QUICKFIRE WITH THE LABOURERS

We are The Labourers, which consists of Conor Bogue, Michael Hickey, Euan Hickey and Dylan O Shea. We are from Limerick and we have been a band for just over a year and a half.

How would you describe your music?

Our music is fun. We never intend it to be taken too seriously that being said we put a lot of work into it and that work means an awful lot to us. It jumps between pure trad, indie and rock. It’s for the messers, the people looking to have a laugh.

Tell us about the inspiration behind your brand new single ‘Bittersweet’.

Bittersweet is about all things love, loss and the 90’s. Based around little banjo and guitar riffs I think the song is about thinking about an old flame and not really knowing how to express your feelings towards it. Which is a common thing for lads in Ireland.

What is the most unexpected or surprising thing you have learned about yourself through your music career?

I think the most surprising thing we’ve learned is that ‘people watching’ is fascinating. We play shows in the Record Room in Limerick which is a small room with an amazing sound but when it’s wedged with people and we’re playing one of our faster songs and people really start to move you nearly see all spectrums of life in those moments people dancing, bumping into each other people pulling, shifting, fighting, mosh-pits and crowd surfing. Then everyone leaves drenched in sweat and go about their lives, wether they are accountants, students or builders, we get to see them at their wildest I dunno it always kind of makes me laugh.

How do you feel about the music scene in Ireland right now?

The music scene in Ireland is incredible, I’m not sure just because we’re in it now that we’ve started to see how big it really is, but it’s amazing. Especially in Limerick, we may be biased because it’s our hometown but it really has proven itself as being up there with the big boys, and it will only get better. After seeing All We Have Are Days festival play out, it’s really gone to show that Dublin isn’t the only place for big timers.

What is your current favourite song from another Irish artist?

Probably ‘The Whistlin Thief’ by Alfi. That was the first to come to mind anyways. There is countless others.

What are you up to right now? Any upcoming gigs or projects you’re excited about?

We have three more tracks coming out after this single and we’re really looking forward to what we’ve made. We have a lot of gigs to plug like supporting The Highstool Prophets in UL, a big gig with a fine line-up in Record Room on the 1st March (The Labourers, The Lines, Major Feen and Shroomie). We’re playing this years The Greenfields Festival along with countless other gigs we’ll be playing and announcing throughout the year.

Finally, a controversial opinion…

The housing crisis is made by the government who are majority landlords. The housing crisis could be solved tomorrow with the use of a dereliction tax but refuse to take these steps because it’ll lower house prices across the board.

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