Hiya (Sean MacLeod), thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What was life like for you before you got into music?
There was no life ( that I can remember) before music. I was into music since I was a very small child.
What’s the live music scene like in your home town right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
I’m living in a small town in the West of Ireland so there’s not a great deal of new music but there are a few talented singer/songwriters and a few places where they can showcase their talents but it’s not so regular. Irish traditional music is still mostly what is heard in the pubs around the West of Ireland but that’s not my genre.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
In some ways its kind of interesting engaging directly with magazines and bloggers as well as radio stations and social media influencers. I enjoy it to some degree but it can take up a lot of time which I would rather give to making music.
How do you manage engagement on your socials?
Actually, I need to really need to be very time conscious in this regard because you can find yourself giving way too much time to creating a social media presence which takes away from your own craft as a songwriter/musician and also I like to spend my time in the real world as much as possible and social media can really consume you.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
In the traditional sense of the music industry I don’t really think to much about it- I don’t listen to radio or watch TV so I’m not really in touch with the more mainstream side of things but I think in regards independent artists, magazines, bloggers, and that side of it I think its quite interesting. I might even say exciting. I think independent media, journalism, film making , and music is really what is important now because, despite the fact that you can come across a lot of rubbish, I think its much more authentic and original.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Again from a mainstream perspective I really have no interest. I think if I was a kid today I wouldn’t be interested in music as it is in the mainstream but from an indie perspective I think its very interesting, much more authentic and people have much more control over what they can do and how the can reach an audience. On the downside there is a lot of noise in that scene to compete with.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
To relax and enjoy what you do. In that state things come easily.
What was your best experience on stage?
To be honest I don’t know. I never really experience much. It’s like it starts and then it’s over and I never really feel I get to experience it.
What was your worst experience on stage?
I’ve had so many bad experiences on stage. Actually, now that I remember the worst experience and the best experience where the same. I played the first song and a string on my guitar snapped on the last chord. There was a small audience but they were all up at the stage listening and engaged so I didn’t want to stop to change the string. Then a second and then a third string snapped but I just kept playing with three strings the rest of the set and it was quite magical. I just kept playing and no one seemed to really notice and the audience stayed – still engaged.
Tell us something about you that you think people would be surprised about.
I don’t know if people would be surprised by much today. I’ll answer the rest of the questions first and if I think of something surprising by then I’ll let you know.
Yes- I am a fully qualified natural vision improvement teacher – some people might find that surprising.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
By the time anyone hears new music of mine ( and probably most songwriters) it’s probably quite old. I record music very quickly but I can only put so many songs out at a time so by the time I get to put something out I’ve moved on quite a bit.
I have put out a new album called New Start which is really a selection of songs I have recorded over the last few years. I hadn’t released anything in a while because I was kind of trying to explore new things in music that I hadn’t done before and that took me off in a lot of different directions.
What was the recording process like?
Recording is not quite what people think it is. I don’t really enjoy recording. It’s too much like work. You need to spend a lot of time redoing things and getting them right and often you just get fed up and settle for second best and then a month later when you listen back you realise it’s not good enough and you need to do it all again and make it better. I know it sounds a bit negative saying that but that’s usually the process. It’s hard work and there’s often a slight anxiety that it won’t come out right or that you won’t capture the song as in its best light.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
There was no learning curve with these particular songs. I did all my learning with song writing when I was a teenager. I don’t find song writing difficult. The songs just come when they come- I don’t really try to write them. The biggest problem is trying to get the right sounds for the songs. That can be difficult especially if you are limited with resources. I could hear a gospel choir on one song called ‘Let the Light In’ but I had to settle for layering my vocals instead.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
There’s lots of things that I would like to change on every song but on these recordings I was quite limited by the resources I had so I feel that while they are not perfect they the essence of the songs are there. Some of them might have a big nose or sticky out ears but they have their own character and for that I love each of them.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Support independent music and artists so the world doesn’t get overwhelmed with generic rubbish.
FOLLOW SEAN HERE
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