Theo Katzman on playing Ireland: "It feels like home to me, to be honest"

Earlier this year, Theo Katzman released Be The Wheel – a gorgeously soaring suite of understated indie folk excellence. Equal parts tender and brimming with life, the album showcased Katzman at the height of his artistic powers.

Now, the singer-songwriter is in the midst of a tour, roaring through Europe and the UK at breakneck speed – set to stop off with his band at Dublin’s Vicar Street on Saturday, October 14th. In the run-up to the gig, Katzman agreed to sit down with Hot Press for a quick natter about Be The Wheel and his current tour.

“It’s been amazing,” Theo says of his recent live reception. “Every tour is sold out and the fan response has just been incredible over here, they’re singing every word to every song – all the new music, all the old stuff – it's just tremendous. It feels very special…”

Having graced the Button Factory stage with a solo show in 2022, played live at Vicar Street with Vulfpeck, and toured with American-Irish band The Olllam, Theo has hit most of Dublin’s prime live venues. ‘Favourite pubs’ was undoubtedly a question on my mind…

“Man, there’s quite a few!” Theo remarks with a light chuckle. “The Blue Light is probably my favourite deep cut pub, it's a little outside the city proper.

“I love Whelans, and The Long Hall is great," he continues. "I’ve spent a lot of time in the burbs – some of the locals take me around there. The Yellow House in Rathfarnham...”

In one of music’s more unexpected alliances, 2019 saw Katzman teaming up with one of Ireland’s most renowned songwriters, Paul Brady. Under the banner of Souls in Sync, Brady and Katzman travelled the length of the island, performing a selection of each other's songs alongside a full band.

“Yes, that was amazing,” Katzman recalls. "Paul’s one of my heroes. We met at a house party actually…

“A friend of mine invited me to a party, and Paul ended up showing up. There were some guitars, and somebody had mentioned that I was in town to play at Whelans. He turned to me and was like, ‘Play a song' – so I’m like, 'Shit.' I tried to play my best song, and then he’s like, 'Play another.' So I played another, and then he’s like, 'Play another!'”

A favourite of Bob Dylan, Brady’s illustrious career has seen him working with the likes of Tina Turner, Carole King and John Prine.

“We just kinda played songs late into the night, and then he came to my show the following weekend and he loved it, " Katzman continues. “He called me a couple weeks later and asked me if I wanted to co-headline some shows and share a band, so we put together a special show; partially my music, partially his music, under one band. It was a really cool experience.”

From his work with Brady, through to his performances with The Olllam, Irish songwriting is clearly close to Theo’s heart.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in Ireland over the years," he tells me. "I first came to Ireland when I was 19 and was travelling with a friend who was a traditional musician over there.

“We got to explore the whole country. It’s one of my favourite places in the world – it feels like home to me, to be honest.”

Having independently released his own solo material throughout his career, Katzman recently established his own record label, Ten Good Songs.

“I’d been envisioning this label, Ten Good Songs, for probably ten years now – we’ll stick with the ten theme – and I wanted to create a branded place on the web where people would be able to recognise that this is one of my projects,” Theo says.

“The concept is in the name," he adds. "Full albums, artists making their best work, their deepest work, the ten songs that they have to say – not necessarily always the most commercial – but the best.”

Be The Wheel sees Katzman mine a similar vein to his EP Solo Acoustic and 2017’s Heartbreak Hits, pursuing a melodic and lyrical sound. He returns to singer-songwriter roots with introspective and intimate tracks like ‘Desperate Times’ – a raw and emotional powerhouse of a vocal performance, nestled in a bed of rich instrumentation.

“I think it was a return to source in the sense of the principles behind the music, like capturing a live performance in a studio versus recording with overdubs.

“I wanted to get in with the band and capture the live performances and do all of the vocals live, so everything you hear on the album is a full take from the band and the lead vocal, " Theo continues. “You can actually watch the recording sessions of the whole album on my Youtube channel, I filmed all the takes we did.

“That was a clear return to the principles of live performance.”

A captivatingly intimate release, Be The Wheel adopts a self-reflective and confessional style, as Katzman traverses the messy depths of human connection, interrogating love, loss and emotional pain.

“I mostly write songs to myself,” Theo says of his writing process. “It’s like songs sometimes come out because of something I’m trying to work through in my heart – some kind of emotional thing or spiritual thing, so I think self-reflection is a part of that.

“The art of it is to write it in such a way that someone who hears it actually feels a connection with it as well. So I try to start with a feeling and explore how it comes into language, into words, and then I try to find the words that just sit right for that, and make it feel like, yes – this is personal to me and it is also universal to others.

“That’s the sweet spot,” he adds.

Katzman’s solo material seems to be resonating with audiences now more than ever, receiving a warm welcome with sold-out shows in Hamburg, Warsaw, and more recently, Sweden and Copenhagen.

“It’s been totally mind blowing to me,” Katzman admits. “People are just singing every song at the top of their lungs, and when I go for a solo quiet moment, you can hear a pin drop.”

“It's been the best reception of my life.”

As he returns to a more stripped back approach to the recording process, it seems that its Katzman's intimate lyrics and recording techniques that are connecting so deeply with his fans.

“I think it’s my best work so far, I think it's my most vulnerable and honest," he remarks. “I’ve gotten to the point in my craft, where I feel like my craft is the best it’s ever been. The vulnerability is the highest, so I think that’s what people are resonating with.

“We are living in a time where it’s very difficult to distinguish the human from the technology that we’re using to make work,” Katzman muses. “Like we have AI and things like that, and you can tune the vocal, and pitch correct everything. After the fact you can go and manicure everything, and make it 'perfect'.

“But the problem is, humans are not perfect, so we tend to get bored with actual perfection, and it's hard to relate to,” he continues. “My aim is to leave enough of the stench – if you will – of the human that I am, so that people recognise it.”

Since 2011, Theo Katzman has been recording and playing with Michigan-based funk band, Vulfpeck. Renowned for their high-energy live performances and highly technical, virtuosic live performances, Vulfpeck’s music must undoubtedly pose a contrasting musical environment to that of Katzman’s solo work.

“For me, the energy in Vulfpeck is this sort of naturally occurring thing, because it's the result of those personalities in the group, and it’s high-octane naturally,” Theo explains.

“With my music, I think people in Vicar Street will be excited to see that even though the music on the album is somewhat intimate and quiet in the recording, we really open it up live. It’s very much a rock show.”

Considering the deeply personal nature of the new album’s lyrical content – an impressive assemblage of personal anecdotes, experiences and emotional impressions – does a songwriter like Katzman ever feel conflicted about sharing parts of himself within his art?

“Absolutely, all the time – but it’s a job!” Theo quips. “I think if something scares you a little bit, it probably means you gotta do it, so I try to look for that feeling.”

“You don’t want to be like ‘Yep – no problems here, everything’s totally fine, it doesn’t really poke a nerve in any way.' It's probably not that interesting then!”

Despite the emotional heaviness of Be The Wheel at points, the new album works towards an impressive tonal juxtaposition; counterpointing melancholic lyrics with upbeat instrumentation, and creating a sonic contrast.

"It’s all about finding the match of the sound of the music, with the meaning of the words, and sometimes you need upbeat music for upbeat lyrics, other times you need the opposite.”

We settle on an ideal allegorical dessert food for Katzman’s approach to composition – the humble apple pie: “It’s kinda like if you had an apple pie, where the filling was like super, super sweet, then if the crust was also super sweet, it might be too much, it’s like ‘I can’t eat this, it’s too sweet!’"

“So oftentimes the crust is maybe a little salty, a little savoury..." he reflects. “That balance has to be struck for each song, and if the goal is to have the listener eat the piece of pie, you gotta make sure they wanna eat the whole thing."

“If the crust is too sweet and the filling is too sweet, they might only take one bite and be like ‘No thanks…’"

Speaking to American musician and author Ari Herstand earlier this year, Theo explained the meaning behind his latest album’s title – alluding to the progress of mankind and technological innovation. In many respects, it serves as a crucial message of encouragement and inspiration.

“I want people to feel empowered, and that’s a through line in all of my work and everything I care about," he says. "I care about human empowerment.

“My song, ‘You Gotta Go Through Me,’ is about walking through pain," he continues. "I don’t believe you can really get to the thing you most want without having to face pain. We want things that require us to live at our growth’s edge, and our growth’s edge is not comfortable – it’s always painful.

“My hope is that people listen to this music, and feel empowered to do what it is they need to do in their lives.”

Theo Katzman plays Dublin's Vicar Street on Saturday, October 14. Tickets are available here.

Listen to Be The Wheel below: