Photo Credit: Claire Byrne
Trick Mist - Two Doors Down
Info: Songwriter, electronic musician and multi instrumentalist Trick Mist (Gavin Murray) returns after his 2017 CD single 'Fraction' with accompanying remix by Phare. 'Two Doors Down', his brand new single, is taken from his forthcoming debut album 'Both Ends'.
For the video director Claire Byrne (Video Blue, Sleep Thieves) creates a striking series of beautiful visual portraits of Murray's nearest and dearest centred around the theme of emigration.
In Murray's words; "'Two Doors Down' is a song about the concept of home viewed from a generational perspective. My Nan literally met her husband two doors down. That seems archaic but I did the same thing. I met my soul mate similarly close to where I grew up. It blows my mind that my life in any way resembles a life that is 95 years. Most aspects of my life are completely dissimilar to hers."
Photo: Ste Murray
Murray's baritone vocal has always enchanted and whisked us away to a variety of landscapes in our imaginations and fantasy realms. With 'Two Doors Down' however it feels uncharacteristically real and in the present. A traditional expression of a very Irish method of story-telling, no instrumentation on this occasion, but strangely for me I could imagine the music that could be wrapped around that emotional timbre. Those feelings are captured in a very natural and relatable manner by film-maker Claire Byrne, who has visually bottled up Murray's story with great ease.
I had the pleasure of catching up with Trick Mist and discussing the birth of his new song and the accompanying video, and all that has happened over the past 12 months since his last single release.
REMY: Last time we chatted last year you had just released your single ‘Fraction’ which was subsequently remixed very nicely by Dublin-based producer Phare. It was your first publicly shared composition since returning to Ireland after a number of years out of the country, looking back at that time and the track itself, how do you feel about it in retrospect with regards to where you were in your own headspace?
Trick Mist: That time was a time of excitement for me. I was so eager to return to Ireland and put something out and play some shows. After being away for so long it was a lovely burst of energy. The remix and the collaborative spirit at its heart probably stemmed from this excitement of being back. Since then I have simmered down and retreated somewhat and have been eyes down for the most part completing my album. the track itself encapsulated a headspace that existed months previous to its release. so when I look back I just think about the time being back hitting the ground running and how rewarding it was to put something out.
REMY: Obviously it's dependent on personal circumstances and might not work for everyone, but would you recommend a period outside of Ireland for musicians to develop their craft? And what aspects of that time away from home strike you as most influential.
Trick Mist: I'd recommend it from the point of view of depth of experience but I don't feel in a position to tell people what to do to develop their craft. we are all on our own paths. Travelling is unreal craic I can tell you that much! and it's a ridiculously rich experience and if your experience finds its way into your music then your music will benefit. Personally it has been an integral part to my craft and has enriched and informed what I do. Being away and setting up in new places comes with its downsides too though. Starting at square one in a new places and having to build up new contacts for example. I also struggled with artistic guilt when I was away travelling on a couple of occasions. I've yet to really master that.
I found India the most influential place out of all the places I visited. I think maybe that is because it is so unlike the West. It's the most full and complicated place. That assault on the senses cliché is true. It's hard to pin down what sort of things specifically had an influence on me. The warmth of the people, the headspace, the colours, peoples unselfconsciousness, the music, the noise, the beauty, the list goes on. I think when you're away like that you relate your new experiences back to your own past experiences so there is this constant compare and contrast thing going on. That can blow you wide open and cause you to question things but I also found it can reaffirm things about yourself too. You move on certain things you stand your ground on others. It's not all rose tinted glasses though there are plenty of things that are terrible and they too are equally inspiring.
'Two Doors Down' single artwork by Calvin Freeman
REMY: You're almost a year in Cork now, how has the adaptation been musically? Do you feel like the city has begun to weave itself into your song-writing, in obvious or subconscious ways yet? I know from previous releases you always put an emphasis on the inspiration derived from observing people in everyday situations.
Trick Mist: It has had an effect definitely. The city and my time here are sprinkled all over my album. My own personal experience here is what has influenced my music the most more so than observing other people like has been the case in previous work. Over the last year I have been doing less observing than I'd like to be doing to be fair. I've just been really busy working away on my album. For this reason the song writing I have done here has been more personal and more of a product of an internal monologue than on previous releases.
REMY: Your new single, 'Two Doors Down' is a significant change for you in some ways, a solitary a capella, no instrumentation, and feels very much planted in the traditional Irish medium of story-telling. Quite a bridge to cross from experimental electronic music! What inspired the song and how you decided to deliver it?
Trick Mist: What inspired the song initially was observing my 95 year old nan chatting to her peers reminiscing about their pasts. They were recounting tales of travelling to the nearest town on a pony and trap! I found this mind boggling and I wondered what tales me and my mates would be recounting together if we were all sitting round reminiscing at that age. This got me thinking about what my generation and my Nan's generation share and differ on. Both myself and my Nan didn't have to travel great distances to find our soul mates. However, most aspects of our lives are dissimilar. I along with lots of people my age emigrated and have moved around a lot trying to find home.
Our generation has a lot of choice and that is a great privilege but choice can be stifling particularly for indecisive folk like myself! 'Where will we live?' has been a constant question for me and, judging by the touching personal reactions I've received to the single, I'm not the only one. In terms of how the delivery came about, when I was away I was consciously trying to write and work on music. So this is how this song started. With the melody for the first line in my head then I'd work on the melody for the second line etc. It became this thing I'd take everywhere with me and work on and add to the whole time in my head. I used to sing it in all the echoey bathrooms and hotel rooms. I got used to how it sounded and over time I realised that it was done and it had to be a cappella.
REMY: The video for the single has already been very well received online, clocking up almost 2,000 views in just a few days. Tell us a bit about how the visual concept was arrived at between yourself and film-maker Claire Byrne who has previously worked with fellow electronic acts Sleep Thieves and VIDEO BLUE.
Trick Mist: Claire is a dream to work with! She saw what the song was about and gave it a visual wings with great clarity, grace and effortlessness. I had some basic ideas about the video. I wanted to be in it singing and I wanted to include someone of an older generation. I really didn't want it to come across condescending, grim or fake. Claire had the amazing idea of using real people in their natural environments to naturally and comfortably do the talking so to speak. She went for a series of beautiful video portraits with my nearest and dearest to paint the picture. There was my nan, my other half Hil, my pal Aoife who was plotting a move to London and my pal Jim / Video Blue who moved to London years ago. It’s a really striking, heartwarming and thought provoking video and a welcome turn in a more personal and exposed direction for me.
REMY: Finally, you’ve very much busied yourself on the live stage since moving back to the old sod! Aside from your appearance on the Body & Soul stage at Electric Picnic next month, what other plans does Trick Mist have in the near future?
Trick Mist: My album will be coming out in November! It will be available on 12'' vinyl as well as digital. I'm proud of it as a body of work and I'm really excited to put it out. I'll be putting out another single from it in the meantime and I've got some great shows to look forward to in Electric Picnic, Carrickmacross Arts Festival and supporting Katie Kim in the Spirit Store.
'Two Doors Down' is available to buy and stream at the below links;
Bandcamp: https://trickmist.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5F68Xg6RYnGwdqR3P6x8w6?si=dLOj3s2oR7WZIae_VtKBzw
