An Interview with Settler

Far from Settled, the band talk about their latest album and more...

2003 continues to unveil more home-grown talent such as Settler who, in "Life Upstream", have produced one of the most intriguing albums of the year so far. The 5-piece Dublin based band has produced an album that is startlingly original with its pop-rock & country aesthetics. A follow-up to their self-titled 2001 EP, its release has seen a number of appearances on No Disco and much accomplished gigs in Dublin are certain to earn the band well deserved recognition. Recent gigs in The Lower Deck & Temple Bar Music Centre have already proven their ability to master the stage as well as the studio.

Cluas hooked up with 3 of Settler - Michael, Wil & Tim - and got to discuss the album, lyrics and, er, the influence of Sunday mass on Irish gig-goers?

The album has been described in various reviews as a number of different things, folk-rock, pop-rock harmony, country, even a touch of Americana of all things. Do you see those elements in the album yourselves, or are people reading too much into it?

MS: Well, I don't think that we consciously were aiming at what people would say about it. We were just doing whatever stuff that came from the heart, to coin a phrase.

TIM: It's always very interesting to find out what other people think the songs sounds like though.

MS: The Americana thing is a bit off, I don't know. The thing is, is that one person says it and then everybody starts saying it, you know? Fair enough, if people want to label you with something, we don't really mind. I mean Americana? We're Irish! If we were from some deep country part of the States, then maybe that might make sense to me. So, I'm going to call it Irishcana!

The music on it is very original though, it's very hard to describe it in comparative terms, it doesn't sound like anyone else in particular and that's one of the most appealing things about it.

WM: That's quite a compliment.

MS: Well we don't all sit around listening to The Handsome Family or Wilco. There's all different influences going on in the band. I know that myself & Derek and maybe Will are fans of Lambchop for example, so there might be a bit of a connection there in spirit. But we listen to all different kinds of stuff too. I will say it is nice when people latch onto it in the way you've described though.

You use 3 different vocalists in the band and 4 of you write. That's a lot of inputs within the confines of one band. It must help diversify the sound of the songs to an enormous extent.

WM: It helps the song-writing process in so far as no one person is carrying the burden. If I have a piece of music that I can hand over to someone else, everyone chips in and the idea that you come up with is going to be different by the time it goes through the band filter if you like. And probably out through the other side in a horrible mess! It usually works like that all the time and if one of us can't come up with something, there's 3 others who will.

Let's take the lyrics on the album. On a song like "Blame" you have "A kinky last percentile / of my mortal remains." Another example from "Staring At Machines" is "A perfect symbiosis /, I thank the one who chose us". These lyrics are wonderfully obscure?

(This last comment brings a monumental wall of laughter)

If you don't mind my saying so, of course? (beginning to get embarrassed)

WM: That's a code for saying it doesn't mean anything!!

MS: Yeah, they are obscure to be fair, very diverse. It's been a big thing for us, actually focussing on the lyrics. One of the things about that is that there is a lot of music going on in Dublin at the moment without lyrics, instrumentals and stuff. And that's good in many ways; it's intellectual in its musical content. But in contrast, we always wanted to focus on the quality of the lyrics and we want to make sure that what is getting across is somewhat cerebral in its intentions but also somewhat heartfelt too.

WM: That was one of the things we were proudest of. In every review we got, they mentioned the lyrics. But we wouldn't want to spell out too much in a song either. We don't want to hand the meaning of a song to someone straight off and discount their interpretation of it.

MS: We're not being wilfully obscure either though. When you're writing lyrics, you want to write something that's interesting to you. That's the bottom line. If that means saying something directly or saying it in a roundabout way, then so be it.

WM: We have our interpretation of it, but we wouldn't want to force it on anyone else. Misinterpretation of lyrics can be a great thing as well.

TIM: In other ways, you can hear lyrics over many years and sometimes they can make sense only to you. I think it's awful when a songwriter starts explaining what he meant.

As regards playing; for example Fiona's bass on a couple of tracks is particularly outstanding and the songs are much better for it. You could argue that the bass is an often-overlooked instrument in music, drowned out by guitar or feedback. It can happen to keyboards and other instruments too. It's another good element on the album in that every instrument on every song can be heard. Did you actually put an emphasis on that in recording the album?

MS: It's great to hear you say that.

WM: I think we just planned to record everything really clean and just get good levels on everything. We hadn't really thought ahead to the mixing process and then Barry stepped in and offered to mix it for us.

TIM: It was actually a bit messy on the tapes because we didn't really know what the story was. We listed all the tracks and at one point we thought a lot of them had been wiped going through the customs with the magnets and stuff. That was a scary moment!

Ireland's music scene is definitely on the up and up these last couple of years. A lot more people are releasing stuff independently and on labels and doing quite well. You must be optimistic going into a music environment like this.

WM: Yeah, I think it's as healthy as it's ever been. Certainly in the last 5 years, there's been a real jump in quality and musicianship.

TIM: Definitely. It's improved and it's much more accessible. Musicians are doing stuff now instead of sitting on their arses.

WM: The DIY attitude has a lot to do with that. Digital technology is helping a lot, and things like the things-you're-missing collective that's available now. The help they give each other makes it easier for bands to operate and get gigs with each other.

MS: 5 or 6 years ago, we probably wouldn't have put out the album because we would have thought that you couldn't do it on your own like you could now. You'd have to get a record deal or you'd have to know somebody who knows what they're doing to help you out. Now there's other things in place that are good. Whether that be No Disco, Cluas.com, thingsyouremissing.com, Phantom FM and also communication with people in other countries is easier. The reason we went over to Chicago was because of exchange of email. I mean, Viva the Internet!!

The media has given "Life Upstream" serious thumbs up. Everywhere it's been, people have reacted to it quite well. How have you reacted to that?

TIM: Well we haven't stopped patting each other on the back?

(At this point, the boys degenerate into a hail of complimentary bliss, telling each other how wonderful they are, backed by an unstoppable gale of laughter)

MS: We didn't really go into this with any expectations. If you can say anything about "Life Upstream" it's a fairly honest record. It's a recording of a band; we just went into the studio and pressed record. We knew from playing gigs that what we're doing is something fairly real at least, some people may not like it, but we like it. You can probably expect another album.

You've played in America and the reaction there was good.

WM: We all like playing to a crowd where we don't know anyone and the idea is to win them over. That's the way we were thinking about it when we went over there. They were so receptive over there and really got behind us.

TIM: I think American audiences are very open-minded and give you a chance whereas perhaps, although not necessarily, you do come across audiences in Ireland where it's arms folded, impress me. But if your music is even halfway decent, you will impress somebody.

MS: I think Irish audiences; they want to be your friend. Whereas American audiences want to tell you "You're Great!" or "You're Terrible!" So it means that if you were playing a gig in a place that you don't know in the States, you know where you stand, they will tell you.

WM: In Ireland where you play a gig, the little area in front of the stage is the last place to fill up. And in America, it's always the first.

TIM: It's like mass in Ireland?

Yet another witty remark to finish up with. There may be many wisecracks and quips galore with the Settler gang but it sure is no reflection on the quality & musicianship of "Life Upstream", an album by a bunch of people who clearly are enjoying what they do.

Jimmy Murphy

Check out www.settlersite.com for details on how to get your hands on "Life Upstream".