Muso’s Guide introduces… Magpie Wedding

Magpie Wedding - image by Sonia Piedad Marinangeli

Well, to be honest, they introduce themselves. Like all good folk should!

We’re an indie folk quartet from Bologna who play enough instruments to supply a small orchestra. I sing, play guitar and accordion, and Magpie Wedding is my first ever band. It started in May 2007 with fellow songwriter Paolo (guitars, piano). I’d been writing songs for a few months having failed to find interesting songwriters to play with. My idea was to find folks to sing and play the guitar parts, then go back to playing accordion accompaniments, which was far more fun.

I remember the first time I recorded a song, in January 2007. I was so scared of my voice that I built a fort in my bedroom, draping a heavy quilt across the space between my upright futon and my clothes rail, and crawled inside to do the deed. I deliberately wrote songs with scared or apprehensive protagonists, so I could pretend that the tremor in my voice was necessary to the lyric, and not just because I was shaking so hard.

Fortunately, by the time I met Paolo, through a Musicians Wanted internet ad, my confidence had somewhat improved. We played a little music in my bedroom, then listened to records together. I introduced him to Neutral Milk Hotel. He introduced me to the Incredible String Band. And that was all we needed to know.

Alessandro showed up that autumn with this lovely vintage bass tone and a willingness to play his instrument with the bracelets round his wrists if that was what was it took to make the noise he wanted. That was when our sound started changing from acoustic songwritery stuff to the weird postrock/folk hybrid that it’s become. We went into the studio a few months later with our then drummer and violinist (during asomewhat difficult process we lost both drummer and violinist) and managed to finish our first EP, ‘Torches’. We spent all summer and all autumn trying to find a drummer. Just before Christmas 2008, we found Giorgio. In addition to being an ace drummer, he also brought the snazzy clothes, fancy shoes, and all-round rockstar element that the rest of us lack.

Making music with people who don’t speak your mother tongue creates unexpected limits. Much as I’d love to write one, there’s no way my Italian bandmates will stand for a 20-verse murder ballad where nothing changes but the English lyrics. But, as a former writer and novice musician, it’s also encouraging that these three guys, who I admire so much as musicians, play with me because of my musicianship, however inept, and not my lyrics.

When we started this band, I was heavily into messy orchestral indie rock like Okkervil River, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Arcade Fire. Simple song structures that anyone could play, but with dense chaotic textures. We wanted French horn players and violinists and kazoo players and everything. No space left unfilled. I thought that minimal singer-songwriters weren’t playing fair, that if all they had to offer was their voice and their story, then maybe they should find the balls to write short stories instead of singing songs. I still love that orchestral stuff, but, thanks to Mark Hollis, Shirley Collins, and more recent Shearwater records, I’ve come round to the idea that silence and empty space in one’s music might actually be the most generous thing a musician can give to a listener. My bandmates don’t always agree, which leads to lots of spirited fights and, I hope, an interesting tension in the music we make.

“Imagine Slint fronted by Vashti Bunyan. Imagine Shirley Collins singing with the Arcade Fire” is how I describe our music. It’s not the truth, but close enough for rock’n’roll. Alessandro’s last band were postrockers. Paolo’s last band played hardcore metal. Giorgio’s hometown band play Sixties beat. There are very few bands all four of us love and none of them – The Dresden Dolls, System of a Down – sound anything like us. It’s a miracle we make it work, but it does. And it’s a stupid amount of fun.

http://www.magpiewedding.com/