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Cousin Tablet: “We hope and believe the album will have a big impact”

Part of a scene centred around a popular bar in County Galway, Cousin Tablet aim to emulated a big-band style, drawing in a variety of musicians for newly launched debut single ‘Whatever Happened To Betty’.

The track is a real glance at the band’s ethos: an exploration of their past and a story from where they grew up, but also a broader commentary, if slightly unintentinally, of the Mother and Baby Home’s Scandal that touches on the life of frontman Donal Gibbons.

As well as getting their own music out there, Gibbons os keen to fly the flag for rural Ireland, a harder place from which to launch a band. I spoke to him around the launch of that debut…

Can you talk me through a little of the history of the band and how you came to be?

Jamie ,Steve,Wil and myself have been close friends for over 20 years. In that time we have played in a variety of different acts together and separately. We are a part of a much wider,dynamic and diverse music scene based around legendary Co. Galway venue Campbell’s Tavern, which spawned acts such as This Nachez, The Whileaways, The Rolling
Tav Revue, The Tav Jam Band and many more. When I had the first couple of songs written the three lads were my first calls to put some flesh on the bones of the ideas I had. Having played together so much over the years it was an easy fit and the contribution of the lads was critical in turning the ideas I had in to the songs they became.

How has lockdown treated you – any positive sides creatively?

For me creatively the lockdown has been amazing! Prior to its onset I was working full time as an electrician Monday to Friday and playing gigs Friday,Saturday and Sunday nights. Myself and my partner Juliana (who plays strings on Betty) had a beautiful 2 year old girl with another on the way so time to be creative was at a premium. I have to say we absolutely loved the time and space afforded to us during the first few months of lockdown. We had time to be creative and were both at home full time after our second daughter was born in June 2020. In a world without the lockdown I would have been back to work within a couple of weeks of the birth. That time at home is a luxury not afforded during normal times.

It has also shown me what can be achieved when you can afford to spend time being creative and not have to work over 40 hours a week as well to keep a roof over your family’s head. I also found time to help with the startup of a local Community Radio Station and present a weekly show, where I talk to other musicians about the music that influenced them,that has proved hugely popular.

We also set up a home studio during this time and learnt a lot about the recording process and its been great for us to be able do some recording from home while studios were shut during the lockdown. Also, being unable to afford to hire a PR company to help out with promotion,websites etc I took on all this myself and have found that I quite like the whole process of it so I have now also started doing websites and PR for some other acts. It’s a time consuming process but one I quite enjoy.

I wasn’t the only one who had spare time on my hands once the lockdown kicked in. Jamie, Wil and Stephen would also have been crazy busy during normal times so its hard to know if we would have found the time to put these songs together without the time afforded to us by lockdown. All that being said, we are well fed up of it now and itching to get back playing live and seeing other people!

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Lissie: “You want to succeed, but at the same time, you want to be able to be more subtle”

‘Thank You To The Flowers’, the new EP from American singer-songwriter Lissie, invariably hugely popular when she tours Ireland, sees the star explore what’s been a difficult year.

Tarnished by both the impact of the coronavirus and a difficult break up, Lissie’s latest is a collection of five covers, including the Prince classic sent stratospheric by Sinead O’Connor, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.

While her original music has propelled her to four consecutive UK top 20 albums, Lissie has always dabbled in covers, putting her distinctive spin on work that catches her attention as a form of inventive light relief.

“With the pandemic and all the intense political energy in the world, as well as a break up that was pretty shocking to me at the time, I’ve been quite down, and haven’t been able to do any concerts or travel,” she says. “I had to just sit with myself and my feelings. I found it therapeutic to go and record five cover songs, just to keep my inspiration up.”

“I hadn’t intended to release them, they were just guitar and vocal recordings, but the project allowed me to keep expressing myself, and allowed me to be reflective and feel more empowered through this strange and painful time.”

“I’ve started to write songs again myself now, and I’m not quite ready. Huge emotional upheaval in your life needs processing, but there’s no doubt that some of the best art comes from sorrow and discomfort.”

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Neomadic: “It’s for the nocturnal”

Neomadic‘s mellow, tripped-out style of hip-hop is, in their own words, an ode to the summer, and it does ooze the feel of the after club, a kind of sunny-climes spaciness laden with easy charm.

I found myself swept away by the style of ‘After Dark’, its distinctive and original and absolutely shine with colour, and those animated videos are something a bit special, too. I caught up with them around the time of the single ‘Waves’ to talk over their progress…

Hi guys, congrats on the new single. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

Thanks so much, it was inspired the ocean, late nights cruising, relationships, and generally good times. It’s centred on taking that leap of faith and really going for something, we hope people listening can relate to that feeling and be inspired by it.

Talk to me about that animated video – that’s class!

We’ve always been really into animation and everything to do with it. We feel our fans really enjoy it, the type of music goes hand in hand with anything animated really.

You seem to be big into the arts side of things. Do you see that as a big part of what you do?

Yea of course! But I’m sure any musician or artist would. It’s hard not to be when you’re creating something. Especially these days where artists have a much bigger say in their work compared to a few decades ago.

How much difference did your Other Voices make – was it a real launch for you?

It was an honour to be able to play! I wouldn’t really say it was a massive launch or anything like that but it was a key step at the time and it felt great to be noticed by Other Voices.

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Nathaniel Paul: “It’s vital for artists to speak up”

As one half of Brooklyn indie duo The Bergamot, Nathaniel Paul should have been spending his 2020 touring the US. Like most of us, however, his plans were abruptly turned on their head, and instead he’s been using the time to branch out into a solo career he thought was, at best, many years away.

Fired up by both personal circumstances and the American political scene, Nathaniel Paul first had to find somewhere to live in the middle of a pandemic, and then set about ‘punching up’ at a culture he feels has, politically speaking, departed the rails.

“We were supposed to be on the road as The Bergamot through 2019-2020 promoting our album ‘Mayflies’,” he says, “so we gave up our place in NYC to go on tour. When quarantine hit, we were officially homeless. Friends in Sedona, Arizona offered us a place to live out in the middle of the desert.” 

“The desert is an amazing, quiet place, perfect for reflection and writing. I found myself writing a lot about past experiences. Memories would just bubble up in the silence and I did my best to put them to paper. It became a daily routine in isolation.”

“Being in a relatively small studio and living in more or less complete isolation during quarantine, writing has been my escape. I will always bring my personal baggage with me, good or bad, but when I’m writing I immerse myself in the moment at hand. Whether that be a debate about guns or relaxing on the beach, I’m going all in.”

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Emiji: “meditative music, being quite cinematic, was perfect, even though the audience may be super niche”

As a member of the increasingly impressive Difussion Labs, but you could be forgiven for immediately associating Emiji with their glorious array of hip-hop acts. That’s not the case, at least not on latest release ‘My Journey’.

The Polish-born, Dublin-based artist has instead written an extremely mellow, trippy ode to his love of psychedelics, a pathway, he feels, to improved mental health adn well being. Blending his experiences with chill out meditation and yoga, Emiji is an advocate for how alternative routes can change your life. As well as his music, he’s also quite a serious drone photographer.

I caught up with Martin to uncover what he’s all about…

First of all, can you tell me a little bit about your musical background?

I am pretty much a self-taught pianist, who took time to practice and study music theory and composition in my free time. I’m also a producer, and a trained engineer. I come from hip-hop, funk, house and jazz background musically, although I love neoclassical, cinematic soundtracks and psychedelic music.

Diffusion Lab seem to be everywhere at the moment. How did the project come about for you?

It was around 2015-ish, when I met Ivan, I knew Chris for years, and DFL was only at the very beginning. When I came to Ireland, I called Chris to see what he was up to and he introduced me to Ivan and told me all about the plans for DFL. After a short talk, we started working together. It’s been a journey, definitely.

Is there a real collaborative feel behind the Diffusion Labs acts?

I believe collaboration has a lot of meanings in music and in general. I actually had to learn to communicate and collaborate, as I’m a bit of a “loner”. I feel that DFL is a collaborative project and artists do help each other and other artists, as much as they can. It’s a lot about the vibe in the studio, and writing songs together.

Tell me about your own project – what is the story behind it?

Martin Emiji (Or simply Emiji) is my “other”, more personal side, where I explore more neoclassical, ambient, textural, and cinematic music, and a bit of digital art and photography.

After years of working on so many different styles of music, I wanted to go in a totally different direction. I tried to compose some classical stuff around 2007-2008 but it wasn’t even close to ‘good’. I wanted to explore my deeper and darker side, more mellow and sad, but also the side that appreciates life more, after my first psychedelic experience. This kind of music seemed like the perfect fit for that.

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TYG: “The hostel have my guitar in storage, in case it’s used as a weapon”

TYG’s road to the world of music has been an unusual one. The Dubliner has always had a passion for writing and melody, but developed his sound and met people to record with during his time at Dublin music college BIMM. Simultaneously, as well as releasing singles this year, he’s made progress in his long-term recovery from addiction. The pandemic’s hit at the wrong time, however, and he’s found himself without somewhere to stay.

Now, living in emergency accommodation with his guitar under lock and key, he’s taking one of the more unlikely routes into a half-paced music, as he struggles to get his life back on track. A series of singles released this year introduced his sound – a brutally honest, folky take on life – but his latest addresses specific issues in his life straight on. 

‘Lord Do You Hear These Prayers’, out this week, focuses on things like sometimes feeling like giving up is just easier; a feeling of being beaten down but fighting on. It opens “living on the doll, living on the breadline,” and is about “clothing yourself and how you survive.”

“I released my first song at the start of this year,” he tells us. “That was basically down to meeting a lot of great musicians in BIMM, where I spent a year doing a CPD course, and they said they’d help me release a song. They really helped me make it reality.”

“The latest single is about addiction. It’s quite different to the other tracks I’ve released. I’m not literally quoting people, but I definitely use people I’ve met and places I’ve been to paint a picture.”

“I was in treatment for addiction and renting a place, so I was in treatment centres and then in recovery houses, sober houses,” Tyg says of his situation earlier this year. “I got clean and I’ve stayed clean. When Covid hit, I had moved from the recovery house to my own place. The landlord pulled out, and I’d already handed the keys back to the recovery house, so I couldn’t get back into my old place.”

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David Keenan: “art can change your life, and create a movement”

David Keenan is your quintessential live performer, so naturally lockdown has been hard on the Louth man, a character who mixes poetry and music in a style somewhat reminiscent of classic troubadours like Bob Dylan, focusing his tracks heavily on building an intense live show.

Like many of us, then, Keenan has spent part of lockdown reminiscing about what used to be. Specifically, he’s been looking back at his live efforts, and tying together years worth of tour films – clips dating back to when he started out promoting his work by sticking posters on city walls – with footage from his Olympia Theatre date earlier this year.

“The inability to express yourself live, and just to have contact with each other, it’s been hard,” Keenan tells me when I ask about how he’s spent his time in recent months. 

“What I’ve made in the film is condensed from three years, from Rob Benson, including open mic lights at the start though to the Olympia Theatre. It’s about the positive impact that music brings to a life, and the musical community in Ireland.”

“It’s also about finding a tribe, self acceptance and realising a dream, which is what the Olympia show was for me. It was finding a band, kicking up some dust around Dublin, and the collective encouragement of my tribe, and facing fear face on.”

“I was on tour in March. All summer was obviously cancelled, but the film bookends the story of this chapter of my life. The passing of Gar Kane, by bandmate, features heavily in the film, and I’m still reeling from that. I think it will help to keep my spirit of live music alive, and the story shows the collective graft from everyone involved. There was no big management company or label or anything, it was just word of mouth. People helped me a lot along the way.”

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Jafaris: “whatever I put into music, I find I often get out”

As a rapper who’s not that into performing live, Jafaris – Percy Chamburuka – is more suited than most to creatively dealing with the impacts of the coronavirus, and he’s been making the most of his time in following up his hit 2019 album ‘Stride’ with some shorter offerings.

Latest EP ‘I Love You, But I’m In A Bad Mood’ is every bit as heavy on the emotional content as it’s title might suggest. Based on a break up with his long-term girlfriend, Jafaris lets his emotions flow, leaving him with mixed feelings about the release that he says ia nonetheless a part of him. 

“It was part of the process of the break up, coming to that decision and then the aftermath, and how the situation worked, really,” he says of the music, which combines elements of hip-hop, pop, soul and light jazz. “I didn’t want to make it into an EP really, but it came out because that’s what was inside me, so that’s the way it went.”

“I had way more songs in this vein, maybe two albums worth, but these songs are the ones that expressed exactly how I felt the most. I didn’t want the songs to go to waste, so it’s my journey, I guess. I was with this girl for a very long time, and she was my first girlfriend really, and she’s an artist herself so she was kind of around for some of the process of making the tracks. I played her some of the songs so she’s aware before it comes out, and she’s supportive of it.”

The decision to release the EP and then immediately follow it with an unrelated single, in fact, is part of Jafaris’ ‘moving on’ from the break up that he’s based his EP on. 

“I was looking forward to doing this one live,” he says, “which is strange as I’m not that into the live thing really. I’m very into the visual side of things, and this did give me a lot of time to focus on the visuals and make sure I get that right.”

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