The Marsh Family release new single addressing social media pressures

The Marsh Family, the unique musical group (and real-life family) who became global viral sensations during the pandemic, release their first ever studio-recorded single ‘Cool Kid’. A perfect summer anthem ‘Cool Kid’, written by Alfie (18), Tom (16), Ella (14), Tess (12) and dad Ben, tackles the age-old topic of appearance versus authenticity, in a world where Insta-perfection and digital manipulation are saturating lives more than ever. The lyrics address issues relevant to every school corridor and social media platform, where people invent versions of themselves to impress:

You’re such a cool kid!
Strutting around
So off balance that you can’t look down
Cool kid!
Follow that trend
Hashtags never made a lasting friend
“I guarantee when people hear this song, a name will spring to mind of a person that made them feel this way when they were young. We want the song to take you somewhere different, cos it’s easy to obsess about those people or try to fit around them. But it’s better to leave them to one side and not change who you are too much” says Ella.

With Ella and Tess on lead vocals, supported by a thumping rhythm section with funk bass, wah-wah-guitar and driving drums, the multi-instrumentalist siblings play bass guitar, jazz organ, drums, clarinet, cornet, violin and percussion with Dad (Ben) on cello and synth programming and all six (including Mum, Danielle) on BVs.
“It was properly exciting to record in a studio for the first time because we could just focus on the music without all the distractions at home, and we got to stay in a hotel for a night! Of all of us, Tom probably tries the hardest to be a ‘Cool Kid’ but nothing like the characters in the video or the people who are annoying at school. He doesn’t bully anyone of course, he’s just laid back and makes jokes” says Tess.

The single is released alongside a special video created by Italian paper animation specialists SeenFilm (Eminem, Pink Floyd, N-Sync).

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Speaking about the video Stefano Bertelli at SeenFilm said “Working on this video with The Marsh Family has been incredibly exciting. We’ve made many videos using paper as a medium but, in this case, the meaning of the song and its style gave us the opportunity to create a music video that feels more like a short TV series with scenes that, although brief, evoke the atmosphere of a film. We couldn’t help but smile as we brought them to life. We used stop-motion animation for this project. After finalizing the narrative, we began building paper models one by one, capturing each individual frame. It’s a 100% handmade effort. Enjoy watching!”

‘Cool Kid’ follows the recent release of ‘The Bubble Song’, featuring Tom on lead vocals, with both original songs marking a new chapter in The Marsh Family’s remarkable rise.

Since 2020, The Marsh Family have been entertaining millions of people around the world with their home-produced videos and insightful parodies. Their first viral video, an adaptation of One Day More from Les Misérables retooled to satirise lockdown life and originally made for friends and family, racked up tens of millions of views in a life-changing three days and led to appearances on Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live. They have caught the ears of Hugh Grant, Holly Willoughby and Mark Hammill to name a few, and have been featured in a wide range of media including BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 2, The Rest Is Politics and Business Insider, The New York Times and Katherine Ryan’s TV show Parental Guidance

Post pandemic, The Marsh Family turned their sharp tongues, heavenly harmonies and pick’n’mix musical instruments to a host of hot topics, among them immigration (their genius Suella Braverman Shanties, inspired by TikTok sensation Nathan Evans’s Wellerman, has clocked up more than 12 million views) and The London Mayoral Election. In the last fortnight alone they have accrued over 20 million views for their parody takedown of American politician JD Vance (an adaptation of ABBA’s Dancing Queen).

The family phenomenon appeared on Comic Relief and released music to support and raise funds for charities including Save The Children, Prostate Cancer UK and, most recently, the Red Cross with their original song If That Day Comes Round (for the Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory Appeal). Earlier this year, the sextet was the subject of an episode of super fan Katherine Ryan’s TV show Parental Guidance.