Class is in Session: Get To Know The Academic
Recently, Rianne attended a Zoom conference with The Academic. Here, you can read about the conversation that ensued, as well as her take on their new EP.
By Rianne Akindele
(PC: @thisiswolff)
The Academic are an Irish indie-rock four-piece, consisting of members Craig Fitzgerald (vocals/guitar), Dean Gavin (drums), and brothers Matthew Murtagh (guitar) and Stephen Murtagh (bass). In their seven years together, they’ve gone from initially meeting at school, to touring with bands like The Rolling Stones, Judah and The Lion, and The Strokes; releasing their debut album, Tales From The Backseat; signing with Capitol Records; and, finally, putting out their first body of work under a label, Acting My Age.
Their latest work is a six-track EP, filled with songs such as “Acting My Age” and “Anything Could Happen” that remind you of nights out with friends where you make a quick trip to the convenience store to grab some snacks, and unexpected adventure awaits, the laughs never stop, and neither do the random dance parties.
When asked about what kind of film they’d love to have their music used as a soundtrack for, guitarist Matt Murtagh stated and the band unanimously agreed on coming of age movies, like Booksmart. After pressing play on the EP, myself, I understood what they meant—it took me back to walking down the halls of my high school and the summers I had with friends before “real life” responsibilities kicked it, especially as track “Sunroof” rang through my speakers.
As the project comes to an end, listeners are met with the closing ballad titled “Them.” Lead singer Craig Fitzgerald explains that this song was inspired by his younger sister’s journey through youth and going to house parties with the hope of falling in love, but departing with sadness (as shown with the line, “Perfecting art of an Irish goodbye, leaving with tears in your eyes”). Closing the album with such a change in tempo leaves the listeners with “something to think about,” according to guitarist Stephen Murtagh.
When asked what he learned while creating the EP, Fitzgerald laughed. “Absolute, pure patience,” he said, later explaining how the verse and chorus were simply not coming together well while they were making “Them.” After twenty or so vocal trackings, the band decided to take a break from the song for a couple of days to diffuse the frustrations they felt. Through this journey, the band learned the importance of letting things flow naturally, as this song is now “[Craig’s] favorite on the EP.”
Despite their success and musical talent, the boys’ humility shined through as we chatted over a Zoom conference, alongside music journalists from other publications, in early July. The call felt like catching up with old friends as the band shared that they’d been writing songs through email and the frustrations that come with lockdown because, “How many songs about walks and dogs can you write?.” Drummer Dean also commented on how, hopefully, this pause due to COVID-19 will “push the whole industry towards supporting artists more in a digital way, as a lot of artists [usually] rely on touring [and] selling their merch to make a living.”
The conference began with a premiere of the new music video for their song, “Anything Could Happen.” Having landed back in Ireland just days before the UK went on lockdown, the band decided to change plans from traveling to the UK to film the music video and, instead, opted to steer the video in another direction, capturing each member alone in their room, playing their respective instruments along to the track. This content would become a definitive time-piece, along with Craig’s (jokingly addressed) hypothetical quarantine solo album about Han Solo, inspired by his binge-watch of the Star Wars movies. As the video concluded, compliments about Stephen’s star-printed shirt filled the chat and the Q&A began.
Here are a few of the responses from said Q&A for you to read:
With all the social and political movements happening across the world, how do you see yourselves and the band personally supporting change and awareness?
Stephen: It’s [about] recognizing that we have a platform and not letting our 50,000 Instagram followers go to waste. There’s a system that deals with refugees in Ireland called Direct Provision and it’s incredibly cruel and incredibly racist and we’ve been pushing a petition to end Direct Provision in Ireland.
When touring does pick back up, what are some of your essentials?
Matt: Definitely more socks than you think you need and earplugs, for when you’re sharing a room. Sometimes, we bring big Ziploc bags filled with Irish tea, mainly for Stephen. Dean’s got a Nintendo Switch as well, which I would consider to be pretty essential [laughs].
What are you most looking forward to after the release of the EP?
Craig: A pint of Guinness.
Stephen: Yeah, I want a Guinness after the EP.
Matt: Maybe some gigs as well…whenever normal life returns, some gigs would be nice. Yeah, gigs and Guinness.
Stephen: Yeah, that’s our Twitter bio!
Thank you to The Academic and 1824 for setting up this press conference. You can listen to The Academic’s music on all streaming platforms and watch this video where the band takes you through the making of each track on their EP!
Below, you can check out a few more videos from the band, including another music video for “Anything Can Happen,” for which the band asked couples to submit footage.
Make sure to keep up with The Academic via their socials, too!