A group of four childhood friends who share the same passion for music resulted in Irish rock band Kodaline, who recently touredin Asia, giving fans a glimpse of their unique music. Before the concert, lead singer Steve Garrigan and drummer Vinny May Jr sat down with KKBOX for an interview.
Album Philosophy: Life Is About Living with Your Head Held High
While talking about their latest album, Politics Of Living, Garrigan could not stop smiling. He shared that the core message of the album lies in one song - ‘Head Held High’.
“Life can be difficult at times, but we have to keep on moving forward. When we face low points in life, we have to remain positive, and face these obstacles with a strong attitude. This is the philosophy that the album is trying to get across.”
Pushing Their Boundaries with Different Styles
Having released three albums so far, Kodaline insists on each album being “better than the previous one”. A close look at their three albums can reveal a lot. Debut album In A Perfect Worldplaces an emphasis on vocals, while second album Coming Up For Airintroduced an electro-pop element.
In the latest album, Politics Of Living, a lot of work was invested into the production process. In the making of this album, Kodaline worked with several renowned producers to create a style different from before.
As a four-man band, the members of Kodaline already have moments when they find themselves disagreeing or having to come to a compromise. With the addition of more parties, more ideas and perspectives have to be considered, resulting in a very different sound in their latest work.
Despite this, Garrigan was clearly very satisfied with the experience. He said, “We definitely learned a lot through this, and it felt like we really stepped out of our comfort zone.”
“Just Living”
When asked about the source of his emotional vocals, Garrigan responded, “Just living.”
Garrigan shared that when he is performing, it is impossible for him to act out any emotions that he is not feeling. All the songs written by him are based on personal experience, and is a result of his feelings and emotions from these encounters.
Regardless of whether the emotion is a sad, happy or angry one, as long as it involves strong emotions, Garrigan will note it down. When he performs, the scenes from these encounters run past his mind, resulting in his ability express his emotions while performing and sing in such an infectious manner.
Garrigan also revealed that his inspiration for hit song ‘All I Want’ came from his break up with his girlfriend at the time. He remembers sitting in his room playing his guitar while he bawled like a baby. Looking back now, it is just a memory, but the more emotional these encounters are, the more memorable a song he comes up with. Garrigan also shared that these songs serve as a healing process for him.
Favourite Song
Almost all of Kodaline’s songs were written by themselves. When asked about his favourite song, Garrigan chose ‘Brother’. The song tells the story of two brothers, with the elder brother suddenly passing away, leaving the younger brother to face the world alone. Although the two may never meet again, the brotherly bond still remains a strong pillar of support.
“I really like the arrangement of ‘Brother’, and the deeper meaning behind the song, as well as the emotions of it,” said Garrigan. “However, if you asked me the same question tomorrow, I will probably choose a different song!”
Another reason for choosing ‘Brother’ is that the song has became a fan favourite in many of the countries Kodaline has toured in, much to the band’s surprise.
“This is a classic Kodaline song. It could have been included in any of the three albums, and we all really love it.”
However, Garrigan and May reminded us that “when it comes to our favourite song, we do not have a model answer, because it keeps changing!”
Garrigan added that ‘Follow Your Fire’ is also a song that the Kodaline members are enjoying a lot at the moment, as this is a song that has a very different song structure as their previous works. In addition, fans tend to sing along when they perform this song at their concerts, making them feel for it even more. It seems like Kodaline’s preferences for their songs are aligned with their fans!
Two Ladies They Would Like To Work With
Sharing their future plans, Garrigan revealed the band’s desire to work with a female singer, “We have a song on our hands that we think would be great for a duet with a female singer!”
With an abundance of candidates to choose from, Garrigan and May finally arrived at two candidates, Ellie Goulding and Julia Michaels.
Back to Their Beginnings
Along their musical journey, Kodaline took inspiration from many musicians who came before them. Garrigan and May shared a few of their influences, and this reveals how they arrived at their current style.
“Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Coldplay. Especially the last two bands. They are still putting out amazing work. We’ve followed them since we were young, and their journey towards becoming bands that people respect and love. We’ve also seen how they keep improving themselves, and how their creativity is endless. We really really love them.”
At the end of the interview, Garrigan also shared an anecdote from the time they shared a room with U2. Lead singer Bono gave them a piece of advice: “You are a band, a team, and you have to support each other and make good music. Don’t lose yourselves to external influences.”
As an avid U2 fan, Garrigan felt extremely touched by this exchange, and has kept Bono’s words close to heart ever since.
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