MacD on Music: Pilosa find their groove with new EP Lasting Joy

On any given weekend in Derry, there’s a good chance a great gig is taking place somewhere. This week, we’ve got at least three of them happening, with the legendary Fairport Convention playing the Guildhall on Saturday (for more information see my column this past Monday), Cam Cole in Sandino’s that same night, and Pilosa launching their EP ‘Lasting Joy’ in Bennigan’s tomorrow (April 17th). The EP was produced by Rory Donaghy, mixed by Jack McHale and mastered by Peter Maher.

As you probably guessed from the photograph, today I’m talking to Pilosa (well, half of them. Singer/guitarist James Tomlinson and guitarist Jack Quigg) about the making of the EP and the gig.

I asked about the recording process, and how things have evolved from the group’s early days.

James: “We’ve become more of a stable force. It’s a democracy. Halfway through [the first album] we got this band together, but I wanted to make sure that people who offered their parts earlier in the year got on it too, so it ended up being really collaborative. This is way more natural. The three songs [on the EP] just kind of fell out of nowhere. Whenever I started writing ‘Lasting Joy’ I was in a period of a complete lack of musical discipline. A month when I just wasn’t doing anything, and something in the ether dropped the song in my lap. Unfinished obviously, but I think it was kind of a reminder to get back to work.”

Jack: “All of our playing has changed a bit. I got a guitar recently, an acoustic one that I’m just playing open chords on all the time, and when I go back to electric it makes me think differently about how I play it. I’m really trying to rein it in more.”

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James: “I think we’re a lot more comfortable being weird now, as well. I think the first album was definitely a statement. We started out weird and we’re going to keep going. Our songs, structurally, are really strange, and I think they’re getting weirder. They sound more commercial, because they’re produced well, but they’re still weird.”

Jack: “‘Lasting Joy’ is crazy.”

James: “That is a strange song.”

Jack: “We recorded in three parts, because it’s four or five minutes long. We were on the third part and Rory [Donaghey of Blast Furnace Studios] was there. We were trying to get this one bit and we couldn’t get it. Eventually we got it, and Rory said ‘This is a lesson to not write songs like this. Keep it simple’.”

James: “When we first went in and did the backing track, Rory’s reaction was a mix of really excited and kind of stressed. We’ve got a bunch more songs too. We definitely want to have Rosa [Walsh, bass player] on lead vocals more.”

This led us into Rosa’s own single, ‘Is The Woman Mad’, released under the alias Finch. Jack: “It should be number one in the charts. Rosa wrote it and recorded it herself. It’s unbelievable. We’re trying to get a version of that going, but I feel like, when we do it, we’re doing it a bit of a disjustice because of how good her version is.”

James: “Ryan’s [Holmes, drummer], got some too.”

Jack: “He showed me one on the acoustic recently. I gave him my new guitar and he got out his phone and started de-tuning it and played this crazy thing. He doesn’t know the chords he’s playing, he just knows it by ear.”

James: “His drumming on this EP is unbelievable too. So tasteful.”

Jack: “They’re two powerhouses.”

James: “That’s what this interview is, just us gassing up the other two.”

And on that note, we bid farewell to Jack and James of Pilosa for this week. Their EP ‘Lasting Joy’ is out tomorrow, as is their gig in Bennigan’s (with support from Meat Squid). Tickets are £8 and doors are at 9pm.

Now, onto other business. First up, we have Harley Scribbons and his recently released cover of Meat Loaf’s ‘Read ‘Em and Weep’. Covering anything written by Jim Steinman is always an ambitious move, but Harley is more than up to the challenge with a cover that I would rank up there with the original. It’s out now on all good streaming platforms.

Finally, we have a new song from Downpatrick-based group the thing is…, who have just released their new single ‘I Would Rather’. The track was produced and mixed by Darragh Tibbs (Esmeralda Road, Pillow Queens, Madam’s Last Discovery) and mastered by Aye, Sound Mastering (Joshua Burnside, Lord Jane) and “centres on reclaiming identity, resisting domination and choosing self-preservation over submission”. It’s out today on all good streaming platforms.

Finally, time for the socials. the thing is… can be found on Instagram @the_thing_is_band, Harley Scribbons @harleyscribbons, Meat Squid @meatsquidband and Pilosa @pilosa_music.