DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring God Alone.
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find God Alone. sat on the beach. The island is far from the bands home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
You're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Jake O'Driscoll (guitar / vocals): I'd grab ‘Calling Out of Context’ by Arthur Russell. It's a compilation album that spans across lots of genres and styles and the songs are insanely well written with lots of layers and depth so I don't think I'd ever get sick of it.
Cian Mullane (bass / vocals): ‘I Forget Where We Were’ by Ben Howard, my favourite singer songwriter of all time and his most depressing and cathartic album.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Jake: Maybe the cover of ‘Laughing Stock’ by Talk Talk. Apart from being a class album I think the cover would just fit the desert island vibe.
Cian: 'Mirror Reaper' by Bell Witch, hauntingly beautiful artwork and I have it tattooed on my forearm also because it's class.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Jake: Definitely Tanora. Tanora is unreal and everyone should drink Tanora
Cian: Beamish, by ten miles.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Jake: My Shifting tshirt. It's proper comfy and light and they're an amazing band.
Cian: My Unyielding Love goat reincarnation t-shirt, unreal band to match an unreal shirt that I wear all the time.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Jake: I wouldn't mind being there with my bandmates as they’re my best buds.
Cian: All the lads because they're my best buds but if I had to pick someone else it'd be my Dad because he's the ultimate handyman and he's very sound too.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Jake: Probably our set from ArcTanGent actually. It was a very happy time that we had been waiting for for ages and it was just a massive laugh and pay off when it finally happened.
Cian: All Them Witches live at AB Brussels, immaculate guitar and bass tone and their Rhodes player is on the ball.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Both: The lyrics to ‘Message In A Bottle’ by The Police, sent to The Police
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Jake: Seán (guitarist). No explanation needed.
Cian: Seán Thompson without a doubt or moment's hesitation.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Jake: Maybe James Kelly from Altar of Plagues. Not as prominently anymore but the music he made was definitely the biggest inspiration in starting God Alone. Either him or James Murphy from Lcd Soundsystem. His ideas about indie music and dance music have been really influential in the current sound of the band and I'd just like to have a chat with him.
Cian: Tina Weymouth, my favourite bassist and a constant inspiration to everything I write
As God Alone prepares to release their first album under the Prosthetic Records banner on October 21, listeners should prepare to empty their minds. ETC is a study of nothingness - brought to life by way of extremely danceable, gloriously abstract musicianship. The Cork, Ireland group’s approach traverses through mathrock, dance, avant-garde, post-punk and more on its way to its final destination. Citing the Talking Heads as a big influence, God Alone embraces absurdism at every turn - in particular the absurdity of nothingness; the art of existing without meaning or context.
Pre-order ‘ETC’ here: lnk.to/GodAlone
