Eilís: I know for a fact that sometimes you play with Laya, so is Anna’s Anchor a more solo project or is it something that you can bring in people to when you’re touring?
Marty: Originally, it was a solo project. I was playing in a different band at the time and I wanted to tour more but the lads in the band wanted to just keep playing locally. So I went away and recorded four songs. I recorded them full band so on the first EP I played drums on it. I can’t play drums great but still did that and played all the other instruments so it kind off sounded like a band on the recording, even though it was just myself. When it came to touring it was just all acoustic and then when we released the first album in 2016 I was going to keep going with the solo thing but my friends were adamant I do full band shows.
So, to coincide with the release of the album we did do a full band tour of Ireland and the UK. I also kept playing solo shows. More and more opportunities then started to come by where we were getting offered to play full band so the idea of playing full band a little more often just seeped in bit by bit. It got to the point where in some ways we had a constant line-up and in other ways it was constantly changing. The one constant was my friend Brian Scally playing drums on everything from the first album until now. So to answer your question I guess Anna’s Anchor was essentially a solo project up until the release of this album that involved a constant stream of friends but now that Brian has become so central I would consider him a member.
Eilís: I was watching your videos and there’s kind of a DIY feel to them, so is that important to you or is that just how it worked out?
Marty: In terms of videos that’s not intentional because all the videos off the first album were done by Shane Serrano and those are very high production videos. It’s a mixture of things. I do like doing as much as possible myself. YouTube videos at the moment are getting less and less views. If you look at any of the top artists and you look at their top song on Spotify it’ll have way more plays than the music video and that used to be the opposite. So there is definitely a change happening at the moment so I felt for my videos there wasn’t really a justification for spending a lot of money hence why I decided to it myself. It’s a mixture of the way people listen to music and a matter of cost. The way we recorded the new album was different too to the way we recorded the other albums and I wanted to show that off a little bit so that people would notice the time spent working on it away from the studio and immerse ourselves in our recording.
Eilís: Do you find that a part of being a musician is analysing how your music is received and taking that on board as you’re creating a new album?
Marty: I would say that should apply to everything apart from the music myself. If you’re sitting down to write a song and you’re thinking about the songs that people seem to have enjoyed and just crank out ten more of those that’s a losing battle straight away. It’s defeating the entire purpose. I think it makes sense with other aspects like shooting the videos and altering how the music is released because the smart thing to do three years ago is not going to be the smart thing to do now. I’d rather just throw a song straight up on Facebook where I know my followers and friends can all just click the link and listen. So it is important to keep an eye on the trends when it comes to marketing especially. But in terms of how you’re writing your music then it’s the complete opposite.
Christopher: Was there any new element to your sound that you discovered as you were producing the album?
Marty: The guitar is more intricate but on the other side the choruses are definitely pop-ier. That was kind of the aim all along. I sat down before I wrote the thing and took out a notepad that had concepts on it that I wanted to pool and pick from. I do this with every album so lyrically not much has changed in the sense that I still pick from those pools. I did really want to write a pop-y math album which sounds like it doesn’t really go together but it took shape and we added way more harmonies. This feeds into that pop element.
Eilís: Yeah, I was going to ask about that. Was it Claire O’Brien you got?
Marty: Yeah it was. She provided the harmonies with myself to a certain extent. And that kind of came down to the fact that we had more time to produce this album. When we were doing Nautical Miles we had one day left in studio for vocals so obviously got the main vocal take down and then had about two hours left for harmonies. The way we did the new album going out to the cottage and taking our time meant that we could add harmonies as we saw fit as well as extra backing vocals.
Eilís: Would you describe previous albums as a rushed process?
Marty: I wouldn’t describe it as a rushed process because this is the way I am and it pisses off some people and some people like it but I’m very methodical in my planning. I studied project management in college and up until recently, that’s what I was working as so I plan everything out. My studio time gets planned out by the hour.
Eilís: Why did you choose the three main singles that you did? Did you feel they best represented what the new album was about?
Marty: Those three songs were standing out for their own individual reasons. “White Washed Corridor” has elements of the previous album so we thought that’s a good first single. “Precautionary” had that more mathier beat and is very much in your face and is a good overall representative of the album so we felt we needed it to show that side of the album. Then, the “Johnny Cash Was A Punk” single just had a nice feel to it and gave it a bit of variety. I had made all those decisions before signing to the current label and then after we signed they suggested those three songs so that worked out well.
Christopher: I was really interested in the pictures that accompany the three singles and wanted to know what the story is behind those?
Marty: Ah yeah, they’re great. They’re done by this guy called Greg Dillon. He’s from Limerick. They were taken in 1990 I believe. They were all taken in Southhill so they’re all taken in Limerick. They’re amazing when you see the expressions on peoples’ faces. That whole catalogue of photos just stood out to me. The picture that made the album cover with the little boy and little girl with the conflicting emotions summed up the essence of the album to me. We worked back from the cover and agreed it made sense to use the other pictures to accompany the singles and add a cohesiveness to the album. I’m really happy with how they look. I’m from Limerick and very proud of that and I am hyper-aware of all the shortcomings and there’s little things in the pictures that only Limerick people will recognise.
Eilís: With the song “Precautionary” am I right in saying that there’s an environmental message or theme there? Is that important to you personally, or?
Marty: Yeah, so, that’s a weird one. It’s nice that you picked up on it. I did environmental science as my undergrad and for the last three to four years had been working as an environmental consultant so I guess the environment is just something that is always on my mind. I’m obviously nowhere near as passionate about it as I am with music but it’s still very important to me and it’s something that I consider a lot. When you first start studying environmental science, the very first thing you’re thought is the definition of sustainability and in layman’s terms the definition is “the world that you hand onto the next generation is to be in better condition than the world you received”. And that’s essentially the chorus! The way the world is at the moment environmentally is just so fucked, and that can be extended to socially and politically. The world that has been passed onto us is definitely not in better condition than the previous one and this trend just seems to have no end.
Christopher: And what do you think about the current music scene in Limerick?
Marty: It’s unbelievable at the moment. I’ve seen the peaks and the troughs. There’s a lot of new bands popping up in this new developing scene. I’m cautious because I know where the base of this peak started from. There’s so many more venues willing to put on music too. When Anna’s Anchor started out I couldn’t even think about trying to be big in Limerick because that just wasn’t possible. Nowadays, if there’s ten people there it’s like “fuck, that gig did bad” but back then it was “amazing”! The advantage of touring a lot is that you get a taste of all the local scenes and the local people trying to make it all happen and Limerick has an amazing hardworking scene. The collaborative efforts even between myself and Ger from Cruiser and lads fromThe Casavettes, setting up DIY LK and doing our own bit, putting in the effort to make something happen, is testament to that spirit.
Eilís: Is the Limerick show that little bit more special because it’s Limerick?
Marty: Oh yeah, 100%. The hometown shows always are. I’m thinking about it every day but having your family and friends around is a really good feeling. It makes all the shitty nights worth it. Things can get rough as fuck on tour but the feeling in the room at the last album launch was amazing and makes it all worthwhile. To be at the centre of that is special.
Eilís: When and where can people buy the album?
Marty: The album is released September 14th 2018. You can pre-order the vinyl on “failurebydesign.com”. CDs are available now. It’ll also be released on Spotify and Youtube. Everything you need to know will be posted on “annasanchor.com” where there’s links to all the shows, merch, and anything you might be looking for.
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big thanks to Christopher for joining me for the interview and transcribing and Marty Ryan for taking the time to sit down and talk to us!
