Standing Around with Sarpa Salpa to 25

In the carpark next to a beloved Brighton venue, Chalk, I met up with the Norhampton band, Sarpa Salpa. A combination of indie, pop, and dance the band boasts a-something-for-everyone genre of music. We stood ear to ear in a carpark, that we consequently then got kicked out of, to really get to know the people behind such classics as ‘Say Something’ and ‘Casanova’.

We’ve all waited so long for The Great Escape, is it everything you wanted?

So far, yes! I don’t think we could have asked for much more from that set really. It’s just the start for us really. We’re not playing anymore shows but we’re gonna go watch a bunch of bands. There’s so many good ones here- we’re gonna go watch MUNA in a bit; Amazons and Yard Act.

How was your set?

Shockingly good! We were first on at the venue [Chalk] so we thought we’d be playing to a smaller crowd but we got to the stage door and it was just rammed. We just all thought ‘What the hell? This is crazy!’ And we all thought the set itself went really well. We’re on a roll!

What are you most excited for this year?

probably the hardest part- trying to break through and keep going despite it destroying all our incomes. Another negative is it’s kind of like a game and it’s so unnecessary just a lot of orders that you need to do things in and how popularity works like if something has 60 likes on social media people are more likely to also like it and music works in a similar way it’s like you already have to be popular. It makes it tempting to want to be something you’re not-something that’s fashionable. You need integrity.

What band are you most excited for?

I think we’d all agree on MUNA. Megan (keyboardist) is a bit of a MUNA stan and we saw them at South By Southwest so the rest of the band are also all fanboys as well. They are amazing! We’re playing with Everything Everything at 110 Above Festival- they’re really good. Yard Act as well- they’re loved by many for good reason. Shoutout to Alfie Templeman too.

We’ve already had such an exciting year. We’ve just played South By Southwest and of course The Great Escape. We’re most excited about having a full summer of festivals to play. We only got a little taste of that last year and, obviously, none the year before that. Just excited to actually get to play shows when the weather’s nice.

What are the biggest negatives and positives of the music industry?

Positives are definitely days like today. You show up not expecting much and it turns out to be amazing. People love music and just the frequencies of sound and a drink and- music is just great. However, there’s a lot of invisible walls in the industry so that’s

Anything fun you’re working on?

We’re heading back to the studio soon. We’re always cooking up stuff. We have so many 2020 demos that just need recording.

If someone had never heard your music before, how would you describe it?

Alternative indie disco, but don’t try and get us from just that description come watch us live- there’s just no real way to properly explain it.

Best song: Say Something Instagram: @sarpasalpamusic

SARPA SALPA