Eoin Dolan
'June Hope'
New EP
Eoin Dolan is a songwriter and producer from Galway, a seaside town on the west coast of Ireland. His music combines sublime and sometimes heartbreaking melody with lush instrumentation and a classic songwriting finesse to create a vintage psychedelic pop sound.
About
Inspired by early John Lennon solo material, 1960s French pop and vintage calypso compilations, June Hope charts a journey from youth to young adulthood through the prism of seasonal change. Airy, light and thoughtful it is Dolan’s most personal record since debut release Placid Ocean and was recorded at home during the last two months of lockdown.
"Eoin Dolan evokes a sense of nostalgic optimism with a vintage pop sound on new EP
June Hope."
In Conversation With Eoin Dolan
Where are you based at the moment?
I live in Galway, a beautiful city on the west coast of Ireland overlooking the Atlantic Ocean
Is there a creative scene you feel apart of?
Yes, locally I'm very fortunate to be part of an artist run collective called Citóg Records.
I'm also connected in with many musicians and friends throughout Ireland and abroad.
Creatively, I'd consider Liverpool my second home.
Onto music
Very early influences?
My earliest influences would've been stuff my parents and/or my older brother listened to;
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys. I also listened to alot
of brass music through the community band I joined in Renmore when I was 8. The brass band was
amazing as it opened me up to a such a diverse range of music and melody. We'd play marches, movie themes, jazz,
latin etc.
Did music have a rival or has it always been you first love - Is it your first love?
Its always been the thing in life that I'm most comfortable with. I've made so many good friends through music and its something thats always
steered me on a positive path. I have many other hobbies including gardening, reading and hillwalking but music is always number 1!
Do you come from a musical family? (You might have touched on this above)
Yes both my parents, brother and sister are all fantastic singers/musicians. We were encouraged from an early age to get involved with music so its a big feature of every family gathering. My brother is a great songwriter. I'm working on producing his debut EP at the minute.
Do you like performing over studio work?
I prefer studio work over performing. Recording can at times be more of a slog than recording but I find that its more of a rewarding process at heart. Also, I think that its improved my writing immensely. Recording has allowed me to process what I'm doing objectively and ultimately made me a better artist.
Are you at home on stage?
I do like the stage but mostly when I'm sharing it with my band, who are all close friends (James Casserly, Adam Sheeran, Conor Deasy and Kieran O'Brien).
We can put a really full sound together and have great times wherever we go. As for when I'm playing..its the strangest experience. I'd be thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Very difficult to explain unless personally experienced.
Do you get involved in production?
Yes a number of years ago I went back to college and studied music technology in Windmill Lane Studios. It was literally a life changing experience. Before I was totally ignorant about how recording worked. I thought it could only be done by wizards and people with a special talent. I didnt realise how straightforward the process can be once you understand the basics. I love being able to record my own material and experiment with new sounds.
Do you feel that producers are a vital part of the creative process - (George Martin with the Beatles for eg)
Yes, I think for most artists a strong guiding hand from the producer is necessary. A decisive character with good time management skills is very important. The majority of creative people I have met in life are extremely poor at making decisions. Projects then drag on indefinitely and the everyone is left unhappy. Any success and prolificacy that I've had to date has come about through structuring my recording time to meet deadlines I've set out from the beginning. It can be challenging but it keeps the creative atmosphere fresh till the finish.
Fav book - film -
My favourite book is a science fiction novel called Ubik by Philip K Dick
My favourite film is Apocalypse Now!
What’s next?
I will be doing some touring in the latter half of 2020 in conjunction with a compilation L.P I'll be releasing on vinyl. It'll be a selection of tracks taken from various records of my work to date.
Thanks mate - best pp x
See More from Phacemag.com
I live in Galway, a beautiful city on the west coast of Ireland overlooking the Atlantic Ocean
Is there a creative scene you feel apart of?
Yes, locally I'm very fortunate to be part of an artist run collective called Citóg Records.
I'm also connected in with many musicians and friends throughout Ireland and abroad.
Creatively, I'd consider Liverpool my second home.
Onto music
Very early influences?
My earliest influences would've been stuff my parents and/or my older brother listened to;
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys. I also listened to alot
of brass music through the community band I joined in Renmore when I was 8. The brass band was
amazing as it opened me up to a such a diverse range of music and melody. We'd play marches, movie themes, jazz,
latin etc.
Did music have a rival or has it always been you first love - Is it your first love?
Its always been the thing in life that I'm most comfortable with. I've made so many good friends through music and its something thats always
steered me on a positive path. I have many other hobbies including gardening, reading and hillwalking but music is always number 1!
Do you come from a musical family? (You might have touched on this above)
Yes both my parents, brother and sister are all fantastic singers/musicians. We were encouraged from an early age to get involved with music so its a big feature of every family gathering. My brother is a great songwriter. I'm working on producing his debut EP at the minute.
Do you like performing over studio work?
I prefer studio work over performing. Recording can at times be more of a slog than recording but I find that its more of a rewarding process at heart. Also, I think that its improved my writing immensely. Recording has allowed me to process what I'm doing objectively and ultimately made me a better artist.
Are you at home on stage?
I do like the stage but mostly when I'm sharing it with my band, who are all close friends (James Casserly, Adam Sheeran, Conor Deasy and Kieran O'Brien).
We can put a really full sound together and have great times wherever we go. As for when I'm playing..its the strangest experience. I'd be thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Very difficult to explain unless personally experienced.
Do you get involved in production?
Yes a number of years ago I went back to college and studied music technology in Windmill Lane Studios. It was literally a life changing experience. Before I was totally ignorant about how recording worked. I thought it could only be done by wizards and people with a special talent. I didnt realise how straightforward the process can be once you understand the basics. I love being able to record my own material and experiment with new sounds.
Do you feel that producers are a vital part of the creative process - (George Martin with the Beatles for eg)
Yes, I think for most artists a strong guiding hand from the producer is necessary. A decisive character with good time management skills is very important. The majority of creative people I have met in life are extremely poor at making decisions. Projects then drag on indefinitely and the everyone is left unhappy. Any success and prolificacy that I've had to date has come about through structuring my recording time to meet deadlines I've set out from the beginning. It can be challenging but it keeps the creative atmosphere fresh till the finish.
Fav book - film -
My favourite book is a science fiction novel called Ubik by Philip K Dick
My favourite film is Apocalypse Now!
What’s next?
I will be doing some touring in the latter half of 2020 in conjunction with a compilation L.P I'll be releasing on vinyl. It'll be a selection of tracks taken from various records of my work to date.
Thanks mate - best pp x
See More from Phacemag.com
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