Derry band’s song to feature in KNEECAP movie

Derry band Dirty Faces will have a song featured in the upcoming KNEECAP film starring Michael Fassbender.

The film, a self-titled biopic about Irish rap group Kneecap, features Derry boy DJ Próvaí and Belfast lads Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap as they 'struggle to make their mark on the world'.

Dirty Faces singer Josh O'Kane says himself and bassist Lorcan Hamilton are thrilled their song will play in the film.

“We're buzzing to have it featured in the film and grateful for the decision they made to use it. But it doesn't compare to the pride we feel for everything they're doing and this movie is just the start. Both the music and film industry won't be the same once this year is over and both their movie and album are out there,” he said.

“The Kneecap boys introduced us to KNEECAP director Rich Peppiatt at Stendhal Festival back in 2021. I believe the first time he heard our song '80%' was during the set we played that weekend.

“The lads were always supportive of our music and weren't shy about liking that track - especially DJ Próvaí, who I think knows every word.”

Dirty Faces are 'buzzing' to have their song feature in the film (Photo by Shane Lawrence, on social media as @shvne.jpg)

The song, 80%, was released five years ago and tells the story of Josh in a wretched mental state, itching for some alcohol – any alcohol.

“The track itself is the first single we released as Dirty Faces. DJ Próvaí described it best on BBC Radio 6 with Tom Ravenscroft as 'a sort of stream of consciousness' where I 'just start going on some rant'.

“I remember the day I wrote it too. I sat down with the mission of writing something new but hit a brick wall of writer's block.

“Skint and uninspired, I went to the kitchen looking for a beer, but nada. Raging, I went digging through the cupboards. I would have sucked the alcohol out of a spud that day, so you wouldn't be surprised to hear how delighted I was when I came across a bottle of absinthe that my brother brought back from a lads holiday.

“The label read - 'MADE IN SPAIN. 80% ABV' and there was a red circle with a sash over a silhouette of a pregnant person. I wasn't pregnant at the time so thought 'aye, why not, treat yourself, he'll hardly find out ye drank it' – now that I've just told Derry News, he'll be looking compensated, no joke. I started taking shots from the bottle cap and began the writing process.”

Photo by Shane Lawrence, on social media as @shvne.jpg

The song was written as a 'justified tirade of the working-class' after being worked to the bone with nothing to show for it, unable to ‘even afford the alcohol they produce to sedate us'. This unapologetic class consciousness in their music is something Dirty Faces and Kneecap share.

“The systematic sedation wears off and I let loose an anger I feel for the life I feel trapped in. So, I sit down, try to ignore the beeping of an empty electric meter, and the song ends up writing itself. I felt great afterward, bar the heartburn.

“About a week later, Lorcán comes over. I showed him the lyrics, he played me the stuff he was working on, and it fit together perfectly. All we needed then was a hook, which we improvised and placed at both the beginning and end of the song.

“With the song complete, and half-practised, we performed it for Rory Moore of Strength N.I.A who recorded it in Rosemount Factory. He then put us on to Aphra-Lee Hill who shot the video at Ned's Fort, Buncrana.

“To see that this same song is now in a film starring Michael Fassbender, played at Sundance Film Festival, and now going to be rolled out to over 200 cinemas in the US by Sony Pictures Classics is unreal - and to think I owe it all to a bottle of absinthe.”

The film instantly made a big impression. It was the first film from this year's Sundance Film Festival to be bought by a major studio for release. Sony acquired its release rights for North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.

It currently sits at 100% on the movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with just eight reviews so far but from some of the world's top film review outlets.

The backlash however has been as furious as the reviews are positive.

Kneecap arrive at Sundance for the film's premier

The Daily Mail released a story questioning why the film received funding through the British Film Institute and Northern Ireland Screen.

Northern Ireland Screen responded to the story, saying it must 'consistently apply its assessment criteria' and 'has a stated objective to support vibrant and diverse cultural voices'.

The film also received funding from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, TG4 and Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund.