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Tag: Music interviews

  • Interview // Cherym

    Interview // Cherym

    Interview // Cherym

    We believe that if you have a platform, no matter how big or small, you should always use it for the better, I’d like to hope some people do see us in a light where we can inspire people to be themselves and be more accepting and open with themselves and others.

    Cherym are a Derry pop punk trio, consisting of Hannah Richardson (Lead guitar and lead vocals), Nyree Porter (Bass guitar and vocals) and Alannagh Doherty (Drums and vocals). Over the past while, they’ve been intoxicating audiences and listeners with their upbeat, brash music, all with a side helping of fun.

    I caught up with the gals, albeit socially distanced, to find out how 2020 was treating them.

    Hello! Who are you and where are you right now?

    Hello we are CHERYM and we are all currently in our rehearsal space cos this is basically the first time we’ve been together since lockdown.

    You guys released your first music in 2018. Was that your first foray into music? How did it all start?

    Honestly, its difficult to pin point how/when it all started because i can think back to so many occasions were i thought “this is it, i think we can make this happen”. I think we were very lucky that we had some sort of appeal to people from the start, i don’t know why but were so grateful because they pushed us to keep going. To discover who we were as a band.
    -Nyree

    You always seem to be having fun, is that the secret to Cherym?

    DO NOT take yourself so seriously. When I first started the band, I was so scared of how I looked and presented myself on stage and Hannah told me, “right now when we’re playing, we’re the coolest people in the room, have fun and just be yourself.” It honestly made me into the musician I am today.
    -Nyree

    Describe your songwriting process?

    We’re very fortunate that we can just go into the practice room, jam and suddenly, we have a song. Obviously we have to put a lot more into the song to have the final outcome but yeah, were very blessed lads.
    -Nyree

    Who have you been recording with?

    Wee Caolan Austin, down in Smalltown America!
    -Nyree

    When you go to the studio do you have a definite idea of what you’re looking for or how much input does a producer have?

    We have an idea but I think when we’re in the studio, we suddenly have more ideas to make it better. I think because Caolan is so cool and lets us explore ideas, we do get to make the song 100x’s better. And we are very open to any ideas that Caolan would have because he is a LEGEND.
    -Nyree

    Over the past while, there has been a lot of discussion in Ireland, trying to ensure that female musicians get as much air time as guys do. Why do you think it’s such a struggle for presenters (if they can choose their own music) or radio stations to acknowledge talented females?

    I feel like there’s just always been a massive struggle for women in any career, even if we are being represented in some respects, it’s never to the point where there is accurate population representation for women in music. As well as this there’s always been an obsession for boy bands in radio so it’s hard to get away from the so called “norm” and to a more progressive social acceptance for women in the industry too. We are all acknowledged, but not as much as we should be.
    -Alannagh

    Abigail is such a sweet song to an ex. Instead of being moany, it’s upbeat and positive but more importantly, it’s a song from one girl to another. I think it’s really important to ensure songs like Abigail reach the mainstream. It helps acceptance of LGBTQ equality. Do you consider yourselves role models, how comfortable are you with that?

    We believe that if you have a platform, no matter how big or small, you should always use it for the better, I’d like to hope some people do see us in a light where we can inspire people to be themselves and be more accepting and open with themselves and others. We’re quite comfortable with who we all are as people, all being members of the LGBTQ+ community and we would hope that if someone was struggling with that part of themselves that they could look to a song like Abigail and think “actually I’m not weird or I’m not an outsider, this is normal and this is me” as it should be in the mainstream media too.
    -Alannagh

    You’ve recently released a single, ‘Weird Ones’. It’s a difficult time to release new music but at the same time, people seem to have a little more time to embrace new music. Was ‘Weird Ones’ planned for release before Covid happened?

    I think we tend to pace ourselves between releases and don’t want to rush, we definitely planned to release it the early months of 2020 so it was going to be released during the pandemic no matter what I guess.
    -Alannagh


    Your sound is huge recorded, fun, brash in your face. But, your live shows have gathered a lot of attention and over the past year, you’ve played a shed load of shows. What’s the best thing for you about a Cherym live show ?

    I think the best thing about our shows is that we never really take ourselves seriously. It’s always good craic and a class atmosphere cause we just let ourselves go and really enjoy the time we get on stage. We just always be taking the p*ss and you’ll never see us being serious during a set, we just love having a good time.
    -Alannagh

    The Oh Yeah centre is a huge part of the Northern Ireland music community and you guys won the Oh Yeah Contender award at the NI Music Awards in 2019. How important has it been for you to know you have their backing?

    Extremely important! The Oh Yeah centre work really hard to give local artists some kind of platform so honestly it was like a dream come true to win that award. Hopefully we’ll do them all proud !!!
    -Hannah

    You’ve released a number of singles now and an EP. It would still be very early days for a long player. What’s your next move?

    FEBRUARY 2021 !!!!!!

    -Hannah

    How do you consume music?

    Spotify mostly. All of us are constantly trying to find new bands and new artists to listen to, sometimes it’s like we’re in competition with each other like who can find the best band or whatever. We get a lot of music from each other I’d say.

    -Hannah

    Can you recommend a few albums which show where you’ve come from on your musical journey?

    Charly Bliss – Guppy

    Tancred – Out of the Garden

    Pixies – Doolittle

    Katy Perry – One of the Boys

    -Hannah

    Imagine: It’s 2021, the pandemic is over and you’re about to go out on stage for your biggest headline gig to date. What venue would you like it to be?

    That’s easy! Limelight, sell it out.

    -Hannah

    Send us a selfie?

    Cherym Selfie July 2020

    Find Cherym online:

    You can fin Cherym on Facebook, Twitter, Insta and listen to their music on Spotify. You can also buy their music on Bandcamp.

  • Interview // The Clockworks

    Interview // The Clockworks

    Interview // The Clockworks

    Over the past eighteen months, The Clockworks have been building up their reputation on the UK music scene and when gigs were still happening, were one of the hottest tickets in town. Following a move from Galway to London, the band signed to Alan McGee’s Creation23 record label. They are now due to release their new single ‘The Future Is Not What It Was’ on June 12th.

    I caught up with the band for a chat.

    Howya lads! Who are you and where are you?

    We are The Clockworks. James McGregor, Seán Connelly, Damian Greaney & Tom Freeman. Normally we’d be in North West London. Now, thanks to Covid19, we’re home in Loughrea Co Galway.

    You’re signed to Creation23, run by the legendary Alan McGee. It seems that McGee picked you guys up really early on? How much of a leg up was that?

    It was huge for us. It was a big decision to move to London last year and it really paid off. McGee is ferocious, everybody knows that – he loves music and he loves us. We’re very fortunate to have such a legend in our corner.

    You guys are from Loughrea in Galway and Tom from Limerick? How much has your hometowns and upbringing influenced your music?

    I think our upbringing heavily influenced us. James and Tom grew up in London, so there was an element to which London was home too, and as a band we always had that romantic notion of “making it in The Big City”. And I think forming a band in Galway, which doesn’t really have any precedent of bands coming from it and working really hard to make it happen was exciting to us. We were in our own little bubble in Galway, with a small musical community of artists with differing musical styles and levels of diligence. We just wrote about what we wanted to write, and played what we wanted to play, without any clique or scene to conform to, until we were ready to move.

    Your lyrics are very observational, you talk about everyday life but the rhythm in which you talk about these things is very poetic. Did the lyric writing start as poetry?

    My writing started as just words or lines on a page. I didn’t call it poetry, although it wasn’t prose. I would usually approach one of my parents with a single line to see what they thought. I was obsessed with couplets and neat little punch lines. To be honest I still am. Once I got really into music then the lines became songs. And that was when I realised how good some other people were at writing poetry and lyrics.

    ‘Can I Speak To A Manager Please?’ was released as a B-Side to ‘Bills and Pills’. If you listen to the lyrics, you’ve every right to lose your temper as you’re singing. But, you never do and that’s a thing of beauty. You never raise your voice with the customer service rep when you sing ‘Can I Speak To A Manager Please?’ Who have you been working with on the production for the tracks?

    Thank you, I think our songs are rarely about losing your temper. There is often frustration or angst involved but it’s usually trying to describe a feeling rather than having a go at someone.

    We’ve worked with a number of producers over the last couple of years, it’s been great to see how different people work because everyone has their own way of doing things. That B-Side was recorded by Paul Tipler in a studio in South London.

    You were living in Galway together before the move to London, what prompted the move?

    We always knew we’d move some day. It felt like a necessity. We set a goal; sell out the Roisin Dubh (our local music venue) in 6 months, and get out of there. We did it and we left.


     
    Living in London, chances are that you have actually been ‘Stranded in Stansted’ at some point. What are your tips for passing the time before flights?

    We tend to cut things quite fine… we haven’t had a lot of waiting, we’ve had a lot of running. We don’t necessarily recommend that, though.


    What’s the biggest thing you had to get used to when you moved to London?

    The noise of the bakers who work under our apartment 24 hours a day. They really make a racket.

    You’ve been played on radio across Ireland and the UK, playing bigger gigs all the time, and have been on Soccer AM also. What achievement are you most proud of so far?

    Soccer AM was a childhood dream, so that was great. Seeing our songs be sung by people in a crowd. There’s a certain magic in those moments that I’m most proud of, no matter the size of the crowd.

    I saw you guys at Notting Hill Arts Club a while back and the energy on stage was amazing. Is there a pressure to keep a high intensity set going?

    Thank you. Not really, no. We enjoy high intensity gigs. I think it’s a product of how we are rather than a choice. Short, sharp…it’s how we like to do things.

    You’ve got a new single ‘The Future Is Not What It Was’, coming out on June 12th  Good timing with a name like that. What’s the inspiration behind this single?

    The song was inspired by two things. Firstly, it was trying to put words and music to the feeling that everywhere you look, things are wrong, and the cynicism that follows. There’s also the idea that the present looked better in the past than it does in reality. Like when you look at the early sci fi films and stuff you see that a lot of people really thought we’d be in some technological utopia by now, but in reality technology has come a long way, but a lot of our major problems are the same.

    You released ‘Bill and Pills’ as a 7inch, will this track get a vinyl release?

    This song is digital release only for now.

    What way do you consume music now? Do you buy CDs or Vinyl, stream?

    Streaming is number 1. We have a record player at the house, and we do pick up vinyl now and then if something catches our eye. It’s nice to have something to hold.

    Obviously, with festivals and gigs cancelled, you’ve had to change some of your promotional plans for this summer. Have you had to rein in some of your expectations for this year because of lockdown?

    Yes, but I think that everybody has. Gigs are out, probably until 2021 at this rate.

    We’re happy at home, writing, sending each other demos. Keeping the releases coming via Creation23. We’re going to hit the ground running when venues open their doors again.

    What are you looking forward to doing in ‘the new normal’ world?

    Getting on the road with the band, playing our music in front of real people. That’s what we miss the most, and one thing we won’t ever take for granted again.

    Find The Clockworks Online

    You can find about more about The Clockworks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Listen to the band on Spotify.

  • Interview // Staying ‘Uppbeat’

    Interview // Staying ‘Uppbeat’

    Interview // Staying ‘Uppbeat’

    Uppbeat is one of the most exciting new music prospects in Ireland, with a string of radio hits, including ‘2020’ with DJ John Gibbons. He’s also an extremely likeable character. What you see is what you get. Someone proud of where he’s from, with an amazing desire to create music.

    Pandemics won’t stop us, I caught up with Uppbeat, while being responsible and socially distancing.

    Who are you and where are you right now?

    My name is Uppbeat. I’m an alternative pop artist from a place called Clewbay in Mayo. I am currently staying in Galway.

    You were in the process of moving to London when the pandemic hit, but you’ve just moved to Galway. We all know life can change at any time but how much has this made you reevaluate where you’re life and music are going?

    Its been really positive for me actually. Having to come back from London was a really bad buzz for me, to be honest, but it quite suddenly made me realize that I was very lost and have since put myself back on track to work towards where I need to be going. Will be back in London as soon as this is all over though I think!

    You released 2020 with John Gibbons earlier in the year. When we get to the ‘new normal’, any chance we can get this ‘Uppbeat’ track to be the anthem? (pun intended)

    Would looove that! ahaha It’s nice to see some people have really found a kind of positivity and hope in that song during the pandemic. It’s almost as if it’s given some people a wee bit of hope. Which is of course all I’m really trying to do!

    How did you get involved with Blindsided Records? You’ve released a couple of singles through them now.

    Hahaha great question, very random actually! I emailed John Gibbons off of an impulsive decision. I have like ADHD or whatever so I get really worked up and frustrated when I’m on my own. So, I was having one of those kinda days and it made me like think outside the box and kind of pushed me to go send the email asking if he wanted any vocalists for tracks. Then I went back to feeling shit for the rest of the evening. A couple days later I had a lovely response to my email from John. When he heard my music, he responded with some of the most incredible feedback I have ever gotten. Both Andy and John seemed to really grasp what I’m trying to do without me saying very much. So because of that we kind of hit it off I guess you could say and decided to do a couple tunes together.

    ‘Seasick’ is your latest single, you’ve made quite a creative video, making the best of what you could in lockdown. Who did you work with on the video?

    Hahaha! Yeah one of my favourite videos now I think, So my friend, Matthew Fox, who works with Exhale, shot the clips of me. Then, I asked my fans and friends to send in videos of them listening to the song etc and Nathan Sheridan edited it all together with some lovely wee illustrations from Matthew and illhippie.

    Your music straddles pop, hip hop, and a little dancehall. What albums by other artists, should we check out to see where your music journey has come from?

    Most definitely, I don’t see genres. Only sounds and things that need to be expressed. I think artists are scared to express who they truly are and that makes me sad really that as artists we cant empower ourselves to transcend above the social musical norms that have been set in place.

    Free 6lack by 6LACK
    American Idiotby Green day
    Psychodrama by Dave
    Mura Masa by Mura Masa
    The Prodigy and blackbear in general are definitely some key influences.

    Off the top of my head thats what comes to mind but I consume a very high volume of music.

    ‘Hold Me Close’ spoke about mental health and all your music has an element of social commentary in it. How is, or will, the pandemic effect your lyrical content and alongside your creativity?

    I have very mixed feelings about the pandemic. If I could say anything it would be please prepare.. things are about to get very fooking bad. Once this ends, the recession will be tragic. I read the other day that the suicide rate in Ireland rose by 57% in 2008 because of a recession that was created by the banks.

    My message would be that we MUST be there for each other once the downturn comes. We must hold each other up as we can’t rely on our government to make sure we don’t push ourselves over the edge. I pray we can pull through the recession without the lose of life we experienced in the last one. We must hold each other close and not let the pressure of the financial world swallow us.

    As for my lyrical content I will continue speaking the truth of myself and the people I represent.

    You’ve embraced social media and gone headlong into it. Is it all you we see or have you learned to censor what comes out? How do you stay authentic?

    I pretty much just get the urge inside me to want to connect with my audience and share myself with them a lot, so thats when I post. I don’t really play by the rules of algorithms too much. As I go on, I hope to show more and more of myself to them.

    Usually, the only time I would censor or think twice about something is if it will invade the privacy of the people I love or cause pain to someone who is a fan. In regards to myself, I don’t care how much I show you I am me and it’s my job to be transparent with the people who connect with me. Really, all I have is the people that connect with me so it only makes sense to put my all into them.

    How do you get your hair to stand up like that? Any hair product endorsements? By the way, I know you get your hair shaped every two or three weeks, lockdown must be a killer?

    Hahaahah the million euro questionnn! I’d say it’s all in the hair cut. My barber,@luccus_thubarber, does my hair and always keeps me looking interesting ahaha. He also lives with me, so I must be the only lad walking around Ireland with a decent haircut at the moment.

    Tell us a secret?

    I’m obsessed with Irish mythology and I’m named after the warrior, Fionn MacCumhaill. Which I think is absolutely deadly! If you look closely in all of my cover arts from Seasick onwards, you will notice a subtle Celtic theme.

    Any chance of a selfie?

    UPPBEAT selfie for nessymon

    Find UPPBEAT Online

    You can follow Mayo’s finest export on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to his music on Spotify.

    Feature photo © Luccas Griffin 2020

  • Corella: Pulling The Strings With Their New Single ‘Puppets’

    Corella: Pulling The Strings With Their New Single ‘Puppets’

    Interview: Corella // Pulling the strings with their new single ‘Puppets’

    Manchester band, Corella, have just released their new single, ‘Puppets’. Joel Smith, Ben Henderson, Jack Taylor and James Fawcett are one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now.

    Having already released a string of singles and with over 1.2 million streams on Spotify, the four piece have taken things up a notch with their latest single ‘Puppets’.

    We caught up to discuss the new single, producing music at home and life in Lockdown.

    Hello Corella, where are you and how the hell are you?

    Hello! We are living in the beautiful city of Manchester and we’re all doing fine thanks!

    You released your new single ‘Puppets’ last week. It’s a belter, you don’t mess around with the length of the single. You get in, wham bam, give our ears a shake up and then get the hell out. Is that a conscious decision when you’re producing ?

    Thanks very much glad you dig it! I think with the energy the song carries throughout it was definitely a conscious decision to not drop off at any point and just keep the tune driving throughout the whole song. With it being a shorter track I think it can help when people are listening as gives them little time to get bored haha.

    You’ve gained a reputation of having an amazing live show and your tunes are seriously danceable. How do you make sure you leave gig goers wanting more?

    I think when we play live it’s such a release of energy and adrenaline that we really give it everything we have, and try to make sure everyone in the audience will leave thinking ‘wow’. That’s always the aim anyway.

    As were in lockdown right now, it’s not as easy to promote new music by getting out and gigging. But, you have taken to doing Instagram Live ‘Club Corella’. Does putting yourself out on social media feel natural for you guys or is it something you need to push yourselves to do?

    I think when we first started out a few years back it was definitely more intimidating to put ourselves out there on social media. But I feel like now we’ve got so used to it and the people who follow us have gotten to know our personalities so it’s definitely not as scary now.

    You released a string of singles in 2019, add Puppets to that and you’ve a nice collection of work. Is the aim to release an album or what are your plans?

    We would love to release an album at some point! Writing enough material seemed quite daunting but living together has been really useful during this lockdown, as we’ve been writing so much we now have enough new songs for an album.

    You record and produce your own music at home. Do you use external studios or producers or are you happy with how you are producing now?

    I think the demos we make at home sound pretty decent and we always try to make sure they sound as good as possible! There might be a few things that we know can be better and need improving but then when we go and properly record the track in the studio, the small details can be ironed out but the main core of the song has already been made by us.

    Barcelona has over 1.2 million streams on Spotify, which is amazing, how important has Spotify been for you to get the ‘Corella’ name out there?

    Spotify has been huge for us. I think when we released ‘Barcelona Girl’ we knew it was a good song but didn’t really think about how successful it could be. Without a doubt Spotify helped massively with the play-listing, ending up with so many more people hearing the song.

    You’re all in lockdown together in the same house but you’ve been living together for a few years. Has it made you more productive as a band or do you just want to chill right now?

    Definitely made us more productive. We’ve been focusing a lot on writing and have been feeling really creative at the minute so been really good so far!

    You’re based in Manchester, can you recommend three local bands we should check out and why?

    Larkins, top band who we’ve known for quite a while now and they are smashing it at the minute! Mealtime, they’ve been releasing some cool tracks recently. Masi Masi, good friend of ours from uni who has started bringing out some new stuff which sounds really cool.

    What venue are you most looking forward to get back to gigging in once we get out in the new normal?

    We were meant to be playing Colours Hoxton for Close Up Festival this May but that has been rescheduled to September, so hopefully if it goes ahead it’s a venue we’ve never played but looks really cool so looking forward to that!

    What are your banana bread skillz like?

    Non existent haha as none of us have ever made any banana bread. We are experts for making a Sunday roast though!

    Send us a band selfie?

    Corella in their garden taking a selfie for nessymon.com

    Find Corella online

    You can find out more about Corella on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to tune into their Club Corella Live every Saturday at 8pm

    Listen to Puppets on Spotify!