2013 is looking set to be We Arrive Alives’ busiest year to date. The Dublin-based instrumental group have been gigging on the Irish scene for the last few years and have just put the final touches on the first part of an ambitious and original project. Reviewers have, and the lads will agree, described the band as post-rock but the band formed from the remnants of a pop band that Adam, Ben and Andy played in at school. The name of the band, Andy says, “will remain undisclosed. The sound was very bland and boring. We decided we wanted to make better music; it was very poppy.”
The group would cite Explosions in the Sky, 65 Days of Static and Mogwai as guiding groups in their formative years. And although they would be reticent about being put in a box with other bands, band-member Ben concedes a similarity between themselves and Mogwai, “I like Mogwai. One of our songs we released was Dachau and that would be the closest we got to Mogwai. We get influenced by a lot of bands that are not like us. We’ve been listening to Nirvana’s album In Utero and that’s been a big influence on the first release of the upcoming project.”
The music itself, the individual tracks, are almost infinitely different from the next. Some are quick and racy, others are slow and ethereal, but there remains a constant haunting sound throughout and, when witnessed live, is an intriguing spectacle. Their most recent release was a quartet of tracks called “My Friend, The Bombmaker”, but their forthcoming project looks set to be the one that propels the band onto the mainstream music scene.
Like most bands looking to make a name for themselves We Arrive Alive have spent their relatively short career playing in small venues throughout the country. But they’ve carved out a niche for themselves by doing so. Instrumental bands find it difficult in the music industry for a start but the bands unique sound has attracted a solid fan-base, and they recently appeared as guests on Dan Hegarty’s 2FM show and on BBC Radio Ulster: “They were very cool to do. And we’ve played with a number of really good bands around Ireland. Carried by Waves were great and so were R.S.A.G (Rarely Seen Above Ground). Knockanstockan’ was such a good festival to play as well. It’s run by volunteers and it’s all very cool so we’re hoping to get back down there this year.”
Their latest release is the first instalment of an original, unique project. They’ve teamed up with Francesco Gatti and Paul Lynch of In A Storm records and intend to release 3 separate EP’s in the coming 9 months, complete with artwork that compliments an interwoven storyline. Imagine a movie trilogy, where each release is an individual story, with individual themes, but together they create a continuous, filmic storyline. Each release builds towards the final one and together they represent a journey: “All 3 parts are going to work together to make up one big story. We came up with this trippy story that we’ve written the music to, and as the music plays out it reflects the story. And the story is going to be portrayed through visuals… The idea was to do 3 releases and to make them more coherent, rather than just the typical album release. The artwork was done by Art Ensemble in Germany and the book is great. The artwork is very Ralph Steadman/Tim Burton-like.”
The Irish music scene has evolved in recent years. A very diverse range of acts have redefined the music scene in Ireland. Bands such as newly acclaimed The Strypes and Kodaline are making names for themselves: “There are a lot of good bands coming through the Irish scene at the moment. We jam with a whole load of great bands like Spies, Tandem Felix, Girlband, Jetsetter and Telephone. On the greater scene we’d personally be into Enemies and Croupier. MMoths is great as well. But it’s difficult for Irish bands in general. Record labels are reluctant to invest in Irish bands because of the small market but recently a number of Irish bands have shown the quality of some of the music being made here.”
The first instalment for release will be available for download on the bands website on the 11th of April, the day after the EP launch. It’s an ambitious project but the lads are confident fans will enjoy it: “We’re not nervous about the release because we have confidence in the concept. The emphasis is solely on the launch night in the Grand Social and then we’ll start promoting the project, playing gigs, and then we can focus on our domination of the world…”
Their live show is a tour-de-force truly not to be missed. We Arrive Alive play the Grand Social on Wednesday the 10th of April. Support on the night is Sophie Coulter and Jetsetter. Tickets are €8 and are available on the bands Facebook page or at the door on the night.