The world is no stranger to Irish art. Indeed, a cultural boom over the last couple of years has kept the one eye on Irish stamped creativity. As big acts reach the red carpets, headline slots and award shows, there is a deeper evolution happening at the roots. Ireland – split into four provinces, all with their own deep history and culture have their own scenes emerging and cementing themselves. Interweaving genres, redefining and pushing boundaries. And producers like are precious to this evolution.
Starting with a cup of tea or coffee in his home studio and ending with a collaborative effort connecting artists from all over Ireland, is a defining snapshot of Irish rap in motion. With the lead single ‘Loose Leaf Tea’ – featuring and – Eulogy keeps his finger on the pulse. A producer/beatmaker with a distinct style that traverses genres, and geography absorbing notes of Drumless, Trap, Drum n’ Bass and some inspiration from the PumperRap wave in Belfast.
Eulogy is savvy, excited and aware of the genre he is flexing his beat-making skills in, acting as a tour guide for the current state of Irish Rap. CLASH writer chops it up with a pivotal talent.
What’s your feeling on the current state of Irish Rap?
It has its ups and downs. I think the Irish scene is generally pretty live with huge acts like , and . It still doesn’t feel like there’s enough infrastructure supporting the scene to allow it to live up to what it could be. I can’t speak as much for the scene in the South, but up in the North it’s very much an issue. There’s a lot more incredible artists out there than people realise. I do what I can to make sure people get heard.
What was the collaborative process like, how did it differ?
It’s very peaceful. I begin by offering a cup of tea or coffee, then oftentimes we get right into it. I love the shared energy of collaboration in person. There’s just nothing quite like creating and it’s all the more fun when someone else is involved directly. Once I have a comfortable relationship with an artist, I do tend to feel comfortable giving my more nuanced takes.
I’d say it was about 60-75% recorded in my own home studio while the rest will have been recorded in whatever studio the artist has access to. I love having the artist with me as I tend to provide in-depth feedback on the writing and performance. It’s nice to have the opportunity to retake things that I feel could be even better. The artists I chose across the board I trust will deliver a great performance, regardless. Even if they are recording remotely (like Curtisy or Made), I know it is gonna slap.
What was the inspiration behind the artwork?
The artwork is taken from a piece called ‘Melencolia I’ by Albrecht Dürer. I was fascinated by classic artwork in the hunt. I liked the idea that many pieces I was intrigued by were public domain! I happened across this one and it captivated my attention. It is an extremely dense piece of art that captures the vibe of ‘Melancholia’ perfectly.
What does Irish rap mean to you, how have you seen it evolve, how is it unique?
Irish rap to me is about showing the world that this little island holds some of the most concentrated talent on this planet. For such a small place, the amount of talented artists is astounding. It’s time to spread this good music to the world. I’ve seen it evolve from something so underground it felt like a rarity, to the Irish drill takeover then to the internet-focused scene that we have now. In Belfast it’s grown from rappers you could count in two hands to, probably, 10x that at least. We have artists who rap ‘As Gaeilge’ which is wonderfully unique to the island. I think we’re uniquely talented in this part of the world. In terms of sonics, I absolutely love it when artists fuse rap into trad. Especially Sean-nós. That stuff is beautiful.
What do you want the listener to take from the album, why ‘Melancholia’?
I want them to feel something. If anything at all I want them to take away how the project made them feel. Did it strike a chord with something, did any moments feel emotionally potent, did any lyrics make them rethink a situation, did any melodies have them reflect. I love music that taps into an inner part of your emotions. My music often has a melancholic tone and I thought I would lean into it for my first full length collaborative project.
How did Eulogy get to this point?
I first started as a beat maker, I quickly learned that there was a distinct lack of good engineers in Belfast. I knew that I had it in me to get good at that, so I worked hard mixing whatever I could get my hands on. Being an engineer was a cheat-code at promoting my own beats. As more and more people started to come to me to get their mixes, the more I got to show off my beats and grow a name for myself as an all-round producer with a huge network. I also have to attribute a huge chunk of my success to being easy to work with and flexible, with a good measure of constructive feedback.
What are you excited about in Irish music?
I’m extremely excited for a wave of homegrown music to go international. Of course we have artists here and there but I mean a whole scene. For example, the pumper-rap wave in Belfast is only warming up but it’s got a huge amount of global potential with its hard four-on-the-floor beats. It’s all about creating some moments.
‘Melancholia’ is out now.