whenyoung

whenyoung are one of those buzz bands that everyone is talking about and for good reason. Having already impressed the likes of Shane MacGowan with their sonically satisfying mix of angular guitars and catchy lullaby melodies, the trio have gone on to record their debut EP. Currently on tour with The Vaccines, guitarist, Niall Burns calls us from a services just outside of Amsterdam.

Q: So your new EP is just about to drop, and the tracks are so fab. There’s a Cranberries cover which is just so beautiful, you really do it justice! What is the significance of that song for you guys? And what is the influence that The Cranberries had on you as a band?

A: They were a huge band growing up in Ireland, they were one of Ireland’s treasures, but for the three of us they were never a huge influence growing up, we were more into stuff like Richard Hell.With the Cranberries we really just knew the hits, if I’m honest. Then we had that crazy show in January where we performed at Shane McGowan’s birthday and the night that happened was the night that Dolores O’Riordan died and it just put a dark shadow over the whole evening... then later it naturally felt right to record that song as we’ve always loved it and wanted to do a tribute to Dolores and The Cranberries as they’re tied in with our roots.

Q: Are you feeling settled in London now?

A: I do! When we go away and stuff, it’s really nice to get back. We come from a very small place in Limerick where everybody knows everybody and everyone knows your business so yeah, some people like that but when we came to London we really liked the anonymity of it, how nobody knows anything about you and being able to do what you want to do, it’s a very different experience to what we experienced growing up... I don’t know if it will be home forever but it’s home for now.

Q: Do you find that the city takes a toll on your creativity?

A: It can do! Even more so as time goes on...It seems that all people care about is money, so you see venues closing down and art spaces, but you can still find it, there’s still an underground scene. If you want to be here then you can make it work. We could move back to Limerick and find a cheaper place but we wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet these insane and exciting people and be part of a bigger hub of creativity. Like the community is so small which is great! We had our first ever tour like a year ago, we weren’t signed, we didn’t even have an agent and it was just because our mate’s band, Superfood, took us on tour... Everybody knows everybody really...What we’ve found as well is that there doesn’t seem to be a sense of competition in the London music scene, everyone is super supportive and in it for the music. I mean no one really gets into it for money, they do it because they’re just writing songs in their bedroom, and I don’t think that ever really changes, like even with the Vaccines right now, there’s just no bullshit with them, they just love the music.

Q: Do you think if you’d have stayed in Limerick it would have held you back?

A: I think it would have. It’s a lot harder and a lot smaller, there’s a lot less opportunity. The amazing thing about moving to London is that we met so many incredible people and if we’d have stayed there who knows what would happen... In Ireland there are so many bands that don’t get where they should because they’re not afforded the opportunities... But that said Fontaines D.C are based in Dublin and they’re doing great things so you can’t always know. It was never actually our intention to move to London and form a band, it just sort of happened really, like we moved over at different times and it initially started as just something to do. Growing up, I knew I wanted to move somewhere bigger as I knew that that’s where things happened and I realised that I was actually right!

Words by Eleanor Philpot | Illustration by Nada Hayek