Hailing from the cultural and creative melting pot that is England’s capital city, Mangoseed comprise four musicians of Trinidadian, Jamaican, Australian and Irish descent. Perhaps no surprise, then, that this multinational troupe produce an enthralling fusion of global sounds, mashing up ska and soca, jungle and funk, rock and punk, all of it high-energy and unfailingly danceable.Originally formed by vocalist Nicholai La Barrie and guitarist Karlos Coleman, Mangoseed became a fully functioning act via the additions of Richard Hardy on bass and Sam Campbell on drums, configuring a pulsating punky-reggae repertoire that was captured on their self-released 2014 album, ‘Basquiat’, which earned impossible-to-really-nail-down comparisons ranging from Bad Brains to Massive Attack.
What’s not up for debate, though, is the thrilling energy of Mangoseed’s live performances, as demonstrated by the band shining on bills alongside Alabama Three and Manu Chao, in addition to regularly delighting a loyal fanbase around and beyond their Brixton homes. Their live shows have only increased in intensity in 2016 since the enthusiastically received release of ‘Lucy’, a blast of voluptuous urban-jungle skank that represented the first in a series of singles recorded this year. That a roster of prime summer gigs awaits, including a ground-breaking tour of Egypt, is evidence of Mangoseed’s irresistible growth into a worldwide musical force.
In this interview, we chat with Mangoseed about their influences, newest project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of Jah Jah below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
Well thats funny you say that , cause don’t really have one , we grew up listing to everything , so that were we start making music form, when we start a song we try to stick to the purity of how it started. so that leads us in to lots of different genre’s. There are things that we like so rock and reagge and dub , so there some of that but we try all kinds of things.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
For about six or seven years, Me and Karlos our Guitarist met at work and we found Richard our Bassist at a party and Sam our drummer happened into a room one day and never left.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
All the stuff we grew up on , so old school reggae , punk , dub , rock. Prince , the Sex Pistols , the Wailers. We love the really great bands and artists who had their own sound and did stuff their own way.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
yeah we wanted to make a really deep heavy dud track like the Dennis Brown or Burning Spear. but we couldn’t help it so some drum bass crept in and a little dance hall as well. But we really love dub-plates the heavy remix versions of songs, so we wanted to do something like that.
What was the last song you listened to?
Heathens by Twenty one pilots.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Good question , i don’t know they all have something , i guess mp3’s cause of ease and you can carry your music with you everywhere.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify , i think cause it feels the fair , i really don’t know. Tidal is cool too cause it seems like the artists are more in control.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
The lack of imagination of the mainstream music scene, so people programmed to hear the same thing over and over again, so stuff that is different takes a little while to filter through.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
We gig all the time , its where live , we love playing live. We have never live streamed , but we will its coming.
We playing shows in London and across the UK in the next couple of months.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
Soundcloud or facebook thats we talk to everyone and post most of our stuff.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
What up Tennessee, Thank you for Memphis Minnie and Isaac Hayes, we love them. Hope to see you in Nashville soon.
