Welcome to an introduction to TV People. The Dublin quartet released their second single ‘Time Eats Up’ at the end of last month so we caught up with Brendan Clarke to discuss the single and get to know the band better.
Since they formed in early 2019, TV People have hit the ground running at some serious pace, getting airplay in Ireland, as well as plenty of live opportunities. But now the government has decided to further the lockdown, I’m sure some people are starting to lose their minds. As for the music industry it’s been time to get creative.
“The lockdown has definitely been a bit of a change of pace for us. It’s been a bit tough in a creative sense as we usually write quite collaboratively in our rehearsal room and jam ideas out together,” commented Brendan. “For the last few weeks we’ve been sending each other ideas for some new tunes which we’ve recorded on our phones and I’ve been mixing them on my computer and adding programmed drums.
“It’s definitely been an interesting challenge creatively but all of the free time is allowing us to explore some new ideas and sounds which has been cool. Luckily, our last single ‘Time Eats Up’ was released during the crisis which has kept us ticking over. Other than that, we have some plans to release either a live stream gig or some video performances in the next while.
Written during a six-month spell of unemployment, ‘Time Eats Up’ explores the feelings of liberation that come with sitting idle and how these conflict with the dread that time is passing you by.
Speaking about the recording process, Branden said: “We recorded it at Darklands Audio in Dublin with Dan Doherty (Fontaines D.C., Vulpnes). We had a big gig the weekend we recorded supporting One True Pairing so we were very busy and had some sore heads in the studio but it was very fun! We get on very well with Dan who is an excellent producer/engineer. He really helped us hone the sound we wanted for the track.
“We were writing the song when Paul was in the middle of a spell of unemployment and the lyrics of the tune reflect his headspace at that time. It’s about having too much time and freedom on your hands and how that can be a bit isolating.”
The single features thrashing drums and humming guitar riffs, quite frankly it’s another TV People classic. Their music is rooted in early 2000’s garage rock and is characterised by the unique interplay between the band’s simple and sparse melodies, complex and diverse rhythm section and meandering guitar lines which imprints TV People’s identity into their sound.
Listening to the likes of The Strokes, Interpol and Arctic Monkeys, Brendan has a love for anything with a strong rhythmic core as well as smaller indie bands like Twin Peaks and Harlem.
When not up on stage or stuck in the rehearsal room, Brendan and the guys like to spend time going to other gigs.
He said: “I really enjoy the other aspects of being in a band such as finding great local artists and working with them to design music artwork, posters and videos.
“It’s a great medium for bringing together creative people with a focus on making a project the best it can be. I’ve also really enjoyed figuring out how to mix tracks recently which has been something new and a cool skill to have going forward.”
TV People’s eyes are firmly set on moving forward despite some setbacks as Brendan explains. “We were meant to be recording our next two singles recently but have had to postpone the sessions because of Coronavirus.
“Once it blows over, we are really excited to get them tracked and hopefully release them as things return to normal. We have a headline show in Whelans on October 24th as well. Hopefully it will be a big year for us gig-wise with some festival slots and even bigger shows.”
Tickets to TV People like are available from Ticketmaster here.
An introduction to… is a new interview series which puts the undiscovered centre stage. If you would like to be featured email getintouch [at] indiecentralmusic.com with ‘An introduction to’ and the name of your band in the subject headline to be considered for a feature.
