Villagers: "We've got a taste of what could be lost"

It's been a more-than-eventful four months since I last spoke to Villagers' Conor O'Brien – between album releases, cancelled gigs, new announcements and general Covid-induced hysteria. But true to form, the Dublin musician isn't sweating. In fact, despite throwing himself into all things delirious, daring and absurd on his latest album, Fever Dreams (the worthy winner of the Hot Press Album of the Year for 2021), Conor is as mellow, and quietly optimistic, as ever – particularly when looking back at the year in music.

"It was amazing," he enthuses. "Over the last ten years or so, Irish music just seems to consistently be getting more and more diverse. Which is a lot of fun, from a music-­lover's perspective."

Indeed, while Villagers lead the charge in the Albums of the Year list, Fever Dreams, is closely followed in the Top 10 by a remarkable range of Irish acts: For Those I Love, Kojaque, Saint Sister and James Vincent McMorrow.

"All I do is listen to music, so I've listened to all of them!" Conor laughs. "Mainly on long walks. I feel like I'm pinching myself all the time – that I'm still making music, alongside all these exciting young artists, who are doing such amazing work. It's an honour."

And his own favourites of the year?

"My international album is Floating Points' Promises, with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra," he says. "That was really amazing. No.2 would probably be Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine’s A Beginner’s Mind. I just can't stop listening to that."

When we last spoke, at the time of the album release, Conor's main focus was "getting gig-ready." Of course, there's nothing like a pandemic to disrupt the best of intentions, and with the introduction of new restrictions, Villagers had no choice but to cancel their three highly anticipated, sold-out shows at 30lympia Theatre, Dublin in December, as well as their January tour.

"It's all a little bit frustrating," he remarks, with trademark composure. But he also points out the irony of being unable to perform an album that embraces the power of connection with other musicians.

"At the core of Fever Dreams, was the question: 'How do we make this the most fun to play in a room, as a group of people?"' he elaborates. "It sounds like a really obvious idea but not for me. When I'm making music, it's usually in a studio-based way. But this album was all music created to enjoy playing with other musicians in a room. To capture that right before the first lockdown was really lucky because otherwise, it would've been a very different album."

Despite the ongoing Covid chaos, 2021 wasn't without its special live moments for Villagers.

"We were really lucky," Conor reflects. "We got to do a bunch of Irish shows, a bunch of UK shows, and a bunch of in-store shows, around the time of the release. Myself and Kev, my keyboard player, were playing two shows a day, leading up to the album, in packed record stores all around the UK. When we got back to Ireland, we really wanted to continue, but it just wasn't possible.

"I'm never, ever going to take any of this for granted," he adds. "I just feel like I'm pinching myself every time that I'm on stage at the moment. We've got a taste of what could be lost. So that's a positive to take from it – you realise how lucky you are to be doing this. That's something to cherish."

As he took the songs on the road, he also found them moving in completely different directions.

"Especially the title-track," he says. "When we were making the album, that was the one that was perhaps most hampered by the restrictions. So I made most of the track 'Fever Dreams' in my little attic studio during lockdown, although I had a few drum tracks that Ross had done just before lockdown. But since we started touring it, it feels like it's finally grown wings, and become something even bigger. It's really exciting. It's actually become the centrepiece to the show. On the album it's almost like this little weird side-step. But in the show, it's become this big weird side-step!"

One of his live highlights of the year was playing The Roundhouse in London where Conor was joined onstage by past collaborator Paul Weller. As well as writing 'The Soul Searchers' together, which featured on the iconic English artist's 2018 album, True Meanings, Weller had previously enlisted Conor to remix his song 'She Moves With The Fayre'.

"He's a total gentleman," Conor confirms. "He came on to do 'The Soul Searchers', which is kind of a spacey; groovy jam, so it was a lot of fun to rehearse. And then he came on for 'Circles In The Firing Line' as well, and we did a proper rock-out together, with electric guitar. That's something I want to do – a bit more electric guitar­-playing. That was a nice way of getting back into that."

With Fever Dreams Conor has taken some of his most experimental twists and turns yet. While the reception has clearly been phenomenal, accolades were certainly never the central goal.

"In terms of reception of music, I always agree with everything," he laughs. "The positive reviews and the negative reviews I've ever gotten. Every time I read something, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, that makes sense to me .. .'

"But it doesn't affect my relationship with songs, because they're really sacred relationships. I've usually spent a couple of years with each song, before it's finally out in the world. So that relationship is set in stone. The reception stuff is just kind of fun for me to watch. It's usually pretty nice. And if it's not nice – that's okay!"

Conor's announcement about having to cancel his 3Olympia shows also coincided with some positive news – a headline gig at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin scheduled for July.

"I can't wait," he remarks. “Iveagh Gardens in 2019 was one of my favourite shows ever. It's just such a beautiful area to play in. There were a few magic moments: we were playing 'I Saw The Dead', and a bunch of seagulls started congregating above the stage. They were making this really dramatic silhouette, as the sun was going down. That venue is made for those kind of moments. It's amazing."

Villagers will also be heading off on a run of gigs across the UK and Europe. But there's plenty keeping Conor busy in the meantime.

"I've been writing a lot of songs, and I think it sounds like it's going to be Villagers stuff," he reveals. "Aside from that, I'm going to try to keep playing trumpet – that's a difficult one, keeping it up.

"I've started meditating a lot, too," he adds. 'Tm starting to realise how you can notice your thoughts, rather than identify with your thoughts. That's a good thing to do."

Fever Dreams is out now, via Domino. Villagers play the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin on July 14.