Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Robin James Hurt

Robin James Hurt - A SONG, A STORY TOLD

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Interview with Robin James Hurt

1. What inspired the collaboration with Tony Floyd Kenna, and how did it shape A Song, A Story Told?

At the end of the covid lockdown, trying to make sense of life as a musician in strange times, I felt adrift. Tony contacted me out of the blue with a wonderful, compelling story told in song lyrics called Take Me Home. He wrote the words but hadn't found a tune to fit and suggested I try. I found a natural rhythm in Tony's lyrics and music came easily. We both agreed that the finished song was a wee gem and we should try some more! However we deliberately tried to keep the process of writing all the songs as natural and relaxed as possible. Tony is a cool, calming influence on me and a great collaborator. His patience and advice and support kept me sane while writing and recording the music!

2. How did recording on 4 and 8 track cassette at home influence the album’s warmth and character?

It shaped the sound of the songs as well as the process. Recording on cassette, there are problems and limitations (no digital editing, tape “hiss”, the clunky rewinding and fast forwarding, inconsistent sound quality, gremlins upon gremlins). But it is also incredibly rewarding, intuitive, inspiring and enjoyable. If you can align the forces, you can make something that is more than the sum of its parts without knowing exactly why it is.

Also, instead of going into a studio with a producer and other musicians, I wanted to take the sounds I heard in my head for the songs and create them on tape myself, directly, with no intermediary!

3. Can you describe the story and emotion behind the single Take Me Home?

Take Me Home is an emigration story about a man from a rural area in the west of Ireland, who moved to Great Britain to look for work, probably around fifty years ago. After many years there as he nears the end of his life, his last great wish is to return to his home townland of Killala, County Mayo, to pass away in peace. It is celebratory more than mournful!

4. How does Irish emigration and the longing for home influence your songwriting?

Emigration is an inescapable part of Irish history and the Irish psyche so if your writing is influenced by folk and traditional music it can't help but spill over. It is the inspiration and influence of so much Irish culture.

5. Which track on the album best blends your folk sensibilities with Tony’s rock energy?

I'm going to say Room Full Of Music. The swagger and swing and the attitude all come from Tony's words, but the funky fuzzy guitar riff that drives the song is played in a classic open folk tuning and has that vibe in its heart.

6. How did your experiences performing with legends like Sinéad O’Connor and Ronnie Drew inform this record?

Being lucky enough to play with incredible talents and visionaries like that, I had to try and put aside my nerves and focus on the music as I felt it deep inside of me, behind any stage fright. Funnily enough that came in handy many times recording at home. Because I was doing pretty much everything myself, there were times when the amount of work overwhelmed me and I had to pull back from the edge and focus on the core of the song.

7. What role does storytelling play in connecting your music to listeners?

When I compose instrumentals, I like to try and tell a story in the music. Some kind of narrative or musical plot to bring people on the journey of the tune. With this album, the stories Tony sent me in lyrical form were the core, the heart of the whole thing. I didn't try and fit them to music I had already written, I started afresh because I wanted the story of the words to guide everything that came after.