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In an interview with the Irish Times, former Irish singer, songwriter and poet David Byrne described the transition from 90s Irish pop to contemporary indie music as “tough”.
“It was a difficult period for us, especially with the arrival of pop music and electronic music, but it was the only time that I was able to do something on my own, and that was something that I didn’t do for very long,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone else did it.
I remember one of my best mates, Michael O’Connor, was a huge electronic pop fan and was going to buy my album in the US when I came out.
He thought I was just a pop singer and didn’t like it at all, but I was a hardcore Irish folkie.”
The singer went on to say that Irish pop culture is now “much more serious” and that he has found that “people are really receptive” to his music.
“The music has gone from being about a pop star to a serious, serious song.
It’s the opposite of what it used to be, and people are more receptive,” Byrne said.
“People are going to pay attention to what you are doing and they are going be drawn to the fact that you’re a singer.”
The Irish Times interviewed Byrne, who is currently performing at a gig in the city of Dublin this weekend.
“We’re going to be doing a song, which is not going to sound too good,” Byrne told the paper.
“But the song is going to make you feel like you’re in the club, and you’re going into the club because you’ve got that feeling of, ‘You know what?
I’m ready for this’.”
The interview with Byrne was published in The Irish Times on Friday, with the writer also speaking about the difficulties of trying to break into the industry and the fact he had to sell his music in order to support himself.
“You’re doing the best you can and you know that the more you do it, the better it is.
You’re going, ‘If it doesn’t sell, I’ll be a failure.’
And then you’re like, ‘No, it’s going to sell’,” Byrne said in the interview.
“It’s not about selling records or getting a record deal, it is about being a singer and performing in front of people and doing a great show.
That’s the way I look at it.”
If it’s not going well, you don’t have to do anything else, you just have to keep going.
You’ve just got to keep doing what you’re doing.
“The interview was published on Friday morning.
