Dark Room Notes were an Irish
electro/
synthpop group.
The three founding members, Ronan Gaughan, Ruairi Ferrie and former drummer Ruairi Cavanagh originally hail from
Menlo, County Galway
Menlo or Menlough () is a village and townland in one of the Gaeltacht areas of County Galway, Ireland. Menlo currently falls within the boundaries of the city of Galway, though it is outside of the urbanised parts of the city and retains the fe ...
. Later members Arran Murphy is from
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, VÃkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
, and Darragh Shanahan, who was the band's drummer for four years, comes from Dublin.
The band's music has been described as electro/synthpop with a slightly sombre overtone and introverted lyrical sensibility. According to ''
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
'
they "seem to gather comparisons with the murkier side of electro pop, usually bands like
New Order (band), New Order,
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
or
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
. While the comparisons have some basis, DRN are far from gloomy, just a bit ... cool... But this cool does not translate into pretension, just humorous and knowledgeable asides to their favourite artists, photographers and filmmakers".
The band's debut album ''We Love You Dark Matter'' was nominated for the
Choice Music Prize.
Career
Dark Room Notes formed in Dublin in 2004, recruiting drummer Shanahan in 2006. They performed their first gig in Galway in December 2006. Their debut single ''Love Like Nicotine'' was released in late 2007 on Gonzo Records, and became an alternative radio hit. This was followed in summer 2007 by the ''Dead Start Program EP'', which featured lead single ''Slow Puncture'' and an early recording of ''Shake Shake My Ceiling''.
The band were selected to play on the sixth series of the acclaimed
RTÉ music show ''Other Voices''
Dark Room Notes topped the 'Viewer's Choice' poll on RTÃ
for Series 6 of ''Other Voices''.
Producers who have worked with the quartet include
Flood (producer), Flood,
Tom Rixton and Ciarán Bradshaw.
The band recorded their debut album ''We Love You Dark Matter'' in London during the summer of 2008, with producer Ciaran Bradshaw. The album was released on Good Friday 2009 to widespread critical acclaim. DRN spent the ensuing months touring Ireland and playing all of the major festivals before being signed by BBE Records in the autumn. BBE released ''We Love You Dark Matter'' worldwide in spring 2010, preceded by the re-release of ''Love Like Nicotine'' on 8 February.
In January 2010 ''We Love You Dark Matter'' was nominated for the
Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year 2009.
In March 2010 DRN travelled to the CMW music festival in Toronto and SXSW in Austin, Texas.
In April 2010 drummer Darragh Shanahan announced his departure from the band with immediate effect. The remaining three members chose not to replace him, but to continue on using a drum machine.
''Dead Start Program'' was re-released on BBE on 18 April 2011.
In November 2011 DRN performed a specially-commissioned, self-composed soundtrack to the 1925 silent film ''
The Lost World'', at
The Model in Sligo.
The band completed the recording of their second album, entitled simply ''Dark Room Notes'', which was released on BBE on 9 April 2012, preceded by the single, ''Baby Don't Hurt Me No More'', on 5 March.
The band disbanded in March 2013.
Band members
Members
* Ronan Gaughan —
Vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
,
synth
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
, programming
* Ruairi Ferrie — Vocals, guitar, synth, programming, glockenspiel
* Arran Murphy — Vocals, synth,
glockenspiel
Former members
* Ruairi Cavanagh — Drums
* Darragh Shanahan — Drums
Discography
Albums and EPs
* ''Dead Start Program'' (GON002, CDS, 12 October 2007 - 4 track EP)
* ''We Love You Dark Matter'' (GON003 10 April 2009 - CD and Download)
* ''We Love You Dark Matter'' (BBE12ALP April 2010 - CD, 12" and Download)
* ''Dead Start Program'' (BBE 18 April 2011 - Download only)
* ''Dark Room Notes'' (BBE 9 April 2012)
Singles
* ''Love Like Nicotine'' (GON001, CDS and Limited Edition 7" Vinyl, June 2007 - 3 track single with remixes)
* ''Love Like Nicotine'' (BBE February 2010 - Download only)
* ''Elm'' (BBE Autumn 2010 - Download only)
* ''Baby Don't Hurt Me No More'' (BBE 5 March 2012)
References
External links
*
Dark Room NotesPR in Ireland
Fan site based in Austria
Videos
Video for Dark Room Notes single ''Love Like Nicotine'' on YouTubeVideo for Dark Room Notes single ''Shake Shake My Ceiling'' on YouTubeVideo for Dark Room Notes single ''Let's Light Fires'' on YouTubeVideo for Dark Room Notes ''Elm'' on Youtube
{{Authority control
Irish rock music groups
Irish electronic music groups
Musical groups from County Galway