ALPINE SKIES

The Dublin-based rock duo Alpine Skies is a collaboration between Kevin Homan and Darren Farrell, two seasoned musicians from the Dublin music scene, who have been individually performing in cover bands since the nineties. 

For decades, Darren had been consistently penning original material, which he never thought he would publicly release. On the advice of mutual friends, Kevin and Darren met up.

Inspired by Darren’s riffs and songwriting capabilities, which he felt were too good to go to waste, Kevin suggested that they start a band to bring them to the world.

With Kevin on guitar and vocals and Darren on guitar and bass, the two crafted tunes influenced by a range of material, from The Beatles, Metallica, Alice in Chains, Britpop, and Madchester. “Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is indie rock ‘n’ roll,” Kevin says.

The two entered a recording studio last year to begin work on their debut album, Inspired Conflicts, which is to be released on the 16th. Despite their longevity, through the album’s recording and scheduled release, they discovered they still have a lot to learn about the production and consumption of music.

Kevin and Darren talk to us about the making of the record, its personnel (which features musicians from Aslan, Bell X1, The Waterboys, and The Frames), what to expect at the album’s launch gig on the 30th, and much more.

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It’s nice to talk with you again! I think the last time we spoke was when [their second single] “Walls” came out. I was looking back on that, and it was last August. So, the first thing I was going to ask is, what has happened since then for the band?

KEVIN: Yeah, great to meet with you again, Aaron. I think when we last spoke, it would’ve been around the time of “Walls,” and I think even at that point, we were a bit ambitious, in the sense that we actually thought that we’d be releasing the album in the November timeframe, I think? I think that’s what we felt?

DARREN: Yeah.

KEVIN: I think we mentioned that to yourself, and that was really just wanting to move beyond the album and progress to recording new material, because we’re itching to get back into the studio to record again. But then, through the jigs and the reels, and understanding the process of what releasing an album is, and the work that goes hand-in-hand with that… - lining up singles, launch gigs, and promotion pieces - …at the time of “Walls,” it was our first real alliance, if you will, with Rhí [McPhelim; their publicist], who you know from this set-up, and it kind of presented itself to us that we had a bit of work to do before we can go and just drop the album, if we want to actually announce ourselves to the general public. Of course, we could have just gone and dropped the album, and just moved on, and just thrown it into the wind, so to speak, but we felt we wanted to give it some legs to stand on. We put enough time and effort into it, and we wanted people to hear it. We wanted it to reach people, ultimately, so they can know who we are. Whether they like it or not, that’s another thing, but we wanted to at least give the album its day in the sun before we did move on. So, a lot has happened in the sense of realignment for ourselves, where we thought we were in the whole idea of releasing music, and where the reality was. Prior to this, myself and Darren had never released music, originally. I did, maybe, ten or fifteen years ago, and maybe Darren was the same, but it’s kind of getting back into that stratosphere, and then trying to understand the new areas or the new mediums of streaming, and getting music on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes; all of those avenues. [Laughs] It was a real rude awakening! We had this grand idea of, “Yeah, we’ll get it out by the end of the year. Grand. We’ll move on,” but it was more so, “Actually, let’s not be hasty about this. Let’s give it its right due, give it its right respect, because we’ve put enough time and effort in, and let’s actually put enough backing with enough promotion, and let’s see if it lands with people.” And that’s pretty much what has gone on since. We’ve released other singles from the album, and we’ve been shaping to officially release the album and officially launch the album in a couple of weeks’ time; in mid-April, with the album, and a few weeks after that with a launch gig in Whelan’s in Dublin. So, that’s…! [Laughs] So, that’s a roundabout way of saying what’s been going on! Apologies!

DARREN: I’m learning the chords again! Relearning!

KEVIN: Yes! Dipping our toes into the live set-up as well, you know?

DARREN: Playing them all again. It’s been that long since I’ve played it. “Oh, yeah! That’s it! That’s it!” No, it’s been busy.

I think the last time we spoke, youse were gearing up to your first gig, which I believe was with The Elusives at The Sound House. So, I was wondering, have you played live much in between?

KEVIN: No, we haven’t, and that’s by design, really, because we are relatively unknown; we are just a new band. We want to give this album its due, in the sense of creating a buzz; even if it’s only in our own community, in the sense of people we know, and people we respect, and family, friends, and people in our locale. Even if it’s just creating a little bit of buzz with them, and getting them in, and celebrating on the night, and having the night with them. We didn’t want to oversaturate our existence out there, with trying to get people to get into gigs, et cetera; we wanted to kind of retain it all for that one night. So, we did that gig with The Elusives at The Sound House in November. That was our first venture outside of the studio as a live act, and that went really well. We were received really well, we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was [Laughs] nerve-wracking, as you can probably understand, but we got through it unscathed, and we put our heads down from that point and said, “Yeah, let’s do this, let’s give this an official launch, let’s give this the respect it deserves, and let’s aim for pre-summer.” So, then we had to get into discussions with venues, and see what would be suitable for us, and we ended up with the 30th of April at Whelan’s on Wexford Street to launch it. So, yeah, that’s pretty much where we’ve been.

If I’m correct, you’ve had the album in the bag for a year now, at this point, and you’ve been releasing singles in preparation for it. Have you found that release pattern effective for building the band’s reputation? Do you see the growth?

KEVIN: I’m going to plead the Fifth here and allow Darren to enter the conversation, because I don’t want to monopolise this! [Laughs]

DARREN: Absolutely. I know Kev’s pleading the Fifth on this, but it’s kind of his forte, to put it lightly. I have been sitting back and enjoying his work while I work on other stuff. [Laughs] But, yeah, it’s all positive. Coming back on my side, when I’m resharing stuff about the singles and all of that, I’m getting a lot of positivity back from friends and family, in particular. It’s all good. I think the strategy is, in every six weeks, dropping a single…I don’t know if we envisioned dropping four singles; I think we envisioned dropping two and then releasing the album, but then we said, “Yeah, we’ll go for a fourth one, then drop the album.” But it’s been pleasantly surprising. 

KEVIN: I’m appreciating the fact that we’re getting music out there before we launch the album, because I think it’s just such an abyss. So, to drop an album that you’ve put so much time and effort into without pre-empting it with some form of idea of who you are or what you sound like…There’s so much, let’s just say, muck being slung at the wall in the music industry, and I mean that with the greatest respect. There’s so much music being generated on a daily basis that you’re going to just disappear into the divide. So, it’s hard to punch through and find a path. So, the cautious approach, if you will, of releasing a single to try and create some form of a dent, or some form of an identity, as well, has been really eye-opening. Previously, if we released music, in a previous existence, fifteen-odd years ago, it would’ve been a physical format, and it would’ve been actually going to a record store and trying to tout physical CDs in local CD stores, or Tower Records in town, and places like that. The whole environment of digital platforms and streaming is completely new to us, so slowly going single by single and learning each step of the way has been really, really good for us, and will only benefit us when we go to release the album and, ultimately, release further music from that point. The bane at the moment for me is content! [Laughs] Online content, which, to be perfectly honest, I take my hat off to everybody and anybody out there flying that flag. It’s a tough chore, and one that I think…A lesson that we’ll take forward, massively, into further production is documenting, capturing, and recording every little movement in the studio, because we spent hours in the studio putting this album together, and didn’t bother pulling out the camera phone once. Maybe once or twice we’ve done it, and there are small pieces, but going forward, we’ll have to up our content game! [Laughs]

DARREN: I captured a few pieces here and there, when I remembered, because I was too engrossed in the mixing process, the recording process…I was just too focused on that, and phones were never really in the room. It was that tunnel vision on what we were trying to achieve, but, as you say, it would’ve been great to capture all of that; the actual recording process. Because, looking at the videos of Metallica building The Black Album in that classic [1992 documentary] A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica is brilliant, how they captured all of that, in terms of how the songs grew, and how they were put together, and all of that. I love all of that. But, it’s sadly lost. Well, not all of it! There’s a few bits.

KEVIN: Well, we’re from the era of phones in pockets, not in palms, right? [Laughs] We’re showing our age, really, and that’s the truth of the matter! 

In the year between recording the album and its release, do you find the band has changed? Because I assume you’re still writing. When we last spoke, Kevin, you were saying the thing that really drew you to want to work with Darren was the riffs that he had, and the skillset that was very evident and that you felt was going to waste not being on a record. I hope that’s an accurate portrayal of what you said. So, even in just that time, how do you find the project has grown or differed? Do you find it’s still very much the same band that recorded those songs, or do you think it’s something else?

KEVIN: I think it’s very much the same, just because it’s myself and Darren, and it’s our brains dripping out onto the page, if you will. Obviously, a lot of focus has been around this release, and giving it its due, and doing it in the live performance. So, thankfully, we’ve had a couple of friends join us to play it live. It won’t be just the two of us; it’s a four-piece act on stage. So, we’ve been perfecting that and getting that right for the night. But, having said that, there is still an incessant ping that goes on at least once a week, where Darren is on to me, saying, “Here’s the latest riff I’ve been working on! Get working on a melody!” So, that just doesn’t stop! [Laughs] I’m not mad at that, at all!

DARREN: I recognise that! I do! [Laughs]

KEVIN: I have a separate, identifying ringtone just for him, you know? But, no, it is still the same approach; it’s still myself and Darren. We just spill our brains out onto the page. We still try to appeal to each other. He’ll have a riff. I might edit it, I might work with it straight up. He might have a bit of a riff, where he’s looking for a, “Hey, what do you think of this?”, and we’ll scrub through it together. Or he may have a melody. I may have some lyrics. It’s still that same songwriting duo partnership, but ultimately, our focus at the moment is doing justice to the album, so performing that live. But the two of us were only speaking last week about getting back in, to do a double-A-side release, post the album release; maybe July/August time. We don’t want to rest on our laurels, and there’s so much that we want to get working on, but also don’t want to not respect what we’ve already done. So, it’s a bit of a balance.

I was wondering if maybe you could talk about the personnel on Inspired Conflicts? There are a lot of interesting people on it, so I was wondering if you could say who’s on it and how they got involved?

DARREN: I think the initial hook-up with the [album’s] engineer, Sean Hurley, came through [me] rehearsing at…it was called The Loft Studios at the time, with my previous covers band, and I knew the owner of the building, and he put me in contact with Sean. I think I spouted it to yourself, Kev, about, “How would you feel about hooking up with this lad that I have in mind?” That’s how that element came in. And, through Sean himself, these lads that are named on the album came to fruition; the likes of Binzer [a.k.a. Paul Brennan; drummer for The Frames; also with Bell X1 and The Waterboys] and Gavin Fox. They were friends of Sean, who he has worked with on previous albums and God knows what else. And, also, Sheena [Stynes] and Lee [Tomkins], as well. I think out of all the names, they all came through Sean. So, it was a good meeting up at the start, through Pat, that we got all these people on board. But, also, it was myself and Kev agreeing to have these come on board, as well. There was a lot of discussion on that. We could’ve used friends to come in and play pieces here and there, but Sean was like, “I have some good lads at your disposal here, if you want to use them,” and I think that was the best move we’ve ever done.

KEVIN: Yeah. I think so, too. I’d have to agree with Darren. Hats off and flowers to be thrown at Sean Hurley up there in Little Bear Studios in Rathcoole in Dublin. Sean has a fantastic ability to recognise what a song needs in the recording process. He’s played in bands throughout the years, and I’ve actually played with Sean, years ago, on the Dublin circuit in bands of yesteryear. Not in the same bands, but on the same stage on bands’ nights, and he’s a great guy. And, as Darren mentioned, we had toyed with the idea of using friends, like we’re using friends now for the live act. We toyed with the idea of getting people we know on bass, or keyboard, and things like that, and we attempted it once or twice, and, as good as it was, we felt as though it wasn’t hitting the mark. We were having these conversations with Sean, and, ultimately, he said, “Well, look, I’ve recorded with people before, and I know this guy, or I know that guy who can do this. Will we get him in?” Myself and Darren said, “Yeah. Let’s go for it.” We got the guys in, gave them the crux of the idea, and, basically, said, “That’s the root of what we’re trying to achieve here. You guys are the musicians. Go at it. Have fun. Elaborate. Express yourself,” and the guys were just stellar. Fantastic musicians. Paul “Binzer” Brennan, he’s been on a wealth of solid Irish material, and Gav Fox, as well. Fantastic. Of course, Lee, who Darren mentioned, he’s an ex-bandmate of Sean’s. He’s gone on now to front Aslan. Fantastic vocalist. He’s got backing vocals on some of the songs. And, of course, Sheela Stynes, as well, with some fantastic backing vocals. It was just the right people for the right jobs. As much as I do vocals on the recordings, me doing harmonies and all the backing vocals wouldn’t give it enough contrast or colour in the vocals, sonically, so having Sheela and having Lee, and having that contrasting element on the recording is fantastic. And, of course, Binzer and Gav are just unbelievable musicians. Whatever canvas we laid in front of them, […] the way they expressed it was really fantastic, and it really shows up on the recording. To be perfectly honest, I find myself listening to Darren, Binzer, Gav, Sheena, and Lee more than I find myself listening to myself. I wanna listen to them more than I wanna listen to me, they’re that good!

DARREN: I think we learned an awful lot from these people, but it was kind of done in blocks. We did one song originally, and then it was an EP, and then it was a second EP. Then, I think it grew to twenty songs, because I was like, “I have this! I have this! I have this!” The eager beaver in me, as always! I think it grew to forty songs! But would I be correct in saying, Kev, that the last eight songs were probably stronger? Because I had brought demos from Pro Tools sessions into the studio for Sean, and everything was laid bare, and the lads could hear exactly what we were thinking, rather than just coming in with a riff and saying, “This is kind of the idea we have.” Personally, I think that’s how I grew as a songwriter; I was more comfortable bringing in sessions that I had created at home, and letting the lads have a listen. The two boys, in particular, Gav and Binzer, write completely differently. Binzer’s kind of an on-the-fly guy, where he’s like, “No, I don’t want to hear any demos. Just play it, and I’ll drum on it,” and Gav would like to hear stuff, and hear what I was playing previously on the bass, and discuss it, strip it out, and say, “What do you think of this, lads?” And that’s how we build upon the recordings that I was bringing in. It was a great way to create the album, I feel. The two lads even relayed that, as well. Especially Gav; he said he’s never recorded music that way, and it was really refreshing for him. We got a lot of compliments back, so it wasn’t just one-way traffic.

KEVIN: To hammer home your point, I think we did our homework on those last eight tracks, as well. We actually spent a bit of time on pre-production before we went into the studio, which is, [Laughs], you know, what we should have done, initially, but, you know, we live and we learn!

Based on something you said there, Darren, this isn’t going to be a forty-track album, is it? [All laugh]

KEVIN: If he had his way, it would be!

DARREN: Yeah, a Use Your Illusion, or a Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness!

How many songs are on it, because I would say there’s at least half an album out there, already?

KEVIN: Yeah, there’s four songs out, but there’s ten tracks on the album, and there’s about twenty on the cutting room floor.

DARREN: They’re in different phases! There’s ten that just need to be mixed, and then there’s another ten that are probably sixty per cent there, and there’s another ten that are probably forty per cent there. I think the hardest thing to do is actually picking them and [deciding] which way we should go, because we have quite a few avenues to go down. Do we go down the Inspired Conflicts sounding way, or do we shift a bit left, or a bit right? We’ve got good options there, I think, and it’s healthy.

I have to ask, Darren…I think the last time we spoke, you said you’ve been playing since the nineties, so to be doing it for this many decades now, and with Kevin taking an interest in your music and wanting to build upon it, what was it like when you had these other people come in and be inspired by what you were doing? 

DARREN: Hats off to the three lads who came in. They were nothing but professional, and there was such a good vibe, I think. The whole vibe in the studio was great. The lads were like, “Yeah, yeah!” And you could see the eagerness in them, and I think that’s half the battle; having lads that are actually interested in it, rather than just coming in to get paid, and “I just want to play out this session and not have any feeling,” and you can hear that in the songs, particularly Gav’s basslines. Some of the basslines I had down were nice, but he just brought them to…I don’t know. It was thoroughly enjoyable, put it that way, because I’d go back in tomorrow and record with the lads again. It was good and positive. I don’t know about yourself, Kev, but I thought the vibe was really, really good.

KEVIN: It must have felt really good for you, though. As Aaron was saying there, to be in a room with such esteemed musicians and for them to give the feedback they have to you?

DARREN: Yeah, I got a good lot of positive feedback from them and compliments and stuff like that, which I had never received before, because I always thought my playing was average, and I always will. The way I look at it is, there’s always someone better than you, and it keeps me grounded. I’m not one of these players that go to the front of the stage. I’ve had lots of cover bands, like, “Go out into that stage, there, and give it socks! You’re well able!”, and that’s just not my thing, like. [Laughs] I like to be heard, not seen. [Laughs] That’s the best way of being.

Kev, do you think Darren earns his cynicism? You can say “modesty,” but I think it’s more cynical. [Laughs]

KEVIN: No, it’s extremely modest. I’m just listening. If he’s average, I’m fucked! [Laughs] […] I play the guitar with boxing gloves on! I mangle the thing! He’s a player! He’s a player!

DARREN: Not anymore! The hours you’ve been putting in have come through, and you can see it.

KEVIN: Stop that, you! No need to lie! Lies make baby Jesus cry. [Laughs]

DARREN: You have a harder job than me. You’re singing full vocals while I play guitar. That’s a job in itself.

KEVIN: You have to be disciplined to play the full guitar! You only have to be a chancer to sing! [Laughs] We have this craic all the time, Aaron! Don’t mind us!

You mentioned that the people you were playing with in the studio changed the dynamics of the songs. Now that you’re doing it live, are you expecting the musicians you’re playing with now to replicate what is on the record, or are you letting them do their own thing?

KEVIN: It’s a great question, and to be perfectly honest with you, it’s something that I wrestle with on the daily, because this is an announcement of, “Hey! This is Alpine Skies, and this is what they sound like!” And we hope that people will listen to the record when it’s released on the 16th of April, which will give them two weeks up until the 30th of April to actually ingest it, consume it, and understand what they’re going to hear on the night. But I also love the element of playing music live, and it just varying slightly, and having a different energy. If I go to see an act and they play it exactly like the album, I’m usually a bit deflated, thinking, “They could have extended that, or they could’ve dropped out there, or they could’ve given that a bit of expression.” So, having friends coming in, doing a massive favour, backing us up, helping us celebrate the release, and they certainly have the ability to pull it off, but I’d love to see them put their own flair on it, as well, within the parameters of what is there! [Laughs] I don’t want them going on a jazz flute solo, like in Anchorman! So, if I don’t put that proviso or that caveat in at the end, Darren will have a go at me, later!

Alpine Skies’ debut album, Inspired Conflicts, releases on April 16th. The band will headline a launch event at Upstairs at Whelan’s on April 30th. Tickets are available now from whelanslive.com.

Words: Aaron Kavanagh