For Irish indie-punk outfit The Winter Passing, the summer months are truly underway; both physically and metaphorically. With a style inferenced by their melancholic moniker, their beautifully sombre sounds have recently led to international attention, not least a contract with Stateside label 6131 Records alongside FITA Records at home.
“Life for the band right now is really cool,” vocalist and guitarist Rob Flynn opens up, perhaps underplaying the band’s current trajectory. “We’ve been busy,” he adds. “We do as much as we can, a lot of behind the scenes stuff too. We’re happy to be active with the band right now, the shows have been great to play and we are excited for everything else coming up this year.”
With the first half of 2015 already proving fruitful – no pun intended on the band’s most recent single, ‘Fruits of Gloom’ – The Winter Passing have a long-awaited album release looming. “We’ve been sitting on the record for about a year now,” Rob offers with an air of frustration. “We ran into some technical issues earlier in the year pushing the release back to September instead of May, but hey we’re almost there now!”
“You see, when we finished tracking the record we began to move with the release with FITA Records in the UK, but once 6131 expressed their interest in releasing the record we held it back a bit, worked some stuff out and set the original release date of May,” he recalls, “but there was an issue at the pressing plant which forced us to push the date back later into the year.”
Providing the band the necessary time to settle into their current situations, Rob remains positive over the unexpected delays. “Looking back at it now, it was for the best and we’re in a good place now for releasing it,” he admits.
‘A Different Space Of Mind’ has been formed by the band’s insular experience. Fronted by a brother and sister duo, with Kate Flynn joining Rob at the band’s core, the record lays on the foundation of shared experience. “Our roots; where we came from,” Rob offers when questioned on the driving force behind the sound. “We all grew up together in a small town in Ireland and all have a similar passion for music. The record is an interpretation of our lives and experiences, sonically.”
Hailing from Tipperary, a town with a population little over the five thousand mark in the middle of Ireland, a scene for these music lovers was all but non-existent. Dublin has quickly emerged as the band’s musical home. “We’re fortunate enough to have support from a bunch of people in different cities in a bunch of different places,” he explains. “Most of my favourite musicians and bands are ones I get to see and play with on a somewhat regular basis.”
For Rob, it’s an exciting time to be Irish. Citing Girl Band and September Girls as a couple of examples, the spread from Ireland towards international success is increasing. “In the major cities there is no lack of scenes, some are bigger than others but they exist,” he imparts. “It is hard for any band anywhere to get noticed by record labels or management people in the music industry I feel. It all comes down to the band’s work ethic and vision. For us, we are fortunate enough to have support from two great labels, but we wouldn’t have been given these opportunities if we didn’t just get out on the road and tour. Through touring, we met a lot of people who have helped push this band forward.”
It is the consistent touring, according to Rob, that sparked interest from FITA and in turn 6131. Having signed to the latter on Christmas Eve last year, followed by some copious alcohol consumption, many doors have now been opened for The Winter Passing; doors which they are more than ready to step through. “If anything, I think signing to both labels has kept the direction of the band solid,” he concludes. “We weren’t sure what we were going to do next before the labels got involved. Now we’re more focused on working on new music, idea and moving forward with The Winter Passing.”
