Cork band Cardinals were among the many Irish artists to pull out of the recent SXSW festival in Austin, due to the event being sponsored by arms manufacturers. As accordionist Finn Manning reflects, it was a decision the group felt they had to make.

“SXSW is an industry festival, so it’s really good to make the first leap in your career,” he says. “I suppose the decision to pull out could potentially impact our careers, but it just felt wrong to perform.”

Sponsorship by arms manufacturers would have been unpalatable at the best of times, but it was truly shocking amidst the ongoing genocidal Israeli campaign on Gaza.

“We knew that Chalk and Gurriers were in Texas and we met up with our funding group as well,” says Manning. “We made the decision that we would like to pull out as a unit. So we pulled out from all shows, official and unofficial. I don’t think any of us felt very comfortable playing SXSW when the news started to come out about sponsorships. We came back to Cork on St. Patrick’s Day, and when we met our friends, we were solidified in our thoughts that we did the right thing.”

Speaking of Cork, Finn is fervent in his love of his hometown. “No one else gets it,” he says. “No one else has that relationship with their county – they don’t have that grá. I feel sorry for them, to be honest.”

This proud sense of place is integral to Cardinals’s upcoming, self-titled debut EP. “It’s very much centred around our lives as a band,” says Finn’s brother, frontman Euan Manning, “and as a group of friends, living in and around Cork City, and just figuring that out.”

“Absolutely,” nods Finn. “As a city, despite how small it is, it has a lot of character – and a lot of characters. We are always taking from that, metabolising it and turning it into something else.”

Cardinals are distinct in their style, with their EP diverging from the sound du jour of Dublin post-punk. “To me it’s very pop-y and quite warm,” says Euan. “I guess there’s a certain edge to it at times, but it’s definitely pop-leaning.” In terms of the industry landscape, the band feel there’s additional graft involved for bands operating outside Dublin.

“It’s a grind if you’re trying to make it,” says guitarist Oskar Gudinovic. “You work almost twice as hard than you do if you were in Dublin. Just to get out of Cork alone is so tough for a lot of artists. There’s a lack of mid-sized venues. You go from Fred Zeppelins, which is 70-capacity, and next up is Cyprus Avenue, which is 600. So it’s like this huge leap of growing your fanbase from 70 to 600.”

However, Cardinals will shortly make that very leap, with their current tour set to wind up in Cyprus Avenue. After that, the band plan to work on an album.

“An album is the first proper artistic statement you make as a band or as a songwriter,” says Euan. “I feel like it’s the goal of any musician to aim for an album,” nods Finn. “To have an album would be huge. It’s something we are looking forward to.”

“Something classic, though,” concludes Oskar, “which will stand the test of time.”

You can  read this and more in the April issue of Hot Press: