Marcus Foster: No Genius Without Some Touch Of Madness

Despite being back on the beers in his dressing room, 24-year old Marcus Foster is clearly still recovering, in more ways than one, from the escapades of the night before. “I went out in Newcastle last night. There was one item of clothing for every twenty girls. That’s a pretty good ratio! Only joking, it was terrifying. I learnt a lot about myself.”

Foster’s gig at The Cluny 2 had originally been scheduled for October but had to be re-arranged after he was invited to support American sister duo The Pierces on tour. Allison and Catherine hail from New York and are both accomplished ballerinas; he was always going to say yes. Having finally started his own headline tour only days before his interview with Palatinate, Marcus’ excitement was both infectious and palpable. “It’s been great so far; we’ve done some shows in Scotland but it’s all only just started really. Edinburgh was good fun, as was Glasgow.”

There’s no pause button in Foster’s world, especially as his talents do not lie solely in the musical sphere. He recently completed an MA Sculpture degree at The Royal College of Art and has already had his work exhibited in the prestigious Saatchi Gallery. “I’ve got an art studio in London so next year I want to write more songs but also make some artworks. I’m nearly halfway through writing tracks for the next album. I want to bring it out next year and keep everything going. We’re going to take Nameless Path  to America for a tour as well as it's still yet to be properly released over there."

A Londoner at heart, Foster nevertheless holds his Americans fans across the pond in high esteem. “I think they ‘get’ the kind of music that I play. It depends on what state you’re in I guess. U.S state I mean! I think they’re willing to let go a lot more and just have a good time, whereas us Brits are a bit more reserved.”

Marcus enjoyed playing Beatles songs on his grandmother’s piano which he learnt to play aged seven, but music was something that he primarily discovered for himself. “I became really hungry and would listen to a lot of old records. I love Tom Waits, he’s one of my heroes, and I’d have loved to have met Ray Charles or Sister Rosetta Tharpe. At the moment I’m listening to this really weird psychedelic Peruvian music that a friend introduced me to. It’s nuts but I love it. I’d also recommend Nathaniel Rateliff, Foy Vance, and a band called Kill It Kid.”

Questioned on his preference between intimate gigs and larger summer festivals, Foster reveals, “I actually love the change of dynamic between the two. Tonight I’m doing a stripped-down set; I’ve got a few different guitars and I’m just going to play my songs. We’ve got Emily and the Woods supporting and she’s actually my old guitar teacher’s daughter!”For Foster, the process of writing new music cannot be manufactured or forced. “Songs are quite hard to “catch”. I write a lot in the North of France at a little farm place that I go to with my family. Certain places trigger certain ideas I guess. Sometimes I do sit down to try and write some stuff but usually I’ll just jot down ideas in little books and see where they take me.”

Marcus started performing publicly from a young age at local blues nights organised by his mother’s friend. Playing songs that he’d penned himself, in his view, “That’s the best way to learn. At the time a lot of the songs are going to be terrible but there’ll be a few moments of great stuff. You’ve got to push that, keep it going and put yourself out there.”

With London as his musical playground, Foster immersed himself in the open-mic night scene to get his songs heard. He offered Palatinate some advice to pass on to aspiring musicians in the Durham bubble: “London’s such a crazy place and as a result, it’s easy to get lost. I was just playing to my flat for a long time before I started trying to build up a little following of people who liked my stuff. I guess the advantage of living in a small town is that if you set something up and do something new, you can create a more noticeable buzz of excitement and build from there. Find a small pub or bar and put on a music night. The best thing to do is to play live in front of people, even if it’s just acoustically outside somebody’s house.”

Half an hour later and it’s show-time. Rarely does an artist possess the ability to mesmerise that Marcus Foster exhibits on stage. With all crowd murmurings silenced at the first quiverings of "Tumble Down", his spontaneous yelps and howls on the ballsy "Shadows of the City" and bluesy "Rushes and Reeds" confirm once again that there is no genius without some touch of madness.

Originally published by Palatinate: http://www.palatinate.org.uk/?p=18554