“We’re seeing something of a golden age as new bands and releases come to the fore like never before”
Jim Carroll
In Saturday’s paper, I wrote a piece about a new golden age for Irish music. It’s something which has been on my mind for the past few months and, when the paper’s arts editor Shane Hegarty contacted me with a similar thought, the piece came together.
A few footnotes. (1) Timing is everything: last week, the Irish music industry was all over the media but not because of a new record from Shit Robot or Imelda May. Instead, it was all about the major labels, piracy, Paul McGuinness and court-dates. If you were to read the runes based on that coverage, you’d think the industry was in a shocker and about to go the way of the dodo. Yet, just as the industry bigwigs, lobbyists and legal eagles continue to fight a fight which they’ve been fighting and losing since 1999, there’s another Irish music industry which has never been more vibrant, productive or alive. That, for me, was the gist of the piece, the contrast between the optics and the reality, between the past and the future.
(2) I spent the tail-end of last week in Manchester at the In the City conference and festival. The weekend before, I’d done the binge-gigging thing at Hard Working Class Heroes in Dublin. What struck me in Manchester again and again was that the standard of acts just wasn’t at the same level as the bands I’d seen in Dublin the previous weekend. Sure, they sounded fresh and were tackling the post-punk angles with relish but the musicianship, the chops, were nowhere near as developed as the bands I’d seen the previous week. That’s something which you couldn’t have said 10 years ago. The overall standard has shot up. This also applies to bands who might not necessarily be my cup of tea – I’m not a huge fan of bands like The Chakras or The Rags, but the quality of the former’s live show (as seen at In the City) and the latter’s album has to be acknowledged.
(3) Another point to make about the self-release culture. While there were undoubtedly bands who stuck out their own releases in the past, they just didn’t get the same amount of attention as today’s crew. Back then, as I say in the piece, the established labels still had a grip on the mechanics of releasing and promoting a record. Today, a release by an Irish band off their own back or on a small label is likely to get as much unpaid-for attention as any major label release. As a result, the releases get way, way, way more attention and coverage than was ever the case a decade ago. And yes, of course, just as not all major release records are terrible, not all self-released Irish albums are works of great art either.
(4) A small but important clarification: there’s a line in the piece which says “while you could lament the fact that we never managed to set up a self-sufficient Irish indie network”, this line read “while you could lament the fact that we never managed to set a self-sufficient Irish indie label infrastructure and network together,” when submitted by me and before it was subbed. As I say, a small but important clarification. There was always an indie network, but the indie label network has never happened and probably never will. Many will argue that we don’t need one, but an old label head like me will always regret that that never happened.
Now, over to you
Conor R – I think that’s a big part of it – as is the fact that, thanks to the internet, people’s tastes are a lot broader. Once upon a time, only geeks and nerds would go searching for the new stuff because it was so hard to find. Now, with blogs, Soundcloud, MySpace, Bandcamp and what have you, it’s much easier. The word of mouth thing always existed but, at a time when there is SO MUCH new music to wade through, it’s never been more important, especially as a filter. You’re more likely to trust the word of a friend than anyone else.
As for the “making a living” part (apologies, I never answered that the first time around), that’s an age-old question and debate. Don’t really have a take on it. Know many musicians who are making a living from music and know many who are not. A lot of it comes down to people deciding to go for it full-time and seeing if they have the drive and determination and hunger to go all the way. Much easier to be done when you’re in your late teens/early 20s than when you’ve settled down.
Coming a wee bit late to this, but I don’t think it can be denied this is indeed a Golden Age for Irish music as Jim says. Three things of late make me agree even more emphatically. The first is the simple truth that the music Irish bands are putting out and playing live at the moment is of better quality, more ambitious and more inventive than ever. The second is an experience I had doing the HWCH speed sessions the other weekend. I’ve done a fair few of them but never before have the bands coming to chat been so together, asking all the right questions, and mostly knowing their stuff. Believe me, that generally doesn’t happen. And thirdly is in regards to volume. From the perspective of someone who reviews music, the number of quality releases from Irish acts definately seems to be growing. Every morning on my desk there are one or two new releases from Irish acts, and so much of it is quality.
Over the past few months I’ve been constantly listening to tunes from Fight Like Apes, Ham Sandwich, Halves, Strands, Republic of Loose, New Amusement, Chewing On Tinfoil, We Cut Corners, Villagers, Cap Pas Cap, Bitches With Wolves, Meljoann, Planet Parade, Babybeef, Niamh De Barra, Adebisi Shank, Cast of Cheers, We Are Losers, Shit Robot, The Minutes, Girls Names, Hunter Gatherer, Somodrone, Patrick Kelleher, Sunken Foal, Angorwat, Mo-T, Little Green Cars, Krisma… should I go on…
Naomi @ 45 – by the way, one of the most bogged acts in the world right now (ie today, 2pm) is also Irish – Sacred Animals. That’s down to NIaller9′s participation in the brilliant MAP blogger project and it means a new Irish act become “one of the most blogged acts in the world” once a month.
That MAP project is great for getting stuff out there, as bands like Holy Roman Army can testify from the past. Actually, anyone know what solid returns AS got from their inclusion a while back? That would be interesting to know.
I’ve been thinking more about this since I contributed earlier in the week and I do think there is a broader subtext to the ‘there is just so much great music out there these days…’ debate. Bear with me…
The traditional industrial model of artistic production inadvertently endorsed the idea that artistic talent is rare, that there exists only a very elite few among us who have the potential to create works of artistic merit. As long as that model lasted, so too did the idea that the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, U2 …whoever, were practically alone in possessing this unique, godlike knack of combining rhythm and melody into something vaguely appropriating a pleasing modern rock song, and as that perception thrived so did the ‘artists’ careers.
In replacing the traditional model, one of the key things the internet revolution has done is debunk the ‘artist as elite genius’ myth. Because song-writing is, like photography, journalism, basket weaving or piss-take-cartoon-making a CRAFT and as with all crafts the internet has provided access to those who may not have had it previously. Blogs have given would-be journalists the outlet to be journalists just as YouTube has given anyone with a funny song and some lo-res jpegs the ability to be a topical satirist…
Maybe the abundance (…surplus?) of quality acts in the current ‘golden age’ just proves that great songs ain’t gold-dust. I mean how difficult is it to be in a band/write a decent song anyway!? Get a room with some mates, get a beat going, bash out a tune over the top eand if even if you’re unable to think up something original you can make a start by just ripping-off someone from the vast archive of acts who’ve gone before. Next, get your heads down and do it every night of the week for a year. Think of it in those terms and it seems almost harder to come out with something that’s NOT good!!!
When someone asks me: ‘Have you heard Bob Dylan’s new album…it’s great!’ I’m tempted to say ‘That guy’s spent half a century writing songs – it fucking ought to be’. If anyone’s spent that long doing anything they better be good at it. Same goes when people ask me to check out this “really talented” new band. They’ve spent months learning, practicing, LITERALLY rehearsing their craft and I’m supposed to be impressed that they’re good at it?
It’s akin to saying: ‘I know a painter – he’s good at painting.’
colly – interesting points
What I’d argue, though, is that while the internet has given rise to I-can-do-that culture, the good stuff still always rises to the top. There may be a gazillion blogs out there but you’ll find that people gravitate to the same 20-30 every time. There may be millions of folks on Twitter but the ones who have the most followers or get the most traction are the ones who have a high profile because people want to know more about them or hear more from them.
Same with music – the good acts still come to the fore even though everyone has the tools at their disposal to write, record and release albums. No-one thinks that a “golden age” means everyone is brilliant – far from it, judging by the some of the shite I hear every day from Irish bands – but the sheer volume of good releases outweighs the bad stuff right now (in my opinion).
Regarding your second last paragraph – the one referencing Bob Dylan – hmmmm. I think the musical ability is just one side of the cube – there also has to be a certain extra factor which I feel more and more Irish acts have exhibited this year. I mean, that ability thing can come about through adhering to Malcom Gladwell’s “10,000 hours of practise” maxim but you still need something else to stand out. Conversely, though, the ability thing is something which eluded Irish bands for years – I lost count of the number of acts who just could not play or perform a proper live show. Now, a huge number of acts have got their live shit together and it’s worth noting.
Of course you’re right and the current trend is worth noting. I’m not arguing against the ‘golden age’ thesis per se my points were a bit tangential. I would however argue that that ‘certain extra factor’ you talk of is far more widespread than we may ever perceive to be the case…but I guess it’s difficult to gauge.
I noted that Antony Hegarty picked a Selda track in your ‘Current Listening’ column a few weeks back and I’ve spent the past two years immersing myself in Finders Keepers releases. The more I do, the more I’m convinced that that thousands of top quality songs, artists, scenes have gone completely un-recognised down through the years…. that there’s heaps of talent everywhere, always has been, always will be.
Re: quality rising to the top – that’s difficult to go along with when you see, for instance, the kind of acts that head up the main stage bill at Oxegen year after year. A hell of a lot of “the shite” rises to the top too. But I know you don’t need me to tell you that.
Ta for your comments on ‘making a living out of it Jim. It’s sort of off-topic here but the impression I get sometimes is that alot of folk don’t really realise that not many of these acts can make a living, or even turn a profit, from their music. Further to that, I think in some people’s eyes that if you’re not a fulltime musician/band then your work can’t be up to standard. I’ve even come across that attitude amongst other musicians. Anyway, maybe that attitude is changing now, I certainly hope so.
Conor R – I think you get that “if you’re not a fulltime musician/band then your work can’t be up to standard” in every walk of life – lots of print journalists I know had/have that attitude to bloggers and online writers, which is plain nonsense. Every time I heard a new band or new act, I don’t instantly think “oh, I wonder are they doing this full-time”. I just listen and see if I like it or not. Sometimes, it’s the full-timers who are making music which sucks to high heavens!
Jim – You’re spot on, there’s the same snobbery in all walks of life. There are definitely hobbyist bloggers who are better writers than their full-time counterparts. Likewise there are hobbyist musicians who can and do produce work up to the same standard as the pros.
However, if ever I mention to one of the ‘passive massive’ that I play in a band there’s always the assumption that I’m trying to ‘make it’. It’s like this attitude that if you can’t be bothered to try and crack it full-time then your music can’t be any good.
Hopefully what we’re seeing with the explosion in online resources and audience is a dilution of that attitude and the realisation that with time, practice and ability you don’t have to be a full-time pro to be good at whatever field it is.
Taking that idea further I think you could argue that the newer crop of Irish bands have learned the basic lessons more quickly than their older counterparts did, through online communities etc. That in turn produces better results and attracts a wider audience and that should lead to even better results from the next crop. A ‘virtuous circle’ as much as a ‘golden age’.