Dublin trio N.O.A.H have released their new single ‘Darkest Hour’. I caught up with drummer Ronan Hynes to chat about the new single, their collaboration with Booka Brass, and how they create their energetic sound.
N.O.A.H. have taken their time releasing their sophomore single, letting their anthemic debut single ‘Shine’ breathe a little while keeping us all in suspense as to what we can expect next.
“Initially, we were hoping to have the track out by January but obviously as soon as Christmas time was over and we went back into a longer period of lockdown we felt that it wasn’t the right time, that it would probably get drowned out by all of the news and negativity.So we decided that we’d hold off for a few weeks and see if that would have any effect and thankfully, it’s worked out in our favor. We released this at the very start of February instead of January and it’s been received quite well at the moment so we’re really happy with that”
‘Shine’ received extensive airplay across national and regional radio and was featured as 2FM’s Breakfast with Doireann & Eoghan’s Track of the Week – alongside N.O.A.H making their international debut with a featured live performance on Laura Whitmore’s BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast show. During a difficult time for musicians, the band managed to create a fantastic number to charm all our hearts. The band collaborated with Booka Brass for their new single, ‘Darkest Hour’. The collaboration elevates the song to new heights and adds a new dimension to N.O.A.H’s already dynamic sound.
“It’s amazing when you actually think about it. It’s certainly something that we don’t think about enough. It’s very easy to get lost in these times, and expect things to be like they used to be but it’s nice to take a step back every now and then and see what we have achieved with the obstacles that have been in our way. To be honest, we thought ‘Shine’ was a great song, but we weren’t expecting the positivity that it got during such a negative time, then we were thinking, how do we beat ‘Shine’ or what comes next. I suppose we went with a different direction this time. We wanted to give our rock roots a bit more freedom than the more commercial pop side of things and we were delighted to be able to express that. Even to have the lads from Booka Brass, that was great as well to have such cool lads feature on the track too. “
“It happened while we were writing the track. We had done everything pretty much remotely. The drums had been recorded in a studio back in, I think it was June or something, and then the rest of the time was spent in our different houses sending emails back and forth. We were kind of struggling to find a certain element that was missing, you know, it was a good idea as a song, but we wanted to make it great. It was our manager that said, you know, it’d be very cool to have brass involved there. We were big fans of Booka Brass anyway because they’re so unique and it just so happened that our producer, Phil Hayes had actually worked with them before. So he reached out to them and from there, we created an email thread to get it all sorted because we haven’t met them before, we haven’t even spoken to them properly. So it’s quite interesting when you listen to the track and realize that, the chemistry is a bit strange, but it still works out”
‘Darkest Hour’ shows a more raw side to N.O.A.H‘s sound. It has a spiraling soundscape that conveys mental health in an extraordinarily intense and evocative way and feels as if both lyrically and instrumentally, the band dig deep in an attempt to explain or describe the vast emotions one experiences. Ronan explained to me how the band achieved this through the space created by remote writing.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one, when you’re speaking about things that are close to you. I suppose that side of things is close to all three of us. So when you’re being, even a small bit open…,I suppose you feel a bit apprehensive to do it. But the lyrics display the emotion, and the music is kind of the armor around it. Sometimes if you listen to the lyrics, then you’ll get the idea. But then you’re almost distracted by the music going on as well. So it’s not so much focused on it. I think we’ve done a good job at that. It’s not something we were ready to dive into completely yet but it is a very important topic that we did want to cover”
“With the song talking about the whole getting into your head, it’s just yourself, battling yourself. So, to be honest, when you’re by yourself, and you’re recording this kind of style of music and having that deep thought in the back of your head, I think it almost motivated you to do the best take that you can do and ultimately, I think, it’s made the song even better.”
‘Shine’ and ‘Darkest Hour’ are a fine display of musical prowess. N.O.A.H are becoming pros at writing big melodic hooks that evoke images of arena-worthy shows. Their catchy choruses and energetic soundscapes have made plenty of people hungry for live performances. The band automatically puts that image in people’s heads of what to expect when live shows come back, and it’s getting people excited. This alone is a fantastic way to entice people and gather the masses for live shows when they return. Ronan discussed with me how they write these catchy hooks and melodies and how they are prepping for the return of live shows
“It’s certainly something that changes from time to time. But, there is plenty, of situations where, say, Adam or Ryan could come in with a little idea or melody, and we will expand on that. Then other times, it would be, moments when we’d be playing together, through jamming, it would just come organically. So it’s not something that’s consistently the same formula, we’re lucky enough that there’s times where we could just come across a really nice melody, or it could be a case where we’re just really into a jam and something cool comes out, just like ‘Shine’ did.”
“Yeah, funnily enough, we’ve had conversations throughout the week, just saying, you know, imagine when we play this,live, how is it going to be received? And, it’s cool to think, even the “Oh oh “ parts, if it was blasted back at you, but at the moment, we’re still writing. So our main focus is to make sure that anything that we do translates to a nice energetic field for live, because we know in the back of our minds that as soon as gigs come back, as you said, People are dying to go to them. So it’s going to be a case that we need to be ready. We need to have the arsenal behind us to give that energy back to the people. So it certainly is exciting when you listen to it, and you imagine, but It’s a bit sad, because you’re just waiting to get that out during uncertain times.”
N.O.A.H released a cinematic and impressive music video for ‘Shine.’ It has a Stranger Things vibe, and I wondered if we can expect another equally captivating video for ‘Darkest Hour.’
“We hooked up with this up and coming director, Mark, JD Smyth. He’s just a really cool, really creative guy. We basically just let him have free rein on the idea that we gave him, the themes that we wanted to be covered and we gave him a rough idea of how we wanted it to be. Then from there, he just went wild. So yeah, it was really cool and definitely had an 80s kind of Stranger Things vibe to it. We have a great team around us that keeps our feet on the ground. I think, if it was just left to the three of us, we’d be throwing music out every week. You know that’s the way we see things. So it’s important that we have a team around us that make us think logically about things as opposed to just sporadically throwing things out there.”
“We were discussing it to see if we were going to do a video but I think this time around what we’re trying to do is just connect with people through our social media as opposed to just throw out a video on YouTube and ask people to watch it. So we’re doing different things with ‘Darkest Hour’. I think at the moment, we have a TikTok video that is in three parts, and it’s explaining what all three of us do in our mundane days. It’s a day in the life of kind of a thing. So we’re trying to be a little bit more creative and a little bit more DIY with what we’re doing at the moment. We don’t have any plans for any major blockbuster videos for ‘Darkest Hour’ at the moment, but who knows? something could change next week, and we could think, let’s go for it.”
Like many artists now, the band has taken to social media to engage with their audience and release content to showcase their style. N.O.A.H have done a fantastic job once again with this; pacing their content and giving something fun, engaging, and fresh to their audience each and every time.
“ I think bands strive to make their name from a live point of view. It’s all very well and good listening to us on streaming platforms and stuff like that. But the real raw emotion and vibe that you get from a band comes from live. So to be a band that’s come into the music world without that element, it’s I think, tougher for us to gain the trust of people. It’s like what do we have for them to follow us kind of a thing. It pushes us to think, what do we have to offer? What can we give to people in order for them to give back to us? So I think it’s tough. It certainly is something that we’re wrecking our heads around every day, and trying to think of new things. But it keeps us on our toes trying to think of content, and not necessarily be musical. It certainly gives us a bit of adventure during the days to think about.”
The band are pacing their songs well, leaving us hungry fans on a hook and craving for more music. However, Ronan reassured me we will be getting a steady stream of new music from the band this year.
“At the moment we’re just writing so much. We’re focusing on getting a few new songs out before the end of the year. So hopefully, we’ll have three or four more singles planned before the year is out. That’s basically what we’re doing at the moment, we’re just figuring out obviously, the songs, whether it be one that we write tomorrow or one that we’ve written last week. Then from there, the logistics of it, when we’re going to release it, how much time it gives us between them because at the end of the day we don’t want to jump too quickly from one single to the next one. As you said previously it’s a case that we need to let ‘Darkest Hour’ breathe a bit and kind of settle in, and then move on in the background, after a month or two and see where we can go from there. So our plan is certainly to release more singles. The dates for them are to be confirmed, but we’re certainly not looking to slow down”
N.O.A.H are a promising and talented band with a powerful, refined sound well beyond their years. Their confidence and musical knowledge allow them to create exhilarating tunes which exude deft lyrical content and mind-spinning rock soundscapes. Watch out, these guys are locked, loaded, and ready for some well-deserved world domination.
Stream ‘Darkest Hour’ below
Author : Danu
