Let The Party Begin

By Joe Kavanagh

Finally. Finally, there was one of those rare occasions when the powers that be in Irish contemporary music got a decision exactly right. In a country where the music industry is often rife with nepotism, inertia and a distinct lack of vision, there have been too many occasions in the past when bands that strove to create something different, were either misunderstood or blithely ignored by swathes of the music press, or those that could make a difference in their career. Perhaps it has been the success of edgy regional stations such as Phantom FM, Beat FM or Red FM, or the recent failure of traditionally safe acts such as Paddy Casey, but it appears that at least some of those on the inside of the industry have finally figured out what many on the outside have known for the past couple of years: the day of bland, straight up, regular rock is gone in Ireland and the sooner everyone realizes it, then the sooner we can actually start legitimately competing on an international level. The decision of judges to hand the third annual Choice Music Prize to electro-rockers, Super Extra Bonus Party, was nothing short of shocking to most observers, reinvigorating an accolade that only last year had looked like it was turning into yet another example of what is wrong with the Irish music industry. After all, this was an award that was given to Neil Hannon in 2007, a hugely talented songwriter to be sure, but one who would likely even himself acknowledge in a quiet moment that his best days were in the 90s. Certainly his label seemed to think so as they dropped him only months before he was awarded the prize. His victory seemed more like an ill-timed favor to a flagging career and seemed to stand against the whole notion of the Choice Music Prize seeking out important Irish music, as opposed to what was most popular. For me, the Choice Music Prize was supposed to educate the public palate and this year it did.

The seeds of this victory were planted when friends, Cormac Brady and Mike Donnelly, began toying around with synths, samplers and turntables, as teenagers in Newbridge, County Kildare. Giving themselves the moniker, Illegal Kids, the pair were essentially a studio outfit whose tracks appeared on a couple of Irish underground albums titled, Eklectra and Wooden Educational. In November of 2005, the duo, along with friend, Stephen 'Fatz' Fahey, decided to play at a local open-mic night under the name Super Extra Bonus Party, a moniker they came upon specifically for their "one-off" performance. With all three jumping between samplers, guitars, bass, a toy drum kit and a cheesy Casio keyboard, the band rated the appearance as little more than a shambles due in no small part to nerves and faulty equipment, but the crowd's reaction to the three songs they performed was very different, as they lapped up the act, instilling sufficient belief in the trio to continue their project beyond one outing.

Not wishing to limit their creativity they initially referred to themselves as a "collective", as opposed to a "band", as their plan was to team up with a range of musicians, depending on what kind of track they wanted to produce. After a time, however, they saw the value of having regular collaborators, particularly when it came time for live shows, so they absorbed guitarist/drummer, Gavin Elsted, and Brazilian MC, Rodrigo Teles, into their ranks, giving them greater sonic scope and a front man par excellence. Shortly afterwards, their numbers swelled up to eight strong as they took on more multi-instrumentalists and a person dedicated entirely to creating visual effects to run in tandem with their music. With a firm foundation in place and a fix on the direction on which they wanted to travel in a musical sense, the group set about recording their debut album in late 2006 and early 2007. With a tiny budget, the band essentially wrote, recorded and produced the album in its entirety in a house they shared together, often "bouncing" the different tracks between computers, giving each member the chance to give their input or even wrestle with the material themselves. Still committed to the notion of being a collective, they brought in a series of collaborators such as vocalists, Nina Hynes, Channel One's, Paul O'Reilly and fellow Kildare act, Kill City Defectors, in order to create particular moods or textures that they felt would add to the overall wholeness of the album.

On 13 April last year, Super Extra Bonus Party's self-titled debut was released to the Irish public with very little fanfare, although it did make an immediate impact with the more discerning music journalists who could appreciate its content.

Whipping together ingredients such as hip hop, indie, trip hop, ambient and even jazz, the 13-track collection is packed with imagination, innovation and the kind of chutzpah that can only be good for the Irish music scene. From the beautiful brass opener, Adventures, through the zany dance-floor filler, Favorite Things (which incorporates a wicked sample of Rodgers and Hammerstein's tune of the same name) to the blissful indie of Everything Flows, the album is a veritable smorgasbord of invention and a work that will undoubtedly viewed as one of the seminal Irish albums in years to come, if it does not already own this honor. In essence, Super Extra Bonus Party, has produced an album that manages to retain a simplicity of purpose and warm, engaging disposition, with a sufficient satisfaction of bells and whistles that give it a definite edge over many other contemporary Irish acts.

It was only when the album was completed and released that they realized that the entire process meant that they were no longer a collective, but rather a band in the traditional sense, a notion that was fully forged when they took their act on the road, in the immediate weeks and months after the album launch. Slogging it out on the Irish circuit, they played gigs in virtually any venue that would have them, the length and breadth of the country and, having been lucky enough to catch them live several times, I can testify to the type of frantic energy they bring right from the offset. Given their numbers, the stage looks more crowded than a platform in Grand Central on a Friday evening, but this only serves to intensity the experience as each member gives their absolute all. If it wasn't for the exuberant smiles fixed on their faces throughout, you would be tempted to think that Phil Spector is standing off stage somewhere with one of his trusty '45s pointed menacingly at them throughout their performance, saying: "play it like you mean it kids". With visuals keeping perfect time with the songs, members jumping between instruments and ideas, and MC Rodrigo stalking the stage, they are undeniably one of the most exhilarating - and flat out fun - live acts that Ireland has produced in recent times, a fact that has not been lost on local promoters.

In 2007 they were called upon to open for Irish bands such as Delorentos and international acts like Alec Empire and The Go! Team (a band that is similar to them in a musical sense and certainly one that shares a similar stage presence).

With their victory in the Choice Music Prize a fortnight ago, I would imagine that there will be quite a few more names in their rolodex in the coming weeks and months, and a ticket to the stages of myriad summer festivals is all but assured as the Irish music industry sends another one of its champions into battle on the international scene.

At least this time, we're sending a worthy contender because, simply put, Super Extra Bonus Party make great music, and they've arguably set a new imaginative bar for Irish bands to aspire to.