Sarpa Salpa return with new single Forwards Backwards and BBC Big Weekend online show

Northampton indie rockers Sarpa Salpa release their new single Forwards Backwards on Friday and will join other acts playing May’s BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend festival online.
By David Jackson
Published 12th May 2020, 19:24 BST
Updated 12th May 2020, 20:14 BST
Sarpa Salpa will play this month's BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend festival on the BBC Sounds app.Sarpa Salpa will play this month's BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend festival on the BBC Sounds app.
Sarpa Salpa will play this month's BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend festival on the BBC Sounds app.

Indie five-piece Sarpa Salpa are set to release their new single Forwards Backwards on Friday and have been picked by the BBC to play its BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend online event.

Due to the ongoing disruption caused by the Coronavirus, this year’s festival will take place on the BBC Sounds app on Sunday, May 24, with Sarpa Salpa playing the BBC Music Introducing stage.

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New single Forwards Backwards was due to coincide with the band headlining the BBC Introducing Stage at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.

However, like most other festivals it has been postponed until next year.

Forwards Backwards is the first Sarpa track the band wrote as a five-piece since Meg Amirghiasvand joined last year.

The song is another infectious sub three-minute upbeat alt-pop hit and follows past single Before It Goes Dark.

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Sarpa Salpa ended 2019 celebrating the release of their debut EP and playing a hometown gig in front of hundreds of fans at the Roadmender in Northampton.

They have been championed by BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, BBC 6 Music’s Chris Hawkins and Janice Long and are picking up 10,000 monthly listens on Spotify.

To make the most of the current global lockdown, the band have created an ‘isolation’ music video, featuring fans of the band singing along to the track.

Frontman Marcus Marooth has also been playing a series of ‘Seclusion Sessions’ gigs, some of which include partnering with Jägermeister, Rippla and Benumu and fund-raising for regional music venues and the NHS.

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Sarpa Salpa also recently featured on the first Blender Selects 12” record alongside Elijah Miller, Sara and Banton and are due to play a series of a gigs across the UK this autumn and winter which are currently dependent on music venues reopening.

The Blender Selects record is out now via https://www.musicglue.com/sarpasalpamusic/store

Forwards Backwards is out this Friday via the usual streaming platforms.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/SarpaSalpaMusic

Related topics:BBCNorthamptonCoronavirus