The Goo 1
MAR-APR 24 .. YOU NEED TO BE YOURSELF WHOLLY. THA
T’S WHAT YOU’RE BEAMING OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE AS YOURSELF AND YOU SHOULD NEVER TRY TO FAKE THAT.. Was there any new piece of equipment or plug in that had an obvious effect on the sound of the album? Rob: Since the last album I got into Patrick Howley and Tim Blake and people who use multi sequencing, on a much bigger scale. ‘WLDING’ has 4 sequences going all intertwined with each other. Still it’s all just done organically, analogue, pieced together. So that was a different approach. Eoin: There is a little thing that we did vocally. On some of the tracks, a small bit of double tracking that’s happening on the vocals that people might hear. It’s basically, usually two live versions of the vocals and they just add that phase, like a sine wave effect to the actual vocals. I thought that would add to the overall theme of field theory. I love the artwork of the new album, was that a commission? Rob: Yeah, it’s by Callum Rooney from New Zealand. We had this concept, quite gelatinous, other worldly scifi, and I thought his style would suit the record. We floated it around and everyone was digging it, so we got him on board, Eoin sent him on the concept and that was the crazy idea he came up with. Eoin, I noticed in your talking about your lyrics, your accent comes through on the album more than on Maelstrom. Was that a conscious or subconscious thing or maybe forming a bigger part of your sound or identity? Eoin: That’s right. Yeah, I suppose because a lot of it is quite rhythmic and talkie. The way that I generally speak comes across naturally with that kind of style. I’m from a working-class background, Northside working-class Dublin so I do say words in certain ways. Melodically it totally works in my favour. One word might be just one syllable for someone else the way they say it, but for me there’s two syllables in it and it adds a little bend to certain words and it happens naturally. It is part of my personality, it’s who I am, it’s part of my background, so that definitely comes across. I think it’s interesting that you said that because it is part of the general theme of Field theory. You need to be yourself wholly. That’s what you’re beaming out into the universe as yourself and you should never try to fake that. ‘The Never’ sounds a little bit different, but it’s a little bit special, isn’t it? Eoin: I was always a believer in that song and so was Rob. It’s a real kind of Scott Walker vocal melody, it’s got this croon over it. I love what Rob’s doing on it. Those chords that sound almost out of tune with the rest of the song. Lyrically I think some of the best lines on the whole record are in that song. Some of the work I’m most proud of is in that. I think it’s a bit of a labour of love and I’m glad it’s on the record. It’s a little respite, a little resting spot in the record. A little relaxed place. There should be album tracks. It’s a different medium than live. A song that suits sitting and listening to the track. I get an electronic element and the pacing of dance music emanating from your sound. Rob: It’s definitely a change, but it’s coming from an organic area. The first tunes we had were made with the first sequencer we had and it worked immediately. Gaz got on a buzz drumming with it, Eoin Tickets available from: wearemelts.com got on a buzz melodically with it. I’m a big fan of German music, krautrock and Eno and a fan of repetition. It’s a hard way to work and it’s quite an easy way to work, but it’s the first time I’ve been in a band where the aesthetic has been, ‘the repetition is working for everybody’. It allows Eoin to be the chord changes of the song. Where we all stay rooted and the best tracks we do are the ones where there’s so little movement going on. What has the label move from Mother Sky to Fuzz Club meant for the band? Eoin: They’re almost like a scene unto themselves, aren’t they? There’s a sound, there’s a scene, there’s a network and they’re sound. Jack, Casper and people doing great stuff for us and making things happen. Rob: They’re a great label. They stick with their bands. They have certain ones with them for a long time. You can see that they’re really passionate about who they work with, which is nice to see. What does a successful 2024 look like? Eoin: We just really want to get out and tour the record. Play it across Europe, play it across the UK, which we will in a few weeks’ time. Ireland as well. You know the great thing about Ireland is you play Irish festivals like All Together Now, which was the best gig of my career. I thought the crowd was really, really into it that night. It was just an amazing experience. It was great craic for us on stage and great craic off stage. To experience that again with a new bunch of songs will be brilliant. MELTS album Field Theory releases on Fuzz Club Records on April 12th. They play Kasbah Social Club, Limerick on Sept 21st, Ulster Sports Club, Belfast on Fri Sept 27th and Dublin’s Button Factory on Sat Sept 28th. PAGE 9