THE REDNECK MANIFESTO
THE REDNECK MANIFESTO
Having been at the forefront of the independent music scene in Ireland for over 10 years – aided by word of mouth, staunchly supportive fans and impassioned live shows, THE REDNECK MANIFESTO announce a date in Whelan’s on Nov 3rd.
TRM have already released three modern Irish classic records in the shape of Thirty Six Strings (2001), Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head (2002) and I Am Brazil (2004). 2010 saw the band release their fourth full-length Friendship.
It might be four years since their last recorded output, the Seven Stabs EP but the quintet of Mervyn Craig, Matthew Bolger, Niall Byrne, Richard Egan and Neil O’Connor have been busy on their own solo projects in the interim. Richard Egan is now well-known for his electro-influenced transcendent pop side-project Jape having released previously three albums culminating in 2008’s Choice Music Prize winning album Ritual.
Friendship
June 2009 saw the band members re-convened from their homes across the world in Ireland, San Francisco and Sweden to Black Box Studios in France to record with Dave Odlum, the same studio they had recorded I Am Brazil with Odlum six years earlier.
The album’s title was no doubt inspired by their time together in the comfortable environs of a cottage in the French countryside where the band clocked in 17 hour recording days, talked about music, drank and cooked together.
Black Box Studios afforded the band the time to experiment with the sounds of their instruments and to bring in the knowledge they had individually gained producing their own side-projects alongside Odlum. “I think that between all of us we have a very diverse taste in music which has grown broader over the years to encompass a lot of new ideas and sounds,” says Mervyn. “These individual influences are combined when we write and record together over time to produce the final melting pot of ideas.”
The band used the analogue and digital equipment in the Black Box studio on the new record, pushing themselves in new creative ways. “The sound of the record comes a lot from the result of processing modern instruments, like an andromeda synth, through old vintage effects boxes, filters and speakers, like a Leslie cabinet,“ explains Matt. Both Mervyn and Neil agree that Friendship is more sonically adventurous than previous recordings .“It still sounds like TRM but we’ve never sounded as good on record before,” adds Matt.
Judging by the opening track the multi-faceted ‘Black Apple’ with its bass-heavy, cascading riff opening, leading into the heavier fuzz guitar, propulsive drumming and synth-laden second half, this is The Redneck Manifesto at their most creative.
Friendship is out now on Richter Collective.
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