FIVE GREEN CIRCLE - AN INTERVIEW WITH DONAL TIERNEY
'Ghost Stories for Sulking Witches' vinyl will be released 20th Feb. 2025
After more than 20 years, I returned to my hometown, Poland. How surprised I was when, upon my return, I discovered that my neighbor is Donal Tierney, an Irishman from Dublin. And how even more surprised I was when I found out that this gentleman not only creates music but also releases it on vinyl and has quite impressive achievements. We quickly found common ground. The new Five Green Circle album "Ghost Stories for Sulking Witches" will be released on vinyl on February 20th. POLVINYL is responsible for pressing and distribution. Welcome to the interview with Five Green Circle!
Pan Winyl: Do you notice any similarities between Poland and Ireland?
Donal Tierney: I think there's a similar attitude in both countries. In Ireland, if something is done adequately but not 100% properly and by the book, people are very relaxed about it. We have a saying "it'll be grand," or don't worry about it, no one is going to notice. I think there's something similar in Poland where people don't get too stressed if everything isn't in perfect order. I like this because I tend to do things my own way a lot!
Pan Winyl: What about the music scene, do you see any differences in attitude in music reception?
Donal Tierney: I think both countries have very healthy underground and alternative scenes. I think if music is good it doesn't matter where it's coming from, people react to it either way. I think with indie and alternative acts they tend to have a local sound for the local audience which I think can be a reason why some tend to stay local throughout their careers. It can be hard to break out of the local market in some genres. With electronic music and jazz though I think the genres allow more mobility across borders possibly because these tend to be instrumental. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
Pan Winyl: Why did you decide to live in Poland?
Donal Tierney: My wife and I lived in Poznan about 20 years ago for a couple of years while she was finishing her Master's degree. We moved back to Ireland in 2007 for work reasons and then decided to come back here again in 2015 to raise our kids. I really like it here, especially the lakes and forests. I think the excitement of living in a city suited me when I was younger but now I prefer to be in a rural environment where things are a bit more chilled.
Pan Winyl: I was very surprised to find out that there was an Irishman living in Osno who was making music and releasing it on vinyl. Can you tell us about your musical history?
Donal Tierney: So I started very young, maybe about 8 or 9. My dad is a musician and there were always guitars and amps in our house growing up. My hippy uncle had a huge collection of vinyl which I used to go through and record onto cassette. There was a lot of different genres from folk to world music, rock, new wave and reggae, stuff like Pink Floyd, Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Chet Atkins, Culture, Tangerine Dream and the Orb.
Then when I was about 14, I worked in a restaurant washing dishes and saved up enough to buy an electric guitar. Child labour law wasn't really a thing in early 90s Ireland! Once I had that, I was playing in bands and writing songs and doing gigs around the local area, just outside Dublin. Battle of the bands and things like that. I was big into bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Pavement, Fugazi, Nine Inch Nails.
I think when I was about 17 I got a copy of Rebirth for our family PC, this was a 303, 808 software thing. This was where I started making electronic music. Once I got to college I was going clubbing in Dublin and a whole world of new music opened up for me. Dublin at the time had a very strong club scene and International artists played regularly. U2 had a club called the Kitchen and this is where I discovered Detroit Techno and Chicago House. I tried my hand at DJing for a while but I knew I wanted to make my own music and not play other people's.
Then there was this legendary club called the Funnel in Dublin where D1 Recordings put on a night once a week. I started going here regularly and became friends with the people organizing it. After a few years I had a decent computer, sound card and a keyboard and I was able to produce my own music. I recorded a demo CD, sent it to Eamonn Doyle in D1 recordings and he liked it. Then other people liked what I was doing and I had a string of releases on vinyl over the next few years and was playing live at various events and venues around Ireland.
Pan Winyl: Tell us more about your brother's band and your own?
Donal Tierney: Ronan, my brother, and I have been jamming since we were kids. We made the Pirates of the North album 15 years ago and have started to record a follow up in 2024. We had a good few songs written which we never recorded because life got in the way. We're both in a position now to commit time to it so hopefully we'll have a release in 2025. What I like about this project is that it is so different from Five Green Circle. It's much more traditional and genre specific. The project involves writing sheet music, old school songwriting, singing and capturing live performances. There is a simplicity about it that allows it to be played just on a piano or a guitar without any fancy equipment.
Pan Winyl: How did you transition from guitar music to electronic music?
Donal Tierney: I don't think I ever did transition from one form of music to the other really, when I was playing in bands I was messing with drum machines and when I was playing electronic music I was sampling guitars. When I start any music project the first thing I do is pick up a guitar. I have a cheap classical guitar I keep close by and record ideas into my phone. I also have a MIDI guitar which I use in the studio which can convert notes I play into digital signals which can trigger my synthesizers. I see myself as a guitarist first and foremost. Whatever genre I'm working in the guitar is my starting tool. I find it difficult to understand musicians who close themselves off to certain genres. I was taught at an early age to be receptive to all types of music as this is how you get better and learn.
Pan Winyl: Do you perform live? Where can you be seen?
Donal Tierney: I did a few live improvisation gigs with my modular synths last year. I hope to do more this summer.
Pan Winyl: What would you consider your greatest musical achievement?
Donal Tierney: The current record, "Ghost Stories for Sulking Witches," took a long time to make. One of the tracks, Hourglass, I'd been working on since 2006! I went through multiple different versions of it before I was happy with it. I had wanted to make a record like this for a good while. Something that had its feet in both the electronic and guitar worlds at the same time.
I also wanted to make an album that you sit down and listen to from start to finish. I know that nowadays most people listen to single tracks on streaming platforms and the art of the album has suffered from this in a way. I think listening to an album on vinyl forces the listener into engaging with the work as a whole piece in a way that a digital only release can't achieve.
Pan Winyl: How would you define success?
Donal Tierney: Being able to make music and finish projects. If I'm happy that I've finished something and it's out in the world, then that's success. If I don't make music I get anxious. I've learned over time that it's something I need to do to mitigate this. I have a huge archive of unfinished work that I feel I need to get through so achieving that goal for me is important.
Pan Winyl: I know this is an awkward question, but do you have any favorite albums that you would consider to have influenced your musical work?
Donal Tierney: Ok this is hard. Here's a list of some of my favorites over the years:
First album I ever bought when I was 10: Paul Simon's Graceland, 1987 Leadbelly Legacy, Vol.1 Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement Loveless by My Bloody Valentine Goo by Sonic Youth Disintegration by The Cure Selected Ambient Works Vol1 by Aphex Twin Music Has the Right To Children by Boards of Canada Madvilliany by Madvillain Donna by MMM (Errorsmith and Fiedel) Heavenly by E-dancer Japanese Animation by Japanese Telecom
At the moment I'm really into Kimono My House by Sparks and Television's Marquee Moon.
Pan Winyl: Do you still collect vinyl records and how large is your collection today?
Donal Tierney: About 10 years ago, I donated a large part of my collection to charity and kept only the best pieces. I started buying records again about five years ago, but I couldn't tell you exactly how many I have now.
Pan Winyl: Thank you for the conversation and I'm looking forward to the vinyl!
Donal Tierney: Thank you as well!