Shauna Watson
Music Editor
After the announcement that they are to unleash their 2010 album Hither Thither around Europe followed by a tour and the subsequent release of their second album, Irish lads O Emperor are set for another successful year in 2012. Lead singer and guitarist, Paul Savage, talks about how the band will celebrate their achievements of the year, their upcoming second album and their 2011 parting gift to O Emperor fans.
So Paul, the band is finishing up your 2011 success with end of year shows around Ireland. What has the year been like for O Emperor?
It’s been such a crazy year. We released the album last year but it still seems a lot less than 14 months – the years all seem to blend into one. We toured and promoted the album around the world and got the opportunity to travel to places like Boston, Texas, Germany. We played Benicassim and toured around the UK. It’s a great way to see the world and the response has been really cool. We’re slowly but surely getting to the next level and to where we want to be.
As you said the band got the opportunity to tour all around the world. How does everything compare when you come home to play in Ireland?
When you play abroad you have less to prove. On tour people are there to see you and you become more relaxed. When we come home for a gig, people are more aware of your stuff and you feel like you have more to prove. Audiences at Irish gigs might be friends and people you know. After all, we’re still an Irish band and you need to grab them and prove you’re just as good when compared to other Irish acts. Abroad there might be 10 people there but we don’t mind because it’s good fun playing intimate gigs in other countries but we would want the support at home because I suppose, it’s where we started out.
So would you prefer playing more intimate gigs compared to the bigger ones? You played large festivals like Oxegen, Electric Picnic and Benicassim. How do they compare to the ones you play in smaller venues?
Well, at Oxegen and Electric Picnic we played in full tents and the size seems to elevate your performance. When the venue is smaller, we find it harder to communicate and get our music across. The larger the gig is the more relaxed you are as there is more support there for the band. With larger gigs, they are really well organised, which means that there is less responsibility for the band with set up. It has an indefinable characteristic that a smaller gig wouldn’t necessarily have. In those instances you’re more of a person standing on a small stage playing music but with the bigger gigs you become the performer.
To mark the end of the year, the band have posted an unreleased song on the website for the fans to listen to and download for free, why did you decide to do this?
The song we posted, Some Small Matter was one of the first songs we wrote and recorded and it never made the album because it didn’t fit the aesthetics of the record but yet it’s a favourite of a lot of people we play it to at a gig. When we were organizing the EU release of Hither Thither, the record label wanted us to give a bonus track along with an orchestral version of one of the singles so we thought that everyone else should get it too! I guess it’s a parting gift before we go and hibernate for a while.
Last year, you stayed in a house in Kinsale as a way of isolating yourselves to put together your debut album and have no distractions to interfere with the process. Are you planning on doing something similar for the second album?
No, I don’t think so. We’ve already found a sound engineer down the road from us so there won’t be any need to isolate ourselves as much as last year. I can’t drive anyway so I don’t think I it’s a good idea to be going to the country again.
Have you got an idea of what kind of sound the band are focusing on for the new album or will it have a similar vibe to it?
At the moment we’re just taking it as it comes and not really questioning the format of writing the music. The core brainstorming for the music comes from us jamming, recording, selecting and framing the album. This time around the band is more orientated with soundscapes rather than one person writing the songs from start to finish and giving it to the band to work with. We’re also toying with the idea of producing a double album for our second one.
Would you not like to save some material to put towards a third album instead?
These days no one really waits and there’s no intention for us to wait. We could probably put out another free download or perhaps something of a different capacity. Things are very open these days; you can digitally release the album or produce it as a hard copy.
Do you think it’s more worthwhile to market your music online or do you still think there is a presence for CD releases?
Downloads can get to larger audience but when people buy something they prefer to have it in their hands rather than as a file on their computers. I think it’s very important to have the two of them working hand in hand.
Since O Emperor’s explosion onto the music scene you have supported a number of successful acts both home and abroad including Ocean Colour Scene, Villagers and Mumford and Sons. Who has been your favourite to support?
Personally, playing with Spoon in The Academy in Dublin was great because I’m a big fan. Villagers were great because the album was amazing and overall the show was a particular highlight. We supported Mumford very early on when the band was just taking off and it was a big shock to play something that size. Once you do it for the first time it becomes much easier and you start to enjoy it.
With the year coming to an end, how does the band plan to celebrate your success throughout 2011?
Our final show of the year will be in Waterford, where the band is from, on the 28th in the Forum. For the past 2 or 3 years our last shows have been in Waterford and it’s special because we enjoy playing to a lot of mates to get their reaction. It’s nice to end the year with the people close to us who have been there throughout the journey of the band.
O Emperor play in Waterford on the 28th of December.
