Red Empire launch their "Strange Philosophy" EP in The Village this Saturday (18th) We caught up with lead singer Craig Cahill and multi-instrumentalist Gar McCarthy
as their début release is about to be unveiled to the world. We
discover how they didn't let a little thing like the Liffey, get in the
way of making music. How hometown dreams are about to become true and
how they owe it all to the fans.
How do 5 guys from the 4 corners of Dublin come to form a band?
It
was mostly through a mutual friendship. Myself and Gar had been playing
together since we were 15 and similarly Richie, Dessie and Deco had
been in a band together for a long time. About five years ago they went
into the studio with Joe Jewell (Aslan) to start recording some demos.
Those sessions went really well and they led to the lads wanting to add a
singer and a keyboard player to the line-up. Luckily enough Joe knew
gar and me from some previous recording sessions and at the time we were
looking to move on to a new project. We already knew the lads and had
met up for pints with them on a few occasions and appreciated each
other's music so the scene was set. We started rehearsing together and
it just clicked and here we are now as Red Empire.
How would you best describe your music?
First
off, we'd say that it's full of heart. We appreciate good honest
well-written songs and have never been afraid of melody - in a lot of
music out there at the moment there seems to be a lack of new and honest
melody. The fact that Gar and Richie are two very different songwriters
from two very different backgrounds we feel we've got the best of both
worlds. Richie is an instinctive ballsy songwriter whereas Gar's
songwriting and study of music allows us to explore our music with
greater depth.
Who are your influences?
Well,
you spoke about the four corners of Dublin in your first question and
because we all come from different backgrounds we're all into different
music. There's a lovely cocktail of influences going on in the band from
Radiohead to Orbital to Oasis to the Smiths.
Tell us about your new EP?
It's
our first release as Red Empire and is therefore very special to all of
us. It contains three tracks: Denial, Strange Philosophy and Hotel. We
feel that it's a great introduction to the band and our sound. There's a
song for breakfast, dinner and tea. It moves from a song about
admitting when you've failed to one about not admitting when you've
failed and finally to a song about sexuality. An unusual combo but there
you go!
Tell us about the video for "Strange Philosophy" the lead track from the EP?
Well,
Joe (our producer) came up with the original concept. Paul Andrews, who
looks after the photography and day-to-day running of the band, was
talking to his friend Daragh (Daz) Murphy who is a video Director and
Editor and he came on board after speaking with us about the song and
the concept behind the video. The idea behind the masks is that when
people go to see a band playing live they experience being a part of the
band. We felt that by giving people a random mask of any member of the
band that this would increase that experience. The song itself is a
movement from a cool funkiness to full-on rock. We felt that the suits
represented the cool funkiness of the verses and the full-on rock is
just us being us.
You are opening for Aslan in
Tallaght Stadium later this year. It must be an exciting yet daunting
prospect. Perhaps doubly so for the hometown boy in the band?
Yeah,
we're really looking forward to it. It's going to be a great gig and we
think it will be one of those legendary days out in Dublin that people
will talk about for years. There's going to be a crowd of around 20,000
so it will be amazing. I grew up in the area so it will hold a special
significance for me. I'm dying to play in my hometown i have to say.
How much of an influence have Aslan been both musically and personally on red empire?
Well,
Joe has been a friend for many, many years. To be honest we have
nothing but admiration for the way that they have worked over those
years. When you look at it objectively – they’re bands who for thirty
years have worked fairly continuously on the domestic market without any
major label backing for the majority of that period. I don't care what
level of the music industry you may be working at you have to stand back
and admire that kind of drive, determination and longevity. They have
created an amazing body of work of those years.
What current Irish music has had a positive influence on Red Empire?
As
i was saying earlier we're all different people and we listen to
different music, very different music in some cases. Some of the Irish
music that's come up in conversation over the last while and that we all
admire are artists like Villagers, Damien Dempsey, James Vincent
McMorrow, Funeral Suits, Royseven and The Ambience Affair.
Who is the band's unsung hero?
There's
quite a tight-knit group of fans that have followed us since the early
days. They can point out to us when we've changed something in a song or
tried something new. We would say that collectively they are the unsung
heroes of the band. They give us the motivation to try new things and
to improve the music all the time.
What's next for Red Empire?
First
of all we hope that everyone enjoys the EP. We are constantly working
on new material and allowing the songs to evolve. Since we formed we
have written and recorded a large number of songs and we will be
releasing another EP in early summer. We really like the idea of
releasing multiple EP's with each EP having a different feel and a
different atmosphere. We feel that this approach allows us to be more
creative rather than being tied down by the rules of an album. We're
living in the digital age and the musical landscape is changing all the
time and we as a band want to exploit that. We're also thinking about
writing a musical about the recession but we'll leave that 'til another
day…only messin'!
Red Empire play The Village this Saturday (18th) doors 8pm Admission €5
