IFREANN INTERVIEW 14/02/20
MM - What was the highlight of 2019 for you as a band, and what was the funniest?
IF:2019 was a fantastic year for us, we played our first show with our current line up, shot and released our first video, supported one of our favourite bands - Lost Society, played our first headline show and went oun our first tours, so its very hard to chose from. The tour with our
friends in Disposable comes to mind as the highlight of the year since it was a fantastic run of shows and an amazing time for everyone involved.
As for the funniest, watch our behind the scenes for our music video on YouTube for a good laugh
MM - For any IFREANN Newbies out there, please introduce the band members to us
IF:Ian Gil - Vocals (his real name is Ian Gillan but we don’t want to outshine Deep Purple), Ben Sanders - Guitar, Alina Levanova - Guitar, Jacob Nicolson - Bass & Euan Henderson - Drums.
MM - When was the band formed and how did you all discover each others mutual taste in making music?
IF:Ifreann started at the end of 2015 when Euan and Jacob started the band due to anotherproject falling apart, changing the name to Ifreann. They first met when Jacob auditioned for the old band and became fast friends. Next to join was Ian in 2016 when our old guitarist handed him a flyer at a chance meeting at a karaoke night. Hed never sang in a band before however he was a competent guitarist, but he still never expected to become a vocalist, despite this, Ian has done a fantastic job since! Ian was in the band for few months until we were ready to play our first live show at the start of 2017. Euan knew Ben from a sound production course at college, and he stepped in when we needed a new member, learning material before he joined. Alina joined at the same time after being in a different band with Euan half a year previously.
MM - How would you describe your music and what do you hope people will take away from your music and your performances?
IF:Fast, Loud ‘n’Rude Thrash metal, with crushing yet catchy riffs. We aim to leave people’s heads blown like that scene in Tenacious D.
MM - What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help in creating the style of music you perform today?
IF:In terms direct influence for this band, especially in the early days, Megadeth were probably the main influence. They are also Euan & Jacob’s favourite band. I think listening to our music, we take A LOT of bay area influence, but also with dabs of Death and NWOBHM.
MM -Name an album youve heard recently and liked.
IF:Deception - Epidemic, an awesome EP from a killer Norweigan Melodic Death Metal band.
MM - What one unique quality do your Band have to offer that no other band possess?
IF:Our bassist, Jacob’s big beautiful smile
MM - Who writes the songs that you perform? Is it a solo or joint effort?
IF:Musically, we all contribute. Lyrically it’s usually Ian & Euan.
MM - Which Ifreann song is your personal favourite and why? Which one sends the crowds crazy at your gigs?
IF:Mirror of Sanity - It’s classic thrash, but also has a bit of everything that we tend to throw in the mix when we’re songwriting. The main riff is also one that i came up with and a really proud of (for being a drummer).
Raised In Hate, from the new EP is one that gets the crowd going a lot, especially considering that no one has heard it yet.
MM - How can people keep up to date with what the band are up to and do
IF:Check us out on Facebook, that’s generally where we post about what we’re doing and when.
MM - If you had to choose only one of the following options, which one would you choose?
(a) a short career that will earn you fame and fortune
(b) the opportunity to make music for the next 50 years but without any real recognition.
IF:Maybe it’s cheating but somewhere in the middle. We want to make music forever but not if it’s only to ourselves. We don’t want massive fame and grand riches but a decent size fanbase from around the world would be perfect.
MM - Who do you think influenced the world of Metal / Rock more than any other person, for better or for worse?
IF:Easy, Tony Iommi, he invented the RIFF.
MM - How has the music media responded to the band so far and whats their biggest misconception about you?
IF:I’m not sure what media has any opinion of us apart from local zines like this. As far as we’re aware, there aren’t any false or miscommunicated conceptions about us, but if there are, please let us know haha.
MM - Whats the most important thing to the band right now?
IF:Sticking together, moving forward at a good pace but also having as much fun as we can along the way.
MM - How do you feel about the internet and the effect it is having on bands and independent
music?
IF:It’s the best way to get your stuff out there for a band our size. You have to know how to use it properly however. I think we make good use of tools like Facebook.
MM - If one of your songs could appear on a soundtrack or any film or cult TV series, which one would you choose and why?
IF:I feel like our track ‘No Pasaran’ would make a great background theme for a huge battle or maybe even a car chase.
Five Questions:
1.Festival or Small intimate gig - IF:Small intimate gig.
2.Vinyl or Digital - Digital. IF:Vinyl is too expensive.
3.Drinking Beer or getting high by other means -IF: Why not both.
4.Denim or Leather - IF:Well I’m not hell bent for denim, lets just say.
5. Slipknot or Abba - IF:1000x Abba.
MM - Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to all your fans out there?
IF:Thank you all so much for the continued support, you mean so much to us. Facebook
