The Clockworks are a four-piece of Irish rockers on the rise. They’ve received consistent radio airplay in the UK, USA and Australia, plus they’ve been enjoying sold-out shows and some festival slots recently, too. What’s next? I caught up with the band…

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH THE CLOCKWORKS

Hey, how are you?

Good, thank you. The world is still so turbulent at the moment so I think we, like a lot of people, are taking life one day at a time.

Yeah, that makes total sense. I’ve been much the same. So, congrats on the release of your recent single, ‘Throw It All Away’. How has that been received?

Thank you. Yeah, we hear it’s been played on lots of radio stations around the world, which is cool. To be honest, the most exciting thing for us is having more music out there for people to listen to.

For sure! It’s making a big difference, too. Now, let’s take it back to the beginning — when did you form the band?

We formed years ago. Damian, Seán and I (James) knew each other from school and have been playing music together since then. We met Tom when we moved to Galway city. He joined the band and we took it from there really. We poured ourselves completely into it from the beginning.

Fabulous! Aside from the global radio plays, what have been your biggest achievements to date?

They’ve definitely been the songs we’ve written and the singles we’ve released. Being in a position to be able to go to a studio and make permanent something you’ve created is an incredible feeling.

We’ve obviously played some great gigs, too. At certain events, everything comes together and there’s a sense of unity in the room and, when that happens, it’s hard not to feel awestruck. It could be 50 people or 500, but it’s an amazing feeling.

Which artists have influenced your sound the most?

We take influence from absolutely everywhere. We commit ourselves to listening to loads of music we don’t expect ourselves to like in search of hidden gems and ideas.

A lot of the bands we grew up on, like Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes and The Smiths, are always with us, but most of our influences from song to song come from all corners of the music world. That’s what’s great about streaming; there’s every song you could ever listen to at your fingertips, waiting to be discovered and picked apart.

Ah I couldn’t agree more — it’s an exciting realm! So, finally, can you share any other news for 2021?

We’ve got lots of festivals scheduled, some European dates and a tour of Ireland with Inhaler at the end of the year, which we’re really looking forward to.

Aw Inhaler, that’s ace!

Definitely!

COVID has made the landscape so uncertain that we’ve had to become more present in response. Nobody knows what the lockdown rules will be in a week, a month or six months. So, we focus on what we can do now, which is to be as prepared as possible for anything that comes, and write as much new material as we can muster.

With that kind of outlook, it’s no wonder The Clockworks are doing so well. Want to hear more from them? Follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and spin their tracks over on Spotify.