LIMERICK and Galway record labels combined their resources in March to bring a quadruple A-side single from PowPig and Junior Brother on cassette and a tour to support the release. It’s a first outing in partnership for Limerick’s Out On A Limb Records and Galway’s Strange Brew Records (the imprint founded by Róisín Dubh’s Gugai aka Eoghan MacNamara, originally from Limerick).
Limerick Post chatted with Stephen Ryan of Out on a Limb.
Output from the OOAL label has been infrequent in recent years since Ciaran Ryan relocated to Co. Louth but as a label they are still fighting fit, says Ryan.
“There was never any thoughts of stopping. We found a way to ensure it could keep happening. We still put as much effort into it.”
Alongside Richard Bourke, Ciaran Ryan and Steve Ryan, Mike Gavin from Windings has come on board to help out as well.
The digital/ cassette release features two tracks from PowPig, ‘Mayday’ and ‘Pretty Woman’. Junior Brother lends two tracks to the release, ‘Full of Wine’ and last year’s ‘The Back of Her.’
The girls report from OOAL HQ that “after a hectic first year where we won multiple Grammy, Oscar, Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes for our EPs ‘Denture Adventure’ and ‘Buzz Buzz’, we are delighted to announce the release of two new songs with Junior Brother on download and on cassettes, because vinyl is yesterday’s game!!”
So just as you have replaced your classic album CDs with vinyl reissues, it sounds like game over for the record!! Stephen explains the logic of releasing on cassette.
“We would love to be doing vinyl for this but cassettes are more cost effective for small scale releases like this, a single as opposed to an album. It will be streamed on all platforms anyway.”
This release was manufactured in the UK (no Irish based business for cassettes yet!) and is considerably cheaper that CD or vinyl. It is also a tangible and collectable item.
“It does work – it is not a blank cassette,” laughs Stephen.
We’ll have to take his word for it. No way of playing it here in the office.
Stephen Ryan and Mike Gavin recorded PowPig’s two tracks in the Music Generation Limerick Creative Centre.
“We mixed the two tunes and sent it back and forth a few times to the PowPig crew until they were happy with it.”
Good news from the PowPig camp is that they have more songs written and ready. The business of finishing secondary school in the next few months is the priority now but Stephen confirmed that, “they have no intention of stopping making music.”
Stephen Ryan’s band Windings is also writing and rehearsing – so expect a new release from the band in 2019.
PowPig and Junior Brother play a doubleheader at Dolan’s this Friday April 19.
