Learnings – Dotts O’Connor

I hadn’t intended on recording an album at all. I intended on doing a 4/5 track E.P. Then my wife and I were expecting a baby and I said, “Right I’ll record a couple more songs, because I’ll be pretty busy after the baby arrives”. Then we got news that it was actually twins so I thought, “I better record an album because I won’t have any time while they’re knockin’ around!”

I didn’t have the songs. One day I was writing them and the next I was recording them. I didn’t think too much about anything for this album (Sorrow Won’t Find Us), which is unlike me but it’s quite liberating. It’s nice to fall out of love with the detail sometimes.

Because time was against me, I just went and wrote the best songs I could and got friends of mine who are really great players into the studio and we just made it happen.

I worked with good people, and I trusted their judgement. I didn’t give too much direction. They’re friends so I know them, I know what they’re about, but I did find the coordination of everything all quite overwhelming.

I’m quite driven. I maybe obsess a bit too much. It’s a passion. For example, some of my songs have made it to the RTÉ Radio 1 playlist and when one of my songs doesn’t get picked up by radio I’m always thinking “Well, why did that one make it and this one didn’t?” That annoys me., rather than saying, “Well great, I had two songs in the last year that made the Radio 1 playlist”. But I wouldn’t be focusing on that, I’d be thinking, “Why hasn’t this song resonated with people?”. It’s obviously not why I do this and it’s a negative way of thinking but I also think it keeps you sharp and hungry.

When you’re putting music out, now as opposed to 10 years ago, it goes live on the streams and then you’re just on your phone resharing stuff. It’s a bit of an anti-climax always, I find, but then once you start playing shows you feel the connection with the actual people who are listening and you talk to them. That’s what it’s all about.

Dott’s O’Connor’s album Sorrow Won’t Find Us is out now.

 

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