The Other Voices series has been acknowledged as one of the true successes of recent Irish music television, offering the discerning music fan the opportunity to experience some of the best contemporary talent Ireland has to offer, intermingled with stimulating acts from abroad.
The programme is now generally regarded as a major success for Philip King, who is himself a noted musician, songwriter, radio presenter, music pundit and all round decent bloke – as well, of course, as a television producer/director of the highest calibre. One of the unlikely treats of the concept is that it’s all centred around a tiny church in Dingle, a long trek from the bohemian environs of Temple Bar or the technical surroundings of RTRs Montrose, places both musicians and crew might be more used to inhabiting.
“If you want to know the facts you can always consult the historians, but if you want to know how the people responded emotionally to what was happening to them you have to consult the poets and songwriters.” He says “In a real sense Other Voices is archiving the soundtrack of this generation, and that’s a very exciting thing to be involved in.”
So why record it in Dingle?
“I live here,” King replies, “This place had long struck me as a perfect setting, with a real toehold on the heart of the tradition.”
“Every creed, colour, kin and shade of musical persuasion can cross-fraternise and the end-point might be Afro-Celt Sound System fans hunting for Sean O’Riada recordings.”
The church setting is, he explains, a vocalist’s dream. “The voice is unlike any other instrument, it’s very personal, located closest to the heart – whether it’s Tibetan throat singers or Robert Plant or Tim Buckley, the sounds are related. As such, I’d obviously hope that diversity is a defining feature of the event – somebody listening to a different form, suddenly going ‘what is that? We recognise that’.”
So will the fourth series of Other Voices differ from the previous three? King explains that there’s been an organic growth over the four years and that there’s one substantial development for series four.
“The first year we focused on mostly Irish songwriters, primarily people who could do a few songs with a guitar,” he says. “I felt at the time that there was something stirring in Irish music that should be recorded, so there is a serious archival aspect to the series. That first series featured acts like Paddy Casey, Mundy, Damien Dempsey, Josh Ritter and Damien Dempsey. But, while musically things have moved on, we kept the format and the church setting intact.”
This year, while the church is still the core of the series, the producers have taken the show around Dingle, essentially using the town as the set for interviews with John Kelly, a bit of chat and for some brilliant musical performances. “We now have a much more flexible format,” King explains, “that isn’t just one act coming onto the same stage after another.”
He enthusiastically points out that the small size of the church, with seating for only 70 fans, and the fact that it comes with no dressing rooms and no loos, creates a communal sense that bonds the musicians, crew, fans and locals together in a way that’s both natural and mutually stimulating.
“Because of that informality, you get all kinds of musical collisions and the new format also means that you can reflect the way music can be part of the normal life of all of us. For example, we took Stephen Fretwell out into a workplace in the town and, as he played his song, people naturally stopped what they were doing, were rapt in their attention while he played, gave a generous round of applause and then went on with their work and their lives as if it was the most natural thing. And people make the most amazing links. One of the members of Nizlopi discovered that their aunt used to run Benner’s Hotel, which is close to the church and which we used as a meeting place and as a changing room.”
Pressed hard (really hard!) to nominate one act in the forthcoming series who really made a big impression on him he plumps, after much rumination, for Dublin electro rockers Humanzi. “I loved their energy and their attitude. They’re gloriously anarchic, there’s a real lash off them, to use a local phrase. But then there were so many highlights: having Rufus and Martha Wainwright together, James Blunt sticking by a promise he made a year ago to come over to play when he could easily have made some excuse, Pinky’s unique voice was a revelation, and then having Horslips doing their first electric gig together for 25 years, now that was a real treat. And then there’s...”
Yes, we know, Philip, we know. We’ll just watch all of them, okay?