An Interview with Garrett Wall

Brian links up with the Madrid-based singer-songwriter as he releases a new LP...

Madrid based Irish singer songwriter Garrett Wall returns to our shores for a gig in Whelan's on Sunday June 9th 2002 and a new album "Gravity", released by Pressure Records.

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Some history, please. How did you get into song writing and how did you find the Irish scene when you started out?

I actually started writing songs when I was in school and I remember entering one, a song called "Winter's Eve", into the 1985 Poparama song contest (now The Yoplait Song Contest or something). Anyway, I got into the final which was a major thrill and the artist picked to perform the song for live radio was Colm Wilkinson of Les Miserables fame!! I still have it on tape somewhere?.so not a bad start although I didn't win the competition! After that I just started to write more and more songs and started getting into the guitar as opposed to the piano which was my first instrument. I was involved in different bands all through University but after graduating I got a job as a musical director in a show called "A Slice Of Saturday Night". It was through working on the show that I got my first taste of the Dublin music scene. It was around that time that I started writing songs that I felt were beginning to go somewhere so I took myself down to Dave Murphy's singer-songwriter night which was happening upstairs in McDaid's pub before switching to the International Bar. The whole acoustic scene was just starting to explode and people like Mundy, Mark Dignam, Glen Hansard, Paddy Casey, Damien Dempsey etc., were all starting to showcase their material so it was a great, crazy time musically. There was a real buzz going around and everyone was shitting themselves going up on stage (at least I was). It's probably the most nerve wracking gig ever?.and I think anyone who has done it would agree with me?but the best!

Gravity is your 3rd album - how do you feel your music has evolved over this time, particularly the mellowing since the 2nd album "Change"?

"Change" was made when I was playing with a great four-piece consisting of Ger Farrell (Skindive), Robin Hurt (The West Seventies) and Tony Steele so it was a very live, dynamic band-based sound. The album "Change" was the result of three separate recording sessions and actually represents about three years of steady yet diverse musical growth, hence the title. The earliest recordings for the album included tracks such as "Downpour", "There is Time" and "Sweet Mary" although there's a bunch that never made the final cut. I may have to give them an airing out one of these days! The later stuff like "Rainbox" and "Someday" was a direct result of gigging around with the band and I felt I had to go back and re-do most of the album so that it represented where we were at. That's the problem with making albums, you've sometimes moved on by the time they actually get released. I really enjoyed the energy of those songs and the rawer feel but I think the new album is closer to the sound I'm most comfortable with. With "Gravity" I've found a happy medium between the stripped-down acoustic sound of "All of the above" and the rockier "Change". Perhaps the most significant developments in the music have been in the way I approach singing (not so high pitched anymore!) and closer attention to the mood of the songs.

You have recorded in many varied locations (Slovenia, Korea) and are currently based in Madrid where the new album was recorded. However, I do not detect an especially Latin feel to "Gravity" (Los Dias aside). How has the culture and pace of Spanish life impacted your songwriting?

Living in Spain has been a really positive and calming influence on my life. I used to get so stressed out by things and that would in turn effect my music and general attitude. The Spanish take things a lot easier although that can have its drawbacks too since the album took six months longer to record than planned!! Although a lot of the songs were written after I moved to Spain and I had done demos of them with some Latin overtones we consciously tried to not to include too much Spanish influence in the sound since we we're trying to create something international too. I would love to experiment with rhythms and arrangements in the future though, the way David Byrne has for example.


Given that Dublin and Ireland has proved a fertile fan base for many singer songwriters in recent years (David Gray, Ron Sexsmith, Gemma Hayes), do you have any regrets about your re-location?

I think going to Spain was something I had to do for a lot of reasons and there are definitely no regrets there. I guess when I think about how things might have gone if I had stayed in Ireland, particularly in the light of recent successes like David Kitt, The Frames and Damien Rice I perhaps regret that my profile here has suffered from a three year absence. Many of the recent success stories owe a lot to a core fan base surrounding the much improved and very healthy gig scene around the country which has been built up over the past couple of years. Even so I think going to Spain was an essential factor in this album happening at all and I think everyone inevitably has to find their own path.

What is the music scene like in Madrid? Do you play much there and do you have a fan base?

I gig quite a lot in Madrid and it was a series of gigs in the Chesterfield Caf?that led to the album being recorded. My publishers, Peermusic, came to one of the shows in October 2000 and after hearing the new songs suggested I record an album in their new studios. We didn't end up using the studios but the idea to make the album was born and one thing led to another.

The music scene is great in Madrid and much the same as here it's a small, close-knit community where everyone knows each other. A lot of it revolves around flamenco and more traditional Spanish singer-songwriters such as Rosana and Alejandro Sanz but the rock scene is very much alive and Madrid has a great underground scene. We're planning a lot of gigs over the next few months in the build up to releasing the album in Spain and there are some really great venues to play. The fan base is also growing and has been helped by the fact that the album is starting to pick up airplay in Spain.

Listening to Gravity, I am reminded particularly of Lloyd Cole and Aimee Man - both in the lushness of sound yet simplicity and deftness of song writing. Are there any artists who inspire you or with whom you feel an affinity?

Thanks! It's nice to be thought of in such good company!! I suppose the artists that would inspire me the most are those that continue to make good and original music regardless of what the "market" may demand, especially solo artists like Tom Waits and Peter Gabriel. I've always been a sucker for a good melody and that pretty much sums it up for me, a good song sung by someone with conviction and I'm there. I think of people like Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole or David Gray or bands like The Frames who've been making great music for years and finally the audience caught up with them. I don't think you should ever pander to what you think people want to hear and just do what turns you, the individual, on. It's amazing how people react to sincerity and honesty in music and I think that's what inspires me the most. Those artists that have had to go away to find an audience for their music before finding one in there own home have to be admired and for that reason I've always been a big fan of Luka Bloom.

One of the most upbeat tunes on the album "What you Need" is also the most vitriolic. Is there a good story there?

That song has a few layers but it's basically for anyone who thinks the world and everyone in it revolves around them. It's about being shallow and insincere and basically walking over people?..looking after number one but not letting it go so far as to exclude everyone else. It's not aimed at a particular person in my life but I tend to write lyrics sometimes before I realise the deeper meaning - 'nuff said!!!

Gravity is a wonderfully well-produced album. Your vocals are never overwhelmed by the richness and texture of the instrumentation. Are you a tortured perfectionist in the studio?

Not really although I'm sure if you asked the producers they'd have a different opinion! I have to hand it to them since they did a wonderful job on the production and put up with my idiosyncrasies for the best part of a year. The recording process was long but fruitful since we spent a lot of time on arrangements and instrumentation. We recorded and mixed in separate studios which also helped a lot and I think from day one they knew how to present me and the songs so my hat is off to them and I hope it's the first of many a fruitful venture. To be honest I'm not much of a perfectionist, I don't have the patience for it. Once I hear something I like that's enough for me and when I'm recording vocals I think anything past the sixth or seventh take is too much?.

You are gigging in Dublin next week so your home will be empty. What album is a potential burglar likely to find in your stereo and what book would be on the bedside locker?

At the moment the album would be either "Grace" by Jeff Buckley or "24 Star Hotel" by Mundy and the book would be "A Monk Swimming" by Malachy McCourt.

I hear a lot of singles on Gravity. Any plans to release? Any plans to tour?

There is talk of a single in September/October which will coincide with a nation wide tour so make sure to check out the web site www.garrettwall.net from time to time for updates and free downloads too!!! There may be some gigs in July / August too but nothing confirmed yet.

You play Whelan's on June 9th. What should we expect? Will there be a band or a solo acoustic turn?

A bit of both actually! I'll have a four or five piece band with me which I'm looking forward too and I'll do some solo stuff too, so something for everybody I hope?.see you there, thanks!

Garrett Wall was interview by Brian Farrelly

Click here for a review of Garrett Wall's album 'Gravity'