Chakra Can

London calling, London calling… Dubliner Gordo Whittaker is on the line, talking about his band’s new abode.

“We’ve been based here for about a year-and-a-half. We’re all living together bar one of the lads. Nice and intense! We’d done as much as we could do in Dublin. We had interest from UK labels but it’s so hard to get them to fly over to see you in Ireland, so we said let’s just up sticks and go to the source.”
Ah, the glory days of Celtic gloom return. Time to cross the Irish Sea and find some work in Lahn-dahn.
Seems the right course of action for The Chakras thus far. Within six months they’d signed to Planet Function, the rock division of the renowned R&S label. Plus the English crowds have taken to their anthemic, Verve-indebted rock quicksharp.
“They’ve been really receptive,” Gordo enthuses. “Playing Kasabian’s after-show party was absolutely brilliant – fucking nuts! We got onstage at 1.30am and the place was just going insane. Everything from people singing the songs back to us, a mini-riot broke out… we had it all in the space of 45 minutes! Then headlining Club NME at Koko was probably one of the best experiences of my life. You have 1,200 people going absolutely ballistic from the first note to the last.”
So we have five Dublin lads – Gordo and brother Rocky, Ian, Bryan and Richie – spreading the good word of Irish rock around Britain, travelling in an ex-Royal Mail van they “aptly named Eamon.”
Still, they headed home to record that debut LP. Released in September, Build Me A Swan is an atmospheric piece of work, possibly owing to their “semi-haunted” surroundings.
“We went down to this 130 year-old school hall in the middle of nowhere in Roscommon. You couldn’t find another person around if you wanted to. It was an amazing place to write, really bizarre. Doors banging, weird noises. We all got on the buzz and started trying to freak each other out and pull pranks.”
Some more time was spent in Grouse Lodge and then London. And it took time.
“People keep saying that – ‘the long-awaited’ album,” smiles Gordo. Well, at least people were awaiting it. “That’s true!”
Central to The Chakras’ thinking was to be in this long haul, and that meant getting a solid team around them. First onboard was David Boyd, MD of Flock, responsible for signing The Verve, The Smashing Pumpkins and David Gray.
“We've so much confidence in what he does. All you have to do is look at his track record, the label he set up probably sold 40 million records.”
Then they signed on the dotted line for Planet Function after meeting Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes.
“Renaat is an absolute nutter. A Belgian headcase! He’s the most enthusiastic human being I’ve ever met. He genuinely does it all for the love of music and it’s such a rare quality.”
And then to the debut, which Jaz Rogers produced and Chris Potter (Urban Hymns) mixed.
“Chris is a really funny character, a complete perfectionist. Jaz is a crazy Australian…”
It seems they attract quite a few crazies.
“I’m just thinking that! We’re crazy-magnets!”
They also seem to attract ex-professional footballers. An all-expenses paid jaunt to Sochi, the Russian Riveira, to play in a ‘World Cup of artists’ brought them into contact with one Kerry Dixon – a hero to all Chelsea fans, Chris Potter included.
“Stan Collymore was supposed to be doing it but he sprained his ankle. We got Kerry Dixon, the second all-time scorer for Chelsea. We basically became best mates with Kerry, sitting in Russia for three weeks drinking vodka! He was just one of the lads. We were at a game with him and Chris walks in shaking going, ‘Is that Kerry Dixon? This is the greatest day of my life!’”
Another Chakra encounter of the surreal kind came when the guys were searching for the right “risqué” album cover (topless models, naturally) and enlisted English graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, who has worked with everyone from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin.
“The most crazy by a mile!” laughs Gordo. “All the meetings are in the same café underneath his studio. He walks in and everyone knows him. One of the staff told us, ‘Last week Storm came in and asked me for 37 baked beans!’ Myself and himself disagreed over one minor point – his response? [theatrical British voice] ‘Gordy, how about you concentrate on playing the guitar and shut up!’ He’d turn up late and say, ‘Sorry boys, I just had a meeting with David Gilmour.’”
It may be some time before they can backchat Storm Thorgerson, but things are on the up for The Chakras. The immediate aims?
“Doing sold-out Olympia-sized shows throughout Ireland, the UK and far afield. We hit number two on the iTunes Alt Chart and kept Coldplay and Snow Patrol off the top for a couple of days. So if we could replicate that over a longer period. Of course, if they want to give us a support slot – then we’ll take it!”

Build Me A Swan is out now on Planet Function records