Interview with Dark Tropics

I first became aware of Dark Tropics through Instagram(sign of the times), a few cryptic posts before any music had been released was enough to make me take notice. These were followed by lead single 'Badlands' and a show at Output this year. After traversing the city from one show to another I was lucky enough to make it in for the second half of what was their first ever show together. It was a packed room including some drunken dancers at the front. Their sound was huge, layered and evocative. Gerard and Rio took time to sit down and let us into the world of Dark Tropics.



Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar or start writing songs?

Gerard: I watched The Beatles Anthology documentaries a lot when I was growing up. The life of that band is still the most inspiring thing you can watch. They had everything; the wit, the look, the story and obviously the songs. It was those documentaries that made me want to learn the guitar and write songs.

Rio: I was in my grandparents kitchen singing Black Coffee about 2/3 years ago, when my grandfather walked out and asked who was singing. I responded I was he told me he thought I had a talent. Musically he’s been such a massive inspiration in my life that to see him so proud made me feel that this thing I had loved doing my entire life I could actually make something from

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

Gerard: I had Radiohead and Dylan posters on my wall. OK Computer is my favourite album ever and with Dylan there’s just so much to keep you interested.

Rio: Mine were exclusively from the Kerrang! Magazines I used to collect, with one Motionless In White poster I got from my first concert. My first record however was The Velvet Underground.

You can check out their live Across The Line session here: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p087ryz2

I was at the show in Ulster Sports Club and Rio had said it was her first show ever. That’s a pretty incredible first show. I know you waited 18 months before releasing or playing shows. Can you talk about what you done during that time and why it was so important?

Gerard: We were writing and demoing. We’d meet up in the Oh Yeah Centre, write a song and demo it the next week. It was a really productive period and we very quickly had enough songs to think about recording our debut album.

Rio: That first show was well worth the wait, such an amazing rush! Making sure everything was tight and perfect takes time- from song names to mixes to notes that could be dodgy live. We took our time and I think it paid off.

‘Badlands’ came out on Valentines Day which was such a nice Valentines Day gift to get! Can you talk about making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Gerard: ‘Badlands’ started with a very rough country melody voice note. The words came out of that. After we had the first few lines we followed the song where it wanted to go. It ended up being a kind of American western story but in a 3 minute pop song.

Rio: Our writing process is very relaxed and very much “what works what doesn’t”. It’s surprisingly efficient and very therapeutic! While badlands started with the lyrics being shaped around the music, when the piano was added and the sound ultimately changed- the music followed the lyrics.




I listened to the ATL session and you mentioned the songs on that are a stripped back version of the tracks. Have you other material recorded, can you tell us about that, what direction they take and if there’s any over arching theme to the record?
Where did you record etc?

Gerard: We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our debut album. We recorded it in an amazing studio in the Donegal countryside with Orri McBrearty. It was a fantastic experience and all the musicians that played on the record were the absolute best of the best. The production on the other songs is a lot fuller than ‘Badlands’ with much more instrumentation. ‘Badlands’ was the song we wanted people to hear first and is a good introduction to the band.

Rio: We have some other stripped back songs too, we usually focus in on the sting of heartbreak and where it leaves you after; the anger and the hurt. But it’s not all sad, there’s some hope and some happy retribution in a few tracks too!


It’s been touched upon before how your music has a cinematic feel, it reminds me a lot of Lana Del Rey personally, which as Nic Cage says is high praise! Can you tell us what the song writing process is like, does that massive sound bring any challenges, do you both write together and bring it to the wider band or is it a wholly collaborative process?

Gerard: Our demos are very sparse so that when we go into the studio it’s easy to develop them but keep what’s good about the demo. Rio’s vocal is by far the most important thing in our songs so it’s important that there’s nothing getting in the way of it. Everything is mixed around the vocals. If something in the mix means the lead vocal is not the focus for even one second we mute it.

Rio: I’m going from writing poetry and prose to lyrics so Gerard has definitely been a massive help in me developing those, I try to write as much as I can and send him as much as I can. As Gerard said we keep our mixes very sparse in the beginning, but I love when we get the musicians in to work their magic- it all starts to feel real then.


You’ve certainly came out swinging can you tell us what your favourite moment of being in the band has been so far?

Gerard: For me it was the day we demoed our first ever song together. I got home and listened back that night to what we’d recorded and realised that Rio’s voice was totally unique. Of all of the singing voices I’ve ever heard, hers is one of my favourites. Even after recording it loads of times and listening back to countless mixes I never tire of it. It’s wonderful.

Rio: Getting locked out of our BnB at 2am our first week of recording. We’d been working on mixes since 10am and were totally shattered when we realised that we were locked out! It’s just one of those moments that I look back on and have a good giggle, that or the sheep in the breakfast room...



The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

Gerard: Yes there’s loads…. Joshua Burnside, Alice LA, Leo Miyagee, Ferals, Dena Anuk$a, Gemma Bradley.
Rio: I’d agree with those, I’ll just add Jordan Walker and Thomas Munro to that list!

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

Gerard: Today’s picks…
She’s Got You – Patsy Cline
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
Time has told me – Nick Drake

Rio: My most frequently played of the last week are:
She’s A Rainbow- The Rolling Stones
10am Gare du Nord- Keaton Henson
Always Blue- Chet Baker
Femme Fatale- The Velvet Underground
Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi- Radiohead

Find and follow Dark Tropics:

https://www.facebook.com/DarkTropicsMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/DarkTropicsMusic