Vickers Vimy aim for new heights with debut album

Galway band Vickers Vimy play The Crane Bar on Thursday next, March 21, following the release of their debut album That Vinyl Scratch.

Vickers Vimy, named after the legendary early 20th century plane, is the brainchild of Ed Drea and Fintan Hanley, who started writing music together in 2007. After getting a chance support slot with a folk hero in 2008 they began taking it seriously.

“We recorded a home demo, had a bit of craic with that and then didn’t do anything for ages,” says Fintan. “Then we played a gig in Thomastown in Kilkenny. Actually, we were supporting John Martyn that day – I don’t how we got that! He was living down that way before he died.”

As well as opening for the legendary Martyn in Thomastown, that night Vickers Vimy also met producer Daragh O’Toole. O’Toole is an arranger and musician of some repute, whose CV includes working with U2.

“He’s a really strong arranger and a really good producer,” says Fintan. “We did a couple of songs with him and they worked out really well. We got together with him again and it went from there, really.”

Vickers Vimy enjoyed working with Daragh so much that they decided to make an album with him. The recording sessions took place in Daragh’s house in Blessington, Co Wicklow, as well as in several studios in Dublin city.

When it came to recording strings for two songs on the album, there was one name at the top of Vickers Vimy’s list – Colm Mac Con Iomaire. He’s best known as the fiddle player in The Frames, but his solo album, The Hare’s Corner is also superb.

“We just chanced our arm,” Fintan says. “I suppose we would’ve been Frames fans over the years. At that stage we were taking it relatively seriously, and if we were going to be getting someone to play violin, who would we want?

“We kind of gave him free rein,” adds Fintan explaining that their approach was ‘here are the songs, here are a couple of ideas we have. See how you go’. We love his style anyway. We knew he wouldn’t do a dodgy job. He played viola and violin, on the first and third songs on the album. It worked out brilliantly. We were happy to let him off!”

Vickers Vimy’s line-up is completed by Colm Ward (bass/banjo), Ed Mulderring (drums) and Colm Ó Conghaile (guitar/bass/banjo). All five members sing, and Fintan and Ed Drea also play the harmonium – an organ-like instrument that’s driven by foot-operated bellows. How did they chance upon this unusual addition to the Vickers Vimy sound?

“We got it online,” says Fintan. “There were different artists over the years that we were big fans of who used them. Nico, who played with the Velvet Underground, would have done whole albums of harmonium and her singing. More recent it would have been people like Lisa Hannigan.”

The glockenspiel, melodica and Spanish guitar are among other off-kilter things you’ll hear at a Vickers Vimy show. “We have a good few bits and pieces,” says Fintan. “We chanced our arms with megaphones and the like, music boxes – we’ve tried to incorporate them into the live show. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. 

“Colm, who plays the banjo with us, has been taking up the trumpet a lot lately,” he adds. “We’re just trying to make things a little bit more interesting, so it’s not just your standard meat and two veg. Trying to give a flavour of bits and pieces.”

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.