New Irish artist Alex Eydt has released his debut album, Guardians. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
The 24-year-old only discovered music during Covid, when he locked himself away and immersed himself in a gruelling study of musical history and theory.
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With influences ranging from Indie to hip-hop to dance, or Gorillaz to NAS to Justice, Alex hopes he's created a unique offering with Guardians.
Speaking about his album’s focus track, Take Someone, he says, "I see this as more of an art installation than a song, but still very, very relevant to Guardians.
"I wanted to make people jump. This isn't going to be pleasant to listen to and I hope it taps into something psychological because of that."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I think I liken myself to a little Irish David Bowie, that should be a good overview of me and how I see myself. My Mammy grew up on the same street as Eoin Colfer. I can talk to animals but they generally can’t talk back.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe my music as an aural reflection of my malleable inner stat. By that I mean I will consciously strive to create music that reflects what inspires me and so that tends to manifest in a very varied and sporadic way, because it derives itself from my ever-changing taste. It’s quite subjective and may be quite polarizing to a fanbase but it has so far been a very honest reflection of my inner journey as an individual and actually quite fascinating to observe. It’s enthralling for me to see some of the stuff I come up with.
Who are your musical inspirations?
This could be a very long list, so I'll give you three and a bunch and you can decide what and who to include. The Beatles, Kanye West and Twenty-One Pilots. I’m supposed to say something about them now, and I will. These three here are more role models to me than just music-related, so for example another role model of mine is Lionel Messi. Perhaps that’s not musical so to speak as much as it is "life" inspiration.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
The first interesting one I went to was Twenty-One Pilots in the 3Arena, March 2019. They had created the most perfect show to tour. It was a spectacle. They pulled out every idea to make the show as interesting and meaningful as possible to the city they were playing in. I recall they had a "Silent Game" that they played in each city they toured. They’d get the whole stadium to fall silent and time how long they could hold it before the inevitable heckler broke the silence. It went Paris, 3.5 seconds. Berlin 2.1 seconds. London 3.8 seconds. And when It came to Dublin, despite Tyler’s best efforts, he couldn’t get the crowd to fall silent, we loved him too much and so we resorted to chanting "Ole, ole, ole, ole". Dublin scored 0.0 seconds.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I actually haven’t bought myself any physical record yet, I own one or two through gifts. Maybe I’ll buy my own when it comes out. So, I can be my first record and my first buyer.
What’s your favourite song right now?
This week/month it’s probably I Miss You by Blink 182 or In This City by Iglu and Hartly. I think they’re setting the tone for the next album.
Favourite lyric of all time?
How can I answer for "all time"!? "So put your hands down my pants and I bet you’ll feel nuts" - Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang. That popped into my head when answering this, so I guess there must be some merit to it. All of Cornerstone by Arctic Monkeys is great - as is Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’d want something beautiful and relaxing. I was going to pick a Mozart but I’ll say Canon in D Major instead. I think if that was the only song you had for the rest of your life you’d have a pretty happy, hopeful, rich and sunny life.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Instagram and TikTok. Both under my name alex.eydt (it’s a handy name for socials cause it’s easy to find). I post something there most days and all links are in their bios.
Alan Corr
