INSTEAD OF joining the A&R major record deal mass mailings rat race, Dublin’s Chill Babies hand-picked a number of indie labels they wanted to sign to. The policy worked and now they are preparing to reap the benefits.

A tape recorder is every journalist’s best friend and, occasionally, worst enemy. There I was thinking I’d put in the tape of an interview I did with the Chill Babies and instead I end up with what sounds like The Chipmunks hitting puberty. Not to worry . . .

Throughout our talk, the five members of this Dublin band were sceptical about my recorder’s erratic behaviour but I knew that with the right manipulation my AIWA would come through for me.

And, in its own special way, it did. Right when we started talking about why the Chill Babies think that, out of all of the hundred of bands out there looking for deals, they’re lucky enough to be in hard negotiation with an English indie label, the tape slows down to the point where words and sentences are generally discernible – even if figuring out who’s doing the talking is impossible.

“Sometimes we look at the bands who are supporting us,” says one Chill Baby, “and we’re like ‘hell, they’re pretty good’, other times we’re less convinced.” Another band member is quick to add that he doesn’t think there are many good bands around at all. Or at least not original ones.

This Dublin four-piece are different in that they boast three vocalists. But they know that there’s more to making it in the pop world than originality.

“Maybe what a lot of Irish bands don’t realise is that there’s a business end to it as well. You have to sell yourself but a lot of people don’t want to do that. They just want to play music.”

Arousing interest

The Chill Babies are so keen on selling themselves that they’ve included a “Marketability” section in their bio, stating that “The enthusiastic reaction of varied audiences and the sales of their 2 demos strongly suggest that there is a broad market for their music.”

“Our music has that power,” one Baby asserts, “where if people do hear it, they’re going to listen to it. It’s actually getting them to hear it in the first place that’s the hard part.”

Not, apparently, if you have a manager like Killian Wood. Instead of bombarding the majors with tapes and band pics, Wood and the Chillies focused on a handpicked group of indie labels arguing that if you know how an A&R department works – first – it makes the job a lot easier. “You stop wasting a lot of your time,” a Baby opines. (And, it must be said, money.)

Evidently the secret is making contact and arousing interest in your band before you send your tape off. That way when the demo arrives, there’s someone on the other end expecting it.

“We found a person who has actually listened to it and seen what we see in it ourselves,” one member enthuses, “and for us, that’s the advantage of going with an independent label, that this guy is really into the music.”

The Chill Babies hope to have their deal signed sealed and delivered before Christmas and are understandably expectant . . .

“We can’t wait to get it on an album because what we want is for people to get the same feeling out of songs that say we get when we’re rehearsing and it comes together. That’s why music is so important in people’s lives. Because of that feeling.”