After a decade-long recharge, Neosupervital, aka multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Donovan, has re-emerged, poised to remind the world why his infectious blend of synth-driven pop earned him comparisons to Beck and Eels. His new single, ‘Factory Presets’, drops as the first taste of Transporter, his eagerly awaited third album. Known for hypnotic beats and introspective lyrics, O’Donovan is as at home behind a synth as he was drumming for Irish staples Bell X1. Jason Barnard caught up with him to talk about the making of his new material, the trials of the modern music industry, and what keeps him coming back to the studio.
‘Factory Presets’ is described as exploring the concept of self-discovery. What sparked this theme for you?
Well I started noticing some not-great patterns of behaviour in my life that needed addressing. There’s a saying along the lines of “the definition of stupidity is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome” – I noticed that if I wanted a chance of contentment (not happiness, which is fleeting in my book) I might have to alter how I was approaching life. “Factory Presets” is me noticing and acknowledging this, thankfully with a bit of hindsight. Plenty more insights to be had, but it’s good to get the ball rolling 🙂
How does it differ sonically and lyrically from your earlier work?
Well everything I’ve been recording recently has been much slower. I look back at tunes on my first album and I was in a Ramones state of mind – get in and out as fast as possible, don’t bore us, get to the chorus type thing. One of my early tunes, ‘Step Into The Sunshine (Baby Alright)’ clocks in at 150bpm as far as I recall. Still great fun to play but I wanted to let things breathe a little more this time. I know tempo isn’t sonics, but it does allow for more space interesting sounds when you slow things down. So ‘Factory Presets’ clocks in at super lazy 85bpm, which is a great head-nodding tempo. The verses are super-sparse with just drums and synth bass and a few bits of ear candy underneath the vocals. This contrasts nicely with the chunky fuzz riff in the chorus.
Lyrically it’s probably the most honest tune I’ve written. No characters or unrequited love or external subject matter, just me holding up a lyrical mirror and seeing what’s going on inside for a change. Not that other songs don’t have an element of self-reflection going on, just that ‘Factory Presets’ is more blatant in addressing my current mind state.
As a solo artist, how do you approach creating music now compared to when you played in a group?
Any time I play or have played in a band there’s inevitably an element of compromise. You have to take other people’s ideas on board and work to integrate your ideas with theirs so it all fits together. Depending on the band that can be very gratifying or very frustrating. So with Neosupervital, it has always been me calling the musical shots. That has it pros, in that I get the sounds that are in my head directly onto the hard drive without anyone saying they’re not happy with them. It’s very satisfying to hear an idea hit your ears and thing ‘that’s exactly how I imagined it!’. The cons to this are that you can go down sonic rabbit holes very easily without anyone else to bounce ideas off. It’s also very hard to impose a deadline on yourself.
How does the Dublin music scene influence you?
Well starting out it was my social scene, my world really. I love that I could go into Dublin city to a gig or record shop and be guaranteed to meet up with fellow musicians and have a good time hanging out, talking about and listening to music.
I’m slowly getting back into that world again, after extracting myself from it for a while. I still love the hanging out at gigs, checking out other band’s merch, nerding out over synths and pedals. I also love the camaraderie of being in bands. As a drummer for hire it’s a great way to meet and hang out with crew, sound engineers and of course other musicians. I’ve made some great friends all over the country from touring my music. It’s a great way to meet great people.
What’s been the biggest challenge of releasing music today compared to 20 years ago?
Hmm, I think just cutting through the volume of music that’s being released is the main challenge. It’s easier than ever to make high quality recordings, which is cool, but that just means far more people are at it. Social media is fantastic for marketing (as long as it doesn’t take over your life) but I do think there’s huge value in playing live shows as much as possible to create true connections with music lovers.
Looking back, how would you describe Neosupervital’s identity today compared to when you first started?
Back when I first started out I dressed as a character really, in a suit and tie with flashing shades. I played a Casio DG-20 synth guitar as well. It was a gut reaction to the glut of serious blokes with acoustic guitars that was quite prevalent at the time. As a solo artist I just wanted to differentiate myself from that type of presentation, use a bit of humour too.
Today I still have a stage outfit of jacket, cap and glasses – a little more sports casual this time around 🙂 I’m not as hell bent on being different, just more interested in being relaxed and myself on stage. Or a slightly amplified version of myself.
Having been active for years, what motivates you to keep creating and experimenting musically?
Well I was very active up to the release of my second album, then I kinda just lost my nerve with the whole music thing for a while. I didn’t pick up so much as an acoustic guitar for quite a few years, which is very odd now that I think about it. I guess I had to step away from the mistress that is music to do something else (that something else being post production audio and voiceover). I slowly started to drift back to writing, playing and producing with other people first, always checking if I was enjoying the process. This time around it had to be fun. To my delight I still had the urge to play and create. More so than ever actually. So what motivates me is the joy of creating something musical from a mere thought, that’s pretty magical. Also, the ability to express myself through music is such a valuable personal pressure release valve that I never take it for granted.
How important is the visual aspect in complementing your music?
It’s pretty important I think. Sure, songs can exist on their own in the audio world, but it’s fun to accompany them with interesting visuals and bring them to life. I also like to look at performers that are interesting to the eye as well as ear, who put some thought into the presentation of their music, be it a light show, projections, stage wear, even choice of instruments. It all adds to the enjoyment.
‘Factory Presets’ is an advance single for your forthcoming album Transporter. Can you tell us more about the album?
‘Factory Presets’ is one of perhaps 3 or 4 singles that I’ll be releasing prior to the album itself. The songs I’m planning on releasing are all very different from each other, which I find exciting. ‘Factory Presets’ is an 85bpm head nodder, the next tune is probably going to be a 115bpm four to the floor dance tune, the one after that is a mid tempo epic with layers of distorted guitar and synth, and the other one is a funky Summer jam.. So to answer your question, there’ll be something for all tastes, while still sounding like Neosupervital. I didn’t set out to write such different tunes, they just happened. Thinking about it, some of my favourite albums jump all over the place stylistically, but still have a strong artistic identity which holds everything together.
Are you planning any live performances to coincide with Transporter?
I am indeed. I’ve been doing a bunch of support slots recently, for everyone from Stewart Copeland to George Clanton to Irish electronic band Houseplants.
I’m just about to book a headline show for March, as well as put together an acoustic set which is a fun way of presenting my electronic pop songs to a different audience. I’m also looking forward to playing a bunch of festivals this Summer. The more shows I play the better, I can’t wait!
