Interview with Adrian Crowley – Part 2
by Killian Laher

No More Workhorse spent some time with Adrian Crowley to catch up with him about what he’s working on. You can read part 1 of the interview here.

No More Workhorse (NMW): Are you working on a new album?

Adrian Crowley (AC): It’s hard to say because it won’t be out till next year and in the meantime, I’m releasing a collaboration with a folk singer from England. It hasn’t been announced yet. We’ve kept it such a secret, no one has any idea about it. That has to come out first and then my record will come out sometime after, a few months later.

Both of those are fully mastered and finished. My solo album was finished in November and then I went into the studio in January to finish this other collaboration that was half there. We wrote it and recorded it remotely up to that point. And then we went into the studio in Britain for a few weeks to finish it. That was quite manic but in a great way. And then there’s this other project that I started just before lockdown and that’s going to be released as an album too. It’s the poetry of James Joyce set to music. Potentially those three things could come out in the same year.

NMW: Did the pandemic force you to keep yourself busy?

AC: It’s very strange thinking back to then. The whole thing was this quagmire of weirdness. In a sense, apart from not being able to tour, it wasn’t very much different for me. The main thing was not being able to play live. And at first, I thought I was okay because you do go through periods of time of not playing a gig. But if you are told you’re not allowed to? That’s another thing altogether.

NMW: You must be glad to be back out playing live.

AC: I did a tour around Europe last year, so I remember the first night of that tour. It was very strange. I was thinking, ‘Will I remember how to do it?’ It was only a couple of years but it felt like such a long time.

NMW: How did you feel about the film The Science of Ghosts?

AC: It was an amazing experience being involved in a feature-length film. It was strange, challenging and really interesting to be part of a collaboration with Niall McCann (director). What I love about creating something with somebody else: you do your part, it’s all in a state of flux, you’re working on one bit and you pass it on and say, ‘I’ll see you in a few days’. It’s like getting something in the post or getting your photographs back from the lab. I love that part of it, that process of being called into the editing suite. Matthew Boyd, who was the producer and was editing it with Niall, decided that it would be best if I wasn’t present all the time in the editing. I wasn’t the director anyway so that totally makes sense. It was really exciting to come back after some time away from seeing it and seeing how it changed. It was always changing and there was a lot of writing involved and I just absolutely adore this idea of having a thought and then turning it into a moving image. I suppose it’s not much different from making music.

NMW: Is there anybody you’d love to collaborate with?

AC: It’s impossible because I’m very superstitious. I won’t be specific, but it’s hard for me. Sometimes if I say something, I feel like I’m going to jinx it from happening, so I always like to wait till it’s a sure bet. I love surprising, I love unveiling something. I love the excitement that comes with that.

Another thing that I love, and I’ve realised that it’s something that is important… it’s like you can tune into transmitting a signal. You’re in a good place, you’re open, you’re thinking positively and send this kind of transmission out into the world. If you’re thinking of someone that you’ve never met, and you think, I’d love at some stage if the stars might align that we might get the opportunity to create together. You just sort of project that out. Quite often it happens! I don’t know if that’s superstitious. It’s certainly a way of living that I’m adapting to. But it’s all about positivity.

NMW: The idea of ‘north’ seems to recur in your music, is that a conscious thing? (See Adrian Crowley’s 2004 album A Northern Country, and the song Northbound Stowaway, as well as various lyrics)

AC: I suppose things will occur like that. It’s hard to know why and quite often I don’t notice. But it’s always interesting to hear that and have things pointed out. And once they’re pointed out to you, I think then, you probably won’t go there again! I was working on an album and I think it was 90% there, and then I played it to somebody.  They said there was a real ‘water theme’ on this album, and referenced a number of songs. I thought, ok, the album is not finished yet, got two more songs to write. They’re going to be landlocked.

NMW: Do you listen to a lot of other people’s music?

AC: I do. When it’s not there and you don’t realise you haven’t had it, then you listen to music. You immerse yourself in it, and you come away from that feeling totally different. Feeling like your mind has been massaged and you just feel reset, you feel inspired. I don’t think I’d be able to go for long periods of time without listening to music. It’s a kind of lifeblood, I find.  I also love to read. For instance, this poet. (Crowley holds up a collection of Ocean Vuong poetry).

NMW: You have a busy time ahead then, haven’t you?

AC: I have. It’s exciting getting to the stage where you can share music with the world, everything that comes with it. It’s also like a ticket to the world as well, sometimes. But I’m actually trying to break out of that cycle that you’re expected to follow where you have to have an album, and then you go on the road.

But playing concerts is exciting, that’s what I need to do. I absolutely love being in the moment, like working hard on a show and almost thinking about it as if it’s not just music, it’s not just musical content, it’s like a kind of theatre piece. An experience. And then feeling like you’re going into unknown territory as well, and you think, maybe this is ill-advised. Even if you’re very prepared, you still like playing a set of songs that no one’s ever heard before.

NMW: Outside of writing and recording music and so on, what else do you enjoy?

AC: I really can’t get enough of film and it’s an area that I will continue, hopefully, to have in my life. Next month I’ll be curating a night of short films as part of the Stella series, in the Stella Cinema. I jumped at that because it’s something that is very close to me. Always has been. I had a flatmate who worked as an usher in the old Lighthouse cinema. That’s where I discovered Krzysztof Kozlowski and Jane Campion. An Angel At My Table.

NMW: Do you like living in Dublin?

AC: I do. I love walking everywhere I need to go. I don’t drive. I’ve never learnt to drive. I absolutely love London and I love Paris and I love New York. I go to them quite often and just walk across the cities all the time. I feel Dublin is really just right. So much happening and it’s not overwhelming. It’s beautiful.

For me, it’s just perfect as long as I can continue to travel. And I always love coming home.

You can find out more about Adrian on his website here.