In the Hot Seat - Republic of Loose

“Basically you can’t trust anyone.” Benjamin Loose, bassist of Irish R’n’B funk band Republic of Loose informs me. We’ve managed to corner him for half and hour and have a bit of a chat about how the band have been doing of late. With that, this question and answers session has developed into quite the discussion. Republic of Loose are another hard-working Irish band and, unlike some of the younger groups on the circuit, the Freshers’ Fortnight Tuesday Bar-Ex headliners have ‘been around’ and are at the point where they just are not afraid to admit it. Planning the recording of their third album and on the cusp of officially releasing their second album ‘Aaagh’ in Britain it’s all go for these Dubliners. A laid back, incredibly down-to-earth and honest character, Benjamin Loose had some advice to offer the wannabe rock star;

“Disregard all advice. Don’t trust anyone and distrust everyone in the industry. Everyone we have dealt with in every language, if they are making a living out of the industry then they are probably scumbags. It’s harsh but if you accept that then you probably won’t get stung. The thing about it is that all the lawyers, all the agents, venues and managers have been in this for thirty, forty years and most bands can last on average about five or six years so if you think they are going to fuck things up for each other then you’re wrong. They will be maintaining their own relationships for their own preservation. Even successful bands make three records and then disappear. You can’t be naïve about it. We are lucky - our manager is a friend and has been with us for years, our accountant is a school friend and we know and trust these guys.”

Despite the overwhelming cynicism of Benjamin’s ‘introduction’ to the music industry, a music lover and self-confessed dreamer like me cannot help but warm to him and enquire further. Having spent a year abroad in France, in no other than a tiny southern town, Orange I was surprised to fall upon Republic of Loose there. To sip ‘un vert’ in the ONLY bar in this TINY place and suddenly recognise the ballsy bass line intro of ‘Comeback Girl’ was almost surreal. Expecting Benjamin to respond in surprise I was the one left astounded as he explains, almost laughing, how they are still chasing their hit single around;

“We didn’t have the time or money to catch the wave of its [Comeback Girl] success.”

“That situation is definitely weird. It seemed to get on to French radio but we don’t really know how it happened. We hadn’t put ‘Comeback’ out anywhere apart from maybe here, The Philippines or other small territories but it took on a life of its own. I think that Paris’ equivalent to 2fm, ‘Radio Nova’ got hold of it and played it and it just took off. However we didn’t have the time or money to catch the wave of its success. Unlike most bands we were able to make a record without a record deal. We wanted to release it here at home immediately but as soon as we get it out here it’s out everywhere, thanks to the internet, so we can’t catch up on it. It’s kind of fucked up in one sense. It’s deadly having successful songs but just a pain in the hole not having the album to buy the week after and basically bands need to sell records.”

This uncatchable wave that ‘Comeback Girl’ had started made its journey the whole way to Los Angeles where The Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones’ show, ‘Jones’ Jukebox’ played the track after discovering it on the internet. Jones’ show on LA’s largest indie station, Indie 103 is famously impossible to get airplay on, but Republic of Loose even managed to do a live show in the same week as fellow rockers The Faces and Noel Gallagher.

“It was incredible. He literally played it non-stop and another Indie 103 DJ, Nick Harcourt played it constantly. It’s rare that we were able to do this on our own.”
The success of ‘Comeback Girl’ is definitely something to be proud of but without the distribution backup and financial aid of a record label it is difficult to follow up on such successes abroad. However, Benjamin is definitely not willing to trust the record industry quite yet;
“I think the best thing for us at the moment is just to license. If you sign a major deal you need your head examined. The industry is in a very fucked up place right now, very little business is being done and very little new music is being signed. The people who are getting record deals are basically a repetition of stuff that had sold well previously. I would defy anybody to show me anyone that has been signed in the last two years that is new music. It’s just not happening.

“no one really knows what the fuck is going on or going to happen.”

“Due to the internet, record companies are in a crisis and no one really knows what the fuck is going on or going to happen. They’re not taking any risks whatsoever so they’re repeating what went before and they wont stop doing that until they work out what’s going to happen with the internet.”

So Republic of Loose will not barter with any record label, unless they receive ‘ten million Euro’. Indeed it is true that there have been so many Irish bands with the same story in the last few years. For many of the lucky ones, they have been shown interest and some have signed deals, they record about three albums and the public either cast them aside or the record companies do it for us.
If the internet is to blame for the ‘mess’ of the record industry then surely bands such as Republic of Loose will be disillusioned by this modern medium and provider of so much free music today? You would think so, wouldn’t you?

“The internet is liberating and it’s cutting out the middle man. Before, unless a band was signed you [the public] would never hear them. Today, they can put it on MySpace or elsewhere and the public can access them. Back in the day the record company gave you [the public] a number of options and that’s all you could ever hear. Now there are millions of options. It’s kind of like TK Maxx. You have to shift through shit but at the end of the day you’ll find something that’s really good value and that you won’t find anywhere else.”

It seems that Republic of Loose will just have to work off their own bat in the coming months to promote their last album ‘Aaagh’ in Britain. Despite this somewhat gloomy outlook their tracks are, yet again, taking on a life of their own, spurred on my some huge personalities in the entertainment industry.
“Jo Whiley and Dermot O’Leary have been playing the record, which is amazing considering their listenership. Our recent British tour supporting the Alabama Three was also a huge help to us as we have been gaining some followers through that.”

While they work on making the UK fall in love with their second album, the band have set their sights on their third offering. Said to be an amalgamation of the traditional band sound of their first and the shinier, more metrical recording of their second; fans can only water at the mouth in anticipation. Indeed, the Students’ Union crowd were treated to a sneak preview of their upcoming new single, ‘’Go Steady With It’. As always, the Maynooth crowd revered Republic of Loose with the usual reception – crazy dancing, constant cheering and singing the lyrics back to the delighted Loose.

“College gigs are fucking great!”


“Maynooth always has a raucous atmosphere. I think it’s because people here know us and like us. Jesus, college life is designed for partying and Maynooth students certainly know how. After UCD (UCD is lead singer, Mick’s, university) Maynooth is a close second to the total insanity we witness at our gigs every time. College gigs are fucking great!”

Benjamin is obviously lapping up the reception here and elsewhere but it is obvious that he remains cynical about the future of the ‘rock band’.
“It’s nostalgia. If you look at the people playing the RDS it’s Rihanna or Amy Winehouse. I’m not giving out about that – they’re incredibly good pop acts but the whole traditional idea of joining a rock band and conquering the world is over. If they are labouring under this misconception then they should just deal with the job at hand. There are not many rock bands who conquer the world anymore - The days of playing Wembley Stadium are gone. The money just isn’t there because kids aren’t buying, they’re downloading. This is a different industry than a few years ago.”

If this is the case then one wonders what Republic of Loose are actually working towards. Happy to be able to own their own music, gig constantly and make a few grand a year appears to suffice for Benjamin. Despite the issues in the industry that the internet has thrown up, allowing new and unknown bands to be heard whilst being the central cause to the drop in ‘official’ sales, Benjamin Loose is pretty content with the way things are.

“I’m not sorry that there isn’t a handful of rock stars making 100 million quid a year but if there’s a hundred musicians making ten or twenty grand a year then that’s fucking great.”


www.republicofloose.com
New album due out in Ireland next year.