Following the release of singles ‘Nail in Your Head’ and ‘Substance’, Cloakroom Q expand on that dichotomy of extroverted, energetic heavy-rock and introspective, softer ballads with their album The Tune You Have To Dance To.
Everything in between, presided over by the band’s classic goofiness, is present in the record’s exploration of genre-blending and experimenting. Following their sold-out listening party in Sunflower, I chatted to them about the album’s, and the band’s, journey this far.
How would you describe your sound to a brand new cloakroom-er?
At our heart, we make rock music, but we try to add little things to make the music goofy or silly. Honestly, some of our decisions stem from whether we think it’s funny, though we also love a lot of classic rock and want songs that make a statement. We are heavily influenced by bands like Rush and Roxy Music; we love their sound and are trying to emulate that vibe.
We try to mix up genres on each track of the album, so there’s a little something for everyone. We branched out particularly on our track ‘Painting My Nails For The Last Time Today’, where we brought in a lot of Irish traditional session musicians and made it an original trad song.
For fans, The Tune You Have to Dance To promises to be as weird and wonderful as ever. What themes can we expect to hear on the album?
A big theme of the album is learning to accept your life, your decisions and the world as it is. That’s what ‘the tune you have to dance to’ as a phrase means. You can’t pick the music. It isn’t the only theme on the album – we have a love song called ‘Held at Night’ and a more aggressive, introspective song called ‘Nail in Your Head’. We try to cover a lot across the album’s hour-long runtime.
Where did the name ‘Cloakroom Q’ come from?
The name came from a fight that broke out in a queue for the cloakroom at a Death Grips concert.
The album was recorded in Analogue Catalogue – what was the recording process like?
The whole process felt like a dream! Being in a studio that was removed from any town or city got us into a good headspace. Working with the fabulous Darragh Tibbs (the album’s producer and engineer) was delightful; he had so many great ideas to contribute and an unmatched
understanding of the kind of album we wanted to release. The album wouldn’t be half as good without him.
The working days were long as we had tight enough time constraints, but we still had time to joke, laugh and argue about each song as they came about. Staying overnight with full days at Analogue Catalogue really got us into the zone – creating freely with no distractions. We were fortunate enough to receive funding from the Arts Council Northern Ireland, without which the album couldn’t have been made. We’re so grateful.
Your album artwork is one-of-a-kind. What inspired the ethereal aesthetic?
We knew from the start we wanted to work with Nathan Magee. We’ve followed his work for years and the scenes he captures are unlike anything we’ve ever seen. He can capture frames from right out of your dreams.
As for our outfits, we worked with Eimear Fox, a professional costume designer who has worked on impressive projects like Game of Thrones. Her vision and concepts thought up by her and her partner James Fox really communicated the themes of the album as well as adding glimpses of their own narratives.
Where did your love for music and performing originate?
We each come from different musical backgrounds. Jared has a background in classical music and musical theatre, with experience in gigging solo and with choral groups. Con and Danny have been playing pop/rock both separately and together since they were fifteen. Dan has a
mix, playing classical trumpet from a young age and bass in many bands for over a decade.
Though all of our deeper love for music came from The Beatles – they’re the best! We even got the chance to see Paul McCartney in concert there in December. Surreal moment, and it really reaffirmed our love of music and each other.
If Cloakroom Q’s music was a film, what film would it be and why?
Our hearts want to say Akira. It’s a 1988 action/sci-fi that’s very cool and pretty but also very gross. Akira is one of our all-time favourite movies but this album doesn’t match the scope of the movie or its grotesque imagery.
In truth, our music is like Legally Blonde. It’s funny and silly – like us.
Cloakroom Q are authentic and unapologetically themselves. Do you have any advice for musicians who strive for integrity and unfettered self-expression?
It seems lately that every band or artist who is exceptionally successful are people who work exceptionally hard, are very talented and still have to get lucky to hit the big time. The chances of taking off are very slim and, while that can sound cynical, it’s freeing as it means you may as well make exactly the type of music you want to make, instead of something that’s marketable or that follows a trend.
We made this album and we know that albums aren’t as easy to market in the modern age as shorter songs and EPs, but we did it because it’s our passion. It doesn’t matter if anyone listens to it. We are proud of it and happy that it’s ours to listen to it. Or, be a nepo-baby and you’re sorted!
Five years in the making, with all the fun-loving approach of Cloakroom Q poking through, this album is something the band clearly adore. As they put it, “it doesn’t matter if anyone listens to it” – but you should.
The Tune You Have To Dance To is out now and is available to listen to on Bandcamp and all other streaming platforms.
