Music Under Fire

Blended with three parts Irishmen and one part Canadian, Angel Pier carries a witty touch to their "melancholic" rock. With a new EP (Sacrifice) on the way and a North American tour illuminating their horizon, the guys from Angel Pier certainly pepped us up when they agreed to answer a few questions.

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MusicUnderFire: When did you first get into the music scene? Solo or as a group?

Luke: At age 14. About 6 Months after I picked up a guitar I started a "band" with other kids who had instruments and so on. Eventually it all evolved.

Darragh: Personally I've always been making music of some sort since I was a kid, from dance tracks thrown together with samples from anywhere and everywhere to banging furiously at the piano in my parents house I was always creating some sort of noise I considered music. The first real original music project I undertook was my one previous band, Random, where I learnt a lot about every aspect of being in a band, from learning to play guitar & write songs to how individuals relate to each other in that situation. I also learnt from this that the best way to write the music within the band is to let is grow naturally & democratically, and that's what we've all done within Angel Pier as best we can. Angel Pier came together very naturally, I was looking for musicians to work with & Mark came along, we needed a guitarist & Luke had been in touch, we began looking for a bassist & Vinny was the first person we thought of. I'm extremely grateful for each of the guys in the band and couldn't ask for a better bunch of musicians or a nicer bunch of guys. It just feels like it was meant to happen this way.

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MUF: You refer to yourselves as Angels a bunch. Tell me a bit about why/how you became Angel Pier and the significance of this name.

Darragh: In the previous band I was in I produced the artwork and angels always featured somewhere in the design, not always prominently but definitely there. My sister, Dawn is a great ideas person & is always interested in the music I'm working on, and at Electric Picnic (large Irish music Festival) one year she suggested naming the as yet unformed band "Something Pier". So both her and I wandered off trying to figure out what the something would be, and a couple of weeks later I was chatting to her about it & suggested "Angel" as the first part of the name. She had been thinking exactly the same thing but was afraid to suggest it, so that became the name. When we looked into the name a bit further, we discovered that there is an "Angel Pier" as part of Strasbourg Cathedral which depicts the Last Judgement from the Bible. This fits right in with our lyrical content which often utilizes religious imagery.

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MUF: I've seen the terms 'melancholic melodies' and 'gothic groove' used to describe your sound. What is this sound and where did it come from?

Mark: The sound is a compound made form many different personalities. What comes out is musically quite dark and but also has a danceable element to it coming from the rhythms that are created between the various elements which make up our sound.

Darragh: It comes from our original plan to put together a band that creates melancholic songs with an upbeat edge. I personally find melancholic music to be the most powerful and as a result the songs that come out tend to be leaning in that direction, but we also didn't want to create music that was depressing in any way or too laid back, so the heart of the music would have to have a driving edge, a groove so to speak. Marks influences in this area would be along the lines of The Cure & the Stone Roses amongst others, bands that always had an upbeat edge backing up the songs. With Vinny & Mark working together on creating a solid backing behind the songs we coined the "gothic groove" term to describe where we were coming from, & the "melancholic melodies" term describes the layers above this, the interplay between the guitars & the layers of vocals... It also helps that we all come from different musical backgrounds in terms of influences, it's the 4 separate personalities within the band that creates Angel Pier's sound, the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts...

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MUF: Why did you go with the name Sacrifice for your newest EP?

Darragh: It's not obvious on first listen that the lyrical content tends to be quite dark in places, just like layering melancholia with upbeat rhythms we like to have uplifting music placed against darker subject matter. It's important when naming tracks & EPs to suggest where the songs may be going just by reading the title. The lead track off of our Bullet Holes & Broken Sectors EP, Sprites lent some lyrics to the EP title, and in our minds was an apt title for what came within. Similarly, Sacrifice suggest the lyrical direction while providing continuity with our first EP title. "Sacrifice" is also the first track off of the new EP, and will be released as a single separately.

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MUF: When should we expect it to be released?

Darragh: We're currently looking at a June release for the new EP, and the "Sacrifice" single will be released as a lead up to the EP.

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MUF: How has working with the very experienced Leo Pearson on this EP been?

Luke: Very good. Quick, to the point and very professional. He provides good guidance without butchering your songs. Just adds/suggests little things that 1) will sound better 2) will sell more.


Vinny: Pretty much what Luke said, you gotta put faith in Leo, trust him.

Mark: Great. He works fast and gets good performances from people... not necessarily the most technical one but the one with the best energy. He also helped us to push ourselves in terms of arrangements and harmony.

Darragh: Leo was great in many ways. His studio is based in the heart of the Irish country and is right beside a very welcoming & relaxed little town (Thomastown) that has a great music scene. It was great to be away from our usual environs to get some additional perspective on what we're doing, sometimes it's too easy to remain so close to what you're doing that you can't quite form a subjective opinion on what it is you're producing. Leo's studio is based in an old barn on two floors, with a great live room downstairs with really nice natural reverb, especially good for recording drums, and far enough away from urban life that you can crank the amps for the best guitar sound. Leo was great at getting a good almost live performance from each of us when recording and didn't dwell on elements for very long. We went down with the intention of recording, arranging & mixing 4 tracks in a few days, and without succumbing to the usual working through the night methodology we achieved what we set out to do. It was all very relaxed yet professional, and of course we had a few beers as well, helped to keep us warm while living in the nearby caravan (trailer)... (indie) rock 'n roll...

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MUF: Final question. Your band is part Irish and part Canadian- which gets served more, Canadian beer or Irish whiskey?

Luke: Since it's hard to get Canadian beer in Ireland it's all about Guinness I guess. But that will change once we are in Canada for the tour. Canadian beers all the way.

Vinny: Grandpa Simpson: " A little from column A, a little from Column B. I reckon I've drank more Canadian Whiskey than Canadian Beer, thanks Luke ('',)...

Mark: Canadian Whiskey!

Darragh: When Luke arrived back from Canada it was Canadian whiskey all around. I like my whiskey, but it doesn't like me... We hit Canada March 4th...

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Angel Pier just launched their user-friendly web page on March 3rd, so check it out. Their debut EP Bullet Holes & Broken Sectors released on iTunes on January '07. "Sacrifice" and their older songs can be heard to at their myspace page.