Ken Mooney (The Urges) Interview

1. There was a 9 year gap between albums. Why was that?

We spent a couple of years after releasing our first album touring it throughout Europe. After that we had a bit of a line-up change and I guess it took us time to find our feet again with a newer sound. We were getting into a lot more melodic sounds and harmonies and began to hone in on the smaller details of our sound. 2. How have the band progressed in that time?

The first time around we were into a more simplistic and raw Garage/Punk sound. I guess as we’ve grown up our musical tastes have broadened and we have a bigger and melodic sound in our heads that we try to achieve. String arrangements, brass lines and 4 part harmonies are some of the things that we’ve spent a lot of time getting right. 3. How did the recording process differ to the previous one?

The first album was recorded mostly live over the period of a week and we were trying to capture our live sound at the time. On this record, all the rhythm tracks were also recorded live but we did spend a lot more time trying to achieve the sound we had in our heads. Pete and Jim would spend a lot of time getting the exact guitar sounds they wanted and there was a lot more layers of keyboards on this one. We also introduced strings and brass on this record which Pete and Jim also took a lot of time to arrange and get the sounds right. We had a lot of time to go away from the recording and come back with fresh ears to make adjustments to the sounds. We were a lot more focused on what we wanted on this record, even if it did take a lot of time, we think it has been worth it. 4. What do you think are the differences or similarities between the 2 albums?

I think the first one is good for what it is but this one is what we’re really all about now. We don’t like to dwell too much on the past. Different line up then and I guess we’re a lot more mature on this one. It’s all about the new record and what’s next for us really. 5. How exciting is it to showcase the album in The Grand Social this week?

We’re very much looking forward to The Grand Social gig. It’s been a while since we’ve done a proper headline show like this and it’s the perfect place for us to showcase the album. 6. Is there a full tour planned for the album?

Yes, we have some dates booked this side of Christmas around the country and in the new year we’ll be heading back over to Italy and France for a tour at some stage. It’s always great to get over there to play. 7. Is there a 3rd album planned or will there be another gap?

I’m sure we will do a 3rd album but nothing planned as of yet. Jim’s written some new tunes which are like an extension of this album and they are sounding top so we’ll see where that goes.

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