By Scott T. Sterling
Considering the breakout success of Kodaline’s 2013 debut album, In a Perfect World, featuring “All I Want” (which received an extra boost from being highlighted in the movie and soundtrack for The Fault in Our Stars), making a follow-up might seem like stressful process.
For Kodaline, however, that success only ramped up internal concerns about what the band should do next.
“I think when we finished the first album, we were already pretty nervous about the second,” admits Kodaline frontman Steve Garrigan when asked if the cliché is true about bands having their entire lives to prepare for their debut album followed by the pressure of turning around a sophomore release in just a year or so. “It really is kind of like that.”
For the Irish quartet, the remedy was to basically never stop creating new music.
“We just kept writing. Eventually when we got around to going into a studio, it all came together,” Garrigan explains about Kodaline’s recently released second full-length, Coming Up for Air. “We really didn’t expect to get this album finished as quickly as we did. You can’t let pressure get in the way. You’ve got to just go with it, really. We’ve already started thinking about the third album. It’s a learning curve.”
Radio.com: You say you’re already thinking about the third album. Do you have songs left over from Coming Up for Air that might end up on the follow-up?
Steve Garrigan: Not necessarily songs left over, no. When we went in to record this album, we had loads of ideas and half-written songs and a few that were already finished. Ultimately, we ended up doing most of the writing in the studio and scrapping most of those ideas and starting fresh. I’m writing all of the time on the road and I’ve got a couple of songs that I’m very excited about and can’t wait to properly record with the band. We haven’t really stopped writing. We just keep going.
How was it working with producer Jacknife Lee in his Topanga Canyon studio, and what kind of effect did it have on the album overall?
Working with Jacknife Lee was amazing. I think any band that gets the opportunity to work with a producer of that level would jump on it. What he did is introduce us to new sounds. In the studio he’s got a massive collection of old drum machines and electronic synths. It’s like a playground for musicians. He leaves everything turned on so you can play whatever and mess around. Our last album is very much acoustic and piano-based. I think this album, because of Jackknife, there’s extra synthesizers and even drum machines instead of live drums. Jackknife introduced us to a different world, really.
Related: New Music to Know: Kodaline Looking to Spread Positive Vibes
What was the genesis of the new album’s first single, “Honest”?
That was one of the first songs we recorded. When we went in to record it, we weren’t thinking about making an album. It was more so just an opportunity to record with Jacknife Lee. The idea was just to trot around some ideas. In the same few days, we wrote and recorded (new song) “The One.” Even after that session, we didn’t think consider ourselves making at album at that stage. That was our introduction to Jacknife, so you can hear some of those new sounds I was talking about. It was quite a leap from what we were doing on the last album.
What’s the story about the new album’s second single, “The One,” starting out as a wedding present to friends of the band?
It was for a really good friend of ours, a guy called Phil Magee, who engineered both of our albums. I wanted to do something really good for his wedding, so the night before the ceremony I started writing this song, partly because I hadn’t gotten them anything else [laughs]. I wrote it for him and his wife because they’re such an amazing couple. We played it at their wedding and it went down really well. We were on tour and we did a gig in Toronto. A fan came up before the gig and asked if he could propose to his fiancée onstage. We’d never done anything like that before, but it seemed like a cool idea. Luckily she said yes, and it felt appropriate to play Phil’s wedding song to mark the occasion. That would’ve been the end of it, but a couple months later, some fans at that Toronto gig recorded their own version of the song and put it up on YouTube. It was such a great version that it inspired us to record it. It’s weird that it took somebody covering our own song to actually make us think about recording it and putting it on the album. That was definitely a first.
How was it working with Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol on the song “Love Will Set You Free”?
We were in L.A. and got introduced to Johnny through a mutual friend. We went over to his place, had a chat and kind of left it at that. Then late last year, we hooked up with him again just to see what we could come up with. We’d never really written with other people, so it was a new experience. The song just kind of came together. Johnny is really talented, there’s something really great about him. The album was finished, but we unfinished it because we loved the song so much that we had to add it as the last track. It’s probably my favorite song on the album.
I have to ask about the song you wrote with One Direction‘s Harry Styles. Did you record it?
We didn’t record it, just demoed it in L.A. with Harry. It went pretty fast. It was just me, our guitar player Mark (Prendergast), our bass player Jason (Boland) and Harry. We had a day off and went into the studio and wrote the song just for fun. I didn’t know what to expect from Harry, and honestly didn’t think he’d be a writer. But he’s great. That was kind of it. We might use it at some stage, but who knows?
How would you describe the song? Is it a ballad or more upbeat?
An upbeat ballad maybe? [laughs] It’s kind of a love song, I suppose. An uptempo love song.
That song could make for a pretty great limited edition 7-inch for Record Store Day next year
That’s not a bad idea. I’m a major fan of Record Store Day. I’ve become a really big vinyl collector.
Kodaline is currently on tour here in North America. Are there are U.S. cities you particularly look forward to visiting?
Austin, Texas. I love the slogan “Keep Austin Weird.” There’s a venue there called Emo’s that I absolutely love. One of the first times we played in America, we opened for The Airborne Toxic Event at Emo’s. It was amazing. I love Boston, obviously because of the Irish connection. Arkansas as well, it’s absolutely lovely. We had an amazing time in a place there called Hot Springs. The locals really took care of us. They cooked us a proper Southern breakfast and we jammed and played music all night. The hospitality in America in general is pretty incredible.
Plus when you’re in Southern California you can hit In-N-Out Burger
Oh yeah, absolutely. That’s the first thing we always do when we get to L.A. and it’s usually the last thing, too. Anytime in between if there’s an opportunity to eat at In-N-Out, we take it. Man, now I’m really hungry for some!
Kodaline’s North American tour runs through the month of May, wrapping up in Columbus, Ohio, on May 19. Find the complete tour itinerary here.
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