Deady Intent

He may describe it as soul amd funk but with influences running all the way from Al Green to Amp Fiddler to Jimi Hendrix there’s no telling what you’ll find in Brian Deady’s music.

His debut album Interview features pop-tinged reggae, house-singed soul, acappella beatboxing and songs that feel like lost disco classics. So it’s a surprise to learn that, far from being recorded in LA or New York, the record was put together in Cork and Kerry.
“It took a while, we were working on that album for over two years. I recorded a whole bunch of songs with Ross O’Donovan down in Kerry’s Data Recording Studios, and at the time we felt like we had an album there. I gave it a few months of not listening to it and decided okay, it needs this and it needs that. I linked up with Colm Kenefick up in Cork so we started to put another bank of tunes together.”
So just how does a guy growing up in Cork wind up sounding like an apprentice to the great soul voices of metropolitan America? And where did he learn to beatbox like that?
“I don’t think it’s that hard, the beatboxing, anyone can learn. It started with what I was listening to in the eighties on the radio, sure you know yourself, there was some great music going around. I always had my own way of processing beats, and my own style in my head before I ever consciously knew anyone else was doing these kind of things. I went through different styles, took what I liked and it’s always just a mix of things.”
That same “mix of things” has won Brian Deady a huge following in Cork. Somewhat improbably he’s also come to the attention of KCRW, the legendary Los Angeles radio station which helped break the likes of Radiohead and Coldplay in the States.
“I don’t actually know how they got a hold of it, I think it was on a mix tape or something like that. Next thing half-a-dozen of their DJs were playing it. That was a great boost, like – it gives you a lot of hope when something like that happens so naturally. If people are responding without any advertising or budget backing, it keeps helping you along in the right direction. I’ve been in touch with a couple of the DJs over there, and they’ve said whenever I’m over, they’ll help out, putting me on the show or whatever.”
The obvious question, of course, is where does his career go next? Despite the album gaining word of mouth popularity, Brian is keeping his feet on the ground.
“I moved to Dublin at the start of the year, and wrote a load of songs. I was going to do an EP or something. Then I said, ‘look, I’m going to hold off for another while, and just deal with the album that’s already out there.’ I mean there’s a lot of life left in it yet, and it wouldn’t be right to turn my back on it for something that’s just newer.”
Asked to name his dream collaborators, Deady immediately plumps for production wizards Quincy Jones and Pharrell Williams. If his career continues on its current upwards trajectory, he may just get his wish.