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 REFLECT who just released their latest single ‘Ocnus’.
What was the inspiration behind your artist name?
Originally from the song ‘Red Wine Supernova’ by Chappell Roan we started brainstorming names with a similar vibe. We ended up with something with the word ‘Reflection’ in it and immediately latched onto the word ‘REFLECT’. It sort of fits too as for some of us the band has come at an important time of ‘reflection’ and development.
You’ve just released a new single. How did it come about and what does it mean to you?
Tay started writing Ocnus in August 2024 and we finished it early in the bands journey. The name comes from a greek allegorical deity who symbolises delay, hesitation and the wasting of time. Again fitting as our trilogy of singles are all in some way connected to time, hence the clocks on the artwork by the amazing Hannah Thompson. Ocnus tells a story of romantic frustration and marks the end of this trilogy. We’re very proud to have finally released Tay’s first original song.
Have you any more releases or studio time lined up for later in the year?
We’ve recently finished recording our debut EP, which consists of 5 currently unreleased tracks. We’re super happy with how it’s sounding and Michael Bell at Start Together Studios has been great to work with and we’ve got along great both conversationally and musically.
Tell us about your song writing process.
It can vary from song to song, but a lot of the time it’s Tay who does a lot of the initial ideas, like riffs, basic chord progressions and lyrical content/vocal melodies for verses. Then Flann does a lot of the overall structure and harmony, as well as some of the smaller details when arranging in the studio. Thomas also contributes a mix of all these things, and one of the songs on the EP was almost entirely written by him. Also his first original tune as well so we’re excited to get it out there!
Who were your favourite artists/bands growing up? Have your influences changed over time?
A lot of our earlier influences are very different from each other. Thomas has always been a big classic rock guy, getting very much into Thin Lizzy and The Rolling Stones early on, as well as others like David Bowie. Tay listened to a lot of Panchiko and Beabadoobee and Flann was very much into rap and hip-hop until branching out to the likes of AC/DC and Queen. Noah was big into Oasis when he was younger, but the one common thread between how all of our influences have progressed is we’ve all gotten into heavier music as we get older. We’re currently loving the sounds of Glare, Loathe, Basement and many more.
What’s been your favourite local release from the last twelve months?
‘Moon Landing’s EP We’ll Come Back Again As Birds is amazing. COINT by the thing is… Is also a great tune and we loved supporting them at empire! Also huge fans of Mary Jane by PTRNs and both singles released by Esmerelda Road this year.
If you weren’t musicians, what line of work would we find you in?
For Tay, Musical Theatre/Acting always appealed to her and she has dabbled in it for the past few years. As for the rest of us we don’t really have a plan B to be honest! We’re putting everything into learning about the craft and are all working towards degrees in music.
If you could collaborate with one artist or band from NI, who would it be and why?
If they were still together, Snake Neighbourhood would’ve been amazing to work with. They were more on the heavy side but they blended it with some elements of softer stuff and we were SO here for it. Unfortunately they disbanded mid 2024 but their music lives on on most streaming platforms and we encourage any metalheads to check them out!
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?
I would say that NI and the music scene here is doing as good a job as they can at ‘making it’ in the music industry. It’s more that in many cases here as you’ll find in many other places, bands and artists are finding it more and more difficult to finance having a go at a career in music, and the lack of funding in the arts generally in NI exacerbates the issue massively.
What does success look like for you?
We just want to make the band something that we can all sustainably live off. Of course if we could we would love to have our music heard at festivals across the world, but we’re happy with the momentum we’re building at the minute with gigs and releases and are mostly just focusing on the music itself.
You’re going out on tour and can have anything you want on your rider, what would we find on yours?
Approximately a kilogram of chicken for Flann and 2 cases of Guinness for Thomas.
Where and when can we next catch you live?
We are going out on tour to celebrate the release of our new EP Feeling Everything. You can catch us Bennigans Derry on 21 February, Toales Dundalk on 7 March, Nan RIces, Newry on 28 March and HMV Belfast on 11 April.
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.
