Lots of hard work is Otherkin’s prescription for some OK success
For a band that hasn’t released a debut album yet, punk rockers Otherkin have been doing insanely well. There’s been the high-profile slots supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’
Roses and punk legends the
Dead
Kennedys, alongside the multiple knock out festival spots around Europe that garnered rave reviews.
Their break-out grunge pop single AY
AY was nominated for best song at the Choice
Awards and they have passed one million combined plays on Spotify.
Signed to Irish indie label Rubyworks since 2015, the four-piece are now set to drop their first album entitled OK on September 29.
So what makes Otherkin, a postcollege garage band, stand out from all the other great acts that are currently treading the waters of the bustling Irish music scene?
According to guitarist Conor Wynne there’s no big science to it just sheer hard graft and passion.
Speaking to The Beat, the ambitious musician, said: “To be honest the one thing I put to the boys and myself is we work really hard.
“Anything we can do to help the band we will do.
“Everyday we’re onto each other with new ideas, writing, promotion, opportunities.
“We’re just a very hard working band and we’re excited by it. We all love it.”
Otherkin – Wynne, Luke Reilly (vocals/guitar), David Anthony (bass) and Rob Summons (drums) – formed in Dublin in 2014, united by a common love of The Clash, QOTSA, Ramones and Blur.
“We started the band about three years ago but we only started doing it properly when we finished college before that we’d meet up once a month or so.
“Then we decided to give it a proper whack.”
He added: “We all studied in college but this is what we’re doing now full-time.
“Two of the boys are qualified doctors. We’re probably the most over qualified band in the world.
“We got this opportunity when we were all leaving college so it was a big step to continue with the band.
“We have to do this, I don’t know if that’s what seperates us from the rest but it’s certainly drives us.”
Having already mastered the
Irish festival circuit the band are taking to the road for a threemonth European tour in support of OK.
Conor said: “I love life on the road, it’s as fun and as draining as you would imagine.
“Three months in Eastern Europe in winter – I have no idea what to expect.”
And the talented rocker said the band are literally living the rock n’ roll dream.
“There’s definitely a party element to the band, that’s just the way we are and the type of music we play as well.
“It’s very energetic and fast. We’re just four lads at the moment having the time of our lives.
“Two of the boys are my two best mates, we’re making the most of it and having a laugh while we can,” he said.
But Conor confessed life in Otherkin is not not all late-nights fueled by Jack Daniels.
“We treat it like a nine to five job to be honest.
“We put in serious hours when we were writing and recording the album, there was no rest until we really needed one to freshen up our ears and mindsets.
“That was the main thing and still is, now that the album is coming out we’re thinking ‘what can we do to push it?
Getting it out there and touring for as long as we can.”
Their eagerly awaited debut album was produced by the band with David Prendergast (Overhead, The Albatross) and Jason Boland (Kodaline).
Speaking about the making of OK, Conor said: “They have a studio in Kildare, it’s in Dave’s back garden. For what we wanted it was perfect.
“We just sat down with the boys and hammered it out so easily and had a laugh, we were able to experiment and they understood us and knew what we wanted.
“They got the spirit of the record and what we were going for.”
Some of the new tracks were aired at Slane Castle this summer when they made all their childhood dreams come true supporting Guns N’ Roses.
“It was a crazy gig to play. It was one of the biggest
productions I’d ever seen, it was crazy.
“We’ve done a lot of festivals and played with bands like the Chili Peppers but this was a different ball game.
“It was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen on stage.”
He added: “I grew up on Guns N’ Roses. I remember the first guitar lesson I ever got my guitar teaching showing me Sweet Child O Mine.
“So to go from that to supporting them was a massive deal for me.”
Next up is conquering the States, which is a perfect destination for their Nirvana inspired sound.
Conor said: “We’ve already gotten good support from
American radio.
We haven’t done any gigs there yet but we’re hoping to get over there in the New Year.
“We’re waiting for the right opportunity, we want to have good gigs and have good promotion lined up.”
’We put in serious hours when we were writing and recording the album, there was no rest until we really needed one to freshen up our ears and mindset’
miss the lads at the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, which is back for its 13th year from September 21-24. They also wrap up their European tour at Dublin’s Button Factory on December 15.