For any band musician to go solo is quite an achievement and even more so if you manage to sustain that project, but there are those few artists in an entirely different league. Irish singer-songwriter, composer, producer Sean MacLeod is one of those rare cases as he’s recently released his fifth solo album, That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star. A founding member and songwriting of Dublin band Cisco, MacLeod earned his stripes in Ireland’s music scene back in the ’90s and he’s continued to refine his skills up until today. As you’ll hear in the new ten-track record, he brings together bits and pieces from his three-decade spanning career, including indie-pop, alt-rock, folk, psychedelia and experimental. At the centre of it all is MacLeod‘s thoughtful and often philosophical songwriting, which in this case looks at how modern-day life is shaped by social isolation, technology, consumerism and one’s enduring need for human connection. The lead single ‘Inside Out’, with its brooding indie-rock groove, is equally pensive as it meditates on the nature-versus-nature question, specifically asking how much environment can affect one’s identity and choices. Ultimately, the beauty of That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star lies in how open and flexible MacLeod‘s songwriting is, which allows listens to attune each song to their own life’s experiences. For On The Record, we had the pleasure to ask Sean MacLeod all about his fifth album, how to maintain creative freedom and what keeps him inspired.
Congratulations on the release of your new album! How would you describe That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star in three words?
Thank you. I don’t know. That’s three words. But probably not the type of answer you’re looking for. i might say Another Fine Mess.
Your album explores themes of social isolation, technology and consumerism, so would you say that a function of music to re-connect people?
Yes i certainly would although it can also disconnect them when technology overwhelms the music.
Are there any albums or songs by other artists that inspire you to maintain or build relationships?
Yes I think a lot of songs do. A lot of songs are about love which obviously is about connecting and building relationships. There are lots of songs about the human condition – Dylan, Bowie, and Morrissey for example write a lot about that, although they write from their own unique perspective. But I always find more connection with the music itself. I think Lennon really expressed something I could connect with in his music and his voice. Kurt Cobain too for his generation.
This is your fifth studio album, which is a major achievement! How would you compare the writing and recording experience of your debut record to this one?
Before the first solo album I was in a band so everyone had their part to play and had things to contribute. So my first solo record was me totally on my own not really knowing how to do what I wanted to to exactly. I didn’t have anyone to say if something was good or not. Now, I think I’ve developed a skill of crafting a song if I’m lucky enough to receive the inspiration in the first place and I have a better idea of how to execute the idea (or murder it :)). I have recorded two albums since That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star which i will release next year and I felt a lot more in control with those two albums.
Are there specific recording tricks, limitations or happy accidents that ended up defining the sound of this record?
I kind of have a formula for writing songs and recording them although I also try to move away from it now and again and look at something different like the microtonal parts on ‘I Know Not’ on the album. Yes you have to be open to happy accidents. I don’t know if they defined the album. I think the album is more or less defined by me thinking about music in relation to technology and commercialism and what that meant to me and what I thought of it. Which essentially brings us back to the idea that modern technology even through music is not unifying but rather alienating.
Let’s focus on the lead single ‘Inside Out’, what’s the story behind this track?
essentially it’s about there is no authority only your own self and you have to make decisions for yourself and live with them. Its about being totally free from outside influences and inside ones like guilt and doubt. Some people might read that as being selfishly destructive but I don’t mean it like that I mean it as the ideal to be totally free but to respect the freedom of others. To be philosophical about it I think this is what the human being needs and strives for. Whether its achievable or not is another matter but if we don’t attempt that we will spend for ever being at the mercy of others be that politicians or bureaucrats and quite possibly robots very soon. 🙂
Your earthy rock, pop and psychedelic sound gives the album a really rich patina, so do you think your style also helps to emphasise the message of your album?
I don’t know if I’d say the album has a message even though my last answer might suggest that it does. But I just sing about things that I think about and that interest me. I would like to think I’m sending out any kind of message. I try and leave the lyrics open to interpretation and to just presenting a perspective.
What else do you hope listeners will take away from That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star?
That they enjoy the songs and that if they get 3 minutes of happiness from one of them or all that’s all that matters.
Following the release of this album, what will be next on the horizon for you?
I’ll just be busy release tracks over the next year since I had a lot of songs recorded. I don’t know then. I’ll keep writing and playing music. Music is life so it keeps me alive.
You can also listen to ‘Inside Out’ in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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