Originally coming from a couple of small rural villages in the Glens of Antrim and Belfast runabay are six musicians who through their passion for harmony and melody have been writing and recording since late December 2013.
Runabay are at the forefront of fresh, new music in Northern Ireland, a sound which has undeniably been shaped by the beautiful coastline which surrounds the Glens of Antrim and is felt through the swooping melodies and poignant lyrics. The band produce a mature sound that leaves the listener hanging on the intricate guitar riffs, mellow three part harmonies and haunting cello.
Notable highlights are national airplay on BBC 6Music with both Tom Robinson and Steve Lamacq’s shows playing singles, airtime on RTE 2FM with Dan Hegarty, several plays on Amazing Radio with Charlie Ashcroft, Katheryn Tickell and Jim Gellatly. Massive local support from several shows on Radio Ulster (too many to thank there). Not forgetting KCLR Roddie Cleerie and Martin Bridgeman.
Spotify playlists have also picked up on the music coming from the Glens of Antrim with songs having success on a few high profile playlists like; Best of Indie Folk 2016, Alternative 2017 New Music Friday, Fresh Finds: Six Strings, Best of Ruby Sessions 2016 and Clans .: Vibes :.
In this interview feature, we chat with the band about their new project, their influences, surviving the digital world and more.
Full Q&A plus links and streams available below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We mainly come from small rural villages on the north-eastern coast of N. Ireland right in the heart of the Glens of Antrim called Cushendall and Cushendun. The other band members come from Belfast and Ballymena. The name Runabay comes from a nearby coastal headland jutting out into the Irish sea called Runabay Head.
Our style of music is hard to describe as there are many members and influences of styles and there is overlap on many of these bands we like.
Some members such as Gary would have a Comhaltas background with a strong traditional Irish music and folk influence, also a huge Coldplay, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Pearl Jam & Fleet Foxes fan.
John likes is into everything from Hozier, Foy Vance, Nick Drake, Villagers, The Smiths and David Bowie.
Declan I know is a U2, BellX1, Duke Special fan.
Me personally I love everything from The Beatles, Father John Misty, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Flynn, Admiral Fallow, Frightened Rabbit, Belle & Sebastian, Fionn Regan and Ed Sheeran to hip-hop loving Run The Jewels and OFWGKTA at the moment.
Rory and Michael I cannot speak for you yet but a few more long car journeys and I’ll tell you exactly who they love too.
I’d like to say a small piece of all of those influences come through in our music and many more, my favourite description of our us is “Every now and then a band comes along that gives you a shiver down your spine.” I’d like to think that to true fans that this occasionally happens. I love it when a song makes the hairs on my arms stand up.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
As a band a few of us have known each other from our early teens, myself (Gerard), Gary & John. Together we’ve played music in one form or another since then. Ultimately what led us down this path is friendship and a shared love of good music. I’d personally say the love of performing music and the satisfaction that comes with helping to see a song through from initial bare bones to the full band crafted harmonious melodic composition.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
On ‘You I Know’ the lyrics and style have taken a turn becoming introverted and personal. It could be said that they touch on the darker side of bullying. Its different from previous songs as we feel our sound is maturing and songwriting becoming stronger. We only ever set out to try and get each song to a wider audience and this we did manage to accomplish.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
Technology has helped us and other musicians get our music out faster and further but with that comes saturation. There are many bands are doing the same and competing for label attention. The challenges as an indie musician in the digital age are in my view, although streaming is highly popular, it seems to be more lucrative to the larger players who can negotiate better deals per stream.
Recording and producing an album is going to be a huge challenge but yet we look forward to facing that when it comes.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
You can find us on iTunes, BandCamp, Spotify or Soundcloud and most social media such as Facebook /Twitter /Instagram and of course our Runabay.com . We absolutely love people contacting us and connecting with us. There is nothing better than hearing the thoughts of the people who actually listen to your lyrics and hearing what they mean to them.
Anything else before we sign off?
If you enjoy this song take a listen to a few of our other songs. Also I know is back in the day when I found a band I liked I tended to keep it to myself. If I did this nowadays, with the way the music business is, I’d be harming a bands chances of ever being discovered. And all the questions have been answered by me (Gerard) and so all those thoughts and views are my own.
