SoundTrack: Brian Deady
Posted on 25th Feb 09 by Contributor | 
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Artist: Brian DeadyAuthor: Naomi McArdle Cork's own Brian Deady is taking up the mantle of Master of Irish Soul" at least that's the idea. This May sees the release of his debut album Interview and after 2008's single Any Ol' Ting caused much furore and clashing opinion here on Drop"D" we await the album with [...]
Artist: Brian Deady
Author: Naomi McArdle
Cork's own Brian Deady is taking up the mantle of Master of Irish Soul" at least that's the idea. This May sees the release of his debut album Interview and after 2008's single Any Ol' Ting caused much furore and clashing opinion here on Drop"D" we await the album with baited breath. For now" Brian shares his thoughts and musical Soundtrack.
Drop"D: Can you pigeonhole your tastes into one particular genre or do your preferences spread through an array of influences"
Brian: I couldn't put all of my influences in one particular box/hole. The obvious influences would come from 70s/80s soul and funk. Curtis Mayfield" early Michael Jackson" Marvin Gaye" The Brothers Johnson" and Prince" but when it comes to trying to figure out what you're influenced by" really you have to go way back. The music around me growing up was imprinted like a musical genetic code and is still with me. I would have been absorbing what was on the radio" the telly and my parents' records: Pop" Country" Rock" the theme tune to Chips" Abba" Elvis" Roy Orbison" Glen Campbell" it has all influenced me.
Drop"D: What triggered your musical infatuation" Was it a certain band/person/style/age"
Brian: I listened to a lot of the vocal groups like The Drifters" The Four Tops" The Chi Lites" Earth Wind and Fire and was amazed by that sound. My neighbour two doors down from us was older and slightly more guitar based in terms of taste" his whole family were musical" my brothers and I would knock around and listen to The Beatles and E.L.O." even then it sounded really fresh to me. It happened many other times after" when I was 15" up in my room on a summer evening" recording songs off the radio I heard Aint Nuthin But That G Thang "Dr. Dre " Ed." breeze in" it changed how I heard music. It keeps happening" every now and then music sounds totally new all over.
Drop"D: Is there any kind of music you'd like to know/hear more of"
Brian: Now that I don't see people wearing wigs everytime I listen to classical It's a lot more enjoyable" At the moment I'm listening to the pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto" there's a lot to be learned.
Drop"D: What influenced your decision to choose a career in a band"
Brian: It was always an ambition" as kids my brothers and I would pretend to be in a band and play pretend instruments "not midi ones". I've always been making stuff up in my head" it has always been a goal" which now just seems like a natural progression. Plus working for other people makes me lose my fucking mind" so it's both a pursuit of dreams and of survival.
Drop"D: How much time do you spend listening to music now"
Brian: I spend a lot of time listening" it's never really decreased" there are just more choices now. The buzz of finding new music never really gets old" finding different ways of saying something is always a challenge
Drop"D: Do you prefer live music or listening from home"
Brian: I usually end up listening at home" I haven't been to many gigs recently but nothing really beats seeing and experiencing it happen live.
Drop"D: How often would you spend at gigs that aren't your own"
Brian: Not a whole lot these days. I'd go and see a good jazz gig anytime.
Drop"D: Would they be Irish or international bands"
Brian: I'm trying to remember who were the last Irish band I saw. I went to see Republic of Loose a while back" they're good and someway lie in the soul/funk genre" but theres not a lot of that in Ireland so I would probably end up seeing something foreign. Away from that genre" I went to see a band called Rest and they were fantastic live. More recently I saw Mick Flannery who's really raised the bar for the singer/songwriter genre" his success is well deserved.
Drop"D: Where does Irish music come on your playlists" Are you a big fan of home grown bands"
Brian: For homegrown these days" I hear a lot of Disco"influenced Indie"Rock which isn't my cup of tea. The singer/songwriter Rebecca Collins is really outstanding and I hope she goes far.
Other than that I haven't really heard much of what I'd like to hear" maybe I need to get out more instead of reverting back to Thin Lizzy.
Drop"D: What do you think of the climate of the Irish music scene" Is it a good place to be a musician right now"
Brian: Well it's recession time and that probably makes people more introspective and into music and maybe looking for an outlet like a gig etc" but I think there'll be a creative explosion coming from Cork over the next couple of years which will bring a lot of attention to here" I'm glad to be a part of that.
Drop"D: If you could choose a musical era to experience" what would it be"
Brian: Well it would have to be the 70s. I'd love to be able to witness some of the greats doing their thing live. Imagine going to see Elvis in Hawaii in '73" I'd also like to zoom forward a thousand years from now to see if we're still here and if all the styles of the world have ended up blending into one genre. Or maybe there'd be as many genres as there are people" which may be feck all.
Drop"D: Choose some albums you find timeless.
Brian:
Marvin Gaye " What's Goin On for many reasons: the singing" the playing" the writing" the way the all the songs blend together yet each is distinctive .
Aaron Choulai " Korema. An album I picked up In Australia by a local jazz pianist" it was recorded in Melbourne and I managed to see a performance on one of the nights of recording. It's performed with his sextet" most of whom were his lecturers in college and just for melody structure alone the first two pieces of it are beyond description.
Radiohead " In Rainbows/Ok Computer. The freshness yet simplicity of them both.
Drop"D: Now choose some modern tunes that you've really enjoyed.
Brian:
The Cool Kids " Black Mags.
Mayer Hawthorne " Just Ain't Gonna Work Out.
Jay Electronica " The Pledge " Hip"Hop like I've never heard before
Drop"D: Who/what do you find absolutely awful crap" rubbish" dross"
Brian: 98" of what i hear at any given time on the radio which is a pity cos I grew up listening to Pop on the radio which I loved" but something happened as we got into the 90's and the scientists got their head around the pop formula and went to town on it. People say it's a relative thing" but I think I'm lucky to say that I was born in an era when Pop was written with feeling and meant something. Maybe thats what all the 80's fuss is about because it was the last decade of sincere Pop. But really it's just another wall we'll have to get over.
Drop"D: You've hijacked RTE at prime time and the DJ's tied up in a corner. Choose five songs you think the nation HAS to hear.
Brian:
Brian Deady " Headlights
Jay Electronica " The Pledge
Radiohead " Reckoner
Chi Lites " Have You Seen Her"
Joe Jackson " Steppin Out
Brian Deady's album Interview is due to be released in May 2009.