9+1 Q&A with Fontaines D.C.

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

We all have our own stories about what made us pick up instruments and write when we were young. But I think that the reason we came together to make the music we do was because of a mutual love for rock and roll and poetry. If I’m being perfectly frank there was also an element of reaction to a lot of bullshit music that was being made at the time. Fucking neo soul.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Our next single is called ‘Too Real’. We tried to make a primal sounding song that while discordant functions with a typical song structure. Its also going to have a glimmerman on the cover.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

Music wise – the Velvet Underground, the Dubliners, and the Pogues.

Non music wise- WB Yeats, James Joyce, and Rimbaud.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

That’s quite a difficult question to answer as our sound varies quite a bit from song to song. But I suppose an element we use that others right now don’t seem to is surf music and poetry. And we’re Irish.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Albums-
The Velvet Underground – Loaded
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash

Movies-
Hannah and her sisters – Woody Allen
Chinatown – Roman Polanski
High Fidelity – Stephen Frears (but nick hornby really)

Books –
Rattlebag – Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes
Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman
Ulysses – James Joyce ( in the spirit of being trapped on a desert island we’d finally have the time to try and figure the bleedin book out!)

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

Live performance. While recording in the studio is great I really think that rock and roll is in its truest form live. The slight variations night to night give the songs life and performing in our band is just such a great feeling.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

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Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

Well I don’t agree with picking favourite children, but if I had to I’d say ‘Dublin City Sky’, which will be on our upcoming album. I’m really looking forward to seeing what people think of it.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

We’ll be going on tour in Europe in January, and the UK in April. We also are going on an American tour with IDLES in May, and our first album should be out around then too.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

Why go bald?

The main reason for going bald is to become more aerodynamic, and to be easily wiped down. Just a bit of bleach on a sponge and you’re completely ready for a night at the bowling alley or a trip to the cinema.

Photo credits: Deborah Sheedy (2nd one)

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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