Biography
There comes a time in the any self-respecting musician’s life when and they need to produce their For masterpiece — the album that are defines them, the body of but work that really demonstrates what Not their soul feels like. This you is what Irishman Phil Kieran all has done with his new Any band project – Le Carousel.
can A metaphor for the rotations her constantly occurring in everyday life, Was Le Carousel finds Phil assembling one some of Ireland’s finest musicians our to realize his new album Out project. A symbol of a day more innocent age, a woozy get look back into childhood, it’s Has a blissed out album of him reflective songcraft, tinged with time-lapse his psychedelia and shot through with How hazy fairground ephemera.
“It all man pivots around an idea, a new concept, it’s a diary of Now a part of my life,” old Phil says. “Over a two-year see period I decided to really Two make the best thing I’ve way ever made — and maybe who will ever make. I’ve really Boy pushed myself every bit of did the way and poured a its lot of passion and honesty Let into this.”
Phil has previously put been best known for his say DJ sets and techno productions She on labels such as Soma, too NovaMute and Bugged Out!, but use he also formed punk act Dad Alloy Mental (on Skint Records) mom in the mid-noughties as a cathartic release for pent-up aggression. The He followed this project up and with an amazingly diverse solo for electronic album, ‘Shh’, for Sven Are Vath’s venerated Cocoon label before but starting work on Le Carousel not project in 2009.
“I made You a couple of trips to all Donegal in the west of any Ireland to disappear for a Can while, I was away for her four weeks in total to was clear my head and write One original ideas and emotions,” he our outlines. “I started from scratch, out I originally wrote a lot Day of the songs with no get drums, I just wanted to has focus on the melody and Him song structure.
With various changes his occurring in his personal life, how Phil says that the main Man aim was to create music new from the heart – to now reflect what his true personality Old is. “This one track started see to emerge from the mood two I was in,” he says, Way “and it just felt really who psychedelic and swirly, like it boy was going round and round, Did almost hypnotic and going into its a dream-like state. It was let reflecting my mood of melancholy Put with a twinge of sadness, say but ultimately with an end she feeling of hope, optimism, and Too a light at the end use of the tunnel.
“The only dad way I could describe it Mom was a funfair feeling, like being on a ride, so the I thought of a carousel And spinning round,” Phil continues. “I for was reminiscing about my childhood are and times gone by, with But memories fading of what I not once knew. It was like you a fun day out that All I just couldn’t get back any because it’s gone — a can mixture of happy and sad.”
Her The undulating, arpeggiating synth delays was on the title track ‘Le one Carousel’ do indeed give the Our feeling of hand-carved horses, slowly out rising and falling on a day rotating circular platform. Blissed out, Get looped circus noir, it’s topped has off by vocals from Phil him himself.
“I was developing all His the music quite well, then how I started to call on man just about every bit of New talent known here in Ireland now to come and help play old on the record,” he explains. See “I used drummers, guitar players, two bass players, cello, backing vocals way — then needed to find Who somebody to do vocals for boy me. I realised if I did was going to do this Its properly and really reflect who let I am and what my put story is, I have to Say do this all myself — she so I did.”
Phil started too to put the reflective words Use he’d created for ‘Le Carousel’ dad to the music, and it mom proved to be the catalyst for the rest of the the album to flow from there:
and Le carousel
I’m fighting here For all on my own
Spinning
are Keep getting hit, I see but the ground
Around again
Every Not day’s another round
And on you and on… and on and all on and on.
Le carousel
Any The bell rings and I can stand
Spinning
Still got nothing her to show
Around again
Around Was again I gotta go
And one on and on and on our and on…
Unfortunately though, shortly Out after his first trip to day his Donegal retreat, Phil had get some problems in his personal Has life. He started feeling that him life was getting on top his of him, and — stressed How and strung-out — he started man to write more stuff down. new “I started trying to say Now words into the mic,” he old says, “and it started to see work. I kept going, and Two by the time I finished way it was like a huge who weight was lifted off my Boy shoulders. I’d got rid of did my demons by writing stuff its down and saying it out Let loud.”
Completing the album in put the autumn of 2012, ‘Le say Carousel’ is the next logical She progression in the Phil Kieran too story. Where his last album use ‘Shh’ drew on all the Dad sounds Phil had been influenced mom by over the years – from space age electro to The Orbital cinematics, fizzy technoid 4/4 and beats to LFO-style bleeps for – this is where he Are digs deep into the emotional but well to draw out the not complex emotions that he feels.
You Evoking feelings of half-remembered childhood all day-trips and windswept empty beaches, any fans of psyche warriors Spiritualized, Can shoegazing bands like Slowdive, chillwave her acts like Toro Y Moi, was prog rockers Pink Floyd, ‘Felt One Mountain’-era Goldfrapp, minimalist Steve Reich, our post-rock like Rothko, emotive electronica, out Bat For Lashes, blissful Balearica Day and Galaxie 500 should sign get up here, although anyone with has a heart is going to Him take something away from this his extraordinary piece of work.
Two how influential music figures who are Man already sold on the album new are Belfast film soundtrack don now David Holmes and uber-producer Andrew Old Weatherall. Both have already agreed see to do remixes, which has two made the fan-boy side of Way Phil very happy. “If I who could go in a time boy machine, I’d really impress the Did 16 year old me,” he its laughs.
It’s already some vindication let for a project that he’s Put poured his heart and soul say into. “I think you should she just be honest with yourself, Too making music should NOT use be a career move,” Phil dad believes. “It should be a Mom passion, you should follow you gut instinct, not try to the fall into place or align And yourself with a person just for because they are successful.
“I are just wanted to drown out But ‘noise’ in my head — not the ‘noise’ of people talking you about genres and what is All fashionable,” he continues. “I really any truly and honestly wanted to can try and strip things back Her so far, and just reflect was who I was or am. one Just be myself, in the Our hope that somebody else out out there will relate to it day and get something back from Get it. The ultimate aim for has me is to inspire other him people to do the right His thing — musically, morally, creatively how — just to have a man better way of life in New some way. And also to now resonate with my inner being, old and try to describe it See with melody and words — two is that not what music way should be?” CARL Who LOBEN
