A Chat with Cosmic Embers (13.07.22)
Effortlessly fusing elements of blues, rock and roll, psychedelia and traditional Irish songwriting in their music, Cosmic Embers is a unique group with an eclectic sound. We speak with vocalist/guitarist Paddy O’Keeffe about their debut single ‘Apocalypse In Metropolis’.
OSR: A cliche question but what drew you to music?
O’Keeffe: It’s been a passion for both of us since a young age. I’m 25 years older than Adam which is probably unusual, but luckily enough I only started songwriting about three years ago which coincided with Adam starting to learn the bass guitar.
OSR: As an uncle and nephew group, do you think the family relationship plays a role in creating material. I mean, do you think you work better with family than strangers?
O’Keeffe: Not really, luck plays a part in all creative relationships, but there’s an honesty between us in that we know we’re not going to fall out over the process either. We just seem to complement each others playing and ideas very naturally.
OSR: What inspires you to make music?
O’Keeffe: Just different states of mind really, whatever is going on in my head at times. We try to get a vibe or an atmosphere going and see where it takes us, there’s never a manifesto.
OSR: Does your release ‘Apocalpyse In Metropolis’ have a backstory?
O’Keeffe: I suppose it’s about having become very accustomed to the silence and solitude of the world being shut down for a couple of years. The challenges of having to readapt back into society again.
OSR: If you could change anything about the single, what would it be?
O’Keeffe: Thankfully not. We’re always looking forward to what we are going to create next.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
O’Keeffe: The positivity and the atmosphere we are trying to create around the songs and that hopefully, they enjoy the sonics and vibe of them as well.
OSR: Would you rather be rich or famous?
O’Keeffe: Neither. ? Peace of mind is most important I think and being rich or famous doesn’t ensure that.
OSR: What is your earliest memory?
O’Keeffe: Probably waiting for my grandfather to arrive home from work in the evenings when I was only 4 years old. I would always hide under the couch and he would pretend he didn’t know where I was. He passed away a year later.
OSR: What more can we expect from Cosmic Embers?
O’Keeffe: A lot we hope. We already have three singles recorded and will be back in the studio soon. Each track will be very different because of our multitude of influences that we have making them sound very atmospheric is something we like to do. We plan on releasing another single this year and start gigging next year with a good body of work.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
O’Keeffe: Just a massive thank you to anyone who has enjoyed the track or the video. It’s so very much appreciated and hopefully it resonated with a few people. It’s still very early days with it being our debut single but we promise to keep giving it our best go.
Many thanks to Paddy O’Keeffe for speaking with us. For more from Cosmic Embers check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
