When Chordblossom came into existence, it was always our aim to shine a spotlight on the artists and bands that make up the music scene in Northern Ireland. We’ve been doing it for over ten years now and one of our favourite methods is our Introducing feature.
Put the kettle on, curl up on your sofa and and join us for a quickfire Q&A with some of our favourite new musicians. Who knows, maybe you’ll even discover your new favourite artists.
This iteration of Introducing features the musical talents of Scott Flanigan who just released his new album ‘Clouded Lines’.
You’ve just released a new album. How did it come about and what does it mean to you?
A couple of factors came together for this one – I met guitarist Ant Law the year before, I was working on a PhD in performance, and also felt like I had some new tunes coming together. All these things combined at the right time and the album popped out. We recorded it in 2019 but only got around to releasing it in 2023 due to covid, brexit, and trying to finish a PhD. I’m delighted to have gotten to this stage with it as it really represents a departure from my previous album and a new, heavier, rockier direction in my music.
Have you any more releases or studio time lined up for later in the year?
Nothing planned. I like to go into the studio when the pieces are completed (at least in my head) but they’re still at the work in progress stage.
Tell us about your song writing process.
I am fundamentally an improviser, and it’s this that helps form the initial ideas in my music. I’ll maybe play something on a gig or be noodling at the piano and I’ll come across an idea I like. From there, it’s the hard slog of developing it and turning it into a finished piece. That’s where the real hard work comes from with composition. I’m not great at sitting at the piano with a plan to compose music, I’d rather let the ideas happen and then they get turned into piece.
Who were your favourite artists/bands growing up? Have your influences changed over time?
As a kid I was reared on Rory Gallagher and Chopin – a slightly weird mix! It was only getting into my teens that I got into Emerson Lake and Palmer, and into my late teens I discovered jazz through playing piano in the Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra. Since then it’s been a mixture of jazz and electronic like Boards of Canada. I just completed my PhD studying the music of Brad Mehldau and Aaron Parks, who are two of my all time favourites. Each of them brings something different to the same music and it’s always a joy to hear both of them.
The 2022 NI Music Prize has just concluded, what’s been your favourite album and single released this year?
I may expand this out a little – my favourite Irish album of recent years has been Kevin Brady’s Plan B. Kevin is an incredible drummer and for this release Kevin went electric, with Bill Carrothers on electric piano, Seamus Blake on saxophone and Dave Redmond on the bass. Each of these musicians are incredible in their own right, but Kevin wrote brilliant tunes to feature all of them. It’s a fantastic record and well worth checking out.
If you weren’t a musician, what line of work would we find you in?
I’d probably be an architect. I love the idea of designing something from scratch and seeing it come to life – it’s a lot like composition for me.
If you could collaborate with one artist or band from NI, who would it be and why?
Last year I came across the music of Grainne Meyer, a harpist from Belfast. She’s an incredible musician and I had this sound in my head of jazz piano with trad harp. We met for a few rehearsals and did a small event last earlier this year and it went really well. The melodies in trad music aren’t too dissimilar from the melodies of 1940s bebop, and I could hear those melodies being accompanied by some rich chords on the piano. I have a few ideas for this duo, so watch this space!
It is intensely difficult to be successful in the music industry. What does NI need to do to invest in/develop to boost your chances?
Explore other genres and promote exporting it. Northern Ireland has a wealth of incredible musicians in a whole bunch of different genres – classical, jazz, trad, electronica – who are putting out fantastic music which is as good as anything you’d hear in London or beyond. Promoting this kind of music would really showcase NI as a place with a rich diversity in music. And helping musicians to tour or play at showcases outside of NI would really help this. This goes beyond just giving them money to go and do it – an NI equivalent of Music From Ireland would really put NI on the map.
What does success look like for you?
Great question, because everyone will see this differently. For me, the first is enjoyment of the music by the performers and the audiences in lots of different places. Secondly, travelling with the music and exploring different places across the planet with my music would be incredible. And finally: a sustainable career. Music – and particularly jazz – is an intense occupation and passion, which doesn’t always result in getting well paid. If I can make a career out of playing and teaching jazz then I’d consider that a success.
You’re going out on tour and can have anything you want on your rider, what would we find on yours?
A Steinway model D piano at every concert. They’re incredible pianos!
Where and when can we next catch you live?
I curate and run the popular Scott’s Jazz Club in Ballyhackamore, a weekly jazz club bringing the best of Irish jazz (and beyond) to local audiences. We’ve had performers from New York, Germany, France, England and from all over Ireland playing for sold out crowds for over two years now. I play most weeks but when we’ve a spectacular band travelling in, I’m happy to be the MC and sit back and enjoy the music.
If you enjoyed this feature and fancy discovering some more new artists, we suggest you jump on over to our archive of Introducing pieces.
If you are a band or musician based in Northern Ireland interested in taking part in our Introducing feature, we recommend submitting new music to us via our Contact page and if we enjoy it, you’ll no doubt hear from us.
