Bell X1 Tour Australia This December

The Irish band are headed back to Australia this December once more, but this time bringing with them their latest album ‘Arms’.

Hi Paul,
Hey Hannah, how are you?
I’m good thanks, how are you?
Good!

Where are you right now?
I’m in Dublin, sunny Dublin.

Is it nice weather there today?
It is, shockingly. The sun shines in August!

What is the typical summertime like in Dublin?
It’s pretty poxy. I’ve just got back from Croatia on holiday, so we came back to full on rain and misfortune. But you know we sort of thrive on that whole bed down, mist and misery here. If it was like California we wouldn’t have the cultural caché that we seem to have.

And where did you go in Croatia?
To an island called Brac, which is just off Split. Very nice. Very beautiful, clear blue waters, and seafood and wines. So it ticked all the boxes.

What have you been up to this summer and what’s been a highlight?
Yeah, well we have our record that’s been done for a while now, that eventually came together after a long, painful gestation. So that’s been done since the early part of the year and we’ve been doing some shows at home, here in Ireland mainly, through the summer, and we’ve got a big festival show next week at Electric Picnic. And we’ve been playing a lot of the new songs, even though they’re not out. There’s always a danger in that. Often when you hear a band say “Here’s a new one” there’s usually a scramble for the bar. There’s a danger of losing people no matter how good the stuff is, so familiarity is king. It depends on the gig, we’ve been doing a lot of big outdoor shows here, so we have been playing the hits and trying a lot of the old songs too.

It’s a very different animal to doing songs live, having pawed over them in minute detail. In the studio you have to do it in one take with humans all playing at the same time, so it’s a very different animal. We have a new band member and it feels like we’ve grown an extra limb, so it’s like “Oh so that’s what that does.” So it’s been a real pleasure to make that work.

So, how’s the reception been to Arms? What was the main feel you wanted to put out there with this album – I love the Upswing, it’s really chilled?
It’s been good, it feels like the songs are quite immediate in the big dusty fields that we’ve been playing in. We’ve been choosing the songs to suit that environment. I find with new stuff it helps to talk about them a little bit before doing them, so easing them in, in that way and giving people some context for the song.

What was the general feel you wanted to put out with the album?
This record was the most difficult for us to make. It’s the seventh record we’ve done and it took a while for the heart of it to reveal itself – if that doesn’t sound too pretentious a thing to say! After the last record, we underwent a sort of “What are we, why are we, what is our value or purpose in the world.” When you’re making records you try and work in this positive atmosphere and be constantly encouraging, so trying to keep things buoyant, but you have to be honest about what’s working and what’s good and what’s not. There were a lot of times we had to just take stock and say it just doesn’t feel right, it’s not good enough, or it’s a bit all over the shop and doesn’t have a coherent feel to it. We came to the realisation like we’ve done with all of our records that they’re photographs of elements of our life, or the world at large as we see it through the prism of whatever musical stylings are doing for us as the time. I think stylistically we’ve always jumped from one thing to the next, depending on what instruments we’re enjoying using, or what sonic palette we’re enjoying. With records the songs are more coagulated around feel and groove as opposed to anything cerebral. The feel of the music came first instead of a coherent message. That’s been good to have that for playing the stuff live. The feel of them seems to communicate pretty instantly. It wasn’t about chin-strokey “what is the message of this song” vibe.

So we’ll be seeing you in Australia this December, where’s your favourite place to get some downtime when you’re in Oz?
Melbourne, I would say. We had the luxury of having a couple of days off before we started the tour there. The last time we were there was the first time we played in Australia. We were shown a good time by the promoter there. It just feels like a great place to live. What struck me about Australia generally, is there seems to be much more of a sense of civic pride in their cities than we have here in Ireland. You see these communal BBQ facilities by the beach in Sydney that are immaculate and well kept, and aren’t trashed like they would be if they were here. It feels like there’s an investment on the part of the people who live there on making pleasant places to live.

How do you find the crowds?
Not knowing what to expect never having been there before it was a real surprise that people showed up. We didn’t know what to expect and yes there was a lot of Irish and English folk that showed up but a lot of people that wouldn’t have known us from this part of the world who were thrilled that we were showing up. There was a mix of people for whom we’ve been a big band for back home, who were thrilled to make that connection with home and gather with people who have that shared experience of being an expat I suppose.

You guys tour a lot, but what’s the most important thing you can’t leave home without when you’re on tour? 
Oh wow! Earplugs if you’re sharing with a snorer is one as there’s a few of those! It is a cliche but there are so many dressing rooms and tour buses where you’ll see everyone with their head buried in a device of some kind. But what I love about touring is getting out in the morning and finding some good breakfast. Especially in the States. But I remember there were a couple of places in Melbourne that were just amazing for breakfast with kind of weird egg combinations that you just wouldn’t get at home. So I’m a sucker for the local breakfast fare.

Where does the best breakfast in Dublin?
Oh wow, that’s a good questions. A place called The Fumbally. It’s only been open a while, but they’re not shy about it they do a thing called ‘Amazing Eggs’ and it’s just a scrambled egg with garlic, tomato and avocado on nice sourdough.

Doesn’t sound that Irish?
[Laughs] – No. This whole sort of full Irish thing, I still do it occasionally, but it’s pretty nasty.

BELL X1 AUSTRALIA TOUR DATES
Friday 2nd December – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Saturday 3rd December – Factory Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 4th December – Amplifier, Perth

Get tickets to see Bell X1 here