16 Juil INTERVIEW – The Murder Capital talks about its latest album and its tour of France
The Irish band are currently on the road defending their second superb album.
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Sound of Brit: Your second album got one of the highest ratings of the year on Sound of Brit, and we just loved it! How did you go about writing it? The place, the people with you…
The Murder Capital: We wrote most of the album back home, then finished it over a six-month period in London, and finally recorded it in Paris, France. We spent a lot of time living together, living in the same place we were writing. It was very isolated, the whole process. Yeah, until we met John Congleton, you know, it was the first time we’d been creative outside of the five of us, working with John intimidated us and brought a whole new breath of fresh life into the album and that was really necessary. Yeah, it was really good. It was really good to be able to trust the producer that he is, we loved it and we love his work. I think collectively he helped us get out of our own way at times, because after we’d had a lot of the songs, we were very attached to this one and there were things we didn’t want to change. But it helped us to make decisions more quickly. Sometimes when you’re very, very attached to something you love, you hold on to it very tightly. But the best thing for the song is to let go of certain parts so it can be better. So it’s just the process. Working with John has been amazing to finalise this record.
Sound of Brit: Can you tell us about this superb cover?
The Murder Capital: It’s a painting by Peter Doyle. We really wanted to work with someone on that. For the first cover, we chose a photo, you know, and there was something exciting about that process. To be able to explain the album to another artist so that they could interpret it, to see what came out of it. It’s like after Peter listens to the album, it’s just like that. We love his work and he’s a very close friend. And to be able to hand it over to someone who you trust, you know, in his work, that was really nice. to be surprised by part of the process that’s part of the work, part of what the album is. It made it so exciting for us. It’s like another dimension to your record, like it’s coming to life and painting. Yes, exactly. So we were thrilled that he accepted it and wanted to do it.
Sound of Brit: What’s your daily tour schedule? Today, for example?
The Murder Capital: We’ve all come from different places today. One of us woke up in his girlfriend’s house in Dublin, then flew to Lyon, then took a bus, and finally was picked up and brought here. In the meantime, some of us had a relaxing swim in the lake. It was a bit of a surprise, we even went boating.
Sound of Brit: Do you have rituals before going on stage?
The Murder Capital: Of course we do. We have a meeting before each show, for 5 minutes. It’s a good way of knowing that where we are is different all the time. The show we want to put on is pretty consistent and it’s a good way of remembering, before we go on stage, that we’ve got this little moment. It’s the most coherent. I said to myself one day that if you’re too attached to rituals, you feel you can’t do the work you’re supposed to do if you don’t carry out part of the ritual. So I’ve decided to be less attached to that. But yes, we do need to do that before a lot of gigs.
Sound of Brit: You were at Glastonbury the other day. Why it is so special about playing there? Why this festival is different?
The Murder Capital: I think the fact that I saw it from such a young age, like at home in Ireland. It was on non-stop television. Um, and I think watching that, you always had that burning feeling of wanting to be there. I want to play on that stage. It’s just like the biggest festival in the world. Man, it’s like the World Cup. So yeah, I think that’s why. But it was interesting when we were there because I find that when we were in America, it felt like we were on a film set because we’d seen films based in America all our lives and it felt like we were in a film. And I had the same feeling at Glastonbury because we’d seen it on TV all our lives, but we’d never been there before, but we recognised where we were, so we felt a bit like we were in the film. That’s one of the things that makes Glastonbury so special.
Sound of Brit: This autumn, you’ll be playing 7 dates across France, which is very rare for an Irish band here. Why is it important for you to go to places where few bands go?
The Murder Capital: We’ve always played in France. We all love France. We just suggested doing a few more dates here. And we did. It’s always great and we know straight away that France is like a second home to us. The French public always seem very passionate about the band. I think that’s one of the reasons why I feel they support us. We love playing here and I feel that by going to these different territories, to places where not all bands go, people really appreciate it. A lot of us come from a part of Ireland that doesn’t get a lot of gigs. So when we can get gigs, it’s good to get gigs and go to other countries.
Sound of Brit: In April, we saw you for Echoes with Jehnny Beth. Does being filmed during your set disturb you or, on the contrary, push you to excel?
The Murder Capital: It’s a different show. It’s a bit different because you’re doing it on their terms, in a sense. So you kind of have to take your show, put it in their context and try to configure it to their presentation. I think that’s exciting, but it’s also the kind of thing you want to hear and sometimes want to forget. And I thought, « I know how to do that. I don’t know how, but I know. I didn’t do the show by controlling my performance, I tried not to think about it. » That’s another element I like, I like to play with that a little bit. I mean, sometimes it’s scary.
Sound of Brit: Inhaler are also playing today. What’s your relationship with them like?
The Murder Capital: We saw them play literally just before we came here, again and again they’ve given the opportunity to see Irish music doing so well. It’s incredible to see them go from Workman’s Club to the main stage here and all the other incredible things they’ve done. But yes, they are absolute gentlemen, so yes, well done guys.
Sound of Brit: You’ve got the Beauregard and Rock en Seine festivals on your program this summer too. Do you have any vacations planned after this exhausting summer?
The Murder Capital: Relaxing… We’d like to… I’ve just had two days with my girlfriend, it’s like a holiday. Even if it’s only for a day. But we have to work. So holidays for us will be at the end of our lives. Yes, we know there’s no such thing as a fucking holiday. Even if we have two weeks. We’ve got two weeks. We enjoy it. We do what we want. And we have to come back. Yes. It’s very strange, but yes. Because we’re writing a lot at the moment and we just want to keep going. It’s exciting, you know, playing live again, writing for that purpose. Um, so we’ll have a holiday sooner or later. In the meantime, we’re working hard.
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