Keeping The Home Fires Burning

sk any struggling musician or band and they’ll tell you that radio exposure is vital for success, at almost any level. This holds even truer for independent un-signed artists, who make up the bulk of emerging talent in Ireland today.

As Ireland’s only national independent radio station, Today FM is critically placed to influence listeners’ tastes and to expose new Irish music to a wider audience. While they are first and foremost, a commercial operation with an eye on the bottom line, the station has an impressive record when it comes to backing home-grown talent. Artists like Damien Rice, Mundy, Cara Dillon, Damien Dempsey and bands like The Frames, Saucy Monky and Bell X1 are all regularly play-listed, with many contributing live sessions to various programmes in the schedule.
“Why wouldn’t we support good Irish music?” asks Willie O’Reilly, Today FM’s. Chief Executive. “Our aim is to foster talent - if we don’t, where is it going to come from? I’m in the commercial sector and the bills have to be paid – for that reason the music we play is critical to our success. But could anyone seriously suggest to me that playing ‘July’ by Mundy is going to turn anyone off? And look at how Irish people go out and support a band like The Frames and The Thrills, who I think are fantastic.”
In practise, commercial radio’s daytime output tends to be heavily formatted, with tight playlisting of familiar hits and classic oldies. O’Reilly insists however that the Irish radio market is different in several respects.
“The Irish audiences love popular music but in almost any age category they are a much broader church with wider tastes than is the case elsewhere, and this is reflected on Today FM,” he explains. “We don’t have a black urban vibe like they do in the UK, for example. We have a more freewheeling, singer- songwriter culture, which runs from Christy Moore and Mick Hanly to younger artists like Damien Rice and Mundy. I think it was Dave Fanning who once said that good music comes from unemployment. That might have been true in the past but I think today’s Irish music comes from confidence.” And if the charts are anything to go by right now, there’s plenty of that in the atmosphere.
Like most other commercial stations Today FM doesn’t operate a strict quota when it comes to play-listing Irish music. According to Brian Adams, Today FM’s Head of Music, there is a definite policy to include 25% or more Irish music in the station’s schedules. “We regularly test our output and we exceed that target most of the time,” he says. “This isn’t something new – most of the original board of directors of Radio Ireland came from within the Irish music industry and were keen to support it from the start.”
According to Adams, any act with a good single or album can usually get airplay on Today FM and possibly even a live session as well. “If we can play an Irish record we will,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll even give a record an extra push if we think it deserves it. Mundy is someone we really got behind when ‘July’ came out last year, and I think we can take at least some of the credit for its success.
“We would have between four or five live sessions per week on various programmes, sometimes even more than that,” he adds. “The point is, they’re not hidden away on late night shows or at weekends. Damien Dempsey was on the Ray D’Arcy Show recently, Simple Kid were on Pet Sounds and we’ve had everyone in here during the past few week from Picture House to The Conways and people like Mark Geary and Cara Dillon.”
Since he first took over the early evening slot from John Kelly four years ago, Tom Dunne’s Pet Sounds has been pivotal in supporting home-grown performers. He continues to champion new Irish bands and solo performers with interviews, live sessions and featured slots such as Witnness Rising
“I think I probably have a natural affinity for Irish music anyway because of my background,” Dunne says. “But I think as a nation we’re more inclined to produce people who write great songs and who want to connect with an audience. People like Glen Hansard, Damien Rice, Mundy, Davit Kitt – they’re all trying very hard to connect and succeeding very well at it, I think.”
Dunne reckons 2003 to be one of the very best years to date for Irish music. “It’s been a phenomenal year,” he says. “What I love is that people are doing very different stuff these days, whether it’s Paddy Casey, Bell X1 or Future Kings of Spain. And I’ve been impressed by The Thrills, who are very focused and unaffected by their success and have the mark of a band in it for the long haul.
“The Frames are just getting better and better,” he adds, “the notion of them selling millions of albums is just a matter of marketing. There are kids in America who want to scribble ‘The Frames’ on their school bags – they just don’t know it yet.”
Live sessions and interviews continue to be in important part of the show. as he explains. “We’ve had so many in that I’ve almost completed my wish list by this stage. There’ve been loads of highlights. I was hugely impressed with the Waterboys when they came in for a few numbers. When you get Steve Wickham and Mike Scott together, something magical happens. The session with Frank Black and Glen Hansard of course was superb and got a great reaction.”
Dunne’s support for Irish music has extended beyond the radio show and in recent years he has put together two volumes of classic Irish rock tracks – Tom Dunne’s 30 Best Irish Hits, re-awakening interest in the legacy of Irish rock. “It started out with a list in the Sunday Tribune,” he explains. “We decided to do a phone poll on the best Irish singles of all time. It was a huge success and I knew by the final week that we had the rapt attention of the listeners. Denis Desmond rang and said it could be an album. Then the success of the first one led to volume two.”
Dunne feels strongly that exposure on a show like Pet Sounds leads the way for more mainstream plays. “I definitely get the impression that the show is opening up day-time airplay for quite a few Irish bands,” he says. “Other presenters might hear something back to back with a familiar song and pick up on it. When you hear something on the radio, it sounds different.”
While you might reasonably expect to hear new acts showcased on shows like Tom Dunne’s Pet Sounds and Alison Curtis’ excellent Sunday night indie show The Last Splash, Today FM consistently gives exposure to up and coming Irish talent on prime-time slots such as Ian Dempsey’s Breakfast Show and Ray D’Arcy’s mid-morning slot. D’Arcy has been particularly active in getting behind artists like Damien Rice, Damien Dempsey and Jack L.
“You’re not dealing with an anorak music audience at that time of the day, so it’s more about entertainment,” he says. “If people come in with a single to plug we’d rather play the CD and let them do another one of their own songs and a cover. It’s worked out really well. I suppose the one that stands out is Jack L’s version of Kylie’s ‘Cant Get U Out Of My Head’ – there was a huge reaction to that one. Damien Dempsey came in and did a version of The Darkness’ ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’. We had Picture House doing Rachel Stevens’ ‘Sweet Dreams’. Even Kieran Goss came in and did the Shakira hit.
“People in bands come up to me and say thanks for playing our record but I’m not doing them any favours,” he says. “I’m doing it because I think it sounds great and I think listeners will want to hear it. It’s great to be able to help break a new artist. I don’t mean that in a patronising way – we don’t have that kind of power anyway but just to be able to say ‘hey listen to this – it’s brilliant’.”
Thing is that Today FM have been doing that with new Irish material with both consistency and commitment – and with an openness that speaks volumes.
Credit where it’s due, as the fella said.