Hey y’all, Colleen here. I was extremely lucky to do a little interview with a certain someone named Marcus Foster. Now if you have never heard of him before, you are not alone. Before this interview, I had never listened to his music, but I am so in-love with it, you can bet his album has been on replay on my iTunes for a couple weeks now. So without further adieu, Marcus Foster!

Colleen Loustalot: Do you find that the audiences differ from the UK to the US in the aspects of what songs they know from you, or do certain songs have a bigger hype from location to location?

Marcus Foster: It depends on the atmosphere of the room which songs I play, if the audience feels really quiet I tend to play more ballads or if the crowd is really rowdy I like to play more fun stuff. I’d like to think it’s possible to control the audience and try and get them to feel something they might not have expected to feel at the shows.

CL: Do you find that attending a school for the Arts has helped you musically, or would you say that traveling around and experiencing things on tour has helped you become more developed in your lyrics?

MF: I love travelling and I guess it has heavily informed the work that I make whether it’s music, photography or sculpture. When I was at college I was out on the road for a few months and I was trying to figure out ways to make work when I was on tour and that is when photography helped to inform some of the sculptures that I made around that time.

CL: Growing up in London, you seem to have a lot of American Blues singers that influence you. How did you find out about these artists?

MF: When I was about fifteen I got into playing Jimi Hendrix songs and I used to play at a blues jam near where my dad lived and I just became a hunter for old blues songs. The first concert I ever went to was Buddy Guy with my mum and that changed my life, I wanted to play and perform like he did.

CL: Listening to your music for the first time, I noticed a melting pot of many elements from brass to blues driven guitars and from soft serenading vocals to penetratingly intense vocals, do you find that these songs seem to fall together, or are you continuously thinking “What can I add to this song to make it different from any other song?”

MF: I love records that have a lot of different sounds and ideas, I listen to all kinds of music and I guess it all comes out when I write. I don’t try and force anything. I like to make albums that go through lots of different emotions and play with your expectations.

CL: Why did you sign with the record label Big Ship?

MF: I wanted to make an EP this year to keep things going and be in control of what I was doing and Big Ship was started by one of the members in my band and it just felt right.

CL: What can your fans expect out of your upcoming album ‘The Last House’ which comes out October 22^nd?

MF: This EP feels a lot more rough around the edges than my last album. It was recorded in ten days and it has a lot of energy. I love the string and horn arrangements on it, all the songs are so new to me which is exciting and terrifying. It feels like a good transition from my first record.

CL: How did you meet Ben Howard and what’s it like touring with him?

MF: We were on the same label, Communion so I bumped into him a few times and played at the same festivals last year. Touring with him was amazing, definitely one of the best tours I have been on, all the team were so much fun to hang out with and he knows how to put on a great show.

CL: If you could write a song with any artist (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

MF: I would like to write songs with Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, The Band, Jimi Hendrix and many more, I guess they all speak for themselves.

CL: If you could make up a soundtrack for any movie, what movie would it be?

MF: Shit I don’t know, I would love to write music for films that is a tough question, I watch a lot of movies, I guess it would be cool to do the music for a Scorsese movie.

CL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done to get your attention?

MF: All the people who come to my shows are pretty cool and very supportive, I guess I have been given some strange gifts but that’s about it.

CL: How do the shows compare from the current venue to the start of your career; singing in clubs and pubs?

MF: It has been great to play the larger venues when I have done some support stuff. I love all kinds of venues, I always like playing the small intimate gigs, no matter how big my shows get I will still play those kinds of shows.

CL: Lastly, do you have any advice to young artists who aspire to be apart of the musical world?

MF: It’s a strange business, I guess it’s cheesy to say but true, if you really believe in what you’re doing, if you keep pushing yourself, eventually something good will happen.

Twitter: @MarcusFoster1

Facebook: Marcus Foster