Euan Manning, lead singer with new indie band Cardinals told David Hennessy about releasing their debut EP and being tipped by Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC.
Fresh from their first UK and Ireland tour, indie band Cardinals released their debut EP earlier this year.
The band, fronted by Euan Manning, started as a light hearted joke between sixteen year old friends in Kinsale, Co. Cork but came into life when they were young adults and had moved to Cork city for college.
Since they independently released their first singles Amsterdam and The Brow in 2022, Cardinals have gained label support with Roseland becoming their first release on So Young Records.
The band have even earned the enviable endorsement of Fontaines DC lead singer Grian Chatten who described them as one of his favourite new bands during a Radio 1 interview.
Euan chatted to the Irish World on Zoom from Cork City which is apt, not only is it the band’s base but also the inspiration for their music.
Their song Roseland starts with the line, “I went down to MacCurtain Street Station, where I first said my last goodbye.”
The city of Cork comes up in your lyrics quite a lot, your identity as a band is quite definite, isn’t it?
“Yeah, absolutely.
“It’s a cliche at this stage that it is just all about Cork for a Cork person.
“It’s okay, I think you can lean into that a bit and definitely speak about the city and the county and sort of thrive in that and how it shaped your identity and stuff as an artist.
“Yeah, definitely.”
Yeah, I liked what you said in the NME actually, that you’d like to make a classic Cork album.
Is that the ambition to make a record very much in the tradition of Sultans of Ping and The Frank and Walters?
“I guess so.
“I’ve just been thinking about it recently and bands like Sultans of Ping and Frank and Walters and then also Rory Gallagher and stuff, even if obviously we’re not playing the blues or anything.
“It’s just to have rock and roll stuff coming out of Cork has been inspiring in a way that’s just like, ‘It can be done’.
“You can be in Cork and you can do it, so definitely just want to keep writing and keep speaking earnestly about where we’re from and try to tell that story.”
The Irish World chatted to Euan on the eve of their EP launch earlier this year.
The EP is out tomorrow so you must be buzzing…
“It is exciting.
“It’s been a while in the works between getting signed and actually recording the record and videos and artwork and everything that went into it, obviously doing the shows and starting to play in the UK and outside of Ireland.
“Yeah, it’s out midnight and we’re really looking forward to it.
“It would be great to just have it out there.
“It’s been around so long for us that we’re just dying to show it to everyone else.
“We got our physical copies of the records recently and it’s great to hold a pressing of your own bit of music in your hands.
“It’s a special feeling definitely.”
You say it’s been a long time coming and that’s right, isn’t it in that you guys met at school in Kinsale but it was when you relocated to the city for college that the band came together?
“Absolutely. Oskar (Gudinovic, guitar) and Aaron (Hurley, bass) and myself have been playing together since we were like 16 and it fell apart a few times and came back together.
“Of course I’m playing with my brother, who’s on the accordion as well, Finn.
“I’ve been playing with him since we were very small but kind of formed around 2022 when we met Darragh (Manning) who’s the drummer.
“I guess he was the glue that stuck it all together which makes sense as well because he’s just an amazing musician and amazing person.
“I think that’s kind of when it started to really come together.”
Do you get a sense of the buzz building around you guys?
“We try to just sort of keep our heads screwed on and keep working as hard as we can and be as prolific writers as we can and just keep going and keep slogging forward.
“I guess the idea is not to get too caught up in what people are saying about you and just trying to, like, block that out and just keep writing and keep trying different things and staying outside of your comfort zone, rather than like feeling secure in ‘this news outlet praised me’ or ‘this person said I was doing the right thing’.
“I’m just just trying to really hone in on being artists ourselves and creating and expanding our minds and our creative breadth I suppose.
“It’s nice.”
You don’t get carried away with it but what is it like to see Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC paying you such compliments?
“It was nice.
“It feels like such a long time ago now and I’m glad that he likes the music but just as I’m glad that anyone likes the music and is a fan.
“I just appreciate it.
“You take that in but you try to sort of keep your head screwed on and just keep working hard and try not to let other people’s opinions about your music or your art influence you too much on what you’re doing.”
Originally from Kinsale, was it the live scene Cork has that inspired you?
“I definitely think so.
“Apart from Darragh, I like to see the rest of us as transplants really who have kind of come into Cork city and maybe because we didn’t grow up there, we got to sort of see it in a new light and just experienced it for the first time in our early adulthood so we were just sort of fascinated with different venues, different scenes, different bands, different pubs and shops and streets and the people we were meeting.
“We were sort of ingratiated and immersed in the scene pretty early on really, and just were meeting people and going to gigs and talking to new people.
“It’s changed now and I do feel a little less involved in it as the band has grown but there was great camaraderie and a really friendly sort of nature when we first started going to gigs and meeting people which was just like super inspiring and encouraging.
“It definitely made us want to get up and do something ourselves.”
The band’s success has seen Euan and other members defer their studies to see where the band’s journey can take them.
Studying’s important but I think it’s right to defer and take time off when things are looking so promising…
“Yeah, I had one tutor and this was before any sort of talk of signing or playing gigs or anything like that, before we were really busy.
“He just kind of said to me and Aaron one day, ‘You know, college will always be there if you want to come back but if you get a chance now, you might as well try and play a bit of music’.
“That kind of stuck with us a bit, I think so we’re just pursuing that avenue or taking that path right now.”
You say you and your brother Finn have been playing together since you were very small. Of course Finn plays accordion, was it trad music you started with by any chance?
“Yeah, Finn and I were in the Comhaltas together so I was playing the fiddle and the tin whistle.
“I never got on as well with trad as Finn did.
“We would just kind of play trad stuff and it was mostly at sessions or family events.
“He and I went to the Willie Clancy festival, the summer school there a couple of times so we were kind of tied at the hip musically, we took a break from playing with each other for a while as well.
“I suppose as we were both listening to trad, we started getting into other stuff, rock and roll and rap music and indie and garage and whatever else.”
You have toured the UK but also got as far as the US as well, haven’t you as displayed in your Twist and Turn video?
“We still haven’t played in the US.
“Yeah, we went over for South by Southwest but then all the Irish acts boycotted so we were kind of over there and didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
“We had a buddy with a camera over there and we were like, F**k it, might as well just shoot some bits and see what comes out’.
“It kind of came in handy then in the end because last minute we didn’t really have a video for Twist and Turn so he just kind of threw together some bits which was handy I suppose to leave there with something.
“Obviously making that statement and boycotting (was important) but to have something that you can hold and something creative from a trip like that is handy too.”
I read you talking about starting out as a live band and that it didn’t go so well on your first ever gig. I think what you said was you had the songs but couldn’t quite play them.
But that’s surely something every band encounters and you have to work through…
“Yeah, I mean, we were all new to each other as musicians.
“We played in the Spailpín Fánach.
“We had practiced but I think we were unsure of ourselves and we were still maybe trying to be other bands or trying to fit into moulds that we thought were successful or we were listening to at the time.
“Some technical stuff just went awfully wrong like playing a song without a capo on when a capo should have been put on: Just really, really quite amateurish mistakes but all part of the learning curve and important to have happened as well.
“Some technical stuff just
“You have play a few bad gigs to play a few good gigs.”
I know you didn’t actually get to play in America but you have played around the UK and festivals such as Other Voices, what has been a highlight of the stuff you have got to do so far?
“Other Voices was great.
“We had a great time there.
“That was our first sort of really professional TV film setting thing which was interesting and definitely an experience.
“But we’re just off the back of our UK and Irish tour and to play so many shows back to back and have that feeling where you’re just like so tight and you just feel like- not to f**king inflate the own ego but just that you’re hot sh*t on the night and you just really are feeling each other when you’re playing on stage and you’re locking in and you just really can get into the songs and the music rather than being worried about things going wrong.
“We got to the stage where we were just having a great time and we were super tight and it’s probably the best it’s felt playing as a band since I’ve started playing music.
“So we’ve just been riding that high since we got back really.”
Beamish and Murphy’s both feature in the video for Roseland. Are you sponsored by a Leeside stout?
“We have got a deal going on the promotion thing,” he jokes.
“No, we just don’t want people to think we’re drinking Guinness and we want people to know that Cork has its own two wonderful stouts.
“We think the aesthetic of a pint is quite nice as well.”
When are you going to sing about Lennox’s fish and chips (For those not familiar with Cork a famous chipper in the city)?
“That’s next,” he laughs.
“Why not?
“It’s always in your head.
“Or Spiced Beef either from English Market could be a thing. We’ll figure it out along the way.
“But yeah, lots of food and drink references from Cork in the album so keep keep your ears open.”
The English Market in Cork reminds me of The Young Offenders.
Would it be great to- like Sultans of Ping and The Frank and Walters- feature on the soundtrack?
“Yeah, sure. Look, all they need do is reach out and we’ll be happy to oblige. It is great.
“It’s funny, Aaron in the band actually used to work in the fishmongers there that’s in Young Offenders and all that so it’s all connected really. It’s a big spiral here in Cork.”
We have spoken a lot about Cork but I was wondering could you, as a band, ever base yourselves somewhere else like London?
“I suppose there’s always talk of making that jump to London, and it’s definitely a thing that can happen.
“We spent some time in London.
“It’s a fun place to hang out.
“It’s obviously very busy.
“It’s expensive but if you can manage to get on your feet there, I think it’d be a great place to live.
“Right now there’s still plenty of Cork for us to break down and take and write about, I think.
“For me personally, I’m gonna stay here a little longer and try to get as much out of it as I can, you know?”
You’re from that massive GAA county, have you lads played yourselves?
“I would guess that at one point or another we all have played to some extent but you’re speaking to the wrong man about hurling, Aaron is definitely the man for hurling in the band.
“I think his father had aspirations for him to play for the county but he decided to play rock and roll instead.
“Finn, my brother, wasn’t too bad either.
“I always felt that I wasn’t made of hard enough stuff to be honest.
“That’s alright though. It’s not for everyone but it’s a great sport.”
Would you be keen to do a Cork GAA anthem? “Yeah, absolutely. Whether we write it intentionally or they pick one of ours along the way, we’ll see what happens but we’re definitely open to the idea.”
What’s next? Is the album the next thing?
“Yeah, I would say in terms of next recorded and released music.
“There might be a couple of singles in between but an album is something that we want to do and consider an important artistic step as a musician: To create a body of work and a real statement.
“So yeah, I mean, we’re slowly tipping away at that in terms of the writing process and demoing stuff.
“But yeah, keep gigging live and just building ourselves up and trying new things musically.
“An album is definitely on the cards.”
Cardinals the EP is out now.
The single Twist and Turn is out now.
For more information, click here.
