Following The Script

As the year continues to unfold, 2006 will undoubtedly be looked back upon as one of the golden years of original Irish music. After over a decade of being viewed with something akin to derision by much of the contemporary music world, Irish bands are now finally becoming a force in world rock music. Acts like Republic of Loose, Damien Rice, Gemma Hayes and Humanzi are breaking molds and old patterns as they, and the army of other acts that have sprung up throughout the country, are sonic proof that Irish audiences have never had it so good or varied when it comes to homegrown musical talent. The seeds of this musical upsurge have already been felt abroad as acts like Rice and Hayes have seen their stars rise across the Atlantic, whilst Republic of Loose and Humanzi have see their stock rise exponentially with the notoriously persnickety UK indie crowd.

With all of these Irish success stories and the sheer quality of the music they are creating, it is even tempting to talk of an Irish music 'scene' capable of garnering worldwide attention and one of the names that would feature prominently on any such list already would be Director, whose cleverly crafted songs have already harvested them a record deal with a major label and a host of influential backers in the UK and European media. With only one single release to their name, the band has already toured the UK extensively and been compared to such venerated names as Coldplay and Snow Patrol.

The story of Director begins only a couple of years ago in the relatively serene north Dublin seaside town of Malahide, where four longtime friends decided to focus all their attentions on a career in music. Michael Moloney (vocals, guitar), Eoin Aherne (guitar), Shea Lawlor (drums) and Rowen Averill (bass) took their musical lead from classic songwriters such as the Beatles, Steely Dan and Randy Newman, along with modern acts such as Grandaddy, Beck and The Strokes. In Aherne's own words the band's mandate is simple: 'Music is meant to excite people, it's there for people to enjoy. That's what we try to focus on.' Taking time to work on their songs, the band's songs exhibited cohesion beyond their experience by the time they made their live debut on the local circuit. With just a few rough demos in circulation and a growing live reputation the band's name began appearing in the Irish media last year as a potentially important Irish act capable of breaking out of the national scene. Record company interest inevitably followed and the band put pen to paper with major label, Atlantic Records, in a reputedly lucrative deal that put them on the same label that had so successfully - if lamentably - broken James Blunt on the international scene.

As summer approached the band again took to the road for an Irish tour with The Blizzards; friends of the band and another highly regarded Irish act in their own right. The tour was essentially used to hone the band's set in anticipation of a busy year and to test out the material for the debut album, which the band had been sporadically working on over the past few months. According to the band's MySpace blog, the album is now all but finished and expected to appear in stores later this fall and Director have bravely decided to self-produce the entire project. This is further evidence of the band's steely determination to retain full artistic control but also a product of their belief that production is an equally important part of the song making process. In the words of Averill: 'We take everything we do very seriously and any music which bears the name Director is the result of long hours of careful consideration. Like anything, music requires development and you only make progress by putting in the time; but when you finally hit that magic combination the result seems effortless.'

Director have now returned to the UK to begin the final buildup to the release of their album with a series of high profile shows in increasingly larger venues. Count on them making their US debut in the coming months.