AN
UP-AND-COMING Dublin 15 band who recorded their second EP earlier this year
have made their mark at a major Canadian festival for the second time.
It’s
certainly been a big year for Last Second Magic who are making great strides in
the music industry. As well as the two trips to Canada, they’ve also managed to
get prestigious support slots for well known bands such as Tupelo, The Mighty
Stef and many more.
Their
second EP, Black Stalin, was met with rave reviews and plenty of radio play
across the world
And
to cap off a busy 12 months, the band were chosen to return to Indie Week
Toronto 2011, which ran from October 12-16, marking the second consecutive year
they been selected to play the Canadian festival.
Lead
singer, Paul Hosford, says that the band couldn’t wait to get back to Canada.
“We
loved our last trip to Indie Week. Toronto is an amazing city, with a hugely
vibrant music scene and some great venues,
? he said.
“When
we were over last year, we met so many great bands, promoters and people
involved in the music scene, including our management over there, Curtis
Sindrey of Fairweather Music Management.
“People
were very helpful and the scene there is a lot more open to seeing new bands
and people are just going into venues just because there are bands on rather
than going to see particular bands.
?
The
band members are all from the Blanchardstown area and include: Paul Hosford
(25) guitar and vocals; Alan Maxwell (24) on bass; Ross Callaghan (24) on
guitar; Phillipa Cahill (18) on keyboards and vocals and Ruth Gill (24) on
drums.
Explaining
what kind of music the band plays, its various influences and the song writing
process, Paul continued:
“We play a wide
range of music. I personally write the basses of the songs and I would be
influenced by Counting Crows, the Trews and Death Cab for Cutie.
“Once
I take it into the lads it ends up being completely different. Then everyone
adds their own bits and it sounds like five people in a shed making noise.
“We
have been described as a lot of odd
things and some people have described us as a poppier version of the Frames.
Somebody also once described us as the Eels meets Joy Division. Our music is
not overly polished but it is quite upbeat and poppy. In general it is upbeat
folk rock.
?
Gigging
since October 2009, the band quickly set about recording their first debut EP
‘Start To Breathe’ with Fight Like Apes producer Lee Boylan.
Encouraged
by their success at the first Canadian festival, the band returned to the
studio, again with Lee Boylan, albeit with more input this time from the band
members themselves.
They
released their second EP
‘We Miss You, Black Stalin’ on March 4 this year.
With
Black Stalin, Paul said the ban succeeded in expanding their sound, with the EP
marking a step forward in song-writing, arrangement and production from their
debut EP.
Black
Stalin has been received extremely well, with the Laying In Awe music blog
calling it
‘one of the best, most assured debut releases this year’.
“People
who had heard our new EP thought it was a big step forward for us and hopefully
the next one will be better. It
‘s all about building on what we have done
before.
?
During
their recent stint in Canada, the band played with Beth Moore, the 2011 Niagara
Music Artist of the year, in Niagara Falls on October 12, before embarking on a
series of gigs in Toronto that included an appearance at the Indie Week Ireland
showcase on Friday, October 14.
Last
Second Magic also played at Captain America’s in Blanchardstown after their
return from Canada.