Enjoy.
Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?
I started playing bass because my last band, who were a two piece at the time, needed a bassist.. So i went out & bought a bass having never played before and just went from there. I quickly discovered it's pretty addictive.
Youthful enthusiasm as a lot to answer for.
I think when u embrace the whole DIY ethic you just get on with it & do it. Cant sing? Yes u can.. Cant play.. Just learn… Ok lets start a band. There was alot of that in Belfast when i was younger.i love it.
What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?
The posters i had as a kid were mainly film posters, I've been obsessed with films from a very young age. And the odd WWF poster.. Undertaker obviously.
I do remember though maybe around 10 yrs old, myself and some friends were out playing on the estate over summer holidays and found a massive box of magazines in a skip. As you do.
Kerrang & Metal Hammer. Suddenly im like "who the fuck are these bands". I was already into Iron Maiden because someone had given me a load of tapes. Pre Internet in Newtownards,there's zero chance of hearing any others but i knew they were for me hah. Then through that you discover Nirvana . Then you're growing ur hair out and only wearing baggy jumpers and you're friend's parents are looking at you funny when you call at the door.
Cut to my 12th birthday and my granny is walking me up the Cregagh road to the music shop and i buy In Utero. Cue teenage angst, my walls covered in Nirvana and Hole and here we are.
You’ve just released your debut EP ‘Glacial Erratic’ which is excellent, every song front to back is fantastic. Can you talk about the recording process for this, lyrically what themes or topics are covered on this record. Can you tell us where the name comes from and why you named the record that?
Yeah it's a collection of our output til this point so the songs have been recorded at different stages over the past few years. A couple from right at the start when we just recorded ourselves in our practice room, a couple from our time spent down at Analogue Catalogue recording studio. Lyrically Lyndsey draws inspiration from everywhere. Her studies, history, everyday life, nature, art.
The name comes from the term for these massive boulders, there's a couple that are particularly prominent down in my neck of the woods along the coast of Strangford, that have been deposited by glacial shift a lonnnng time ago and a result look completely out of place and out of context with their surroundings. Lyndsey had been looking into why they came to be there & i happened to be making some collages along the same lines at the time so it was just meant to be.
Glacial erratics are kind of emblems for diversity and change. Some of us always feel out of place, in the wrong body, the wrong time or terrain. They can be a comforting reminder that being seen as "other" can be monumental and give us strength.
The record collects some single releases into one place and presents them together along with a new song ‘Admire’. Does this act as a bookend to that period of the band or do you feel like releasing an EP is a flag in the moon type moment, we here, we’ve arrived.
I guess a bit of both actually. It's so great that we have been able to give these songs a home together in a physical release, our 1st vinyl.its a milestone, We are very proud of it, and yes it does kind of act as a bookend because from this point on we are writing for the album and who knows where we go with that.
When you released the newest single ‘Admire’ there was also a remix by Matt Nasir which is beautiful and adds a whole other element to the song. Can you tell us about how the remix came about and if you had gave Matt any direction or if he had free reign?
CAHIR : It started on a long bus journey through Europe. Matt loved the song and we started discussing what he would’ve done differently, which turned into him sitting on his laptop and me airdropping him the stems.
I love his version, it was cool to watch his process, i just kind of sat there nodding agreeably as he took it apart and put it back together.
Claire, you’re responsible for the design and making the bands videos, where do you draw influence for that and do you feel that the visual aesthetic you’ve created for the band is informed by the lyrical content or do you feel the aesthetic informs the lyrical content?
I think one is just naturally complimentary to the other and it wasn't anything we had to really discuss or think about,we are all on the same wavelength. Lyndsey and i are both visual artists so we didn't have to look outside the band for help in that respect. It keeps it all consistent and i think we are curating a really beautiful aesthetic. The videos are inspired by my love of horror, folk horror, nature, religious iconography and also by a very limited budget hahah! If you can make it yourself then why not? Then it's actually yours.
You’ve just completed the bands first tour of the UK, how were the shows, what were the crowds like, how did it feel to finally hit the road and bring the New Pagans gospel to the people!?
Playing to new crowds and taking your music to new people is what it's all about.
The shows were great, a lot better than expected for our 1st tour.Met some great people and played with some great bands.Touring is a slog sometimes but the craic makes it all worth it.
The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?
Yes but we end up just shouting out the same bands all the time in interviews and it's becoming embarrassing hahah. My advice is to just find an irish music playlist on spotify or look up their similar artists and just get lost down the rabbit hole. There's so much amazing stuff coming out of Ireland at the minute, and particularly in the North although we don't get so much outside recognition in the UK for example.. because English people are scared of us. And that's just a fact.
And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.
Ok I've deffered to the rest of them for this one because it's too hard.. Although i appreciate ur High Fidelity reference i could just never round up a quintessential 5 a la Rob.
Maybe some Alkaline trio, Deftones, alexisonfire, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Patsy Cline, Stevie Nicks,Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age… Endless eclectic list.
Conor:
"in no particular order:
Jeff Buckley ‘Grace’
‘Andy Irvine/Paul Brady’ by Andy Irvine and Paul Brady
‘In Rainbows’ Radiohead
‘Love Supreme’ John Coltrane
‘The Bronx II’ by The Bronx
But then I’m missing out artists like Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Brian Finnegan, Pat Metheny, Farmers Market, Jim Croce, Liu Fang, John Prine, Oumou Sangare, Björk, Squarepusher, The Bad Plus...too many
Cahir :
In no particular order and honestly, it changes all the time
Nirvana - nevermind
Fugazi -13 songs
Radiohead - in rainbows
Death cab for cutie - photo album
Beastie boys - check your head
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