Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: When I was a kid, my dad would always make mix tapes on old cassettes. He understood that small kids react to music that stimulates their imagination, so my earliest memories are listening to atmospheric tracks like the police’s ‘Walking on the Moon’ or David Bowie’s ‘Starman’. These songs fascinated me with their atmosphere, imagery, and emotion. To this day, I still prefer sonic Atmosphere over technical ability in both the music I listen to and the music I create.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Dabilla”?
A: Our message to anyone about to listen to us is: ‘We are Dabilla, a band from Drogheda, Ireland. We mix ancient instruments (the uilleann pipes) with modern electronics. We take our inspiration from Irish mythology and with this aim to create something entirely new.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: With the likes of Fontaines DC and Kneecap, Irish independent music is on fire right now, and you cannot help but be inspired by what Irish bands are currently achieving. On the folk side of things, there are bands that are re-inventing the folk genre, which is incredibly exciting to be a part of. Bands like Lankum, The Mary Wallopers, and Talisk are providing a hight bench mark to what is possible in a folk or trad band and that certainly serves as an inspiration to push ourselves to innovate within this genre.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “The Hound of Boann.”?
A: The Hound of Boann is a homage to the founding mythology of our home town and the goddess who created it. We wanted to create a soundtrack to this creation myth which see’s the goddess Boann and her faithful hound Dabilla search for eternal knowledge and in the process turn themselves into the river Boyne which flows through the modern town of Drogheda in Ireland. These are the mythological inspirations to the album of the same title that was released earlier this year.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: On our last tour, a fan described us as being ‘Space-trad’. This may be down to our liberal use of tape delay with traditional music. Either way, we loved this description!
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “The Hound of Boann”?
A: Time was a huge issue for us, we both have full-time jobs and busy family lives. The closing track on the album is called ‘Chasing Chances’, which is a reference to the fact that we are always fighting for the chance to write and record. It took a lot of dedication, determination and negotiation to get this album finished.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: Our overall goal is to reinvent how our instruments are played in the folk and trad genres.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: To achieve the above-stated goal, we are actively looking to collaborate with a producer from a completely different genre of music. If I could wave a magic wand, it would be someone like deadmau5, Bonobo, Armin van Buuren, or Mick Gordon. I would love to see what they would be able to bring to a traditional/folk music album.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Keep a secondary source of income. I was a full-time musician for most of my career, but now I have a second income, and I have found that this takes so much pressure off the creative process.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Always be the worst musician in the band. Or to put it another way, always surround yourself with people who are better than you and who inspire and drive you to level up.
LISTEN TO THE DUO:
Follow Dabilla:
Spotify – SoundCloud – YouTube – Facebook – Instagram – TikTok – Website