{"id":39270,"date":"2018-08-10T10:39:28","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T09:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=39270"},"modified":"2018-08-10T10:41:51","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T09:41:51","slug":"six-quick-questions-with-robert-oconnor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/08\/six-quick-questions-with-robert-oconnor\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Quick Questions With Robert O’Connor"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a background in journalism, we figured Dublin singer\/songwriter Robert O’Connor might have a story or two to tell. We asked him six quick questions, ahead of the release of his latest single, ‘No Second Chances’, out on August 17.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

EP: In a nutshell – what\u2019s the Robert O\u2019Connor Story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ROC: Nutshells are really tough, especially when your backstory is as random as mine, but I\u2019ll give it a go. In 2008 I released my first album \u2018Distance\u2019 through a distribution deal with Universal, while I was in college. Four years later I released a follow-up EP \u2018Resistance\u2019 independently with AWAL, and then I got experimental and worked on a remix project with DJ\/producers like Matty Graham. After that was released in 2013 I basically exited the music industry and worked as a journalist for a few years. It wasn\u2019t long before I realised that the media was almost as much of an uphill battle as the music business.<\/p>\n

Last year, I was in Las Vegas at a Calvin Harris show and I thought \u201cwhat the f**k am I doing with my life?\u201d I knew I needed to make music again for my soul, even if it was just as a hobby. I decided I wanted to do it all on my own terms so I hooked up with two producers and after a few days we had two singles in the can. It was terrifying because I\u2019d been out of the game for so long but it feels so good to be back. I haven\u2019t hired a manager or publicist so I\u2019ve been looking after the day-to-day business myself, just hustling, and I\u2019ve never had so much radio play, and the reviews for both songs have been great! I only really get to think about that fact when I\u2019m doing interviews, otherwise I\u2019m just on to the next thing, rarely reflecting.<\/p>\n

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EP: Your most recent single, \u2018No Second Chances\u2019, is out on August 17. What\u2019s the back story behind the song?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ROC: It\u2019s a break-up song, but you can hear the indecision I was feeling from the very first line \u201cI\u2019ve got one foot in the bedroom, got one foot in the hall\u201d. I literally didn\u2019t know where I stood in the relationship and if I was going to close the door on it or not. The chorus is about how you can\u2019t get your head around no longer \u201cknowing\u201d this person that you\u2019ve been so close to while you were together. I wrote it in one sitting very quickly and I don\u2019t remember even coming up with the melody, it just seemed to \u201carrive\u201d in the same breath as the lyrics. I recorded the whole thing as voice note on my iPhone and I thought it was long gone but I found the file last week and I had a bit of an \u201cI did it\u201d moment, because for a long time it seemed like it might be left as a voice note!<\/p>\n

EP: For such a small country and population, Ireland has had a massive impact on world music. What do you think is the reason for that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ROC: I think whether it’s music or film, or even sport, the Irish are very passionate about their art or whatever their talent is \u2013 but I do think there\u2019s issues at a grassroots level in terms of nurturing that talent, and getting support from the media, particularly with national radio, which is one of the reasons you have bands going to London if they\u2019re really serious about making it. I can\u2019t count the amount of times I\u2019ve read about bands on well-known Irish websites recently where it\u2019s all \u201cIrish singer, who is based in London\u201d, and I kind of think, what about those of us who are still here, working day jobs in Ireland and working on our passion projects too?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense that you have to go away to come back, and if you\u2019ve had some level of success or acclaim, then Irish mass media support is available to you, and obviously this is not a new development \u2013 would U2 be as monumental as they\u2019ve been if they\u2019d stayed in Ireland? With my new single I had a confidence I\u2019ve never really had that this was a song that would certainly work on mainstream Irish radio \u2013 I had no doubts \u2013 but surprisingly it ended up being UK radio that embraced the song in a bigger way. Not to say it hasn\u2019t been played in Ireland, but the response is certainly \u201cquieter\u201d, and a lot of the time DJs just won\u2019t acknowledge the music you send in. Hopefully it\u2019s just a matter of time, because with country being as big as it is here right now, I\u2019d love to be part of that story.<\/p>\n

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EP: What and\/or who are your musical influences? Why? And what about your personal influences – who has made you who you are today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ROC: Genre-wise I would say my strongest influences come from soft rock, dream pop and modern country that\u2019s coming out of Nashville. I am constantly discovering new artists, and I think I\u2019d like to give them a shout-out this time rather than name-checking the obvious well-knowns. Right now I\u2019m listening to Wild Nothing, Swimming Tapes, Few Bits, Geowulf, Work Drugs, Say Lou Lou \u2013 so it\u2019s very much dream pop heavy \u2013 I\u2019m very seasonal with music so that kind of music gives me the summery feeling.<\/p>\n

On a more established note, I\u2019m really enjoying this new All Saints record \u2018Testament\u2019 \u2013 they brought back William Orbit who I worship, that\u2019s on repeat, and since all this Mamma Mia! fanfare I\u2019ve gone back through the ABBA catalogue and I really think particularly the darker material they released towards the end like ‘One Of Us’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and especially ‘The Day Before You Came’\u201d are some of the best pop songs ever written. I\u2019m also loving the urban-country of Sam Hunt, he was one of the acts who gave me the push to go down that route. Who has made me who I am today? My mam & dad \u2013 and my family at large \u2013 I\u2019m really lucky to have a super close-knit family. I have that Italian view on family, it\u2019s the most important thing \u2013 and it\u2019s always there no matter what else isn\u2019t. I think on a less direct level, I\u2019ve also been influenced personally by my idols \u2013 characters of strength who refuse to take no for an answer, whether that\u2019s Madonna or Conor McGregor. I read artist and sportsmen\u2019s biographies when I need that motivation.<\/p>\n