Evoke master mix of styles – with trad still at its soul

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Loughrea four-piece Evoke have travelled a familiar path en route to their debut multi-track release. Well-versed in the art of the pub gig, the band has built up a wealth of stage experience and, in doing so, has cultivated a sound that incorporates elements of contemporary trad, folk and pop music. It’s a style designed to energise venues but, perhaps thanks to the balladeers they list as major influences, the group’s songs retain an intimacy in their lyrics and atmosphere.

Evoke released Can You Feel It? on Thursday, May 28 – the first single from their upcoming debut EP. It falls under the umbrella of Irish indie-pop with gritty vocals and euphoric hooks but the single separates itself by fusing the pop with banjo-laden trad.

Lead singer Keagan Forde explains the various steps it took to get the song to this point.

“We recorded it down in Tipperary in Joe Gallagher’s studio,” he recalls. “I’m doing a music course in LIT and a good friend of mine from college is really good at mixing and wanted experience so we gave him the song to mix.

“Then we sent it off to Chris Crehan from The Forge Studios in Galway. We did a bit of work with him before and he mastered them for us. All of our previous releases had been done with Chris in The Forge but unfortunately, it’s closed down so we didn’t have that option. I’d known Joe from college – we went to an open day at his studio to learn a bit about mixing so I knew he was good.”

Alongside Keagan, Evoke is made up of his brother Evan Forde on drums, Michael Glynn on bass guitar and Dylan Crean on banjo. The act has grown from its early days as a two-piece and Keagan highlights Dylan’s addition as a big moment.

“The banjo is everything to our act,” Keagan admits. “Dylan started off playing music with Loughrea Comhaltas. My brother Evan brought him over to the house one day, they’d have been friends from school.

“Me and Evan had a two-piece for a while but the three of us played a gig in a local pub and the minute the trad element came into it, every head in the pub turned and got really into it. We realised from there that there’s not a lot of young people or bands including the trad element. It’s Irish as well so being able to promote that as much as we can as well is an added bonus.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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