Kneecap 'thrive in the chaos' with album 'Fenian' shaped by fans and court case — AP interview

[0:00] Even trying to get into the court, it was like that scene in Lord of the Rings [0:06] when your man's running through the crowd with the big torsion, pushing everybody out of the way. [0:11] It's going to cause a lot of problems now. [0:13] I know, I'm in enough trouble. [0:19] I think the main difference was obviously we had an album finished in March last year [0:26] and it just wasn't the right feel and we kind of had to scrap the whole thing [0:32] even though there was a lot of good songs on it but we had to kill our babies as you say [0:36] and then we started a game with Dan Curry obviously in October or September I think it started, was it? [0:42] And we did that for seven weeks but it was the first time we, like a lot of bands or whatever [0:48] they would have a lot of the songs wrote before they get to the studio whereas we kind of had to [0:52] start fresh so we were writing the tracks as Dan Curry was creating the tracks so like the lyrics [1:00] and the production was like kind of developing at the same time, same pace which I thought was [1:07] interesting so that's a little bit of music boring probably for people. I was a very organic feeling [1:12] because it was the first time we'd ever done it like that. [1:14] Obviously when we were in the studio we had, we were in the magistrate's court during that period, [1:19] during the seven weeks we had to leave the studio and go to the courts and then also we had to [1:23] Wembley Amina concert so it was quite a busy time for usually studio time, for bands it's quite like down [1:29] time but we were kind of going into the chaos of going to court almost in Makara obviously so [1:35] but actually ended up not much of a hindrance, kind of helped us and we used that in the song [1:40] Carnival that here we sampled the crowd as the court case. Yeah that's actually one of my favorites [1:46] in the album that I've heard. Mm, Carnival is? Yeah, I really really like that track. Yeah, nice isn't it? [1:53] This is how it always goes like all the, the ones that you like, it's always like people it's it's the same [2:00] actually when you're writing it's like the the the lines that you kind of like throw away like [2:05] ones that are kind of like song fillers, they're always the lines that people love and it's always [2:08] the songs that you kind of, like Carnival's not my favorite one, I love Carnival but it's Daphne and [2:13] one of my favorite. If I had to drop one for the like for like a set that I think that's my one [2:17] I would drop but I won't do it for you. Yeah, don't put it on me. I won't, I'll do it for it. [2:21] Don't do it. Thank you. And obviously yes, obviously you're experiencing a lot outside of [2:28] writing music but it also inspired you. I mean it's great that you can, you were finding inspiration [2:32] and kind of go like you know really quite a hard time. Yeah I think it's just it's very like it's just [2:39] it's very like I suppose it's a kneecap ethos to kind of use these things to your advantage and [2:44] trying to make them work so it was uh yeah we weren't going to let a good crisis go to waste. [2:50] Hmm yeah, thrive in the chaos. Thrive in the chaos. And obviously you had some big gigs as well last [2:56] year I mean how is it like you're generating like absolutely massive crowds I mean how is it for [3:00] you guys to go out and play these massive crowds? Well that was on Wembley was another one that we [3:05] had to do so we had to like it was a chore like it was one of the gigs we had to do during the... [3:10] Naughty boy. Nah you go and go and play Wembley and think about what you've done. [3:15] No but during the recording of the album we had Wembley also so that was another thing that [3:23] actually really like like influenced the album as well because Dan Carey, Dan Carey came to the show. [3:29] Dan Carey came. I was hitting the vape pretty hard last night. I was hitting the vape pretty hard last night, I'm sorry. [3:37] I'm sorry. You sleepy boy. So yeah Wembley's a kind of iconic place to be playing as well. [3:42] There you go, thank you very much. You always want to play at Wembley or are you getting in there? [3:46] Hello Wembley. You always want to say hello Wembley. I always wanted to say that. [3:49] I was good doing all the gigs, Fontaine's obviously and over in Finsbury Park and Manchester and stuff. [3:55] It's nice to like in Ireland there's just so much balance coming up now so we're all kind of [3:59] getting a short stage together with Gurrier, our murder capital, Fontaine's etc. [4:03] and then we'll have them all at Crystal Palace in the Mary Wellopers in Mudrasalloch in June. [4:09] I don't know what day it is but if you want to come down it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun. [4:13] How is it for you guys to listen back to the record and like are you proud of it and obviously you know [4:19] you've documented a lot of experiences that you've had. How does it feel to listen back to it? [4:23] It's my favourite for sure. My favourite album. Of all time? I read that the other day actually. [4:30] The tracks are going down really well live as well. It's proper fucking energetic floor fillers. [4:37] Oh my god! [4:41] I was hitting a copy of the album. [4:45] I guess the album comes with Dan Carey and like as he talks about the complexity of sounds with Dan Carey [4:51] and like we went into Dan's studio and he's like a crazy scientist. He has like simps all around [4:57] all around the wall, all these instruments I've never heard of. [5:00] Cavicular? Cavicular? That's the weak fucking thing. [5:03] Cavicular science and fucking Gale Maxon. Tune Maxon with Dan Carey. [5:08] Nah, what are you? [5:09] Clavulin. [5:10] Clavulin. [5:11] He had to have all these crazy instruments and be trying different stuff and Dan was never [5:16] the first person to leave the studio. He'd be the last man to leave until we had nothing left of us. [5:21] Then he'd go the best. He's always the last man standing. [5:25] How would you describe your live performances? Because when I've seen you guys it really feels [5:29] like a celebration. It does feel like a party. It's got that kind of energy. Is that important [5:34] that it's like that for you guys? [5:36] Yeah, I think we approach every show the exact same. It doesn't matter if it's in Rough Trade [5:40] or if it's in Wembley as we were saying. It's important that we perform the same because it's [5:47] obviously something we love to do and then obviously you're performing for people who [5:51] you know like it's because of them that we're able to do this. I mean so it's important that you [5:55] give the best show. I think it's very very important to do the best show you can every time. [6:00] Because we have a reputation of being like a band. Live shows are good you know I mean people [6:04] already come with that kind of energy and they have that expectancy so whenever they're in they're [6:09] up here already. Even when the show's starting it's kind of it's here already. [6:12] Yeah, it's almost like the hard work's all been done before the show so people are coming in and they're [6:16] full of energy now. They're giving us a show as well so. I think the origins of that is like [6:20] because we started off doing the music in Irish. I think a big part of like our challenge was to [6:26] connect with the audience and interact with them in a way that they can enjoy the music without [6:30] understanding. Just kind of bringing that energy on stage was for a way for the crowd to actually [6:34] enjoy it because most people don't know what the fuck we're saying in Ireland even. Never mind in England. [6:40] So that energy and that connection on stage is around the world and stuff. [6:43] Yeah, it's pretty awesome that you're kind of more people are wanting to learn Irish now. [6:47] I mean especially after the film I remember hearing that people I mean how does that feel to kind of [6:51] be like flying the flag for that? It's cool to me. I think we feel like we're part of like a [6:57] wider movement in Belfast and Ireland in general of promoting the language and culture. So we just feel [7:03] like we're a part of that wider movement. There's other people here, youth workers or cultural workers or [7:07] organised classes and volunteer and stuff. So we feel like we're just another section out there. [7:13] It's really nice and I've seen recently there was a 400% increase in kids attending Irish language [7:23] schools in the north. So that's pretty good. Not saying it's all because of us. [7:26] Yeah, but reading when we were growing up like that's something we were always passionate about the language [7:31] you know and there wasn't always that many opportunities outside of the school system to be able to [7:35] to go and do stuff with it. Geolingo. Geolingo. Geolingo, yeah. He owes us money. [7:41] Can you get Irish in Geolingo? Yeah. Can you? I think it's the biggest downloaded one in Europe. [7:46] It was one of the biggest. I think it was the third most downloaded language in the world a couple of years ago. [7:51] I'm not glad I'm going to do it. Yeah, do it. It will. And speaking back about the album, I mean, [7:57] I love the Irish Goodbye song. I mean, that's so gorgeous. And also like having Kay Tempest on it. [8:02] I mean, you couldn't ask for like a better collaborator than Kay Venu. Like, I mean, [8:05] tell me your story behind that song and how was it to get him on board? So it kind of started off with [8:11] moving in the studio, like that period. I didn't have any intention of doing a song about that, [8:17] but somebody sent me a documentary that showed me with my meh and my family and whatever. [8:22] I never really seen any videos of my meh. We weren't really video people. We were more of a [8:27] photo album kind of family. Radio? D.A.B. Get the wild feedbacks. So I've seen that there and it's [8:35] kind of had an impact on me since my meh passed away and I've never seen videos of her like kind of [8:39] being happy and stuff. So yeah, just wrote the song, but based on like trying to remember all them [8:43] happy moments that you kind of miss when people are gone, all the kind of in-between bits in life [8:48] that you don't think about at the time, that you just brush off as like a meaningless life, [8:53] but in hindsight, they were the most important bits. So I just kind of wrote that song and then [8:57] like Dan worked with Kay and this Kay was, which knew somebody had to do it and Kay was a perfect fit. [9:02] Kay, that's kind of Kay's word, like that was kind of vulnerable and spoken word and being open and [9:09] stuff. So Kay kind of brought that extra vulnerability and they came in the studio and delivered the [9:14] verse and it was like, it's always nice, like a privilege to kind of, for someone to open up like [9:19] that in front of you in the studio, because you know, if I could find space and being right open, [9:22] it's quite humbling. And the video is amazing as well. Yeah, you're right. Thomas James, yeah, Thomas James, [9:29] put a lot of work around, the name coming in and all the actors and stuff. It's nice because it's different, [9:33] like obviously it's not usually kept songs, so it was nice that he, Thomas came up with this idea of [9:39] like, in the script because maybe the song can't really be explained in three minutes or that feeling [9:45] that generates with the song. So I think it had to be intertwined with that storytelling, [9:50] so you can kind of get that emotion across. And the beginning bit with the flower arrangement [9:54] as well. I mean, it starts off funny, isn't it? Yeah, if you go to an Irish funeral, [9:59] like it's fucking, it's a bit sad to start and then at the end, so it's pretty funny. It's a dark [10:03] humorous. We do funerals and wakes very well. Yeah, getting selfies with the body and stuff. [10:09] And I kind of want to go to one, but it's dark things. I don't think it's dark at all. We look [10:13] forward to them. What's in English? You get well said. Well, I'm Scottish, so I mean, Scottish is [10:19] probably quite, I don't know. Do you do wakes? Do you still do wakes? No. Do you think they wake [10:24] him in the chapel? Everyone gets really pissed. I don't know whether that's a given, you have to do that. [10:28] But not just in a normal wake. I think in England, you get put in the fridge. In the wakes of the chapel. [10:35] Yeah, beside the butter. Well, you get put into the, like, funerals, or like, ages away. [10:40] I find that bizarre. I'm glad that people don't do wakes. But the wake happens in the chapel then, [10:46] the night before the burial as well, I think. Oh, fuck, you'd rather be in your own house. [10:50] I know. In the fridge. You're freezing. With your comfies then. Your cosy-osies. [10:54] And I wanted to ask you about, do you think you'd be able to go to America? What's the [11:00] crack going to be there? Is there a plan? Are you trying to get visas? Well, see, the thing was, [11:04] we never actually got turned down for a visa. Like, there was a lot of miscommunication there, [11:08] and I think the media kind of ran with the story that they wanted. We were never turned down. [11:13] What happened was, we were changing, kind of like, our promoters in America. So what happens is, [11:19] you have to reapply for a new working visa. And then, obviously, with the court case going on, [11:23] we didn't apply for one. So now that the court case is over, I don't see any reason why we won't [11:27] get our visa accepted. Obviously, we've never been convicted of any crimes in any country in the [11:30] world. So we just didn't apply for it, because we thought it was probably a wrong time to do it. [11:34] So I think now, with everything being over, there's no reason why we won't be back in America soon. [11:39] Yeah, it's the same thing, you know, with all the people. We have such a nice community of people [11:43] that come to the kneecap here. So I think that's very important. It's a space for them and for us, [11:47] and that's the reason we want to go back there, for the people that knew we were coming to our gigs. [11:51] Yeah, because I think when you post stuff, you always get loads and loads of comments, [11:55] don't you? People being like, come to America, come to America. [11:57] Brazil! [11:58] Like, yeah. [11:59] Brazil! [12:00] You always get capital Brazil! [12:01] I love the good of Brazil. [12:02] Yeah, and that's kind of mental, isn't it? It's like you're going to be singing in Irish in Brazil. [12:06] It's like, amazing. [12:08] We were in fucking Japan there. [12:11] In Japan in January. [12:12] Yeah. [12:13] Japan in January? [12:14] Very well, is that what JJ stands for? [12:16] Yeah, we had a mad experience with the Japanese gig. Like, we were sitting at the side of the stage, [12:22] behind the curtains, waiting to go on. We were the first act on at that stage at the festival, [12:27] and there was obviously silence behind the curtain. We were like, ah, fuck, there's obviously nobody here. [12:32] And then our manager came around and was like, well, do you see the amount of people that have showed up? [12:35] There was just thousands of Japanese people in silence, because they're like so polite, obviously. [12:39] So they were just, like you could hear pin drop, they were just in silence before our show. [12:43] They went off during the tunes, but in between them, they just went silent. That's interesting culture. [12:47] They've got it nailed. Just like, men. [12:48] They're so, so polite. [12:50] They preserve their energy. [12:52] That's nice, yeah. [12:53] And we were just speaking briefly about the court case. I mean, how are you guys feeling in the aftermath of that? [12:59] But I guess it's probably a relief not to keep having to bloody go back to the mags, innit? [13:03] Yeah, yeah, definitely. [13:04] The mags, innit? [13:05] Yeah, yeah, yeah, the mags. [13:06] He's the MP. [13:07] Yeah. [13:07] Even trying to get into the court, you said you were there earlier. [13:11] It was a fucking disaster. [13:12] It was like that scene in Lord of the Rings, and your man's running through the crowd with a big tors, [13:16] and just like, push everybody out of the way. [13:17] Wow! [13:18] That's the analogy, yeah. [13:19] Yeah, there you go. [13:20] Yeah, it's obviously a relief. [13:21] It's over, we didn't expect any other result to be far, but still, it's no relief. [13:25] And final question, can I just ask you where the best Guinness is in London? [13:30] Whoa! [13:32] It's going to cause a lot of problems now, isn't it? [13:33] I know, I'm in enough trouble. [13:35] You're not anymore, you're on the hook. [13:37] Yeah, this is too controversial for me, I'm not going to touch it. [13:40] What do you call Fintans, please? [13:42] He's Fintans. [13:43] Molly Blooms. [13:44] Molly Blooms is not good. [13:45] Oh, yeah, Fintan, yeah. [13:46] Molly Blooms. [13:47] Molly Blooms, valid answer. [13:48] I heard the O'Shea Lee's nice, I haven't been there. [13:50] Devonshire's nice. [13:51] Devonshire, nice Guinness. [13:52] I heard the O'Shea Lee is very nice, but we'll go. [13:55] Molly Rooms. [13:56] I haven't been there. [13:56] What's Corrigan's, please? [13:57] Good, probably, yeah. [14:00] Daffodil Mulligan's. [14:00] Daffodil Mulligan's. [14:01] I don't know that. [14:02] My blooms, though. [14:03] No, my blooms. [14:04] Go my blooms.