Foy Vance released his second studio album ‘Joy Of Nothing’ this year to critical acclaim across the board. The Bangor native is set to play Whelan’s on December 7th so we caught up with him a few weeks ago to see how he’s feeling ahead of the show and to tell us about his 2013 so far.
“So far so good yeah, it started off with a month and a half tour of the States with Ed Sheeran and the Rizzle Kicks. ‘Twas great craic, something different than what I’m used to. It’s so alien to me that whole playing arenas to screaming girls thing but I had the best fun and got to play in front of a new audience that wouldn’t have heard of me if it wasn’t for Ed asking me to come for the craic. And then I did a tour with Bonnie Raitt, it’s been all about the gingers this year. That was more what I’m used to, listening crowds who just sit and take it all in. Which is a different gig altogether, ’cause if you’re not playing over a din it makes every note matter. Then I did a few festivals and finished off the album, got it mixed and mastered and have just been playing gigs since its release.”
When a debut album garners so much recognition it can often lead to the writing and releasing of the follow up being a nervewracking experience for the artist. Foy didn’t agree that that was the case when it came to ‘Joy Of Nothing.’ “No I definitely wasn’t nervous, I’m trying to think if I was excited. Yeah you know what I was. I guess it’s one of those things I didn’t have time to sit and dwell on ’cause I’ve been doing so much gigging and promo work like this. I’m proud of it and proud that it came out on a record that I’m hugely proud to be part of. There was a lot of pride involved.”
The difficult second album is a theory bandied about an awful lot, but is it true? Surely having one record under your belt makes further records easier to make. “It was easier to record this. The debut album I didn’teally know what I was doing I didn’t have the handle on how to curate an album. I sort of just threw mics in the general vicinity of instruments, recorded the songs as roughly as possible and stuck all the songs I liked on a record. I wouldn’t rate it, I like the songs off it, there are songs there I’m quite proud of, some of them are quite articulate sonically but the album as a whole just didn’t cut it for me. Whether this one is better or worse or good or bad is another thing but it’s definitely articulate and an accurate representation of the year I’ve had and what I want to sound like.”
Often signing to a new record label can also have a negative effect on an artist’s work. You often hear horror stories about bands who are forced to do things a certain way under a new label which they’re not used to. Foy once again disagreed. “Glassnote don’t work like that. If you look at their roster, there’s barely two acts the same. They pick acts for what they are rather than what they can be made into. A lot of major labels are hip to that now, it’s better to take someone that’s got something you want to work with rather than try mould someone into something else. I’ve heard some horrible stories like that, people who’ve had 150 thousand spent on them but never released a record, just did a whole load of developmental stuff.
Many artists wear their influences on their sleeve, with Foy Vance it’s not so easy to distinguish any particular influence in his sound or even in his lyrics. “No not on the writing. I write better when I’m not thinking about it, obviously there comes a time where you have to employ your craft and shape it or prune it a bit. But the essence of the tunes I think is better if the lyrics come almost subconsciously, it just flows when you’re twatting about with sounds, you don’t even have any words yet you’re just singing around chords. I just tried to write as honestly as I could. I like Jackson Browne but I wouldn’t cite him as a major influence. I guess, people that are doing it in their own way, that influences me. People like Van Morrisson, Tom Waits, Neil Young, The Boss Bruce Springsteen obviously. You know why they call him the Boss don’t you? It’s because he is the fucking boss. Mount Kimble, it sounds nothing like what I’m doing but it’s inspiring stuff and there’s a poet I like. Polar Bear poet.”
The Northern Irish music scene is producing a lot of talent at the moment with the likes of SOAK, David C Clements and Silhouette all coming to the fore in the past twelve months leading people to wonder what it is about the North that it’s able to spit out so many talented artists. “It’s an amalgamation of a lot of things. I used to say it’s because there’s no real solid music industry infrastructure in Northern Ireland. It was like a greenhouse effect, everyone had to fight a little bit harder to be heard. There’s a certain nonchalance. David C. Clements is a prime example, I don’t think anyone’s heard his record yet, but I have and this is the type of record that everyone should fucking have. It’s sensational, the guy is so real, it’s very real, there’s no pretence or ego it’s just beautiful, heartwarming, spine tingling music. But if you ask him why it’s not out yet he says he doesn’t want to tour, he prefers making buns. I think it’s that kind of attitude, when you make music for the right reasons. There’s a lot of people making music in Northern Ireland for the right reasons, it’s not to be famous or be a star or a celebrity it’s because they want to make good music.”
Since the interview, Foy has gone on to win the Northern Irish Music Prize for Album Of The Year beating Snow Patrol’s frontman Gary Lightbody’s new country outfit, Tired Pony, chart-topping Two Door Cinema Club, instrumental musicians And So I Watch You From Afar and electronic group Space Dimension Controller amongst others. He plays Roisín Dubh on December 6th and Whelan’s on December 7th.