Mental Machine Music

If Andy Melville wasn’t in an indie band, he could develop a lucrative sideline holding up banks.

The Before Machine’s frontman cuts an unassuming figure, but settle down for a chat and his analytical method and gift for meticulous planning shines through.
“You have to show initiative,” he says. “Things are up in the air at the moment, so you have to think through your options.”
He’d have the vault cleared before anyone realised he was there. Rewind back to 2008 and Andy’s painstaking nature can be seen in the band’s initial recruitment process. With a CV showing membership of a series of misfiring indie outfits, Andy decided to apply some hard earned lessons during the start up of his new band.
“It was all about the right people,” he admits. “I knew Larkin and I knew Larkin drummed, but he’d never been in a band before. But I also knew he loved bands like Interpol and Death Cab, and they were bands with very creative, subtle drummers. That’s what I wanted for us, so I pestered him.”
His instinct proved spot-on. However, while the young band quickly evolved a sound all its members were excited by – rather than plugging in immediately to the local gigging circuit, Before Machines instead dug ever deeper into their bunker. It was almost a year before they played any gigs.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” smiles Andy. “We were trying to get a set of songs together that we were all happy with. At the very start we were still trying to work one-another out musically, and we all thought it was important that when we did go public that we looked and sounded like a real band. First impressions are important.”
Did he have trouble remaining patient?
“We were going nuts!” he laughs. “We were climbing the walls by the end – just busting to get out there. There was a bit of terror there too – because if people hated it, then it was back to the drawing-board. But we were delighted with how it went down.”
To date, this painstaking strategy has served them well. Their first release, the double A-side ‘Hearts’/‘Runaway’, was an interesting teaser, while last year’s ‘Stalagmites’ proved a further step up in class. The group have also pushed themselves on the live front – not allowing the local grass to grow too comfortably under their feet, they’ve taken to the road – spreading the word across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.
“There’s been quite a bit of driving around in a Ford Fiesta,” he reveals. “It was mad, but brilliant too. If you tour at the level we do, you’re relying on people being interested in new music. The promoters all tend to be fans themselves, so there isn’t much glamour attached, but it makes for some really rewarding shows. We’re not being focused on getting to a ‘rockstar’ position. It’s important for us as a band to concentrate and have ideals based around us enjoying making music together and enjoying the experience of playing live; making connections with people and other bands. Getting to that next stage is important too, if you want to be a band for as long as possible and if you want to devote more of your time to creating and playing, then it goes hand in hand.”
To that end, the last year has seen them devote their time and finances to crafting the debut Before Machines album. Mostly self-produced, although with Start Together’s Rocky O’Reilly providing a guiding hand, the band have completed the record and, judging by how far forward Andy leans in his chair when he talks about it, are delighted with the final result.
“It’s very special to us,” he admits. “We’re very proud of us. But we’ve no label, so we’re in that position of not really knowing yet how best to get it out there. It’s all pretty much up for grabs. We just want people to hear it and maybe to get as excited about it as we are.”

Before Machines play the Forfey Festival, Lisnaskea (August 3 to 5) and support Croupiers at their Whelan’s, Dublin album launch (24).