a lot, and Tom O’Dell as well. His music isn’t that similar to mine, but lyrically, he’s very similar. I take a lot of inspiration from that.

Gabe: How did you come about finding Tom O’Dell?

Riley Marsh: My mum played him loads in the car and whatever when I was little, so I sort of hooked onto that. Then we saw him at Rock City a few years ago. He’s really good live as well.

Gabe: Just going back to that songwriting, do you think that you include elements of your hometown in your songwriting, or is it more like you try to detach yourself? 

Riley Marsh: Sometimes. I like to look out, like if there’s a nice sort of sunset, I include that. But then other times I write songs about, I’ve got a song called Summer in California, and that’s miles away. So, a bit of both, really.

Gabe: Nice, well, thank you so much!

Riley Marsh: Thank you. 

Interview by Gabe Morriessey-Limb