Interviews with Pastiche, Niamh Regan and Monjola
Pastiche on her endometriosis issues and new single 'Dizzy', Niamh Regan on writer's block/imposter syndrome and second album Come As You Are, and Monjola discusses his debut EP It's Not That Deep
Pastiche: ‘I can’t believe how many people found solidarity with me’
Irish pop star Pastiche has released a steady string of great singles over the past couple of years. Her latest came out last week, called ‘Dizzy’. Pastiche says of the track: “Music is my escape from the world and the things I’m dealing with, just like how going out can be a way to let yourself lose control. It’s so freeing to be wild just for one night to feel something, meet new people, dance with strangers. ‘Dizzy’ is all about leaving your day-to-day behind and allowing yourself to be caught up in a whirlwind.” You can read an interview with Pastiche below.
'Dizzy' is your second single in 2024 after 'Forfeit Control' in April. Does it feel like you've found momentum this year?
YES! It’s crazy how easy it is to sit still for a second to then realise it’s been months since you’ve released music. It’s so hard to jump back on the crazy train when you know how much hard work (and cost) is involved being an independent artist. Now I feel firmly back in the rat race for sure, and I don’t plan on stopping.
It sounds like you had a tough 2023 with your issues with endometriosis. How do you look back on the past 12 months from the musical side of things?
Tough would be the polite way to put it. This disease very much turned my life upside down. I never thought I would be freezing my eggs at 26, but I suppose you never think these things could happen to you until they do. The past 12 months were dark and it's hard to be creative when your body is failing you and you are being medically gaslit into thinking you’re insane. It’s very hard to focus on anything but the pain and the mental toll it takes. I was just trying to get through one day at a time, so music wasn’t even on the radar. Once I was diagnosed it’s like I changed overnight because I knew I wasn’t crazy and I knew what my future could look like and I knew there was help available. When I got diagnosed I started writing immediately, it’s like I became the old me again.
You were very public and open with the health issues around the condition. How did you find telling your story? Did you have a lot of people in your DMs saying thanks?
Selfishly I started doing it because it almost felt like I could rationalise and explain to people why I hadn’t made any progress in my career, why I hadn’t released any music and seemingly dipped from the industry. But from that, I can’t believe how many people found solidarity with me. So many people either with endo, going through a diagnosis or some who are being gaslit the same way I was. I knew the system was bad but the sheer amount of people with near identical stories of mistreatment is shocking. I then started to think, I can really help people by talking about this. Since sharing, multiple people have told me they pushed for further investigations and are now diagnosed and getting treatment, or at least being taken seriously.
It sounds like it all did help inspire you musically too though? You said "I wrote 30 songs in two months, including ‘Forfeit Control’." Was it a surprise that it was so fruitful?
I think it was just the relief that I wasn’t crazy, that I hadn’t lost myself. Almost instantly after surgery I needed to write and it all came back to me and I came to peace with the fact that I knew why I hadn’t been myself. I wasn’t lazy or untalented, I was extremely ill. It made me write from this new perspective of mourning the loss of my youth, and learning that the universe is gonna take you for a ride regardless of what you want. I think that’s why the music I’m making now is so based in escapism.
Is 'Dizzy' one of those 30 songs? Tell me about the idea behind it.
'Dizzy' came about because I had the title in my head for a while, and I loved the idea of writing from a perspective where something or someone turns your world upside down (from my recent experience clearly). I also recently read Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus which gave such interesting insights into sexuality and relationships. It’s also based on a night out I had where I accidentally took my friend's drink which happened to have a little more than alcohol in there and resulted in a pretty hilariously freeing situation. So a mashup of all this plus flat 7up, basically.
What does a Pastiche demo sound like because the tracks themselves are full-on bangers. Is it easy to see the final version in your head or does it take a while to get there?
Demos are usually pretty horrible. I can hear exactly what I want in my head when I write, but I’m just not that talented of a producer. Usually it starts with a sample or a loop I might find or piano. With 'Dizzy', it started because I was in the shower and sang “men are from mars…” then the rest of the line and I was like, "Ohh this is cool." Took it to the studio and made the track and wrote it in the day!
It sounds like Dua Lipa has been a big influence on this current batch of songs? What other influences are swirling around in there?
Nothing will beat Dua's Future Nostalgia, so if someone says it sounds like a Dua reject single I’m happy. I’m a pop girl, I love a good pop dance track. I just wanted to make something that didn’t sound too generic lyrically and I wanted it to be in the same 80s synth soundscape as 'Forfeit Control'. I listen to a lot of Rina Sawayama, Kylie and 2000s Madonna, but '24 hours' by Angus was a huge reference point.
Chapell Roan sounds like another influence for you. Has it been a surprise to see the way she's blown up this year?
I’m so obsessed with her. I relate to her in so many ways artistically. The way she relates to drag and drag culture, how she plays with gender as well as how she views herself as a character. When I saw my first interview of her I was shook because I feel the same. Pastiche is a drag character of sorts, when I do my makeup and put on my outfit and dance around it’s like this version of myself that I have constructed because I never felt I could become that person as little old me.
What plans have you got for Pastiche for the summer and over the rest of the year?
I’m gonna keep my head down, keep writing, release some more music and hopefully play a few shows this year. I can’t wait to get back on stage! I wanna release another EP next year and just keep my eye on the prize.
And finally, what is your favourite song by an Irish artist right now?
So hard to pick just one so I’m giving you a few:
'Citizen Kane' - Kojaque
'Where are your kids tonight' - CMAT
'Kerosene' - Biig Piig
Niamh Regan: I was writing hoping to impress others, rather than just writing for myself
Niamh Regan released her second album Come As You Are on May 31 and talking through all the songs on it for TPOE 313. Here’s a little snippet from the start of the chat, about how Niamh dealth with what sounds like writer’s block/imposter syndrome.
How do you feel about debut album Hemet, four years on?
Looking back, Hemet did so much for me, the first record, that I didn't expect it to do. It opened so many doors, met so many people, played a lot of stages I didn't expect to play. Yeah, very grateful for the debut album to have done what it did. But it also paralysed me for about three years trying to write and trying to find confidence to follow it up, because I didn't really expect anyone to respond to my first album. So now I don't know, I just put a lot of pressure on myself for this one, the second one. I think that's typical enough, isn't it?. I guess when I wrote the first album, I wasn't writing for anyone else but myself. And now I suddenly started thinking about 'oh, what about people who might come to the gigs? Will they like this?' And then that put me through a spiral. So I'm really glad I took four years to get through that and write what I actually wanted to write in the end.
Oh, so did you find it hard to start writing new songs after this album came out? Had you stopped writing maybe when it was released?
I'd slowed down. I never stopped writing. But I was writing a lot of crap, stuff that I just did not like. And I just kind of lost myself a bit. As I was saying, I was writing hoping to impress others, rather than just writing for myself. And you could hear that in the songs - I felt you could. They felt try-hardy in ways. So I took two years, basically, to just keep writing through it. And then something kind of clicked once I started relaxing a little bit, getting back into enjoying it.
Did you realise while you're writing them that they weren't for you? What was it that made you think, 'No, this just isn't working for the second album?'
I feel like they were just not coming from a genuine place. I was writing just to write and just to put out stuff. I looked around and I was like, 'Oh my god, everyone is flying it. And they've just put out, you know, their fourth album, and they barely took a breath.' And I just thought if you wanted to be a professional musician, this is what you have to do. And you have to work on that pace. And then there was always that fear of like, oh, you're a tiny little flash in the pan because you were out during the pandemic and people were just being nice to you. You're like, 'Oh, God, I better build from this or I might be forgotten.' And then I just realised that I was blowing it all out of proportion, in general. And just had to sit back and enjoy writing some songs.
I guess you do hear a lot of musicians say that, you know, 'this music is for myself and if anybody else likes it, that's a bonus'. Is that something that you maybe learned through the course of this record that you have to be honest, and you have to like the record and if anybody else likes it, then great?
Absolutely. Like, I had like four notebooks of songs of what I wanted it to be and essentially going into the second record, I wanted it to be full of - and I hate this word. I really hesitate to use it - but like bangers or like a good, fun album that was a full-band, positive experience, maybe like a glow-up experience. Except that just did not happen and the life and the four years that I experienced while doing it, that just did not happen. So this album was kind of weird. And it's weird because I felt weird a lot of the time going through it. Like you said, I like these songs and if anyone else felt weird, they might relate to this, but I don't know if it's gonna be a mainstream banger hit haven. But that's OK.
Monjola: ‘All my work is really personal and vulnerable’
Monjola, a Nigerian-born artist based in Dublin, released his debut EP It’s Not That Deep on June 14. It’s an exciting collection of eight songs. He says: “In a world where things can quickly become complicated, I found myself questioning and overthinking various situations I've encountered. The project takes the audience on a journey through my introspective thought process, presented in a diary-like format. Ultimately, what I've come to realize at the end of this journey is that 'It’s not that Deep’.'" You can read an interview with Monjola below.
I first saw you supporting Biig Piig in Dublin's Soundhouse in November 2022. Did you enjoy those shows?
Yea, seems like such a long time ago. Those shows were amazing. She’s got a really cool and engaging crowd.
Did you tour the UK with Biig Piig? Was it a big learning experience for you?
It was like two London shows and two Dublin shows so I wouldn’t really call it a tour. Biggest learning experience was to arrive at the airport an hour before so you don’t miss your flight. Nearly missed mine to Dublin.
I chatted with TraviS and Elzzz a couple of weeks ago. It sounds like you go back a while with them?
Yea known them since I was really young. We’ve got a song out together on their project called ‘Notice Me’
Tell me about It’s Not That Deep. When did you first start thinking about it as a project?
I honestly been thinking about it for like a year. Been working on putting out a body of work for some time now and definitely started to overthink it. Made a bunch of songs around the period and realised that they all made sense together and told some sort of story. So it felt like the right time to put it out.
You say it's a "journey that takes the audience through my thought process in a diary format". Is it therefore your most personal work to date?
All my work is really personal and vulnerable to be honest so I’d say it’s very similar to my other songs in terms of me being open.
iTs NoT THaT DeEP is eight tracks long - easily your longest single work to date. Did you come at it in any different way to just a standalone track?
I made most of the songs around the same time so I feel like there's a recurring theme in all the songs and the sound too. When I listened back I realised what I was trying to say.
Were you tempted to make this a debut album or is that something you still think you're working towards?
I always wanted to put out an EP first. My first album gotta have way more people involved and I’d want it to be a concept album. Definitely gonna drop it next year.
Tell me about MOIO and the Chamomile Club. How and when did that start?
Well Moio is my brother and he produces the majority of my music. It’s crazy cause it’s rare you get to make music with your brother. He’s a big part of my sound and why I find it so easy to be honest in my music. Bro is really the guy. Chamomile is a collective we all started, myself aby and moyo. It’s basically a family at this stage. We bring ideas to life and we really built a community around this shit. We’ve hosted some of the craziest events that Dublin has ever seen and we owe it to our community. They trust all our ideas and fully back us.
What plans have you got for summer/rest of 2024?
Headline show. I haven’t done one yet so you know it’s gonna go crazy.
And finally, what is your favourite song by an Irish artist right now?
Jordan Adetunji - Kehlani