Interview with Mount Famine:’We like interesting stories and so try to tell them as well as we can’

Their latest single, ‘Pulse’, is inspiring Derby-based Mount Famine to redefine what they want their first album to sound like, according to frontman Martin Stanier: ‘Brandon Flowers apparently had a suite of songs ready for The Killers’ first album (Hot Fuss), including ‘Mr. Brightside’ but he decided to get rid of all of the other songs and to build the album around that song instead. That’s how I feel about ‘Pulse’. I feel really lucky because I’ve found a style that I want to embrace going forwards.’

Mount Famine consists of Martin Stanier (vocals / keyboards), Rich Collins (guitar/production), Steve Bailey (drums) and Chris Anderson (bass).

‘Pulse’ is about an accidental night out to a salsa bar in Manchester: ‘I was watching what I thought were people who religiously went to that club to work their salsa magic with the sole aim of leaving with someone at the end of the night. After a while, the DJ announced the last song and it just went into overdrive and it felt really desperate and I remember thinking: God, I hope it doesn’t end like this!’

Stanier wrote ‘Pulse’ a couple of years ago but didn’t release it. The latest version is a very different incarnation to the former one. ‘I spent a lot of time writing on the piano in lockdown. Sometimes, you need someone else to hear what you’ve written and tell you that the song is losing its momentum. I made a banging playlist with bands like A-ha and Depeche Mode – I love the 80’s! – and the version of ‘Pulse’ I came up with afterwards came about because I was having an 80’s moment!’

Interestingly, the synth parts on ‘Pulse’ were initially supposed to be played on the piano. ‘I have an old syntheziser and a week before we were supposed to go to the studio, I thought I’d try it on the synth. It worked really well, so I kept it! The new version is faster and leaner than the old one. It’s had all the fat stripped off it.’

When Stanier first wrote the song, he’d been listening to a lot of Pulp. ‘I went to see him at a solo gig and he was amazing. I mean he wrote a song about a carrier bag! I just wanted to write something unique like him, something like ‘Babies’.

He can also take a hint from his bandmates: ‘On our first single, ‘Faith’, the guitar and alto was me but after I’d played it, Steve told me to just give the guitar to Rich. I’m not precious and I’m glad I did because Rich did a better job. He nailed it in one take. I got the point [laughs]!’

Their next single, as yet untitled, will be released later this year.

However, Mount Famine wasn’t supposed to happen and certainly wasn’t  planned, Stanier said. He had taken to playing local open mic nights in Manchester and Buxton on the piano.

‘Every time I did, people thought my songs were covers, so I got in touch with my old friend Steve who is a fantastic drummer. Things started working out and so he asked Chris, a DJ from an indie club we used to frequent as kids to play bass. And Rich stepped in on guitar.’

The band is a big fan of 80’s music such as The Cure, Depeche
Mode, New Order, Pet Shop Boys and A-ha. ‘We especially love the pop
element of all those bands but want to infuse rock ‘n’ roll guitars
whilst trying to write hooks you can sing back second time around,’ he explained. 

‘We like interesting stories and so try to tell them as well as we can and
because we also have a shared love of punk (The Clash, Blondie and The
Sex Pistols) we don’t like to hang around and for songs to outstay
their welcome.’

If he could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, Stanier would pick David Bowie and Christine and The Queens. ‘I love her and everything that she stands for. She’s a genius pop song writer, very understated. I like understated singers. And I love the way she dances, it’s incredible. In their video (for ‘Saint Claude’), she rises up into the air at the end, like a puppet whose strings are being pulled. It’s so graceful.’

Mount Famine is now working towards an album. ‘We don’t have a blueprint. I just want to write the best songs that I can.’