Four childhood friends from Co Down have come together to form The New Leaves. The self styled folk combo have crafted a lush and mesmerising debut album in ‘A Sketch of Home‘.
Recorded at Narrow Water Studios, the record captures the natural beauty, history, and mythology of home life beneath the Mourne Mountains and the beautiful townlands that surround Carlingford Lough.
While we know the visual inspiration behind the songs, we asked the band to set out the songs that inspired them while recording it.
Decky McKay (vocals & guitar)
Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood
I absolutely love this album, and particularly this track. So immersive and evocative, it almost sounds like it’s from another era. However, it’s from what appears day by day to be quite a specific and special period of music, lovingly entitled the ‘noughties’. The feel and production on this record was something in the back of our minds recording our album. The blending of multiple harmonies over a ‘roomy’ driving beat. This song always reminds me of my carefree University days, spent reading books and listening to records in cafes on the leafy streets of Glasgow. Robin Pecknold’s vocals seem to soar above the music on this track, which is something we tried to recreate in the studio, using specific reverbs and multitracking. Who doesn’t like Fleet Foxes? Even if just for the fine selection of beards.
Father John Misty – Everyman Needs a Companion
I discovered Father John Misty at an open mic night in Glasgow. He wasn’t playing at it. Someone played his song ‘Everyman Needs a Companion’ and sneakily passed it off as their own. I approached the performer at the end of the night, waxing lyrical about how good the song was. They looked uncomfortable, mumbled some ‘thank yous’ and wandered off. I subsequently heard the song on the radio a few days later, the presenter announcing it was the first release from American singer J. Tillman, also known as Father John Misty. I knew at that moment; I had been duped by the open mic charlatan! However, it began a long love affair with the music of Father John Misty. I always try to add a playful, wry nature with the lyrics… something FJM does brilliantly.
Fionn Regan – Hey Rabbit
The songs on our album were all originally written in more of a ‘Fionn Regan-esque’ style. Just one guitar and one (somewhat croaky, vulnerable sounding) vocal. The slow progression towards a fuller sound for The New Leaves was a prolonged evolution. However, in the beginning they all began like ‘Hey Rabbit’, wistful and meandering, taking you through the country lanes and poetic landscapes of rural Ireland. I have a slight obsession with Fionn Regan, a criminally underrated Irish songwriter. His debut album ‘End of History’ is a modern folk classic in my very humble opinion. I tried to explore similar themes and motifs on our record, so Fionn Regan was a huge influence.
Willy Mason – Fear No Pain
I adore this track. It has a charming simplicity both in delivery and its message. That’s something we’ve tried to utilise in The New Leaves; trying to do the simple things well. I’ve used this song as a kind of ‘pick me up’ for years now. A friendly boot up the backside when you’re feeling sorry for yourself. I really love Wily Mason’s finger picking style- it was also an influence on my guitar playing for The New Leaves. This is taken from the album ‘Where the Humans Eat’, which is a lovely record- again, released in the ‘noughties’….am I beginning to see a pattern emerge here?
Cian O’Hare (vocals & guitar)
John Mayer – I Guess I Just Feel Like.
I love the overall production of vocals and guitars, with each voice and guitar having its own space and depth within the track. John is clearly one of the best modern guitarists around and one who focuses on the tonality of the guitar and production of tracks. When recording my guitar parts, he was a definite influence in terms of style, tone, and approach.
Kodaline – Love Like This
Mark Prendergast’s guitar playing across Kodaline records is great. Some nice simple guitar parts and clever use of guitar effects, to add depth to the production on the tracks. You could argue his parts have some Johnny Greenwood edges to them. However, way less depressing than most Radiohead tracks. Also, the blend of acoustic and electric guitars alongside three- and four-part harmonies, creates something different and works well. When approaching ‘A Sketch of Home’, I wanted to blend these parts together in a similar fashion.
Patrice McKevitt (vocals & bass)
Alanis Morissette – Thank U
Somewhat of a soundtrack to my youth! There’s something about this song I really like. The lyrics really spoke to me when I was younger. I like the idea of this song, something about it. There’s a wisdom in her lyrics that spoke to me when I was 16. I was a philosophical teenager pontificating about things I knew nothing about. What was I even doing at that age? Going around, trying to hide…. listening to Alanis Morissette apparently! It was great growing up seeing such strong, vocal women- ‘out there’ women. Unlike other female singers who were trying to fit into the ‘girly’ thing. People like Alanis Morissette always seemed a bit more real. More honest. She had a real influence on my singing style.
The Cranberries – Dreams
A classic. I’ve always sang this song during my cover gigs. This is such a beautiful song. I love the sounds and the harmonies. I think the track shows a different side to Dolores O’Riordan and her personality. It demonstrates a more vulnerable side to her singing; I think I liked it because it proved you didn’t need to be one dimensional with your singing style. The performance needs to be right for the lyrics of that particular song. On ‘A Sketch of Home’, I had to use different singing styles for different tracks, growing up listening to Dolores O’Riordan really helped with that.
Paddy Goodfellow (drums & percussion)
Half Moon Run – Grow into Love
Half Moon Run have always been one of my favourite bands. Such an excellent band, again so underrated. I love how they blend their harmonies and how versatile they are. I have always wanted to be a part of a project like this, an act that could let the percussion do its job in a subtle fashion underneath the song. I always find the percussion on Half Moon Run records have a subtle complexity that allows the song to breathe almost. When approaching the percussion on ‘A Sketch of Home’, I wanted to create a similar spacious vibe. Sometimes that meant playing with certain dynamics in the studio, learning when certain tracks needed less rather than more.
Edwin Raphael – Isle of Strawberries
This is such a beautiful song. I love listening to this on long walks around the front shore. The sound of the drums and percussion is so simple, but so effective. I was listening to this song quite a bit around the time of this band being put together, subconsciously I think it had an effect on my general approach to the project.
