| Digging for chart gold By Tara
McWeeney
The second-generation Irish duo that make up Nizlopi are set to launch
an assault on the Christmas charts with their single The JCB Song. Luke
Concannon and John Parker chat with Tara McWeeney about what it would mean
to follow in Cliff Richard’s footsteps and how they plan to ward off Westlife.
The excitement of being touted as this year’s Christmas number one is
almost too much for Luke Concannon — one half of the hip-hop, folk band
that makes up Nizlopi.
“The last few months have been like some crazy adventure,” he says. “It
just hasn’t stopped. Today we were filmed for Richard and Judy. We did an
interview for Kerrang radio and we’re hearing that we’re record of the week
on Radio One’s Jo Whiley show.”
It would be almost impossible by now not to have heard Nizlopi’s The
JCB Song (not to be confused with Seamus Moore’s tune) which is tipped for
the top this Christmas. To many it may seem that Nizlopi have come out of
nowhere, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
For Luke Concannon and John Parker — the beat-boxing double-bass player
of the band — this moment has been a long time coming.
The boys — both of Irish extraction — hail from Leamington Spa. It was
over four years ago that they decided to dedicate themselves fully to the
band, which involved moving back home with their parents and gigging constantly
up and down the country. They played small venues, festivals and even the
occasional wedding. They even went as far as setting up their own record
label called Folk Deadly Music (FDM) in order to release their independent
album Half These Songs Are About You.
But since the recent overwhelming surge of public interest Nizlopi has
now had to hire people to look after their publicity.
“The whole organisation has grown,” explains Luke.
“Friends and family have given up their jobs and are working for us full-time.”
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact Nizlopi sound. When they first formed
the band while at school, they played heavy metal. But they now cite their
influences as ranging from Van Morrison to reggae band Toots and the Maytals.
The lads feel their sound has emerged through an amalgamation of all
the different music that they play and love. A revelation which goes some
way to explaining the Irish, jazz, funk and folk influences in their music.
“I think we’d probably call it folk hip-hop but then I read somewhere
else that we were described as most exciting hip-hop, acoustic, double-bass,
JCB band going down,” says a bemused Luke.
With a voice compared to the Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz Luke explains
that music is in his blood largely as a result of having grown up immersed
in it.
“I grew up with a very Irish-orientated family where everyone did their
bit of performing at family parties. So from a young age I was singing to
family and friends.”
John’s mother is from Dublin and Luke’s grandparents are Irish. The latter’s
father plays in a céilí band and has handed down his love of traditional
Irish music to Luke, with the bodhran making an appearance in several of
their songs.
Throughout their current single —The JCB Song — there are constant references
to their upbringing, making it an anthem for second-generation Irish people
all over Britain. In the tear-jerking yet uplifting vocals Luke describes
his memories as a child sitting with his dad in the JCB and forgetting about
his unhappy days at school.
The charm of Nizlopi’s music has already encapsulated an unshakeable
base of die-hard fans.
Their music inspires absolute obsession to complete rejection. Nizlopi’s
loyal fans have long travelled to the band’s gigs both near and far. It’s
something which led the band’s manager —who also doubles up as Luke’s dad
— to admit that they had to keep secret an industry gig for fear the small
venue would have been overtaken by fans.
For Luke, this is one of the explanations as to how they have come to
the attention of the mass media.
“We wanted to release JCB as a single so we got Laith Barani on Monkey
hub to animate our video for it. We e-mailed the video to fans and they
sent it to their friends and it grew from there really.”
The biggest chart hit this year Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by
the Artic Monkeys was also a result of their devoted fanbase spreading the
word via the internet.
With Nizlopi already dominating the airwaves, it looks like they have
the country’s media on their side. The Irish media are getting in on the
act with Pat Kenny on RTÉ 2 admitting to being a fan. They are also set
to make an appearance on The Late Late Show.
So how are the boys taking all this attention?
“Well we’re uglier and more tired that’s for certain,” they both laugh.
“Nah, I mean it’s all new. We’re not used to the media attention yet
and we’re learning how to talk to people. It’s incredible how much we’ve
played the JCB song but of course we’re still loving it.”
With a catchy melody and emotive lyrics The JCB Song is currently 9-2
with the bookies for becoming Christmas number one — only behind the X-Factor
winner who is yet to be confirmed.
And Nizlopi are remaining optimistic.
“Let’s be positive about this, and say yes we are going to be number
one,” Luke says.
“I mean looking at the bands in the running — Westlife and the X-Factor
Winner — we’ve got a great chance, and sure why not us?”
The JCB Song was released on FDM on December 12. The album Half These
Songs Are About You is available from HMV and Fopp Records.
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