Loraine Club
We caught up with Loraine Club in their Tallaght rehearsal space to preview their fresh sound and get to know the dynamics of the band ahead of their headline gig in Whelan’s.
Click here to pick up your tickets to the Friday 14th of February gig.
We’re sitting on some office chairs in a fairly cavernous factory space, in the back of an industrial estate between Tallaght village and Greenhills. Loraine Club rehearse and record their tunes here, and they’ve been working hard in preparation for their gig this Friday in Whelan’s. FAC Magazine are well used to the space too. Its where we first began to plan what eventually became this magazine, and it’s where we got the letters f-a-c.
Photo credit: James Fagan
Loraine Club are a four-piece band consisting of Jordan Curtis (vocal/guitar), Zac Curtis (keys) Brian Smith (bass) and Jonny Halpin (drums). After another evening of rehearsal, the lads are chilling out in the factory, taking the time to chat about the band as it is. They’re quick to stress that they use the term four-piece loosely, as other members join us from time to time.
“It's not a strictly exclusive Loraine Club.” - Jonny tells us.
Taking all those ideas and opinions in account during a creative process isn’t straightforward. Loraine Club have their own way of doing it, which involves time, patience, a few games of FIFA, and the odd friendly dispute. Jonny details the workflow for us.
“Zac and Jordan are brothers and they usually write most of the songs. Then a demo will be made by Zac on a 4 track and sent to each member. We bring that up here to the factory, and it becomes a collaborative effort between all members to make a sound that represents Loraine Club.”
“The name Loraine Club comes from a cycling club myself and Zac’s dad was a member of way back in the 80s. Sounds cool so we rolled with it” - Jordan adds.
Chilling with them in the factory and watching them rehearse, it’s clear the lads all have high expectations of each other. They expect to sound good. That expectation is only enhanced with the Curtis brothers’ mutual understanding, but there’s also a flaked atmosphere when they’re practicing. This manifests itself onstage when they perform, with every member focussed but relaxed.
“We have all been best mates for years and we had all been making music together casually here in the factory, just kind of for a laugh, there was no official band set up yet. Then in February last year we decided to try and get a set together to play a gig and it went on from there really we started enjoying it more and that was when we started trying to really form our "sound", I guess you could say.”
The factory is majorly important to Loraine Club. It provides them with the foundations to build their project on, as well as a spot to chill out in and discuss music, football or whatever else is on their mind. So what’s the story with it, how did the band get access to this mad kip?
“The factory that we're in right now is a print factory called Blueprint, it’s also our rehearsal space/recording studio/hang-out space. It’s Jordan and Zac’s dad’s workplace, he let us use it to practice back in about 2010 and we haven’t left since. We've been coming here working on various musical projects, putting in the graft. It’s become kind of an institution to Loraine Club and our mates, a place we can go chill, play music and have the occasional low-key party on the sly! Shout out to our main man Stevo Curtis for allowing us to use it, without the factory we may never have got this project up and running. We owe him a lot.
We record and produce all our material here. It’s a bit rough and ready, like a time machine back to the 80s, but it all adds to the charm, doesn’t it?”
For Loraine Club, the factory is a space to experiment with sound, a space to make music that captures their collective contributions, and at the end of the day, can get people up and dancing.
As we listened to them rehearse Bills, their main single, the smooth melodies and funky bass contrasted with the stark industrial factory environment, but there was a consistency to it too. Bleu, their other song on Spotify (although they have plenty more for the live shows), is a more melancholy and reflective tune, one for later on in the night.
“Our musical style leans towards melodic vocals, synth lines and airy guitar riffs, undertoned by driving bass and hard-hitting beats. We like to make sure there’s always a nice groove in the music we play. In terms of influences, they range from 80's Pop and Manchester Groove to elements of R&B and Disco. We’re inspired by music that treads the line between electronic dance/disco and indie rock.”
Photo Credit: James Fagan
Loraine Club are no doubt ambitious and unique, occupying unclaimed territory in the Irish music scene, and their efforts will absolutely continue to get noticed. MCD are already on them, having booked their headline gig in Whelan’s this Friday. Even so, the main goal is just to keep enjoying the process and making the music they want to make.
“As far as ambitions go for the future, we just want to continue to make music and keep playing shows for as long as possible.”
Follow Loraine Club on Spotify and Instagram @loraineclub.
Make sure to grab tickets for their Friday, 14th of February show in Whelan’s.
Conall Heussaff
