A sound engineer, a light engineer and a tour manager come across a genie in a bottle who promises to grant them one wish each. The sound engineer says, “I want to be on an exotic island with hundreds of beautiful women!” Suddenly he disappears in a cloud of smoke. The light engineer says, “I want to have a big mansion with loads of cars and cash!” He too is whisked away to see his wish come true. The genie then turns to the tour manager and asks, “And what do you wish for?” The tour manager says to him, “I want both of them back here in 20 minutes!”

Funnily enough, it was actually a tour manager I first heard that from. For the last year or so, I have found myself coming across new people almost every single day. It seems like there’s this never-ending stream of people to meet – managers, tour managers, producers, sound engineers, journalists, radio DJs, TV presenters, record companies, PR people, video directors, and most important of all, other musicians! Don’t get me wrong – It’s wonderful! It has easily been the most exciting year of my life. Suddenly I find myself amidst this huge network of all these different kinds of interesting people – and such is the music industry. That past year has taken myself and my bandmates, Jonathan, Andy, Declan and Anthony, from thrashing up our sitting rooms to a gentle tiptoe into the Irish music scene. (Mind you, we do still rehearse in our sitting rooms but there’s definitely a different feeling to it!) But it’s true, stepping into the music industry is like walking into a massive student party. You can walk up to just about anyone in any little corner of this party that is the music scene and start a conversation. And before you even start talking, you’ve already got this enormous common interest – music!

To be making one’s way into the Irish music scene, which seems to be currently re-igniting like never before, is nothing but a bonus. With new artists like David Kitt and Gemma Hayes making waves both here and further afield, there is certainly a buzzing feeling around. To be honest, we’re really only cutting our teeth in the industry so to be nominated at the HOTPRESS Awards in a category with artists as highly regarded as The Revs, Relish, and Damien Rice, on the back of only one EP, is truly an honour. Firstly, a big boost of confidence for a young band, but moreso, an affirmation of Ireland’s love for new music. Even if people were watching the awards, saying, “Who the f**k are Melaton?!?!!”, it certainly made us feel welcome to be in there.

To find yourself in a position where your hobby becomes your living is a wonderful thing, but it is the frenzy of introductions to people I would have otherwise never met, that I’m eternally grateful for. It’s uplifting to sit and think, “OK, well, I’m glad I met that guy and I’m glad I met this guy and I learnt something from that guy and... etc., etc...”

Obviously, you’re going to meet new people in whatever field of work you’re in, but there is something special about meeting people through music. After all, music is supposed to bring people together and it’s a special feeling when that happens, regardless of what branch of the industry.

To put it simply, dipping a toe into the current Irish music scene is bloody exciting, and the five of us look forward to whatever it brings. As they say, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day.”