Northern Irish alt-folk six-piece Polar Bolero have released their new single, The Rain. We asked Pearse and Cahir of the band the BIG questions . . .
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Led by the multi-instrumentalists Cahir McLaughlin and Pearse Donaghy, they released their debut album, A Conversation, in 2022 and were nominated for Live Act Of The Year at the NI Music Prize 2023 following their last release in August..
Speaking about The Rain, they say, On the track, the self-producing duo say: "Lyrically the song walks the line between hopeful romance and settling for other intoxications - alcohol, humour, despair, etc.
"We've tried to pair these themes with emotional harmonies and subtle folk instrumentation, a style as artists which we feel we are deeply rooted within.
"We experimented with new sonic ideas in the studio with this song and hope to build upon this as a new direction for the band."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Our band name is from Pearse's favourite childhood book, Polar Bolero, written be Debi Gliori. We went to school together (Pearse and Cahir) and studied music whilst we were there but never had the desire to play together until long after. We often play in suits at live shows.
How would you describe your music?
We like to refer to our music as alternative folk. The 'folk' element derives from our songwriting style, which is quite bar bones and acoustic, and the alternative' element is how we fashion these songs into interesting recordings/entertaining performances (we hope). We try our best to combine elements of Jazz and Irish trad with more contemporary pop/rock sentiments - acoustic guitars/pianos, dense harmonies etc. which is why we enjoy the challenge of playing live so much.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Tom Waits, Glen Hansard, Radiohead, Damien Rice, Bon Iver. We share a lot of the same inspirations, especially Pearse and I, it changes every week depending on who we’ve discovered and recommended to each other recently.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Cahir - For myself it was a Metallica concert at the ripe old age of eight - not quite sure if this has had influence on our music but it’s true all the same.
Pearse - not sure if you can count musicals as a "gig" but I went to see Oliver when I was around eight. Rowan Atkinson played Fagen and he was hilarious. I wanted to be an artful dodger so badly I used to dress up as him around the house.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Greatest Hits. If I had to pick my favourite Chilis album of all time, it would have to be the greatest hits. I owned one of Leonard Cohen's greatest hits CDs when I was a kid, I didn't know anything about him but I loved putting it on in the car with my mother.
What’s your favourite song right now?
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Cahir - I have very recently discovered Niall McCabe, so over the last few days I have been playing his song Tornado on repeat.
Pearse - I've been Enjoying Nathen O'Regan's Like Never Before. It's a great song, sung beautifully.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Pink Floyd’s Time. "And you are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today, And then one day you find ten years have got behind you, No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun".
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cahir - It’s an impossible question for me but my answer right now would be Jeff Buckley’s version of Just like a Woman.
Pearse - I wouldn't make a fuss... Preferably something I haven't heard yet.
Where can people find your music/more information?
We are most active on our Instagram account @polarbolero if you want to keep up to date with us with gigs, releases etc. Also our music is available on all the major platforms, Spotify, Apple Music etc.
Alan Corr
