Thank God It's Mundy

We’re all familiar with Moore’s Law, which states that technology doubles in capacity or halves in size every two years. Over a leisurely coffee, Hot Press is introduced to a new rule of thumb: ‘Mundy’s Law’, if you will.

“I’ve seen the industry change so much since I started; probably four massive shifts since I began. Every five years, there’s something that changes the game. Keeping your finger on the pulse can be difficult. I’m like an old person trying to work the internet!”
Mundy laughs. Active for almost 20 years he may be, but there’s no sign of slowing down from the Birr man. And, far from struggling with the internet, he’s beginning to take it by storm. Indeed his latest album is being funded via a PledgeMusic campaign, placing him at the heart of the digital action.
He joins an impressive array of artists who have worked with PledgeMusic: everyone from Echo And The Bunnymen to Interpol, via Slash and The Flaming Lips, has embraced the opportunity to connect with fans while funding their latest musical creations. Why Pledge this time out?
“I have what I think is my best album,” he says, matter of factly. “I want everyone to hear it.”
This isn’t the hollow bravado of a championship boxer promising he’s ‘in the shape of his life’. A burst of inspiration under the Spanish sun saw the genesis of his latest LP, and if it bears some of the hallmarks of his vibrant debut album, there’s good reason. In every sense, he has gone back to his Youth.
As fans will recall, Martin Glover – the man better known as Youth – was responsible for the production on Jellylegs, the startling opening salvo, which launched Mundy’s career. That album, of course, started one hell of a journey; in a sense the reunion was an opportunity to review everything that's happened.
“He never thought he’d see me again!” Mundy laughs. “I hadn’t seen him since the last day of working on that album. So I tried to fill him in on what he’d missed: that I’d had two kids; that I’d been playing the whole time; that I'd had ups and downs – great successes, but also some troughs. And I explained that I was still writing, but that it’s not coming as easy as it used to.
"He said ‘Oh, you’ve got pram-in-the-hallway syndrome’. That’s exactly what it was; every time I go to open my guitar case I fall over the pram – and by the time I’ve picked up the pram I've forgotten why I was opening my guitar case!”
The album was recorded in sunny Granada, where Youth has his studio and began with some much-needed, creative brainstorming. Youth, for one, wasn’t in the mood for messing around.
“He’d say, ‘If we can’t write a song today, we’re fucking stupid',” Mundy recalls with a smile. “We’d listen to a few things and get a rhythm going. We’d pick out lines from books to fill out a skeleton, just holding place until you find out what you want to say with your own lyrics. It really opened up my mind, and made me that little bit more fearless.”
Mundy is nothing if not honest; on reflection, he says the fear that had been welling up inside was all too real.
“People would tell me ‘Your next move is vital,’ or ‘What happens next will make or break you’," he recalls. "All of this shit, I started to believe. I got a lot of fear. Youth helped me get over that. Well, he basically nearly strangled me! He told me not to listen to that sort of stuff; that we’re artists, and that you can’t live like that.”
He shrugs and smiles again. “I have friends who went from nothing to stardom; others went from stardom to nothing. When you’re down, people like you being down, because you make them feel better about themselves. They’ll tell you what they think of you then. When you’re back up, they’re afraid to say anything honest. Now I’m well-seasoned, and I know that’s how it goes. I’ve listened to a lot of arseholes over the years. Life’s too short to think that way.”
If the album sounds like a renaissance, it should.
“I treat every album like it’s my first,” he says excitedly. “It’s a new beginning; it could take you down another road. I’m not doing this for the fucking craic, like! I have a manager in New York, and I tell him I want to be on Letterman or Fallon. I want that. I’ve put blood, sweat and tears into this record. I think I’m becoming a better singer and performer. And I’m more at ease with who I am.”
The new album, he says, showcases his ability as a writer who can do foot-stomping rock ’n’ roll, gentle ballads, and other stuff that’s a little more out there; amongst the outliers is early taster ‘Window Shopping For Faith’.
“There’s nothing else quite like that on the album," he proffers. "The production is the kind of thread running through the whole thing, though; it ties everything together. ‘Shot In The Dark’ will be the opener, and it has a bit of that Springsteen-esque anthemic vibe. ‘UAE’ is an immigrant song, about an Irish guy wishing he was in the States with his mates, rather than working in the Middle East.”
Indeed, globe-trotting to play for Irish ex-pats has inspired lots of new material.
“I’ve written a song called ‘Glory Hole’” he says, with a grin somewhere between mischievous and embarrassed. “Look, I kinda forgot what it meant... I was trying to email it to someone and it kept ending up in their spam! But it’s actually about mining in Australia, where fellas go to work taking the money out of the ground. In Perth, the casino is the only place to have a beer after 1am, so they end up throwing the money down a hole all over again.”
There’s also a love song to his wife, entitled ‘Sarah Of The Slopes’, and plenty more besides.
“I’m playing with the track-listing, trying to figure out the final cut. Every song I’ve recorded, I’m attached to in some sense – emotionally, sonically or whatever – so it’s hard to cut it down.”
There’s also still a question mark over the title, with fans being invited to make their own suggestions as part of the PledgeMusic campaign.
“There’s about 25 titles in the running," he laughs, "but I’m seriously thinking it might be self-titled. Just Mundy, because I’m that proud of it.”
Which is why it is so important to support the PledgeMusic campaign. This is a moment when fans can play a part, as a major Irish artist takes his talent on to a new level. Pledgers can pre-order the album, of course, but they can also get their hands on an otherworldly amount of associated goodies, ranging from signed merchandise and personal tours of Dublin guided by the man himself to one of his prized guitars.
“I’m not too concerned if someone doesn’t buy that one!” he concludes. “But the whole point of the PledgeMusic campaign is about me finding that connection with fans, getting closer to them. These days, people want to talk to the proprietor, rather than someone merely behind the bar. Even with social media, folks want to know they’re hearing from the artist. I’m trying to think like a fan, cos I’m out meeting those people all the time.”
The wonders of PledgeMusic. Another major step on a fascinating journey...