California Irish is a new band featuring The Answer‘s Cormac Neeson. The band tips its hat to the melodic and free-spirited sound from 60s America, a sound that reaches back into a gentler, more empathetic time, as evidenced by debut single ‘Big Questions‘ available through 7hz Productions.
Summoning the beguiling spirit of Laurel Canyon, employing analogue recording techniques, and recording songs in one or two takes to achieve something with a real human touch, California Irish is a new seven piece group hailing from Belfast working their own niche within the world of folk and Americana, and everything in between.
This new group showcase a unique sound formed from a combination of players that initially came together briefly to perform a Neil Young-inspired theatre show production called Re-Harvest, where the musicians successfully performed the classic albums Harvest Moon and Harvest back to back.
The brainchild of the group is lead singer and chief songwriter Cormac Neeson. The band hand-picked by him, based on long standing friendships, as well as experiences with numerous musical projects within the thriving Belfast music scene.
“It’s quite fitting that ‘Big Questions’ is the first single, because it was really this song that sparked the whole notion of writing and recording a Laurel Canyon inspired record, right down to using the same analogue process that all those great bands of the late 60s and early 70s would have used.
“I wrote this particular song in Belfast with a good songwriter friend of mine called Rory Nellis and I remember right after we finished it, I commented that it would fit quite nicely on a Crosby Stills & Nash record, at which point I realised I had a whole collection of songs that would fit quite nicely into that theme.
“From there we put together a band called California Irish, we started jamming those songs, and we got into a studio and here we are, a year and half later, about to embark upon this amazing journey together.
“So ‘Big Questions’ really was the starting point for us to try and refine our psychedelic folk-rock sound, and show our love and appreciation for some of the magic music that came out of Laurel Canyon all those years ago.”
Alongside Neeson on vocals, acoustic guitar, and apparently a psychedelic cowbell, there’s Susy Coyle (ocals and percussion), Donal Scullion (Acoustic, electric guitar, vocals), Chris Kelly (Lap steel, mandolin, acoustic, electric guitar, vocals), James Doone (Bass), Simon Templeton (Piano, Hammond, Wurlitzer), and Conor McCauley (drums).
“This album is the opposite of boring AI generated no soul perfection,” said Neeson. “We recorded this album in a room together over four days allowing the music to breathe when it needed to, looking at each other for our cues and feeding off each other’s energy. It felt like a dream… But it’s the most real thing I’ve ever done in music.
“That Laurel Canyon sound of the late 60s, epitomised by the early Crosby Stills Nash & Young stuff, and the first few Joni Mitchell records, has always felt otherworldly and magical. On our album we’ve tried to access some of that beauty and create our own magic by combining brand new music with an old school recording process.”
The Laurel Canyon influence also extends to the band’s recording technique, adhering rigidly to the analogue 16 track recording method circa 1969; namely recording live straight to tape at the world famous Middle Farm Studios under the watchful eyes and ears of producer Pete Miles.
The resulting sound of California Irish flies in the face of modern techniques that often lose the warmth of the original compositions. Instead, the group opted for a one off and unique shared human experience with musicians who feed off each other’s energy, and create compelling four-part vocal blends around one single microphone in a warm alt-folk celebration. The creative process in turn led to an album’s worth of songs titled The Mountains Are My Friends.
‘Big Questions‘ can be ordered here and you can check out the video here at RAMzine.
The band has also announced that on 16th May they will play the Empire in Belfast:
“Need some colour in those Cali Irish cheeks?? Well we’ve got some gig news to brighten up your day. On Friday 16th May California Irish will be gracing the legendary boards of the @belfastempire making our Belfast debut and continuing to bring the good vibes to the masses. Ticket link is live, and we are excited!!!”
Tickets available here.
