Black Nylon
Words: Matthew Madigan
We spoke with Pierce (Guitar) and Sam (Vocals) from Black Nylon ahead of the release of their new single BDSMX which is out now.
You just announced that your second single titled “BDSMX” is due to come out November 9th; what can you tell us about the track?
(Sam) It was one of the first songs that we wrote together, to be honest. We took one of Kilian’s electronic demos and translated it to a full band arrangement. It’s a two-minute, 50-second song and lyrically, it's my take on “Come on Billy” by PJ Harvey, and “From her to eternity” by Nick Cave. It’s quite punchy- those lustful, obsessive lyrics; playing characters and stuff; that's what you can expect, really.
Following the success of Juliette, did you feel any pressure to release a follow-up quickly, or were you happy to take your time and get things right?
(Sam) You can’t rush beauty!
(Pierce) There is pressure, though, for sure. I think it was DIIV who said you can take as long as you want on the first song, but then once that comes out, you can't wait too long. You're on the clock from then on.
(Sam) Juliette was a statement in itself, you know. The whole story behind the song and the fact it’s a seven-minute song released as a single. So we asked ourselves, what's our next statement?. “BDSMX” is a much shorter song, and it's punchy and fast, so we knew that was the one. The pressure was more to do with getting all the assets together, like the music video. Music is the easiest thing. We don’t want to have disjointed, unpackaged art; we want to serve the whole thing at once, complete.
Is creating music videos and kind of developing a kind of visual identity something that you were hoping to do in the next while, or was it kind of just let the music speak for itself?
(Pierce) We’ve definitely always spoken about our music and our visual identity in the same world, creatively. For us, they're as important as each other. Thematically, the way Sam would be writing about topics opens up different worlds that you can explore. They can complement each other quite well.
(Sam) We just shot a music video with Flo Webb, and it was shot using a GoPro. Throughout the video, it's attached to a creature, and it's always chasing something. So I guess it's a story of obsession and sick infatuation. The creature grows more frantic and begins to lose itself more. The part of your brain that sees something as cute neighbours the part of aggression. So, it’s about how obsession can turn so sick when it's meant to be about something you love. There's a lyric in the song: “You're so pretty. I want to rub your face down in the dirt”, which I love.
When it came to songwriting and the creative process of “BDSMX”, did you find yourselves clashing over ideas, or were you generally on the same page musically?
(Sam) No, as I mentioned, this was our very first song that we wrote together. We brought the demo into the studio, and each individual added their own parts to it; without any one of us, we wouldn't be able to do it. The sonic congruence in the band comes in all forms.
(Pierce) For us, it’s all about capturing every member as effectively as possible without losing what we all liked about the original idea, I suppose.
You’ve had a busy 2026, with your latest appearance being at Left of the Dial in Rotterdam. How has it been performing at shows outside of Ireland?
(Sam) So beautiful. Really cool. I’m almost getting emotional thinking of some of the shows. I just love those European cities and having those little half beers during the day, lounging around; it's just lovely. Their venues are so cool, and it just feels like people really care.
(Pierce) It's really nice to go to cities and get the experience of dealing with promoters that go above and beyond to look after you. They really go out of their way with everything for you, like anything you want. It feels like you're actually respected for what you're doing for them as well as what they are doing for you. You have a mutual standing, whereas I feel like in Ireland, the UK, those sorts of things get a bit lost sometimes.
You were just playing in Workman's this month. How does it feel to come back to Ireland and play to a home crowd?
(Sam) That Workman's show was special, starting back up with the bank holiday weekend shows. The last time that happened was a bit of a landmark moment for us. And this time we were doing that to pay homage to Trevor Deitz. He started pointing us in the right direction after that first show, so we had to go back and do it. That particular experience was special; it felt like a bit of a full-circle moment. To be able to come back home after doing those European shows and having to do this as a job now pretty much, that was incredible.
(Pierce) I feel like when you're a band in Dublin, you always look forward to getting to a point where you can go out and play abroad, and tour a little bit. And even though we've only just started getting to that stage, it's nice to look forward to going back.
What’s one Irish act that you’re really excited about?
(Pierce) Stella and the Dreaming, of course. So incredibly gifted. Echo Northstar, also amazing music.
(Sam) Shrink 182. He's really cool. State of Grace as well; she seems really cool. I'm excited about her. We saw her at Other Voices with Dan Carey, and it was absolutely amazing.
Looking ahead to 2027, is there a particular milestone or goal you'd love to achieve as a band?
(Pierce) Learn how to tour, maybe, haha.
(Sam) Learn a myxolydian scale, and a harmony or two! There are some releases planned and then some big support slots towards the end of summer. So try to do everything possible, and make all that go as smoothly as possible. We’ll see what happens.