Jack Of All Trades

The MMOTHS story is well-known at this stage. Your average Joe Soap sixth-year student by day, a then 18-year-old Jack Colleran assumed the MMOTHS alias by night, getting the blogosphere all a-fluster with his collection of dreamy chill-wave tunes.
Fame duly came a-knockin’, and in 2011, Colleran signed to LA label Street Quality Entertainment – on the day he received his Leaving Cert results. The stuff of teenage dreams, you might say. Colleran, as it turns out, would agree with you.
“I'm the luckiest guy in the world”, he grins. “When I stop thinking that, it's time to throw in the towel.”
Nonetheless, 2012 has been a hectic year for the young beatmaker. SQE released the MMOTHS EP in March, and a slew of tour dates followed, culminating in a Button Factory headliner in November. On top of that, while on the road, Colleran wrote and produced a new EP, set for release in early 2013. So, has he settled into his new jetsetting lifestyle?
“Well I hadn't travelled that much before”, he says. “I'd go on holidays with my family, and my mam would look after my passport! So it was a big shock at the start. Now it's become routine - airport, taxi, gig.
2012 then has been a year of maturing, both in terms of hitting the road sans Mammy, and of course, Colleran’s sound, which has evolved and grown too. Forthcoming EP, tellingly titled Diaries, showcases the producer’s darker side; “The new EP was written while I was travelling, and yeah, it’s that little bit darker, ‘cos I wasn't happy at the time. Which I don't know if people are going to be into or not!” The collection, Colleran explains, wasn’t as rushed as its predecessor. “The last EP wasn't a 'work' as such”, he explains, “it was just tracks that were thrown together into an EP. Diaries is more mature and there’s more thought gone into it. Plus, I'm still learning from mistakes and listening to older stuff, thinking - 'You should not have put that effect on there!' But I like learning from those things. It's experimenting, and it’s important.” He continues, “My sound's still ambient I suppose, but a bit sadder. People are saying it's kinda post-rock? Which is cool!”
Colleran’s November gig, which saw him showcase some of this new material, featured for the first time, musicians onstage with him. Is this a permanent fixture in the MMOTHS live experience?
“Yeah, the guys will be playing live with me from now on”, he reveals. "It was something I'd really wanted to do for a long time, I wasn't happy playing with just a laptop. With this set-up, there's improvisation and it's always different. There's a fuller sound – a proper live sound.” It helps that the guys are Colleran’s close friends from Newbridge. “They're my best friends and I've known them for years”, he smiles, “so I wanted to have them involved. I'm really lucky to have these people around me.”
Though he’s been a busy bee this year, had he had a chance to keep an eye on the domestic scene?
“It's so exciting to see what's going on”, he enthuses. “The bookings that have been happening in Dublin recently are phenomenal!”
Has anyone in particular tickled his fancy?
“There’s a young producer called Aaron Lipsett from Sligo. His tune xx is one of my favourite club tracks of 2012. Then there's a guy from Cork called WIFE, who signed to Triangle Records just last week. It's exciting to see what's going on. The [Belfast label] Melted guys are great too – Ross (aka Monto) is a good friend of mine.”
Though there’s a thriving community of elecro artists here, Colleran reckons the beauty is that each has their own unique sound: “If you go to London and spin a white-label record”, he begins, “it’s impossible to tell who it is, based on their sound - everyone sounds like everyone. Here, each producer has their own individual sound. You can pinpoint a track to an artist - I like that. No-one's stepping on anyone's toes. I think that's why I don't want to leave, I want to be part of it all!”
So we can rest assured that Colleran isn’t tempted to skip town and move to say, sunny LA, where is label is based?
He shakes his head; “I don't think I'll ever move away. I want to stay here and help things, I want to see this movement grow. I want to see Ireland doing well, especially now, as people are forced to leave home and move away.”
Amen! With that in mind, what’s the plan going forward into 2013?
“Until the end of the year, it'll be quiet. Then in January we're doing [music industry festival] Eurosonic, and it'll roll on from there - the EP is out in February.” Colleran expressed in a previous interview with HP that he’d like to eventually work in studio, producing bands. Is that still on his to-do list?
“I always wanted to experiment, but right now I'm kind of getting focused on myself”, he explains. “We just got word the other day that we're doing production on someone pretty big's album, so that would be cool.” He grins, “I feel really bad doing it though because they don't know that i know nothing about production!”
We beg to differ.

Diaries is out in March, 2013. See mmothsmusic.com.