FOLLOWING his triumphant debut solo gig at Whelan’s Mik Pyro returns to the legendary venue on August 25.
Mik Pyro was songwriter, producer and lead singer of the one of Ireland’s most innovative, influential and hit making groups, Republic of Loose.
The band turned out four top 10 albums with hits like ‘The Steady Song’, ‘You Know It’, ‘I Like Music’ and ‘Comeback Girl’. Throughout their 10- year career, they infested the radio airwaves, went double platinum and sold out venues in Ireland, the UK and US. The Loose live were an infamously incendiary experience, with every gig uncoiling into a funk-laced maelstrom of spiritual and carnal rapture. Swathes of legends such as Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Snow Patrol and Shane MacGowan were counted among their fans and their music was the soundtrack to the fun, debauchery and wildness of boom-era Ireland.
But the fun became ennui (as it tends to do) and the steam train that was Republic Of Loose quietly cranked to a halt as band members walked quietly away in varying directions.
The demise of the band coincided with a difficult personal time for Mik. A personal relationship of 10 years ended and both of his parents were diagnosed with terminal illness. Having been sober for five years Mik veered intermittently back into his addictions, licking his wounds while watching his parents die.
Mik retreated to small gigs in bars playing the blues with his mentors from the previous generation such as Pat Farrell, James Delaney, John Quearney and Noel Bridgeman. Together they fused New Orleans Blues with funk and gathered a loyal and dedicated fanbase. Mik described these gigs as ‘nourishing’ in an interview with Irish Times’ Lauren Murphy, but still itched to finish and release his original material.
At times dissipation and depression threatened to swallow Mik up into the kind of horror some never return from but for Mik, music and the need to create remained a source of light and hope. After his parents' deaths Mik slowly became ready to emerge from his cocoon of entropy. Invigorated by the process of being a solo artist Mik completely immersed himself in these sessions.
The result is a new solo album that is less a comeback than a rebirth. Having peered into the pit of despair the joy of this music is leading him and his followers all the way back to the funk.
The album brings together a roll call of the finest international and Irish musicians with members of Republic Of Loose guesting on various tracks.
Some of these include Tommy Moore and Cote Calmet (Haiku), Shelly Bukspan, Darragh O’Kelly (Republic of Loose, Mixtapes) Andre Antunes, Darach O’Laoighre and Benjamin Marcus (Republic of Loose) Max Greenwood, Barry O’Donohue (Mary Coughlan) Solo the Astronaut (Super Silly) Ray Boyle (Ultra Montanes) and Niwel Tsumbu (a member of many innovative Irish bands and who Mik considers one of the best guitarists on earth).
