MacD on Music: Flick Of The Switch

Most of the time, this column sticks to a pretty familiar format, which is fine, most of the time.

This week, though, I’ve decided to switch things up a bit (sort of). Recently, I met up with The Switch, one of the city’s best up-and-coming bands, who have just released their new single ‘Hear Me Call’.

Made up of Conor Leach (lead guitar), Odhran Harkin (bass/lead vocals), Dualta McCafferty (rhythm guitar/backing vocals) and Aedan O’Doherty (drums), the band have been making a splash in recent times, playing with groups like Touts and Lavengro, among others.

I met with them in Café Nero to talk a bit about their new song, the band in general and what they’ve got coming up.

The first thing we discussed was how the band came together: “We started a long time ago, about 2016. We were playing for a while and then stopped.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the Switch story ends. Just joking. During Lockdown I, they partook in a lot of illegal rehearsals (names and locations have been removed because, unlike the band they supported, I’m not a tout).

Speaking of this time, they said “the timing of it really worked, because there was nothing to do, so we literally spent all our time in [redacted], so when live music started up again, we hit the ground running.”

The response when they finally got out was very positive. “It was kind of a shock for everybody. It was just ‘who are themmuns? Jesus, they’re actually tight’.”

Soon it was time for that all-important first gig, which took place in Bennigan’s. The line up was a good one, featuring “Selador headlining, us and Red Vineyard supporting. It was 13th November 2021.” This was the first of a trio of gigs featuring these groups.

The next one came “two weeks later, on the 26th and we headlined a gig and asked Selador to play in Granny Annies. That was the trilogy, but Red Vineyard unfortunately weren’t available for that last one.”

Next, we moved onto the new single: “It started off like they normally do, with a wee riff, a wee bit of a melody idea and brought it down to the practice room. I think it was the first tune where we didn’t neglect any parts of it. We really stuck at it and dug really deep into it.

“At the start, we would just write it and it would be done and we would play it live and we wouldn’t go back and think ‘we need to change those bits, depending on what people like’. We thought ‘it’s good. It’ll do’.”

Big props were given to Matthew Crossan (of Touts fame) for this process. “Matthew influenced the whole process. He helped pre-production. He tore it to bits, but in a good way. He changed the way we write songs.” Speaking of his influence, they said “We did what Matthew advised us. Instead of just sitting there and just playing it, these times it was more analysing of why we’re playing it. It’s ‘do this’ and ‘do this’ so it’s ready when we play live.”

Talking about the song itself: “It’s a good, heavy rock tune. It rocks harder than ‘Done Wrong’ [their previous single].”

They said “we definitely experimented more with this one. There’s more wee funny things in it. At the start, it was just guitar, drums, bass, vocals and that was it. This one has organ in it, and a big harmonica like the Strokes used to use.

“We were able to experiment a bit more. We’re getting more comfortable with what we do. We can branch out more. We’re used to ‘Aedan’s the drummer, Dualta’s the guitar player, Conor’s the lead player and Odhran’s the singer.

“When we went into the studio for the first song we were just ‘that’s what we do’. For this one, we were ‘that’s what we do. What else can we do?’.” Comparing the new song to their first single, they said “I feel like this song has a bit more of a closed audience. ‘Done Wrong’ was a bit pop-ier. Someone said it was safer, but this one, because it’s more of a classic rock tune, it has a more specific audience.”

Now, time to make the switch to other business (sorry, couldn’t resist). The Derry rap scene is one that is rapidly growing, with acts like Hyfin and Dirty Faces adding to the town’s fine musical legacy.

Another young talent doing his part for this is Nevn, who’s new single ‘No More Noise’ is available for streaming now. He can be found on Instagram @lewis_nevin17. Also, local artist Idle Hands has recently released his EP ‘Bad Mistakes’. It can be found on all good streaming platforms. He can be found @idlehandsmusic.

And making one more switch (what? It’s right there), ‘Hear Me Call’ is out now. They can be found on Instagram @band.switch.