Return of the rebel with no time for cardigans or acoustic guitars

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Dublin funk outfit Republic of Loose are one of the most innovative Irish bands in recent memory – and now, five years after their split, the group’s former frontman is picking up where he left off.     Having spearheaded the writing, production and performance of the Loose, Mik Pyro is set to launch his solo career with a debut album soon to be released.

Mik plays Galway’s Róisín Dubh on Friday, May 17, in what is bizarrely being billed as his first solo headline show outside of Dublin.

After a tumultuous few years of personal tragedies and battling addictions, Mik’s return to music is a welcome one.

His first single, Very Strange, was released last year to great acclaim. It retains the musical ingenuity and catchy funk of some of his older work but as a solo artist, Mik seems set on adopting a more introspective approach to songwriting.

“Lyrically, I’ve tried to delve more into personal, autobiographical stuff,” Mik notes.

“With the last five years there’s a lot to talk about so I’ve tried to take more care with the lyrics than I have before. A lot of the time I used to write the lyrics in the vocal booth or as the last thing I’d write but this time I’m putting a lot more emphasis on them.

“The rest of the album is a bit more serious. In general, it’s not quite as light-hearted but it is much more confessional. I think it’s similar to the Loose stuff but it’s a bit more modern.”

Mik admits there have been positives and negatives to transitioning out of the band mentality.

While he has embraced the autonomy of solo life, there are aspects of collaboration that he is keen to retain in his future work.

The upcoming album is set to feature several former members of Republic of Loose as well as vocalist Gavin Friday.

“In one sense, it’s liberating because you don’t have five different opinions,” he admits.

“We were a very democratic band in a lot of ways so there’d have been a lot of discussion about different parts and sometimes it’d take ages to discuss things.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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