Excalibur Articles: Clann Zú interview

I am going to archive everything I have written for Excalibur (the York University student newspaper, don't ya know) because the website search engine has me terrified that I will lose everything.

(March 23, 2005): http://excal.on.ca/cms2//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=517&Itemid=2

Umbrellas and crows fill the grey. Pock marked procession through the sleet as the howl of a lonely bell misbehaves in the drunken silence.

Mourned over sparse piano, this line begins the sweepingly melancholic Black Coats and Bandages, the second full length album from Clann Zú.

The band is musically and internationally mixed: Vocalist/bodhran player Declan de Barra lives in Dublin, Ireland, while the rest of the band - guitarist Benjamin Andrews, bassist Liam Andrews, electronic producer Lach Wood, drummer Ben Hellmig and violinist/keyboardist Russell Fawcus - are based in Australia.

Clann Zú blends elements of post-rock and folk with an alternative sheen (not to mention shades of electronic, jazz, Middle Eastern rhythms and god knows what else).

Violinist/keyboardist Russell Fawcus attempts to describe the band's sound. "Noisy, quiet, harsh, beautiful, miserable rock based music with a mish mash of influences from angular punk to classical music from the middle of the last century with Dec's political/broken hearted lyrics?"

Clann Zú has been making waves through the wonders of the Internet, bringing them a devoted fan base around the world through their web site, which features several downloads and animations (also by de Barra). This was made evident in spring 2004, which brought the release of Black Coats and Bandages through Canadian-based label G7 Welcoming Committee (home of such acts as politipunks Propagandhi as well as political writer and speaker Noam Chomsky).

The summer brought Clann Zú to Canada where they embarked on a cross-country tour. "It was an amazing tour and experience for us. We can't wait to do it again," de Barra says.
I was lucky enough to catch two of the shows, which turned out to be some of the most breathtaking live music I've ever seen performed. When asked about performing devastatingly personal music live, de Barra says, "It's difficult, I block everything out but the music and the words. It is a strange thing to do, and it's stranger doing it on repeat every night."

Now that the band has put touring on hold, de Barra has also been working on a solo album. "I am recording the album right now. It's a very different process. There is no compromise and no crutch to lean on," explains de Barra. "It is based on vocal and guitar from myself and I am enjoying verses and choruses again as they have been thrown out of the Clann Zú camp by majority."

As for the band's next release, one can be sure it won't be the same as anything else they've done. Rua, their previous album, was recorded under completely different circumstances than the current Black Coats and Bandages.

Rua took over a year to complete, and was filled with electronics and overdubs. BCAB has a rawer, more live feel to it. The entire album is analog, recorded to two inch tape, and features minimal overdubs to recreate more of the live atmosphere.

For the next album, de Barra says, "I have learned to throw any ideas I have out as when we all meet up we are all at different places musically so it's a total unknown until we meet. Clann Zú is a collaborative affair so until we are all face to face in a room with a load of instruments we don't know. Safe to say it will be different again."

Fawcus agrees, "Who knows! Our musical diversity is not planned, it is just the nature of this group of individuals getting together to create music. Interests change as do influences and we've never really felt bound to creating anything that is ‘stylistically' particular."