Cork duo Wasps Vs Humans launch their second album this weekend
Wasps Vs Humans are creating a buzz around their new album, which is being launched on Saturday, October 3, at the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork City.
Speaking ahead of their launch concert in Crane Lane on Saturday, Carl and Linda Plover took a look at everything that went into the album, with Carl suggesting that “in a way this feels more like our first album, in that we made the decision to write this together with a theme, whereas our first album, Scratch Card Empires, was more a collection of lots of different songs recorded at different times over the span of 20 years”.
The project was based in two different recording locations, which Carl feels helped the process.
“We decided to record the album in both Cork and Dublin, to work with two different studios with the idea of capturing a different vibe for certain songs. We did some sessions at Ailfionn Studios in Dublin with Chris Barry. There’s a live, wild, organic feel to these recordings. Although the tracks are recorded separately, I think it’s important to keep the takes to just a few; I rarely do more than two takes. Chris is very intuitive and empathetic when it comes to feeling the music and he really captured the moment.”
Linda laid out who they collaborated with closer to home.
“We’ve worked with Cormac O’Connor over the years, at his studio, The Maple Rooms here in Cork. He’s a brilliant engineer and producer; he’s not shy to pull apart the songs and put them back together again. This way of working is really helpful to me and removes the anxiety of fluffing it up. I do tend to overthink things; I like the magnifying glass and the process of producing a well-polished track.”
Carl found that songs organised themselves quite easily.
“We kept listening to the mastered tracks for a couple of weeks to figure out the album order and how they would sit together. It felt very natural to separate the two studio recordings into side A and side B.”
He also considers the material as developing in their time, rather than the pair preconceiving the content.
“When we wrote the first few songs, they tended to point towards a similar path, which revealed the direction we were going with this album. Then there was a definite theme developing. It felt like each track was coming from similar places – anti- war, gun culture, capital punishment, eating up and destroying nature and Donald Trump makes an appearance. When I was growing up, America seemed like a magical place with large cars and tall buildings. I grew up with Starsky and Hutch, but today’s America seems like a skewered version and a much grimmer place. I think it’s an emotional response to everything that’s going on. Not pointing the finger at one issue, an overview – dark but with a huge dollop of irony and humour. Laughing into Armageddon.”
Those themes loomed for Linda too.
“It’s doom, death, war and social decay viewed through our lens. As parents, there’s always the worry about how our kids navigate the world and unfortunately the planet seems to be a much darker place right now; a so-called free world, where the money-led ‘powers that be’ seem hell bent on supporting cruelty, whilst silencing the moral and good.”
Working together as a couple wasn’t how Wasps Vs Humans was originally envisaged, as Carl reflected on what has led to this point.
“Wasps vs Humans was initially my spoken word project. From writing poetry and performing I started adding beats and then Linda joined me on a few of the shows and there was more music involved. We’ve really developed our sound over the last two years and we both write the songs now.
“This album is more equal in terms of the writing process. I like the blank page and would tend to start a song; the basic bones of it and the lyrics always come first, which will also dictate the musical direction. Then Linda comes in and re-works the lyrics and arranges the piece. There can be no ego when writing together. It’s a fluid process and you need to have an open attitude and accept that if a line is made better, then that is fine.”
Leaning on each other’s innate talents makes the process run best according to Linda.
“I’m naturally an editor and am useless when it comes to a blank page. I could be faffing around with one line and not get any further. I love it when Carl hands me the bones of a song that I can really get my teeth into and shape it. We’ve been married 23 years and when it comes to creating music together, the magic is still there. Our shared values do inform our songwriting, but we are still our own persons, which makes it interesting when blending together each other’s lyrics.”
Carl credits playing live as really helping the songs find their feet.
“Gigs have helped develop the sound and direction. It’s a lot more focused now, electro punk, with a clash of trad. Most of the set is electric guitar, and I play drums on most of the album.”
They are looking forward to the early time for their launch party, as Carl put in: “There’s a slightly different vibe – as well as performing, we’ll be signing copies of the album, which gives us a chance to meet people. A teatime event, rather than late night makes sense. We would also like our launch to be accessible to younger audience members… although we do advise that the language may not be considered appropriate for very young ears!”
- Wasps vs Humans plus special guests Thewlis play a tea time concert in The Crane Lane on Saturday, October 3, from 4-6pm. Admission is free, but booking via eventbrite enables an exclusive Vinyl pre-order option.
