In Conversation With #232 - Pretty Happy
Cork art-punk trio Pretty Happy have just released their debut EP ‘Echo Boy’ - which is out via Foggy Notions.
They teamed up with producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy (Lankum, Black Midi) at Hellfire Studios in Dublin to record all four tracks. The EP title and artwork references the Echo Boy statue in Cork City by sculptor Barry Maloney commemorating the paperboy street sellers of the Evening Echo newspaper.
Pretty Happy are heavily inspired by their home city of Cork. The people of Cork are nicknamed the Rebels due to their stubbornness to conform. The band take this rebellious identity to heart in their characteristic musicality and their Cork accented stream of consciousness ravings.
Whilst their music at times may have a jagged edge, the band strives to promote inclusion. Everyone is invited and welcome at a Pretty Happy show.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Pretty Happy - how are you? So your EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
We're all feeling fantastic. How are you getting on ?
It's been a long time coming for this EP so we're all buzzing that we finally get to release it. We're a humble bunch but I think we can confidently say that we're really proud of these songs and are excited that people finally get to hear them.
It is called 'Echo Boy' - what is the meaning behind that?
So in Cork City the local paper is called the Evening Echo. If you walk down the Main Street of Cork you'll hear newspaper sellers calling out, "Echo, Evening Echo." It's such a distinctive sight and sound of Cork. The cover is actually a picture of a statue by sculptor Barry Maloney commemorating one of the Echo boys who sells the paper. His hand is up to his mouth calling out "Echo".
We picked the name because our birthplace had such a huge impact on the writing and recording of this EP. Landmarks, slang, even sound recordings of local Cork pubs made it onto the EP. We thought Echo Boy as a title really summed up the distinctive noisy Cork sound we're trying to create.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We recorded the EP in Hellfire Studios with John "Spud" Murphy and Ian Chestnutt. Those guys are geniuses. Once we got there there was an immediate creative click.
The recording process was mad. We were all committed to doing whatever it took musically to create the wall of noise chaos we were going for. Violins were played, clarinets were breathed into. The plastic from a box of Amber Leaf was scrunched up on mic as a percussive instrument. The creative process was so free that we all just went wild and saw what came out.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
The EP is influenced by everyday life primarily. The themes go from drink spiking, fear of suburbia, rape culture, the list goes on. The sounds of the EP may sound a bit otherworldly or absurd at times, but all we're trying to do is communicate what it feels like to be a young Irish person right now. People get spiked, rape culture does exist. We all are afraid of suburbia as we grew up during the housing crisis in Ireland.We think, meaning to or not, this EP tackles all of that.
Musically we took inspiration from a lot of sources. We were definitely inspired by a lineage of Cork Post Punk that began in the late 70s. Bands like Nun Attax, Fatima Mansions and Stump to name a few.
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
The EP is quite varied, it goes from laughter to sorrow, to intensity quite quickly so it's a mixed bag in terms of what film it would suit. Maybe an episode of Killnaskully directed by David Lynch or if Salvador Dali did a version of The Quiet Man.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP - if so, which one and why?
"I love my husband, I will never ever make love to my husband."
This lyric is fun because it's based around this character in our song Husband. She's extremely unhappy with her life but feels guilty about admitting it. She has it all; a lovely house, lovely kids and a lovely job. The suburban dream. Why then does she feel so empty? We think this lyric screamed by Abbey at the end of the song signifies that rapidly changing mood of uncontentment versus guilt.
Now the EP is out there - what next?
In the immediate future gigging wise, we're currently on a tour of the UK, playing London, Other Voices in Cardigan and Bristol. After that we're returning home to support Pavement in Vicar Street.
We plan to gig as much as we can and get into the studio soon. From writing the songs on Echo Boy last year, we've written a lot more material that we're dying to record.
We'd also love to do something a bit strange. We always love to have one non music project on the go with Pretty Happy. We just finished producing a feature documentary so doing something completely different would be the aim. Maybe a stage musical or a fried sandwich stall. Whatever gets those creative juices flowing.
