Catch up with Relish at Róisín Dubh show

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegrove@live.ie

Relish bring their uplifting, rocky sound to the Róisín Dubh on Friday, November 13. Led by Co Down brothers Ken and Carl Papenfus, Relish re-released their first two albums Wildflowers (2001) and Karma Calling earlier this year. The brothers got in touch with Universal Records, which had taken over their old label EMI.

“They brought us down for a meeting and discussed re-releasing the material,” Ken says.  “We couldn’t have been happier, especially because the second album didn’t get around that much; there wasn’t much of a push behind it for whatever reason. Getting it out there again was great.

“There’s a whole new audience out there, maybe two generations that aren’t aware of Relish,” he adds. “It feels like we’re coming back in one respect, and we’re starting over in another.”

Relish are bolstered by two new members, with Paul Musgrave on bass and Nick Joseph on guitar.

“Paul Musgrave was a bass player in other bands that we used to play in when we were kids,” Ken says. “It just so happened that he rang me one day talking about buying some new equipment. He was totally off the scene and wanted to know what he could get for his money.

“We started talking about equipment, and it went on from there to ‘are you doing much playing?’ I said ‘Paul, you’re more than welcome to come up, let’s have a jam’. It went on from there.”

Nick joined the band after spending an evening with Carl and some other friends, and the subject of Relish came up.

“It’s been very informal, very relaxed,” Ken says. “The guys are fans of the music, so we said we’d take it a step at a time.”

Relish returned this year after a few years away from the live scene. Carl and Ken have kept themselves busy, with Carl playing with Paul Weller and both brothers joining Sinéad O’Connor’s band.  Given the demands of playing with A-listers like that, where does Relish fit in their list of priorities?

“Relish is number one right now,” Ken says. “We’re finished the Sinéad O’Connor tour and we have some studio work with another artist in November.  The rest of the month is taken up with Relish on tour, and getting ready for the next record. We’re in the middle of recording our next album at the minute.”

Where is that album being made?

“Different places. We’ve done some recording in Dublin and we have a studio at home. We’ve done some bits in London. We’re not being too particular in how we put it together. It’s a nice mish-mash, and hopefully it’ll make sense in the end.”

Relish first signed to EMI in 1998. After almost two decades later, does Ken find the music business any easier to negotiate? He laughs ruefully at the question.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.