TPOE 186: Seamus Fogarty

Irish singer songwriter Seamus Fogarty released his third album A Bag Of Eyes on Domino Records on November 6. We talked just before its release about how it was created, having been borne of the London-based artist "growing weary" of the guitar. We discuss his journey over the past ten-plus years, with detours along the way courtesy of the late Willie Meighan of Rollercoaster Records and King Creosote's Fence Records. A little from the press release: A Bag Of Eyes is a wholly different sonic prospect to 2017’s much-lauded The Curious Hand. Weary of the guitar, and seeking something darker than its predecessor, he chose to lean more heavily on synths and drum machines, and additionally, to self-produce. “It was about creating and exploring new sound worlds,” Fogarty says. “Experimenting with new ways of incorporating electronics into the songwriting process, and in some cases dispensing with conventional songwriting processes altogether.” There is industrial judder, slacker-fuzz guitar, a cacophony of saxophones. On one track, ring-modulated drums kick in with oscillating fury. Another moves from 90s’ shit-hole grunge venue to sleazy jazz joint in four minutes. Whilst on a third, a synth is deployed with the express purpose of sawing the listeners’ ears in half, Fogarty attests. However, beneath them lie fragments of melody, image, drone; a flicker of banjo, an electronic pulse. “I like to purposely make music that clashes with the more traditional stuff that I do,” he says.