THE writing partnership of John Broe and Róisín Ó goes back to Róisín’s debut solo album in 2013. The former member of nudisco/pop act Miracle Bell, John Broe and songwriter Róisín O’Reilly (sister of Danny and Mary Black is her mum) created the duo Thanks Brother as their music style developed into a darker sound.
2018’s ‘We Are Different’ was the debut as TB with its strong video emphasising the importance of inclusiveness in society.
Current single is ‘We Caught It’ comes with a Richey McCourt remix. The video was made for a song, at no cost, shot on iPhones at a party and looks very impressive.
“It was a spur of the moment decision to film it while we were at The Google Christmas Party in the RDS… which we weren’t really supposed to be at…
“There there was 5,000 people in the RDS. There were all these rooms that looked like scenes from a Katy Pery video. It all sort of fits in with the imagery of the song – doing shit you’re not supposed to when you’re drunk,” says Róisín.
The duo have contributed to songwriting sessions with Danny O’Reilly and Gavin James and have a couple of co-writes with The Coronas, including ‘Real Feel’, the first U.S. single from their chart topping ‘Trust the Wire’ album.
Thanks Brother have seen their star rise on Spotify recently with the single ‘We Caught It’. It was included on Spotify’s Perfect Day playlist.
Since the demise of CD sales, focus has moved to streaming sites to promote a band’s touring potential. While John says that he thought it was “game over” for musicians for four or five years, he is on board with the possibilities of the subscription based music model.
“I think it works for us. For someone like Gavin James, Spotify does work for them.
“It gets you out to a wider audience. Look at Dermot Kennedy now. He is probably nowhere near as big in Ireland because radio doesn’t pick him up. Radio in Ireland is quite fickle.
“He did really well on Spotify and he is selling out theatres in Seattle and around America now.”
Róisín’s message to new Limerick acts is that getting playlisted on streaming sites can win big gains for artists.
“If you are an unknown you have to get onto the playlists on Spotify. Because of that playlist on Perfect Day, we have more listeners outside of Ireland than in Ireland!”
“There is a centre of power. If you don’t know how to get to them then it can be difficult. There is a whole level of noise and you have to rise above that noise and then have someone pick you up.”
Thanks Brother play Dolans Kasbah on Saturday March 23.
