Hello! Thanks for joining me for this week’s episode of The London Ear. My God, there is so much good music around !! I’ve decided to share some of it from Ireland and the UK this week.
Hope you enjoy this week’s episode of The London Ear.
The London Ear July 18 2020 // Playlist
Here was what was on the menu on this week’s show:
1. Raz & Afla: Secrets & Lies
2. Gemma Bradley: Obsession
3. Bugeye: Don’t Stop
4. Swimmers Jackson: Birthday Girl
5. Gemma Dunleavy: Up The Flats
6. Fontaines DC: Televised Mind
7. Channel One: These Roads #FromTheVault
8. Pillow Queens: Handsome Wife
9. The Spiritual Leaders: Underwater With You
10. Jess Young: Holding On & Letting Go
11. JYellowL: Jewels
12. Tebi Rex: I Got My Whole
13. Elaine Mai: Something Else
14. Maddox Jones: Dancing Feels Good
15. FiCat: All My Love
Listen On Demand to The London Ear
Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview, nationwide in Ireland and outside Ireland you can listen online. You can listen to the show again on the RTÉ player including all previous episodes. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.
Cork based duo, Briars, have just released their debut single, yes, in the middle of a pandemic. I caught up with the lads to find a bit more about their recording, how they are keeping their creativity going and how they’ve been working with other bands, helping them promote their work.
Who are you and where are you right now?
Paul: So we’re Mick Grace and Paul O’Shea, originally from south Kilkenny but living in Cork City for…a long time now..;) Mick: We’re long term blow ins alright.
Have you previously been involved with music or is this a first venture for you guys?
Mick: We’ve been playing together since we were both around 11/12 years old. I think that on this same Christmas, Paul got drums and I got my first electric guitar so it started there really. Since then we played loads, mainly around the South East, in different bands, sometimes together, sometimes not. This is our first original project together as a duo (accompanied by others). Paul: We’re pretty much joined at the hip..in a socially distant way of course!
You’ve just released your debut single ‘There There’, you recorded this before the lockdown, but the track has the line ‘Wish those days away’, irony no?
Mick: Haha yea. I guess those days were alright, thinking about it now. We’re blessed, actually, that we had a few songs recorded before everything stopped. I think when things went the way they did, it gave us a bit of nudge to put the finishing touches on, and finally get something out there. Paul: I think these days shouldn’t be wished away though. I feel it’s an amazing opportunity for people to reset and slow everything down.
While you have folk elements in your music, the drums and bass and production still make this a very contemporary track. Who / where did you record this with?
Paul: We recorded with the amazing Christian Best in Monique Studios in East Cork, we had known him from working on other projects and knew that he would add so much to the tracks. On the first morning in the studio we chatted about what we wanted to achieve and he would nearly finish our sentences, he just got it straight away. Mick: Yea, Christian was great. He got it from the word go. Paul: We grew up listening to such a mix of music and genres that it all finds its way into our writing in one way or another.
What instruments do you guys play and what other musicians were involved in the recording?
Paul: So I’m on drums and percussion, Mick is on guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. For the recordings we were lucky enough to have some great friends contribute: Hannah Fitzgerald on piano and keys, Peter Vogelaar on bass and Nigel Grufferty on fiddle.
Was this a one off session, or have you other material recorded, ready to release?
Mick: We have a couple more tracks that we’re currently mixing. Almost there now. Hopefully we’ll release a few more singles and build towards an album release down the line.
What’s your favourite piece of studio equipment and why?
Paul: Drums obviously..;) Mick: Anything but drums..!
No but seriously. In Monique Studios, there’s a kind of a pedal organ that sounds a small bit like a harmonium. It made it onto all the tracks that we recorded in that session. It’s almost a thread running through each song. We had no idea that we would use it but when we heard it, we knew right away that it would all over the songs. Paul: Christian is great, he has such an array of equipment in the studio that he can suggest things that you wouldn’t have thought of before.
It’s still very early days for you guys, how much has the pandemic effected your plans for the band?
Paul: It is early days but thankfully we had a lot of work done before the virus forced us all to stay at home. We’re lucky in that we had material recorded and ready to release over these quiet months. We had hoped to be back in the studio about now but that will have to wait another little while.
Mick: Obviously it’s a terrible situation, but we’re trying to look at the positives. We would have ideally been out there gigging by now, which wasn’t to be, but it does mean that we have a chance to get some stuff out there, and build to our first gig. We’re kind of doing it in reverse order. Also, it is a chance to get some new stuff written. There’s a certain guilt that comes with seeing other musicians knocking out singles that makes you (at least try to) get up and go.
Can you recommend three albums to check out which will show us how you got to here on your musical journeys?
Mick: I think regarding the kind of stuff that we’d like to put out, ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’ by Midlake and Planxty’s self titled album are two records pushed us in certain directions, even if it might not always sound like that’s the case. Paul: To make it three albums I’ll say..Vekcatamest by Grizzly Bear
As a new project, creativity and a continuity in writing and playing together is really important. How have you guys been able to keep it going during lockdown?
Mick: We’ve been throwing around a lot of ideas. There’s a lot of Facetiming going on. We both have a small recording setup at home, so that’s another thing that the lockdown forced us to get sorted. I think we had kind of settled on the kind of vibe that we wanted to go with, and have been shaping that for a while now. Obviously it’s not the same as being in a room together with everything set up, but at least we’re building a foundation on some new ideas. Paul: It’s been great to get ideas finished. We’ve both accumulated so many different bits and pieces over the years with question marks over them, so being cooped up in the house has finally made songs out of those ideas.
There has been a resurgence in the popularity of folk music in Ireland over the past few years. Why do you think that’s the case?
Paul: I guess there’s been a resurgence of folk from all over, and it’s hard to talk about folk music without mentioning the influence that our own country has had on the genre. The artists that we’re surrounded by every day, from past and present, are so inspirational that it’s hard not to want to emulate those storytellers and that style.
Mick: Totally. The Irish folk scene has been heathy as long as I can remember, don’t see that changing any time soon.
Are you guys involved in Unemployable Records? Is it a vehicle for Briars, or what’s the connection?
Mick: We actually started Unemployable Records a couple of years back. We work as PR for some great acts (Míde Houlihan, Beyond the Wash, In The Willows, Sara Ryan), and set up a label as a way to put out some of their material. Playing music ourselves took a back seat to that for a while, so we decided that it was time to put something of our own out. It’s easy to be lead away from your own material when you’re working with other artists who are regularly creating and releasing. We were kind of inspired by their work ethic and had always been saying that one day we would get Briars off the ground. Thankfully we’ve finally gotten around to it.
What have you learned about yourselves during the pandemic?
Paul: I’ve learned that..time spent apart from each other isn’t the worst thing in the world..;) Mick: …..he says, in between FaceTime calls. I think that I was guilty of being okay with missing stuff that I knew I would enjoy. Definitely getting a bit of perspective now.
When we finally get to the ‘new normal’, what’s the main thing you’re looking forward to?
Mick: I’m going to try get to more gigs. When you’re constantly around music and more planning, PR side of it, it’s easy to forget why you got into it in the first place. I’m looking forward to those couple of crazy weeks that you sometimes get (it might be around Christmas, or even next summer at this rate), when it feels like there’s something going on every night. When it’s on your doorstep, there are really no excuses to not get out get into it. Paul: Yeah, pretty much the same: gigs, festivals, family, friends..the important things to take from the old normal.
It’s starting to look like we’re easing out of lockdown a little lot, too much if you ask me. Whatever happens over the next few weeks, make sure you look after yourselves.
It’s the morning of June 1 as I write this, going on the figures, we’ve still a long way to go. Over 2500 people were diagnosed with Covid over the weekend. Do everything in your power not to add to those numbers.
On the show on Saturday, I had a #FirstPlay from Default Man, aka Darragh Glennon formerly of Mullingar, now living in sunny Spain. I dug into my digital archive and pulled out Boats Away from I Am Not Lefthanded for my #Vault track.
Enjoy!
The London Ear // Show 294 Playlist
Here’s the full menu for this week’s episode of The London Ear.
1. Denise Chaila: Chaila
2. Malaki: Fair Play
3. The Wha: Blue For You
4. Shaefri: 23
5. Havvk Feat Participant: Operate
6. In The Willows: Talking To Myself
7. I Am Not lefthanded: Boats (Swept Away)
8. Maddox Jones: Headspace
9. Default Man: Tiny Whispers
10. Bugeye: When The Lights Go Out
11. No Ex: No Coming With You
12. Paddy Mulcahy: Unti Piano
13. Owen Denvir: This Could Be Love
14. Inhaler: Falling In
15. 1000 Beasts + Lenii: Waistcoat
Listen On Demand to The London Ear
Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview, nationwide in Ireland and outside Ireland you can listen online. You can listen to the show again on the RTÉ player including all previous episodes. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.
Ger Cremins and Tony Monahan make up Pity of The Sea. The Limerick duo have released an EP and a number of singles, including the brilliant ‘Black Lines’; a reworking of a composition by Naive Ted.
Both have been involved in the music scene for many years. Tony being a founding and current member of Protobaby as well as playing with Kraven and Just. Ger has been in a number of cover bands. He is also involved with music societies and performing, as gaeilge, with Liam Ó Maonlai.
Hello Pity of the Sea, where are you and how are you today?
All good thanks. We are both Limerick born and now both living in County Clare. Currently we’re on Zoom having a couple of beers and discussing these questions.
You’re a duo and you’ve both been involved in music before this, how was Pity of The Sea born?
We’ve both been involved in music for quite a while and always shared similar interests in music. We always said we’d record some music together one day. Tony had set up a home recording studio a few years ago and Ger had a song he wanted to record. We had so much fun doing that we kept writing together and our first EP came from those writing/recording sessions.
Have your previous musical endeavours influenced how you’ve approached Pity of The Sea?
Tony: I would say yes and no. Yes in the sense I’ve learned so much working with the lads in Protobaby over the years and the people we have worked with and continue to work with. That has definitely influenced me and has helped in the recording and production side of Pity.
No I guess in the sense that how we write in Pity is so different. Some of the sonic areas I get to hint at in Protobaby I can go full on assault in Pity. I guess in Protobaby our songs pretty much have the vocals out front and centre and we have a pretty defined sound. Which is a cool thing but in Pity that isn’t the case. For example, from a vocals point of view, Gers voice gets manipulated, distorted and almost becomes an instrument at times. The rule book is ripped up and experimentation is key. We don’t have any plan or preconceived notion of what our next song will sound like. Our only rule is does it excite us. If a song is 8min long then so be it. Similarly if it’s 2minutes that’s cool too. Anything goes.
You recently released ‘Black Lines’ which was based on a composition by Naive Ted. Why did you decide to add your thing to the track, what was it about the original that made it stand out for you?
Naive Ted’s music is vast. He’s so prolific. There’s so many different aspects to it. We both felt that it would be exciting to see how we could write in some way with Naive Ted. Tony works with Andy (Naive Ted) at Music Generation Limerick. He asked Andy about working together and if Andy could maybe send on some beats. Andy sent on a complete track which was called ‘Fall’ I believe. We loved it but initially couldn’t find a way into it for us because it was so strong instrumentally. We played around with it and eventually found a bassline which led to chords, melodies and guitar lines. We added some beats, Ger wrote the lyrics and that was it!
We never actually sat with Andy to work on the track. It was so kind of him to allow us to add our thing to his track. We think both versions stand up as their own thing now which is really cool.
Black Lines is a lot different from your previous single ‘A Swarming’ but closer to your track ‘Headscarf’. Is that a deliberate thing or is Pity of The Sea your vehicle for trying different things out?
There’s definitely nothing too deliberate in it. ‘A Swarming’ and ‘Black Lines’ were the last tracks we wrote for the album. We were excited by them and decided to put them out.
Pity is definitely a vehicle for trying things out. We try to write music first and foremost that we get excited about. Music that we’d love to hear with our influences (and there are a lot) coming through in the music. The goal for the album was to write an album for music lovers like ourselves. People with a large collection of music who have listened to a lot of music.The type of listener that will be OK with not expecting every track to follow a certain sound or formula.
‘Headscarf’ featured lyrics influenced by the works of Iranian artist Mina Talaee. With this and Black Lines in mind, is collaboration an important part of the artistic process for you?
Ger: The songwriting process for this album has involved what I might call indirect collaborations. The album has been inspired by Art across all genres and mediums.
As you said the Hair Headscarf piece (2016) by Mina inspired the lyrics to the song ‘Headscarf’. The subtlety of the piece and its message mirrored what I believed I could do lyrically to highlight a similar message. The fact that the exhibition was on display 2 doors from my childhood home in Limerick blew me away!
‘Black Lines’ lyrics were written after reading Patti Smith’s Autobiography ‘Just Kids’. Her writing and the stories from that time could inspire full albums. Another song ‘The Unseen’ from our forthcoming album was inspired lyrically by a scene from award winning Limerick Author Kevin Barry’s book, ‘Beatlebone”. The fact that John Lennon is the main character didn’t pass me by.
We should also mention the drums on ‘Headscarf’ (and a number of the album tracks) were played by Bryan Ronan (Protobaby). Another important collaboration for us which transformed ‘Headscarf’ as well as other tracks on the album. Bryan is such a great drummer and his drum parts always add something extra to a track. There’s a song on the album called ‘Change Afoot’ and Bryan’s percussion and drums on it are so good we can’t wait for people to hear it!
Are these single releases leading to the release of a collection or album? If so, who are you recording with and when can we expect a taster.
‘Headscarf’, ‘A Swarming’ and ‘Black Lines’ are all from our forthcoming debut album. We have it all recorded and hope to release it in the coming months.
Tony has produced and recorded the album which gave us great freedom to change things and add ideas as they came up.
Your EP, ‘Abandoned’, released in 2017 featured a series of linked tracks about a serial killer. Is the album going to link tracks in this manner or was this type of concept EP a one off from you?
The album doesn’t have a concept but it’s not something we’d rule out doing again in the future.
The ‘Abandoned’ EP was us writing together for the first time. It was a slightly more formulaic approach to writing and the concept helped tie it together. While we are proud of it, looking back its not really connected to how we write now. We hadn’t found ourselves as a duo.
When we wrote ‘Headscarf’ it was the first time we felt we were really onto something. That set the precedent for this album. It was reassuring when we released ‘Headscarf’ that it got some recognition. The fact that DJ’s both locally and nationally who we really respect were willing to play a six and half minute track (with over 2 minutes of music before the vocals come in) gave us even more confidence to continue on the path that ‘Headscarf’ almost laid out for us.
What music have you been listening to in Lockdown? Can you give us a few recommendations?
We both have been revisiting our record collections and one band we’d love to recommend is W.H. Lung. and their debut album ‘Incidental Music’.
It’s not a new album (released last year) but it was a big influence on us when we were writing our album. The first time we heard ‘Simpatico People’ at 10 minutes long, lyrics coming in at 3 mins it proved to us that its still possible in these days to let the listener take a journey with a song. We’ve always loved bands in the past that leave time to create space. We’ve done lots of that on this album.
You both either teach or mentor young people in music and creative arts. It’s always important to support a young person’s creativity but in a this new normal, it seems we’re all going to rely on our creative side to get us through this Covid-19 weirdness. Any tips for embracing our inner artist?
Now maybe the time we see an upsurge in the arts. Embracing is the word. Art is about expression and when you express something through your chosen art, it is your art, your creation, your expression and something to be proud of.
From a music perspective if you can play two chords on the guitar (or even one! – ‘Tomorrow Never Knows!’) you can write a song. Even if you can’t play an instrument you can write lyrics or grab music app like Garageband and create some music! We’re both of the same opinion that there should never be prescribed formulas for how to sing, play or create in general. For example, there would’ve been no Liz Fraser and Cocteau Twins if someone said “that’s not how to sing” or currently Girl Band who in our opinion have reinvented how a traditional band line up can sound and approach music sonically.
How are you guys keeping your creativity going, as a musical project, in Lockdown?
Lockdown has given us the opportunity to revisit how we see the tracks on the album. It’s given us more time to work on mixes. Tony is able to continue to work on the album from home and we’re able to take a bit more time with the mixing side of things. We were lucky we had everything we needed recorded for the album just before lockdown.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to be creative in relation to possible video ideas, Album artwork, how we see the live element progressing and general practice of the new songs. When there’s some easing of restrictions we’ll hopefully be able to do some online performances of the album tracks. We can’t wait to be able to play this album live in a venue though, whenever that may be!
Do you have any secrets you’d like to tell us?
We have 3 secrets for you, only 1 is true.
Tony once stole a set of Bono’s sunglasses.
Ger once gave Liam Ó Maonlaí a wedgie.
Ger is really PJ Harvey who wanted a quieter life and moved to Co.Clare.
I know you’re in separate locations, any chance of a lockdown selfie from both of you?
We took a quick screen grab of our zoom chat!
Find Pity Of The Sea Online
You can find the band online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can buy their music on Bandcamp and stream on Spotify.
Listen to Black Lines by Pity of The Sea and Naive Ted on Spotify
