Music > Interviews

Declan Mckenna

21/01/16

Imagine being 16 years old, writing a song called Brazil, putting it up on Bandcamp, it being picked up by the world at large all of a sudden and played on national radio stations, being picked to play Glastonbury that same year alongside some of the biggest musicians on the planet and a year later heading off on a headline tour and writing your debut album. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. Declan is all of those, and more, armed with his unique and confident tunes. Catch him playing live at Norwich Arts Centre this month.

How did you come to make music in the first place, and have you had any formal training?

I had guitar lessons since I started secondary school and that’s about it. I’ve always known I’ve wanted to do music…it’s just fun.

Who are your musical heroes?

It’s got to be David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, The Beatles, St Vincent, Sufjan Stevens, T Bone Walker, Vampire Weekend, UMO, The Kinks, Big L and LCD Soundsystem. I could go on!

What inspires your songwriting?

Everything around me, everything in the news, everything that I’ve listened to. Most of my songs are just a melting pot of everything on my mind on the day I came up with the melody.

You seem to be confident for your age. What gives you this innate confidence?

From being the attention seeking sixth child of a family of artistic children!

How did you come to decide to sign to Columbia as you’ve had quite a lot of interest from several labels?

It’s quite difficult to say, I just liked them. And also Grace by Jeff Buckley was on Columbia, so it’s not really a choice when you think about it.

Your song Brazil was the one that made people sit up and take notice. Is it about the FIFA scandal as has been reported?

Yeah pretty much, not completely, but for the most part. There’re some references to the Olympics and other bad stuff going on around Brazil and the Amazon, but most of those are problems that exist in a lot of countries anyway. So I guess it’s not really specific to Brazil, it just made sense to make the song revolve around Brazil at the time I wrote it, because that’s all anyone was talking about. It took about a year for people to look further into the FIFA scandal there though.

You’ve just released a new track Paracetamol. Is there an album on the way?

I couldn’t say yes or no really; it’s in the process yeah, but it’s nowhere near completion on the recording side of things. I’d say give it til maybe late 2016 or early 2017 and I’ll have a better idea where things stand. I’m good with taking some time for the minute and letting things grow and develop a bit more before rushing into a full body of work. There’s going to be stuff on the way throughout the year though, so keep an eye out.

You won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, and Zane Lowe started playing your music. What was it like playing Glastonbury and looking out on a larger crowd?

It was mad; everyone wants to play there so it’s a huge opportunity. I had so much fun; it was great!

You’re in your mid teens and still studying. Are you going to stay in school or is music now your full time career?

Well actually, I’m not still at school..I’m going to be doing some online A levels but for now there’s not really any time for standard education. I still think it’s a good idea to get some grades but full time education is just impossible if I want to pursue what I’m doing fully.

Have you had any help or advice from other musicians on the progression of your career?

I’ve had a couple of good bits of advice; I’m not going to drop names though. It’s been mostly pretty standard stuff about not destroying your voice and the like. But it’s nice to be able to talk to other musicians I look up to occasionally with all the festivals and support slots I’ve been doing; it’s nice to get advice from people who’ve got a bit more experience playing and being involved in music than I do.

You’ve been compared to Tom Vek. What do you think of his work?

He’s cool, I’d never heard of him till I was compared to him, but I thought I’d see what people were on about and I guess I can in some way see where the comparison is coming from. Most of the time when I get compared to an artist I just think where the hell have they pulled this from?! But yeah, he’s got a pretty cool thing going on.

I know that up until now, when playing live you’ve used a guitar and a loop pedal to create your sound. Will you have a full band with you on this tour?

Yes, I’ve just done my first two dates with the band. It’s much more fun and sounds a lot better I have to say. I’ve always wanted to play with a band so now I have the resources to have one it makes the live show and touring much more fun.

What will you be bringing with you on tour to try to calm your nerves and keep you grounded?

I don’t know really..I just like to sleep a lot when I’m on tour, that tends to help. I’ve never had too much of a problem with nerves, and as for staying grounded, well my dad drives the van, so I’m hardly on a mad one every night! As I say, sleep is the one.

Pony Up presents Declan McKenna at Norwich Arts Centre on 25th February. Tickets available from ueaticketbookings.co.uk