By Harriet Kaplan
Belfast, Ireland-based Beauty Sleep makes lo-fi dreamy indie music. The trio is relatively new band that got together earlier this year in January. The first single they released was “The Dark” and most recently they dropped “Living Right” in August. “The Dark” has been characterized as melancholy and the “Living Right”as more upbeat.
BoC recently caught up with Ryan McGroarty of Beauty Sleep to discuss their musical influences, the possibly of a future EP, misconceptions about indie pop, and more.
How did the band come up with the name Beauty Sleep?
For a long time I’d just add words and phrases down to the notes on my phone if they excited me. Eventually we landed on Beauty Sleep. The alternative was “Cosmic Ballet” – which is a reasonably obscure Simpsons reference. I think we made the right decision!
What does that represent to you?
I just think it’s an interesting concept, one of those cliches people say without thinking. When you think about it there’s an idea of self preservation and time. It seems to fit.
Is everyone from Belfast, Ireland?
Cheylene was born in London and grew up in Derry, I also grew up in Derry so we’ve known each other a little longer. Aimee is from Portadown but we all met at a house party in Belfast and live there.
Is an album or LP in the works in the near future?
It’s hard to say, it’s all open at the minute, it would be cool to find a nice home for it. An EP then an album would be really exciting for us.
What did you all listen to growing up? Did your parents play music themselves? Did their musical choices influence you?
Cheylene’s family are very musical, her parents toured in an incredible world music band called Orbestra so her references and the way she hears music are often a little less “standard” than I. It’s a cool influence. My parents weren’t particularly musical growing up but I have lots of early memories of REM, Eurythmics and The Corrs in the car with my mum! Aimee’s brother Mark played bass in a great band called In Case Of Fire, it’s all still out there. FUN FACT: Cheylene is now teaching my mum the piano.
Who are your favorite artists and what do you like best about them?
In recent-ish times Pup are my favourite band. The last Tame Impala record is my fav album. And we all love stuff like Cursive, Seoul, Boards of Canada, Tom Vek, The Bronx, MEW, TV on the Radio, Thundercat and Dream Wife.
Did you feel there are any misconceptions about indie pop in your opinion or any stereotypes you want to dispel?
Maybe, we’ve written dream pop a lot of places kind of as a joke because we’re called Beauty Sleep. It’s all music and genres point people in the right direction – but we don’t take that stuff very seriously.
Do the three of you collaborate equally on the songwriting and arranging? What is that process like?
It’s changing all the time. Some of the songs were written before Cheylene and I had met Aimee so the demos were kind of a way to get her interested. We’re pretty loose about it all now, it’s great introducing different tastes and perspectives for songwriting and sonics. Cheylene and Aimee are incredible and I feel very lucky.
Are you self produced? Would you ever seek out an outside producer?
I have been the producer/mix engineer. It’s my job outside of the band and I’m in love with it. I often work from Start Together Studio in Belfast and we’ve just finished tracking five new songs there. We did it all live and had Richard Van Den Boss drum and Niall Doran work the Pro Tools so I could shred obv. It was cool to introduce the human element and do all the work before hitting record. I’m pretty buzzed about that way of working at the minute. Accepting mistakes and getting it done fast. It should all capture a feeling and I got pretty tired of having to create it in Pro Tools. I like it when it’s real and fucked up.
Have you played only in Ireland or outside of the country? Is there plans to tour Europe maybe the U.S. at some point?
For me, this is the reason to be in a band. To create experiences, meet people you would never have met and have all these shared memories to looks back on together. I feel you really grow and bond closer as a band and friends. So we are working on it! It will be enthusiastically announced on our social media if it happens!
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