Sonic Street Preachers

From January 11 – 14, the Dutch city of Groningen becomes the live music centre of the world, as festival organisers, concert promoters, DJs, radio stations and esteemed journos gather to see some of the most exciting artists in Europe put themselves in the shop window and give the performances of their lives.

Tied to the domestic Noorderslag festival, Eurosonic has provided a platform for bands to get their music heard by major industry players for over 15 years, and is now Europe’s largest showcase festival. Each year an individual nation is marked out for particular attention and, in 2012, Ireland is the focus country. Not only does that mean 21 homegrown acts – including Lisa Hannigan, The Cast Of Cheers, Fionn Regan and The Minutes – will get the spotlight, but Eurosonic will also hold conferences tailor-made to deal with matters Irish. It’s high time too. Since the showcase began in 1996, Irish artists have consistently made a big impression, with the likes of Imelda May, Delorentos and Fight Like Apes all having returned with concrete gig offers and fantastic contacts with industry heads.
One man who’s been there to document it all on Irish airwaves is Ian Wilson, one of the founding producers of RTÉ 2fm. “What is it… my 12th or 13th year going over?” he ponders when Hot Press catches up with him. “I can’t remember how many times, it’s been that long!” Wilson is Groningen-bound once again, and he’ll be joined by DJs Dave Fanning, Jenny Huston and Dan Hegarty for live sets, interviews and studio sessions. “It’s a big year to be over,” says Wilson. “Something I’ve said to anyone who cares to listen is that it’s a real slow-burner, this event. The reason being that, in Ireland, we are obsessed with the notion that nothing happens unless it happens in England, and then America. Somebody said it to me, ‘We’re the only country in Europe where the first soccer results given out are for the neighbouring country.’ We have just not got our head around the fact that there’s a big world outside that is not inside that sphere. Even though Eurosonic is the biggest event for festival bookings in Europe and has been for years and years, Irish festivals never bothered turning up until very recently. It’s been changing in the last few years.”
Wilson feels people underestimate the wider European market. “It’s far less trend-driven, up-its-backside than it is in England. A lot of Irish acts make the serious mistake of thinking they have to go and break England but that’s a complete waste of time for a lot of bands. You can go through the list of the people that have come a-cropper and most of them have tried that strategy.
“Eurosonic choosing us as the focus country is big for Ireland and good timing for us. We have to be honest, we couldn’t have done this a few years ago. I don’t think we had the depth of bands that we do now. Plus, you’ve got to remember what we consider as established people, like Fionn Regan and Lisa Hannigan, aren’t established names in Europe. One thing I should stress is the selection. We, as the radio partner of the event, had the right to nominate one act and we nominated God Is An Astronaut, who I think are an interesting band. They certainly do something different. The rest of the selection was made entirely by the organisers on the strength of the submissions they got. There were 250 applications in Ireland and what’s interesting about that is that I had a quick look at the UK’s application list and they only had about 450 from the whole of Britain.”
So it would seem in terms of both quality and quantity, we’re punching above our weight. Amongst those chosen few heading for the Netherlands are Dublin’s premier electro-pop act Bitches With Wolves and Lisburn’s intriguing deconstructivists Rams’ Pocket Radio. Both acts are essentially vehicles for two men – James O’Neill and Peter McAuley respectively – and both are looking forward immensely to starting their year with Eurosonic. “It is the best way to start the new year!” says O’Neill with glee. “I cannot wait to go, I’m so excited! Eurosonic is such an important step in any burgeoning band’s career. It’s a real leg-up, a really big deal and an honour to go.” O’Neill, who is relocating to London in late January, is fully aware that their Dutch appearance could push Bitches With Wolves on to greater things. “Yeah, at least a polite tip! I think getting a whopper agent would be the dream. To get a whopper agent and get booked around some of the top festivals around Europe, if for nothing else than the free tickets! It’s such a big opportunity, Europe is ginormous. Being in Ireland, it’s not as easy to get around so we’re separated by the ocean. So you do tend to forget that there’s so much out there, outside your little scene. I’m excited about the possibilities.”
Renowned for their energetic live show, what do the Bitches have planned this time out? Will they be tailoring the costumes to suit the Dutch crowd? “Haha. Maybe I’ll wear clogs. Clogs, one of those little hats and a whistle would be amazing! We’ve got a midnight show, which is perfect for us. We’re planning on hanging out and checking out the rest of the other bands over the weekend. I’ve never been to Amsterdam either, so I’m going to go spend a night in Amsterdam.” Will we ever see him again? “Probably not! I’ve heard of one person who went to Amsterdam for a weekend and didn’t come back until six months later. But I’ve things to do, people to see, I don’t think it’s going to happen unfortunately!”
Peter McAuley spent 2011 building the reputation of his inventive, refreshing and sonically daring Rams’ Pocket Radio (named after German industrial designer Dieter Rams). Eurosonic is the next big step to spreading his songs and intriguing aesthetic principles. “I’m hoping our presence will get us some shows in the near future in Europe. From playing the continent before with Darwin Deez, there was a marked difference in the crowd. It was a different way of listening. When we played songs that had gaps and we expected a big cheer in between, they seemed much more reserved and really listening for the music, whereas in Ireland we would have got the cheer. I think that continental atmosphere should suit the music that we’re making, so we’re very excited to explore what it’s like in Holland.”
It just might be their spiritual home. “Well, it is a homecoming of sorts because our drummer, Rick Van Den Boss, is half Dutch. I think his dad is from Groningen actually, which is quite funny and cool. And also it’s a band homecoming because I really love Dutch architecture.”
Ian Wilson vouches for the beauty and variety of Eurosonic’s backdrop. “There are some amazing places to be seen, from kitsch, kinda Victorian venues to baroque theatres and…. glorified toilets!”
And Bitches With Wolves seem eager to explore them all. “We’re hoping to do something special,” says O’Neill. “They’ve got a little Red Light District in Groningen which I hear is the length of a laneway. So we’re hoping to do a gig in one of the windows!”

Eurosonic takes place in Groningen from 11 – 14.