Those who have visited Dublin will know that sipping Guinness by a fire in a nice old pub while it's chucking it down outside is one of life's great pleasures. It's also, as you can probably imagine, the perfect setting for eagerly hatching wild ideas and schemes. And so on one such blustery and cold night in September two friends, Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin decided (whilst in wildly animated conversation about music and probably also well on their way to needing a taxi home) that they would make a country album.
As with so many ideas that come about on a belly full of Jameson's, in the cold light of day it did not seem like such a good plan. Two English men trying to sing like Hank Williams was definitely a recipe for disaster. The whole thing was forgotten about in the time it took to recover from the headache that morning. But the headache was to return.
As with so many ideas that come about on a belly full of Jameson's, in the cold light of day it did not seem like such a good plan. Two English men trying to sing like Hank Williams was definitely a recipe for disaster. The whole thing was forgotten about in the time it took to recover from the headache that morning. But the headache was to return.
Out of the blue a couple of months later Tim emailed Jesse a rough demo of 'Departure'. Not wanting to be outdone, Jesse vollied back a demo of 'Annie Ford'. Before they knew it there were half a dozen songs and without really putting much planning into it, the idea to make a record was resurrected.
Enlisting the help of friends from various other bands the newly formed group went into Eastcote studios in London at the snowy start of this year. With production wizard Emery Dobyns patiently manning the controls, the idea was to record as much of the album live as possible, in true country style. For the finishing touches, they experimented with whatever extra noises they felt like (cue dustbin lids, anvils, bullhorns and heavily distorted theremins) and a supporting cast of friends who would regularly stop by and add their ideas, whether invited or not.
The end of the recording sessions marked the end of the first chapter of the story. The band had revelled in the joy of making music without any motive other than just doing what they loved. As Mt Desolation begins its second chapter, the fun and excitement of making the music remains, except now instead of being confined to a recording studio it's being taken on the road to share with anyone who wants a part of it.