Second album release for This Other Kingdom

TWO years since their first album was released, This Other Kingdom is back with a warmer, more colourful psychedelic sound that promises to feed your senses – and have you dancing. 

Currently a three piece, This Other Kingdom (TOK) is made up of Tallaght musicians Git Sweeney (drums) and Declan Dunne (guitar and vocals), with Clonmel native Del Kerton on vocals and keys.

A session bassist slides in to support the lads for live shows.

This Saturday, April 22, TOK will launch its second album Reveur in the Workman’s Club, with a few surprise guests.

Despite a busy rehearsing schedule, TOK drummer Git Sweeney took five to speak with The Echo.

How would you describe the band’s sound?

Neo Psych is kind of what we’ve been placed under, but I think there’s a lot in there. The Psych scene is growing very popular the last few years so the genre is so open now it’s hard to tell what’s really Psych anymore. We like 60s and 70s bands like The Doors, The Beatles, 13th Floor Elevators, The Stones, Jefferson Airplane and some more modern bands like The Black Angels, Interpol, Holy Wave etc. So we try to take influence from who we listen to and make a nice mix of modern and older music.

The band released Telescopic in 2015, how does that album differ to Reveur?

I think there’s a big difference. We looked at Telescopic as kind of a demo album to try and get us a record label. We wrote an album’s worth and just got it out there. For Reveur we had much more of an idea in our heads of how we wanted it to sound and could take our time writing and perfecting how the album was going to be. Telescopic was a very dark album I think. So we wanted to lean more toward the 60s/70s psychedelic sound and be a bit more warm and colourful with the music. We were listening to Revolver by The Beatles a lot when writing and wanted to add in a bit of our love of Manchester music at the same time so hopefully it all mixed in well. We like it anyway!

How long did it take to pull Reveur together? What was the thought process behind it?

We had actually just released Telescopic probably six months before we started on Reveur. We had no intention of starting a new album so close to Telescopic but we were contacted by a label in the UK to write a new album for release. So we went straight to work and I’d say after around two or three months we had the songs ready to go.

If you had to pick one track off the album that sums TOK up, which one would it be and why?

Probably Comatosed. It’s the first single from Reveur and kind of the turning point in our writing which kicked off the new direction we are heading with this album.

What inspires the lyrics?

Del handles the lyrics so he’d probably give you a better answer. But I think he takes inspiration from everything. Love, war, friendship, sex…..there’s a lot going on in his mad little head!

The artwork used by the band is really distinct. Do you feel this type of artwork visually represents the band’s sound?

Yeah it’s amazing. We love it! Rob O’Brien, a great artist from Tallaght did all the artwork and we were blown away with his work. As I said earlier, we wanted to step away from the dark sound of our debut so we thought the artwork would have to represent that and be loud and colourful and Rob did an amazing job. We literally gave him a few buzz words as a guide and what he came back with was so much more than what we were expecting.

When did the band sign with Wrong Way, how’s that going?

We signed with Wrong Way Records in December 2016. As I mentioned earlier, we were signed by a label after Telescopic came out and they put us to work on the new album. That kind of ended up as a bit of a disaster. The label kind of vanished off the face of the earth! We met Al then from Wrong Way in Manchester and after one of our shows had a very positive meeting with him about joining WWR. He showed us that he wanted us on his label and to feel wanted is a nice thing. He has signed some great bands and the label is looking very strong so we’re very excited to be a part of it.

The band seems to be flat out gigging and touring at the minute, what’s been the best crowd you’ve performed to lately?

Yeah right now we’re just preparing for our album launch which is Saturday, April 22, in the Workman’s Club and then we’re off on a UK tour in May, which will include a Manchester album launch too. I’d have to say the Manchester crowds definitely stand out! We really feel like it’s a second home. There’s a great scene over there and we try to get over and play there as much as possible. We’ve met some great people and great bands there and the reception we get any time we play really makes us feel loved.

What type of a live show does TOK put on?

I would say we put on a high energy, unique show. We put a lot of time into our rehearsals to make sure the music is as tight as possible and Del has been known to wander into the crowd and interact with his, let’s say, interesting dancing! We like to make it visually pleasing too whether that be a great light show or some visuals such as liquid light shows and things like that. We definitely feel music can create a great feeling with some visuals going on too to make the live experience more memorable.

If you could perform alongside any musician or band living or dead who would it be and why?

I used to do gigs with the Classic Beatles and it was amazing playing all the Beatles songs. It gave me much more love for Ringo and his drumming. However, I’d love to sit in for a gig with the Stone Roses. That’s the best job in the world for a drummer I think. Reni influenced me massively and I love his playing and technique.

Album launch is in the Workman’s on April 22nd, what can people expect?

You can expect us to give our all. We’ve a couple of special guests on the night so I won’t give too much away. People who come to the launch can buy a copy of our new album Reveur. The record is on orange vinyl with purple spatter and comes in a gatefold sleeve covered in Rob O’Brien’s amazing artwork.

This Other Kingdom’s Reveur album launch will take to the stage of the Workman’s Club on Saturday, April 22, with special guests A Ritual Sea. Doors open at 8pm and admission is €8.

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