MacD on Music: Still hard to explain

So, Halloween has come and gone, which means that the countdown officially begins to that one day we all look forward to, that day with the man with the white beard. Yes, I’m of course talking about Billy Connelly’s birthday. Why that day? It’s hard to explain, which brings me nicely to this week’s interview.

Back in January this year, I spoke to Hard to Explain about the release of their (then) new single, ‘Young & Free’. The band, made up of Aisling Faulkner on vocals, Chris Kelly on guitar, Niall McDonagh on other guitar, Ben Ward on drums and Michael Kelly on bass, are now about to release another single, ‘T.O.B.T.O.’, this Friday (10th November).

This will be followed by a gig in Bennigan’s the following night. I caught up with the band recently to talk about the song, as well as what they’ve got coming up:

First of all, tell me a bit about your new single.

Our new single is actually the oldest song in our set list. ‘T.O.B.T.O’ is the first song we wrote together and it was the song that cemented that we should be a band! We all had just moved in together, off the back of some bad break ups, the song is written for those ex’s who came before the one we are with = T.O.B.T.O (The One Before The One)!

What have you been up to since our last chat?

We’ve been flat out practising for our upcoming gigs and writing new material along the way and organising upcoming gigs in the new year, it’s all very exciting! We’ve also been so lucky to have joined the roster with Reaction Management! We are so grateful for the support that Jay and all the team at Reaction have given us and we are absolutely loving the results and the love that we are getting on our music!! We’ve had a couple of releases that have gone really well, such as our most recent ‘Watch Me’ and also worked on our own music video for our second last single ‘Prove It!’

Are you looking forward to getting back to Bennigan’s?

We are very excited to come back to our old stomping ground and have been looking forward to this gig since we organised it! It’s been a long time since we played a show and to have our first one back in our home town is really exciting! Last gig went really well and you are always guaranteed a good crowd that loves the music so it’s definitely one to look forward to! We can’t wait to showcase how hard we’ve been working!

Who would you say are some of your favourite artists that you’ve got to play with so far?

We love all of the artists we’ve played with so far, BoyM5, Cora Harkin, Fierce Pit Bosses to name a few! It’s always such an honour! We are so excited to share the stage with Foreign Wolf, Von Loop, Somehow Sentient and BoyM5 in our upcoming shows! Guaranteed a good night!

What would you say are the group’s goals for the future?

The short term goals for the band is to release an EP in the new year, and the long term goal is to record a full album with some of our best songs! We are also dying to get on tour so it’s all in the pipeline! Watch this space!

Do you have anything else coming up you want to talk about?

We are in talks at the moment to go on tour in April, still in the early stages of discussion so keep an eye on our socials for any upcoming announcements! We really can’t wait for this! Bring on another year of gigs, new music and good times!

And that’s it for Hard to Explain. Their new song ‘T.O.B.T.O.’ is out this Friday and they’ll be playing Bennigan’s the following day, followed by a gig in Queen’s University Bar in Belfast the following week.

Now, onto other business. Hard to Explain aren’t the only ones with a song out this Friday. That day also sees the release of the brilliant new single from Selador, ‘Love Sweet Love’. Selador are one of the best up-and-coming bands in the town and this new song should tell you why. Sounding like a mix between Rage Against the Machine and Led Zeppelin, the song is an excellent showcase for one of the best live groups about. They’ll be launching the single on Friday night in Bennigan’s with support from The Marra and Rhinos so get your tickets now.

Also, this past Thursday saw the release of Sister Ghost’s brilliant new single ‘Lilith’. The song is out now on all good platforms and features an excellent cover of the Queens of the Stone Age song ‘Song for the Dead’ on the B-side.

Finally, to round out Friday’s new releases, Todd Oliver (recent winner of the singer songwriter competition hosted by Music Capital) will be releasing his debut single ‘Tenancy’. Todd is one of the most promising young artists this town has produced and he’ll be launching the song in the Tipsy Tap (formally Rosie Joe’s) this Friday with support from Calum Quinn.

Now, social time: Selador can be found on Instagram @seladortheband, Todd Oliver @toddolivermusic and Hard to Explain @hardtoexplainofficial.