- Music
- 12 Feb 10
Game, Set and Match
They say good things come to those who wait, and that hoary old saying is certainly true for Setmaker. Edwin McFee talks to the band about their six-years-in-the-making debut EP and also hears about how stealing band members can sometimes be a good thing.
This Valentine’s Day, Clonakilty’s Setmaker will be doing their bit for the lovers (and unloved) of Ireland when they launch their starry-eyed EP, Are You Here For This? Naturally, when we catch up with singer/guitarist Ciaran Calnan our first thought is to ask if his band are old romantics at heart?
“To be honest, we never even realised that the release date was so close to Valentine’s Day,” laughs the frontman. “It’s pure coincidence. Having said that, I suppose our guitarist Aidan (Hayes) would be a bit on the soppy side!”
Formed in 2004, the five-piece (completed by violinist Dolcie Keogh, bassist Declan McCarthy and tub-thumper Patrick Deasy) are pretty excited to be putting out their first EP, which has a bit of an acoustic Pearl Jam thing going on.
“We recorded it last summer in Data Studios in Kerry, which is a great place,” says the musician. “It’s a scenic and relaxed environment. We’re really happy with how it turned out. The mix of songs is pretty broad. That’s what we wanted.
“Seeing as it’s our debut EP, we decided to release it ourselves. This way, we have more control. It’s a lot of work. Ultimately it’s worth it. We produced it ourselves, with help from our engineer Brendan O’Regan and also Ross O’Donovan. We wanted to have a live sound and to reflect our influences.”
While other bands of the same vintage would probably be on to album number two by now, we feel Setmaker were right to take their time. You can really hear the chemistry between all the childhood friends.
“There was a Live Music Society in our secondary school and we were all involved in a number of different bands growing up,” offers Ciaran, recalling how they first got together. “There was always a bit of friendly rivalry between the bands so we all knew each other quite well. It was simply a case of a few of us wanting to focus on original material rather than cover versions. To that end, we stole members from three bands in the school and formed one of our own. We asked Dolcie to join us on violin to add some dimension to the overall sound. We all met up one day after school for a jam. It went quite well so we decided to stick at it. We’ve enjoyed every minute of it since.”
Setmaker started to show real promise when they reached the last round of the Blast:Beat battle of the bands. It was an experience that helped them to grow as musicians.
“We were in school when we made it to the final in 2007,” remembers the singer. “It was a great experience for a young band starting out. We got the chance to play some great venues with some great groups that we became friends with. We still keep in contact with them. The competitive element adds to the excitement too. It’s the ultimate battle of the bands and it creates such a buzz every year. It definitely helped us mature.
“Playing in Vicar St. at the Blast:Beat final was definitely one of our fondest memories,” Ciaran continues. “Getting on the festival circuit last summer was also a bonus. Performing on a festival stage and being able to share it with some great bands is a unique experience. The Mitchelstown Indiependence festival stands out as a high point for us."
With 2010 in its infancy, Ciaran lets us into a few of the secrets that the five-piece have up their sleeves.
“We want to keep the momentum going,” he concludes. “Gigging is what we love and we want to play in as many places as we can. Playing live is our priority. For 2010 we plan on touring with the EP and then getting into the recording studio later in the year.”
