Marsoupial

You don’t always need a lead singer or vocals to be funky as shit. Marsoupial is a concoction of funk, rock, metal, and so many other kinds of technical and fun music. Everything is so tight and smooth from the ground up: the changes in timing, the guitar harmonies, the keys fit right in at all times, and the drums and bass pretty much run the show here. You’d think with how tight the entire Soup EP is, that the band took their time in recording it and did each track over and over and over and over until they wanted to rip their hair out. Nope. According to the band, they did it live. You’re really doing yourself a disservice if you appreciate good, fun music and haven’t checked out this 6 song EP.


The first track on this EP is Makin’ Moves On My Gumbo. Drums tight and in the pocket, check. Grooving bass that doesn’t stop moving, check. Two guitars that compliment each other awesomely at each given chance. It’s all there: the intricate buildups you’d here in something metal like Between The Buried & Me and then you’re to dance to a latin dance and get your groove on. If for some reason you don’t believe that these guys recorded the entire Soup EP live, below is a video of them doing it in front of people. You could be one of them, check out their upcoming shows on their facebook!

The SOUP EP was recorded live on a hot rainy summer day at University of Maryland Baltimore Campus. We utilized the school’s studios, as our engineer and close friend Matt King is a student of the university. Matt is an up and coming professional producer and sound engineer, and we love working with him. He is a very patient studio manager, producer, engineer, and he is amazingly talented behind the mixing board. Along with Matt King and the SOUP boys, we invited a few close friends to come and watch the process unfold.

Making Moves on My Gumbo is a song we like to open sets with from time to time, and we noticed people really like to get moving to it. We love all of the different parts in it and the Latin fusion groove creates a jam space for each of us to go off on sonic tangents.

Chris originally came to us with the main riff, a long time before the song came together. We had no idea what to do with the riff, but we did know it sounded super crazy and it would be a challenge to pull off in a live setting. When we all started jamming on the riff we noticed that once we got to the end of the run we didn’t know where to go next. We decided on adding in a simple two chord Latin style progression that builds back up to the main riff and pulls everything together. In live shows we like to change up the second Latin progression and play the Tetris theme song.

The hardest part of writing Making Moves was creating smooth transitions, and even to this day the song might lack this somewhat. However, the sudden stops and jolts really make the song what it is, and it creates a sense of uncertainty for the listener. Another tough decision was what to do after the main riff. We consider ourselves to be an instrumental jam band, so we decided we wanted to something we could all play off of and we could extend in a live situation. For some reason we decided to go with the Latin groove, and since then we’ve never looked back.

The recording process took about 1 hour to finish for this particular song. We only had 6 hours at UMBC, and we ended up finishing the whole EP within this window of time. Making Moves on My Gumbo is a super weird song, and we love it. - The Creator's Blog

THERE ARE SOME BANDS OUT THERE WHO LIKE TO PLAY BY THE BOOK AND STICK TO A SET FORMULA. THOSE BANDS WOULD NOT BE MARSOUPIAL.

Formed back in 2016, marSOUPial is a jam/funk band who can be found spreading the good vibes throughout the New Jersey show scene. The band’s members, Mark Spelker (drums), Connor Forde (bass), Chris Ruzicka (guitar), and Neil Forde (guitar) are childhood friends who chose to pursue their dream and share their passion with the world. From the catchy jams, to the killer energy they bring, it’s easy to tell that these guys love what they do and give it their all. Their latest EP, SOUP EP, was released September 21, 2017.

“Makin’ Moves (On My Gumbo)” kicks things off on with some serious energy. The crips, clear guitar has a somewhat hypnotic vibe to it, making it hard not to sway along. The unexpected changes throughout the track leave listeners on their toes, wondering what else the song has in store for them.

A strong bass line gives “Out of Focus Creature” an intense feel, especially at the very beginning. However, a smooth transition adds an extra shot of funk that permeates the rest of the track. This song is a lot of fun and is guaranteed to have even the most stoic individuals giving in to the groove and dancing along.

“Arpeggibro” has an undeniably uplifting feel to it. The upbeat track features a melody that has a rather calming effect, clearing the mind of any negativity. It’s bright, fun, super catchy, and features one impressive guitar solo.

“Catskills” has a great flow to it, evoking a sense of gentle grander, much like the mountains it’s named after. This song feels like a summer drive with friends where there’s no set destination and anything is possible. There’s an ebb and flow of intensity throughout the six minute track that prevents listeners from becoming too dazed by its overall enticing nature.

“Mongoose Crossing” closes the EP out on a chill note. With a smooth flow and a melody that’s easy to vibe to, it contrasts the more energetic opening jams nicely while still remaining true to the tone of SOUP EP.

Truly a perfect mixture of all its elements, SOUP EP is not an EP to be overlooked. Dedicated fans can also look forward to ringing in the new year with the marSOUPial New Year’s Eve Run 2017, where the true improvisational skills of this band can be admired in their full glory.

Rating: 4/5 - SALUTE

If you can't tell already from their incredibly punny band name, the members of MarSOUPial pack a lot of personality into their music. This becomes clearly evident after listening to their debut, extended play album, SOUP.MarSOUPial is a four piece jam band made up of high school friends from Morris County, New Jersey. Mark Spelker (drums), Christopher Ruzicka (guitar), Neil Forde (guitar/synth), and Connor Forde (bass/synth) created the group back in the fall of 2016 and are currently on tour in the North/Central Jersey area. When the group performs, they aim to "transcend genres and labels," and they should feel relieved, because they do just that. MarSOUPial's mastery of meter and rhythm, impressive coordination, improvisation, and artistic vision allow them to create engaging funk/rock fusion grooves that turn the SOUP EP listening experience into a riveting musical journey.

After screening through the EP, I was pleasantly surprised by their careful curation of the track listing, as each and every song flowed brilliantly into the next. Most of the songs feature multiple tempo and key fluctuations that effectively work to create and retain interest, which keeps the tracks progressing. At no point during a song, did I feel like they were losing their sense of direction, which is a common mistake for less-experienced jam bands. In fact, it's the pacing and structure of this album that makes this EP such an incredible listening experience.

The lead track is titled, "Makin' Moves (On My Gumbo)." It's almost 3.5 minutes long and it is highlighted by a smooth guitar melody/harmony, impressive rhythm variations (a recurring characteristic throughout the album), and even a small touch of latin style/Santana-esc flair, at points. The second track is, "Out of Focus Creature" and runs a bit over 4 minutes. It starts off with cunning and sly guitar picking but quickly builds into a funky synth-lead melody line. The following track is, "Sneak Groove" and it's the one that I consider to be the climax of the EP. This song opens with a fatty baseline synth and tom drum strikes that would rock any venues PA system. It then blows up into a groovy, high-tempo, jam sesh that leads nicely into a guitar solo filtered with a pleasant amount of distortion.

At this point in the album, "Arpeggibro," which runs around 4 minutes, attempts let listeners come-down from the high of the previous track by slowing down the tempo by using a more subtle, but equally as catchy, into and chorus. The track definitely shares cadence to some classic blues rock, and in my opinion, has an Allman Brothers Band type groove during the arpeggiated melody lines. The next track, "Catskills," continues to wind down the energy with a calm and mellow jazzy style, at least at first. In true MarSOUPial fashion, the song finds enough energy to transform, via tempo/key changes and clever instrumentation (i.e. atmospheric synths), creating a dreamy audioscape that evokes thoughts of nostalgia and foggy forests.

The last track, "Mongoose Crossing" runs almost 7 minutes long and is the grand finale of the SOUP EP. Its sonically pleasing intro builds quickly and then morphs into a quirky, yet steady groove. This track has that authentic, 60's/70's jam band feel to it, is masterfully arranged, and has a super infectious groove. Before you know it, you'll find your body inadvertently swaying and fidgeting along to the beat. In all honestly, I wish there were more tracks on the EP ... I'm hooked!

All-in-all, I really dig what MarSOUPial has done with their first release and I can't wait to hear more music from them soon. In the meantime, they are currently on tour and playing at the Stanhope House with Flux Capacitor on December 28th, The Blue Room in Secaucus on the 30th, and performing a New Year's Eve show at The Lost Woods in New Brunswick, New Jersey. To see their complete tour schedule, you can head over to their Facebook page here. - Entendre