Crowning a long career as a songwriter, producer and musician, British creative Marcoussimo continues to grow his eclectic solo project with a brand new offering, ‘Energy’, an evocative, boundary-pushing single built on liminal electronica and soothing soundscapes. Featuring Nathan Myles’ punchy, sharp vocal flow, the record also includes a series of remixes and alternative versions, with the catch phrase “That Time I Thought I Was Becks and Kicked It Straight Through The Neighbour’s Window -That’s A Bullseye Like Littler!” potentially making ‘Energy’ an electrifying summer banger.
Written as a relatable nugget of nostalgia and good times, ‘Energy’ seeks to echo the joy of spending time with friends, perhaps on a Saturday, in a pub, watching the footie. A quintessential British tradition, one that Marcoussimo does a good job of declining in sonic form. Based in Manchester, the talented musician has a lot to say about his work, the music industry, and the many artists he’s collaborating with.
Naturally, we caught up with him to learn more about his artistry and future goals… interview below!
Hey Marcoussimo, thanks for chatting with us! Your latest single ‘Energy’ is out today, along with a series of electrifying remixes. Are you satisfied with how the record turned out?
This is my second release; I am so proud of all of the mixes, and I think this one in particular turned out really great. It’s strange because the original version of Energy was recorded last August, on a train journey up to Aviemore whilst travelling through the mountains. I found an amazing musical drone sound and melody for the song – it made me emotional, it made me feel something. I am super proud of the tune. It’s weird because I recorded the song over a year ago, although I did the Beckham & Littler mix last month. I felt like it needed a catchier, straightforward hook, and I have immersed myself further in dance music production since last year.
I also love the remix by the Swedish outfit Snow N Stuff – it’s a super slick melodic techno banger – they are fantastic lads. I will be at the International Music Seminar with them on the release day (25th April). The mixes are already being supported by DJS and radio alike. On the 12″ vinyl Energy EP, which is available to preorder, my Oasis Wonderwall Bootleg is also included on the physical release. It is super exclusive, with only 40 copies pressed. [pre-order here]
Your original tracks always take a pretty melodic approach towards electronica, often coming very close to a leftfield ethos. What are some of your biggest influences when it comes to production style?
A lot of the songs I write start on a guitar or keyboard and then go through loads of different versions until they transform into finished electronic tracks – I change the sound of the piano or the melody to something more electronic sounding, but I’m still right very much in the studio, a real mix of dance music and songwriting. For instance, the first ever song I put out was ‘Why Do I Feel So Sad’, which is a sort of dance/country/electro single which I love so much.
I’ve always seen myself primarily as a songwriter. I grew up making music on four-track tape recorders. I am influenced by so many different styles of music, from film soundtracks to hip hop to soul. I guess bands like The Beatles, Brian Eno, Doves, Beta Band, Radiohead, Portishead, Daft Punk, The Streets, Blur, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Fred Again play a massive part in influencing my production style.
The reader might not know this, but you have spent many years navigating the British music industry, mainly as a songwriter and producer. If you had to give one advice to any aspiring artists out there, what would that be?
It’s a tough industry to navigate – you have to be ballsy and put yourself out there; you have to love making your music/art for you with no expectations of being signed, etc and be original. Secondly, to be an independent musician/producer in 2025, you have to be MULTIFACETED!! a PR person, content creator, video editor, lawyer, agent, website developer and a pretty good hustler!
When I was in my first band, it seemed very simple – you recorded demos and sent them to record companies whilst getting gigs – we were lucky enough to get signed back in the day after playing a couple of times. Some musicians hate doing social media, but I think it’s a necessary evil as there is so much music released each day and so much noise! To release music independently and build a following, people must hear you, see you, and understand you a lot more to then start following, streaming and buying your stuff.
From a making art and creativity perspective, I think it has never been easier to make amazing music with access to amazing hardware, software, plugins and resources like Landr. At the moment, I really love Fiverr. You can find incredible freelancers and musicians from around the world – for instance, I just hired a Nigerian Choir to sing on a drum and bass tune I am working on.
I work with a community called The Label Machine, Nick Sadler, the founder, and the community are striving to find ways for independent artists and record labels to release and market their music, with a key focus on diversifying through other avenues to ensure you can make music and earn a living, for example syncing opportunities, and more. Nick has taught me techniques to build my brand, with a focus on building an organic fan base that connects with you in a real way.
Your militance in the electro duo Oscar The Punk, together with Ian Rossiter, allowed you to work with an impressive number of high-profile creatives. Does that experience also relate to your current ‘Marcoussimo’ era?
100% Oscar the Punk was a bit of an accident really – we were in the studio and Robyn’s management company were based across the road from the studio. They needed a remix for the single ‘Konichiwa Bitches’, we did the remix without having the name, once we knew the tune sounded good enough and was on the Robyn EP, we became Oscar The Punk. Ian had a much more diverse record collection than I, and this was very much my introduction to making dance and electronic music. I see Oscar the Punk as a natural stepping stone to Marcoussimo – I learned an awful lot from that era and am forever grateful to Ian for his amazing production skills.
Going back to ‘Energy’ – out today – we appreciate the ethos behind it, a true celebration of an ideal Saturday spent drinking beer and watching football. Are you yourself a keen lover of pub sessions with friends?
Pubs, bars, parties and football have been part of my DNA since I was young. Energy is not about getting pissed (maybe having a couple of beers)! It’s the Idea, the joy of connection, time well spent with friends celebrating life, meeting new people and seeing where the day takes you!
We’d love to know more about the songwriting and production process behind ‘Energy’; how do you usually approach a writing session? Was the single made in your Manchester studio?
I start with a blank canvas and I throw everything at the wall (so to speak) and then try and find something in the melody or sound that I like – I then start writing around that, which then forms more of an idea of which way the song will go. Most stuff I record is from my studio.
Making ‘Energy’ started with a drone melody I developed using an amazing plugin by Native Instruments called ‘Alt Piano’ – the song started with me singing over the basis melody. It was originally called ‘Nightclubs Dead’, still very much in the style of a story told about a day and night out with your mates. I still like some of the original parts, so I will do an extended DJ mix of Energy for clubs.
Are there any fellow artists in the contemporary music scene that inspire you? Manchester, in particular, is rather vibrant these days – do you ever collaborate with others?
I love how collaborative things are in Manchester! I have worked with the amazing photographer Debbie Ellis to do my first set of pics – I contacted her a couple of weeks ago as I wanted to make a proper video for ‘Energy’. Debbie put me in touch with two amazing filmmakers, Callum Hilditch-Crimes and Jake Howarth. We had one meeting, found a venue, spoke to an amazing guy called Gareth who gave us the floor of a disused mill in central Manchester, found some incredible dancers, we even got Dandylion Entertainment to hook us up with Manchester brewer RKid, who provided beer for the shot! The video was made within a couple of days – that’s what I love about Manchester, anything is possible.
At the moment, I am just getting into an artist called B-Shaf from Bolton – he’s amazing, check out his song ‘Dream’, he’s getting a lot of play on the BBC Asian Network and BBC Introducing. I’m also co-writing and producing a singer-songwriter called David Stone, who was in the Manchester band Prose, his style is a cross between a Mancunian Northern Mike Skinner and David Gray – his songs are amazing, painfully honest and beautiful.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Loads of stuff going on – I will be releasing loads more music this year, developing and preparing to start events and DJ’ing in Manchester. I have remixes for Snow N Stuff and Rhian to be released over the next few weeks. The first guests for my Podcast ‘A Guide With Signs Pointing The Wrong Way’ have just been confirmed. I’m also in talks to create a music hub in Manchester – all to be revealed!
