Having grown up in the idyllic surroundings of County Clare, Padjo Dolan has been writing songs since he was a teenager and has formed numerous bands throughout school and his time studying in Galway. His latest single Blunder has just reached number one in the Irish rock charts and our Amy McNamara took some time to ask him a few questions…
Congrats on your new single “Blunder”. Can you give us some insight into the track and tell us about the recording experience?
Thanks very much! Of course, The idea for Blunder has been in my head for probably 5/6 years, it took me a while to muster up the conviction to get it recorded and released. I was very fortunate to get to work with the guys in Camden Studios on the track. They are the best in the business, and they really helped bring it life and allowed me to tell the story of the song.
Blunder has a very full sound, and it seems like there was alot of instruments involved. Did you have a lot of experience working with session musicians for this track?
Yeah there sure is a lot going on from an instrumental point of view, its actually interesting because the song was conceived as a very mellow, chill, ukulele type track, however we tried a few things in the studio and emerged with a ball of energy that left us with no misconceptions about what direction the song was going in. In terms of session musicians, again I was very lucky to get to work with some of the best in the country.
Renowned producer Cian Boylan features on the keys and Axe man Conor Brady who has toured with some of the worlds biggest names is there too, Dave Hingerty who is best known for drumming with The Frames and Kila took care of percussion and Robbie Malone who plays Bass for David Gray looked after that for me. They were a pleasure to work with.
Is there going to be a music video for this track? If so can you give us some background into the music video?
Yes, the video actually released today (29/07/21). I wanted to capture the spirit of the song which is a carefree Irish summer feeling. I managed to get a lend of a 1971 VW van and myself and a few pals headed back to Connemara for a few days to shoot. We were blessed with the weather, and we had a ball in general. Would be great to shoot a music video every day!
How have you found recording and releasing music in the middle of a pandemic?
It has definitely not been without its challenges! This whole project was my first real leap into professional music production opposed to jamming with college bands so I was already unfamiliar with the process to begin with. I guess it was frustrating more than anything, I was eager to hit the ground running and get my music out there but ran into multiple speedbumps over the course of the last 18 months. The timing of the release is something that took a lot of thought also but I made it in the end!
Do you have other singles that will be coming out soon?
There is a full album almost completed but I am hoping to have at least 2 more tracks released before Christmas. The next song is a real power rock anthem called “Hazel Eyes” and I am hoping to release it in Mid September, all going to plan!
And finally will you be planning any gigs in the near future?
Nothing concrete at the moment, with the way things are my priority is really to release singles and get the music heard by as many people as possible as the restrictions begin to ease. That said I am really looking forward to touring the album with the band once normality returns!
