IRVINE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA VISSER
WEBSITE: http://www.irvineband.com
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Rock / Indie

HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN MAKING MUSIC AND HOW DID THE BAND START?

Bob and I (Chris) have been playing music since an early age. Our mother is a music teacher so we were fortunate to be exposed to music and various instruments from early on in our lives. I actually started off focussing my energy on mastering the penny whistle (because I always dreamed of playing in Mango Groove) but around the age of eleven I soon realized I wouldn’t handle the pressures of being a pro penny whistler so I tried the drums instead.

Since then Bob and I have jammed on and off but only really decided to get a serious band together in 2006 when we began jamming some of his songs after his return from a few years working/studying in the UK. After a year spent mostly writing and recording our debut EP ‘This is Tomorrow’, we moved to London where we continued the band with a new line-up.

YOU GUYS SPENT ALLOT OF TIME IN ENGLAND HOW WOULD YOU SAY BEING BASED IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WORLD HAS INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC?

Being over in London definitely had a great impact on our band. Although we built up a bit of a fan-base over there and did some recording, what we gained most from our time there was just the experience of seeing so many great bands and diverse forms of music.

The experience definitely redirected our sound towards a more experimental approach as it really stretched our view in terms of what can be done in the rock genre.

YOUR SONGS HAVE VERY COOL VOCALS; DO MOST OF YOUR SONGS GET BUILT AROUND LYRICS OR INSTRUMENTALS AND WHAT SUBJECTS DO YOU ENJOY COVERING THE MOST WITH YOUR MUSIC?

Most of our songs are actually built around melody and instrumental elements, rather than lyrics, however there are few songs that do have a strong lyrical base. Coming from deep classical and jazz backgrounds, we actually find it easier to think in terms of melody, so we tend to start working from a tune or a short guitar riff or even a bass line. Often our songs won’t even have completed lyrics until all of the instrumental elements have already been written.

I (Bob) write a lot of poetry and lyrics separately, so it’s usually a case of fitting certain lines I’ve taken from those writings and taking inspiration from that for the rest of the lyrics. Subject wise, we take a lot from our experiences of life. Issues such as hope, faith, longing and the pursuit of dreams are recurring themes for us at this point in time, so these come through in our songs. In a year’s time we could be writing about something completely different, but we try to stay true to our experiences in the moment.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOUR SONGS IS THAT IT IS NOT JUST STRAIGHT FORWARD DRUMS, BASE AND GUITAR, BUT YOU ARRANGE THE SONGS SO THAT THEY HAVE THIS TYPE OF “DREAM LIKE SOUND” WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER. IS THERE A SPECIFIC TYPE OF “MOOD” THAT YOU LIKE TO CREATE WITH YOUR MUSIC?

We definitely try to create certain moods within our music. We will often try to incorporate a few different moods into the same song. For example, we will make an effort to change the second verse of a song, so even though it has the same tune and chords; it takes on a different character to that of the first verse.

For us music is a very fluid and emotional thing, so it can’t be static. It changes all the time, and the same song will often change character slightly when it’s played in different places. Subtlety is an important element that we use. We use a lot of layering of parts to create different textures, but we never add extra parts like piano or kazoo that we could never recreate live.

YOU HAVE RELEASED TWO EP’S SO FAR TITLED "THIS IS TOMORROW" AND "RAISING WEATHERED SAILS". I GUESS THE NEXT STEP FOR YOU GUYS WOULD BE TO OMPLETE AN ALBUM OR IS IT NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS?

Recording an album is never an easy task, especially if you’re financing it yourself. We’ve never wanted to rush into doing an album, but after years of writing and developing our sound we’ve come to a point where we feel we really need to do a full record.

We start tracking our album on the 24th of August at Dockyard Studios in Cape Town with recording guru Matt Allison. We’re really excited about the album and are currently busy finishing up writing it. Hopefully it will be out early next year.

THE PRODUCTION OF YOUR SONGS IS VERY GOOD WHERE HAVE YOU RECORDED MOST OF YOUR MATERIAL?

We recorded our first EP, “This is Tomorrow” in South Africa at Sound & Studio, a small studio owned by Les van der Veen, who is a great engineer. He was kind enough to give us free run of the place for a few days, so Chris and I (Bob) recorded and produced the record ourselves. We also played all of the instruments ourselves. When we did the second EP, “Raising Weathered Sails”, we recorded with Ross Gill at Headlight Studios in the UK. That was a great experience because it gave us the opportunity to focus more on the music rather than the technical side of the recording process.

Des Lawrence had been playing with us for a while so he played bass on the record. We felt that the second EP captured the idea of a ‘real band playing in a room’ a lot more than the first one did. This idea is very important to us. We draw a lot of inspiration from old jazz records and the recordings from the 60’s and 70’s which really captured the vibe of the band playing together. These days there are so many multi-layered and over-produced records around that we feel it’s important for us to take the rock genre back to it’s roots, whilst at the same time staying current.

WHERE CAN PEOPLE GET THEIR “HANDS” ON YOUR MUSIC?

At the moment we sell our “Raising Weathered Sails” EP at our shows for a minimal price. Otherwise it’s available from www.purevolume.com/irvine You can also stream it from our website at www.irvineband.com We also have one of our tracks coming out on an American compilation CD called “Riot on Sunset Vol.17” which will be out on the 31st of July in the States. It’s got a bunch of other cool bands on it from all over America and Europe and you can order it either from Amazon.com or our website / Myspace.

HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE SHOWS YOU HAVE PLAYED SO FAR SINCE YOU RETUNED FROM ENGLAND?

Playing in South Africa has been amazing! We have really enjoyed being home again, and the greatest part is that we’re playing with our good friends Gareth Allison (bass) and Doug Gass (guitar). We have all been friends for years and I (Bob) think that this really contributes to the energy of our performances. We just have such a great time whenever we play live.

THIS IS ONE I’VE ASKED A “MILLION” TIMES BUT WHAT CAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU GUYS EXPECT FROM AN IRVINE LIVE SHOW AND WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO “IMPROVE” YOUR LIVE SHOWS IN ANY WAY?

There are always elements that we need to improve on. Having lived in London for so long we’ve had an opportunity to see some amazing live bands and gain a lot of inspiration from them. The live show is very important for any band. We try to give people a different experience every time they see us play, so we use a lot of improvised sections between songs.

We also like to tie songs together and work them all into one complete show. What people can expect from an Irvine gig whether there is an audience of 20 or 200 people, is an energetic, uncompromising and uniquely engaging rock show.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GUYS GO OUT TO WATCH OTHER BANDS AND HAS A BAND EVER HAD A BIG IMPACT ON YOU IN THE WAY YOU APPROACH YOUR OWN LIVE SHOW?

We’re all huge fans of music in general, whether it’s rock, jazz, classical etc. so we’re always watching as much live music as possible. We’ve been fortunate enough to have seen so many incredible bands over the last few years, all of which have impacted our music in some way. If I (Chris) had to narrow it down, I would say the live show which has had the most impact on the way we now approach the live scenario is a gig we saw at a small venue in London about two years ago by an amazing American band called Mutemath.

It was one of those few gigs where you walk away feeling equally inspired and depressed that a band can be so good. The intensity, musicality, and insane improvisation delivered in that small venue by a standard four-piece rock band created a vibe that set the place alight, even though nobody at the time really knew who they were. That gig definitely raised the bar for us in terms of what a live show is all about.

DO YOU HAVE A SONG THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER GET TIRED OF PLAYING FOR ANY PARTICULAR REASON?

Summer of ’69 :) Not really, our songs seem to change constantly so different ones work better than others at different times, and each member of the band likes different songs for different reasons. At the moment, I (Chris) would say “The Shallow End” is my current favourite because it kinda summarizes where we are at the moment, plus it’s just so darn fun to play live.

I SEE YOUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE HAS BEEN QUIET SINCE MAY; DO YOU HAVE ANY SHOWS PLANNED FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?

Since moving back to SA in March things have been pretty hectic and we unfortunately haven’t had much internet access, so it’s been quite tricky trying to keep all our online stuff up to date, but we’re working on that ;) Regarding shows, our bass player is going over to London for about a month so we don’t have anything lined up until September. We’re spending the next few months focussing mainly on our album, so live shows unfortunately have to take a bit of a backseat until we’re done tracking.

ANY COMMENTS OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Firstly, I would like to thank you guys for giving us this interview, and secondly I would like to say a big thank you to our friends, family and the regulars at our gigs over here who have helped make our move back to SA that much easier. Lastly, I would like to say check out www.irvineband.com to have a listen to our EP and join our Facebook and Myspace groups where you will find details about our shows, recordings etc. Otherwise, just have a good day :)