In the midst of a whirlwind of European festivals and American tour dates, Kodaline find themselves back in Dublin for a hectic four days, squeezing three gigs into their brief homecoming. But before they storm any stages, the guys are in 4 Dame Lane to promote the new Guinness Amplify music programme. We caught up with Jason and Vinny afterwards to chat Whelan’s, Glasto, Guinness and album number two.
Selling out Whelan’s in a matter of minutes is something you’d except from a band that has exploded in the last two years, on both an Irish and a global scale. The band are scheduled for two intimate gigs at the venue, which are being run in aid of IMNDA, the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association.
Divulging their involvement with the charity, the guys explain that “when it came to choosing a charity, even though it wasn’t something we had a direct connection to, it was something we felt quite strongly about and felt the need to something for. It was actually a journalist who approached us that has MND, Jan Battles. She asked about doing the gigs and we were happy to help out and put on two shows, with all the proceeds going to them, which is incredible.”
Though no strangers to the likes of the the Olympia Theatre and even the O2, Jason explains that “As Kodaline, we never actually played Whelans. I played there with bands over the years, and I used to do sound there myself, but for Kodaline it’s a first. It’s a cool warmup for Friday in Marlay Park”-where the band will be performing for a capacity crowd, in support of American alt-rock giants Kings of Leon.
Festival Season
You can hear a bit of giddiness in their voices as the two talk through their “crazy week” ahead. Last week was hardly a dull one either for the Dublin boys, who returned to Glastonbury for a second year running. “It was incredible. Last year we played in the John Peel Tent, and this year we got to play on The Other Stage. Glastonbury is one of those kind of highlights of the year for people, especially for bands. It’s been running for so long, it’s just such a well-known festival and it’s run so well. It was a fantastic opportunity to get to back and play.”
However, just like any festival goers, the band were excited to catch some of the acts. “Imagine Dragons were actually on like directly after us, so we were sidestage just being mindblown by them.”
Though usually under too much pressure to get to the next festival or show, for Glastonbury they made an exception. “We got to go there the day before, so luckily we had a day off to get into the vibe and catch some bands”– with Arcade Fire and Hozier seeming to make the biggest impressions on the guys. “Most festivals we only get to see the bands that play either side of us, but for Glastonbury it was a case of- no, we’re taking a day off!”
As if Glasto wasn’t big enough in terms of world-renowned music festivals, Kodaline will be flying back to the states in a couple of weeks to play at Chicago’s famous Lollapalooza. “It’s one of those festivals, again like Glastonbury, that you’ve heard about for years. It’s got that Jane’s Addiction kind of heritage to it”.
Continuing their romance with America, the band are stateside again in September to put in some recording time, returning again in October for a headline tour. “We’re spending quite a bit of time over there this year,” the lads admit. “We’re only home for like four days, so it’s all a bit busy.”
Guinness Amplify
Earlier on in the morning, Guinness announced their new Amplify programme, which will involve a €1 million investment in promising Irish acts – offering opportunities for live shows, studio time and workshops with industry experts. Mixed in with this will be a number of surprise shows by the likes of Ellie Goulding, Walking On Cars, Daithí and Kodaline themselves.
The band seem keen to hail the advantages Guinness’ program has over other talent-spotting opportunities. “The infrastructure that they’re putting in place is so much more long-lasting, bands can actually benefit from it – it’s not just one person that’s going to win it at the end.”
Speaking from experience, they feel that “competition is great and all, but the music industry has never been a competition”, and that they’re much happier to endorse this than any battle-of-the-bands style endeavour. Vinny goes on to commend the studio time aspect in particular: “For us starting out, trying to book studio time meant you had to work your crappy part-time job or play like a hundred gigs to get the money to go in and record a demo.”
At this point it’s clear the band are involved for more than just any publicity reasons, they’re genuinely passionate about the plans. “In the same way that Red Bull have their music academy rolled out in the UK, I really think Guinness could make a difference over here.”
Album Number Two?
Tracking back to the recording time mentioned earlier, we’re eager to find out the timeline for their sophmore release. “We’re aiming for it to be out early next year, but nothing is set in stone,” says Vinny.
Jason clarifies that, “maybe it’ll be recorded at the end of this year, and it should be out early next year… but ‘maybe’ and ‘should’ are the two key words there”.
Vinny cuts back in with, “and just throw in a ‘possibly’ as well!”.
In terms of actual songs, the lads have been experimenting with some different producers and different sounds but assure that it’s “still going to sound like us, but it’ll be a progression, an evolution from the first album.”
Fans will be excited to hear that some collaborations may even be on the cards. “We’ve a couple of people in mind that we’re hoping will get back to us, but until they do it’s all up in the air. One song is written as a duet, but we’re not even sure if that’ll make the album yet!”.
Surely with a debut album as impressive as In A Perfect World, artists and producers alike will be lining up to work with the guys. Undoubtedly, we can expect 2015 to be an even bigger year for the hugely talented Kodaline.