Mit ihrem neuen Album „Thoughts & Observations“ melden sich The Coronas eindrucksvoll zurück. Das Album wird als das stärkste ihrer Karriere beschrieben – sowohl musikalisch als auch inhaltlich. Im Interview spricht Leadsänger Danny O’Reilly über den reifen und reflektierten Ansatz der Band, die Bedeutung von Kollaborationen mit talentierten Musikern und den kreativen Prozess hinter der Entstehung des Albums. Darüber hinaus verrät er, welche Rolle persönliche Erfahrungen und Beobachtungen in den Texten spielen, wie die Band mit den Herausforderungen der heutigen Musiklandschaft umgeht und was die Fans auf ihrer „Thoughts & Observations„-Tour in Deutschland 2025 erwarten können.
Frontstage Magazine: „Thoughts & Observations“ is described as your strongest album to date. What sets this album apart from your previous works, both in terms of content and music?
Danny O’Reilly: Danny O’Reilly lead singer here!
I think it’s probably our most mature and reflective piece of work to date. We’ve been lucky enough to release 7 album, and have survived through the twists and turns of the ever changing music industry in that time. I think lyrically it has a depth greater than our other work. Musically is assured and overall it feels real and optimistic. At least, it feels that way to us and we hope everyone else likes it too!
Frontstage Magazine: The song „Confirmation“ was created over a longer period and was described as a journey. How does this process reflect the overall development of the album?
Danny O’Reilly: Yeah with this album we purposely stopped ourselves from trying to chase the ever elusive “hit song”. We just wanted to feel the music and let it lead us where it wanted to, and where felt right. Confirmation is a good example of this. In years gone by I might have rushed the lyrics a little, or even rushed the arrangement (ie asking Jamie Duffy to collaborate on the piano part), but this time round I was more comfortable letting ideas breathe and develop naturally over time, in order to get it right. And, ironically, the lyrics to Confirmation were written in one evening in the end, it was just I purposely decided not to try write them until the feel of the demo felt correct
Frontstage Magazine: You collaborated with Cormac Butler, Cian MacSweeny, and Jamie Duffy on „Confirmation.“ How did these collaborations influence the sound and message of the album?
Danny O’Reilly: All the extended Coronas family influence the sound. The song began in a room with Cormac where we had no starting point but developed a feel and a scene for the song. Then we let that breathe for a while before I sat down with Cian and delved a little deeper into the arrangement and some melodies. Then I took the song home and began the lyrics and story. Cian played the piano part on the demo but we knew we needed someone more classically trained to play the part we felt was right. Coincidentally I saw Jamie working with friends of mine and I just messaged him on instagram and asked him if he would be up for getting involved. Thankfully he was and he really took the song to a new level. Cormac also played strings on a few songs on the album and Cian played some saxophone. Cian is in our live touring band along with Lar Kaye (guitar) and my sister Roisin O (piano/backing vocals) who all played on the album. We wanted it to have a live feel, organic and real so opening up the band to our talented friends helped that!
Frontstage Magazine: The themes on „Thoughts & Observations“ seem very introspective. How have personal experiences and observations shaped the lyrics?
Danny O’Reilly: Very much so. Ive always been an honest writer. I usually find the more honest I am and more specific I am about things I’m going through, the more other people connect to the songs. I think I leaned into that even more this time round. A song like Singing Just For You was written after I was struggling to write anything. I ended up writing the song about that, a song about trying to write a song, trying to be creative and inspire people
Frontstage Magazine: In an era of streaming and TikTok, how do you approach releasing new music that resonates with both your existing fans and new listeners?
Danny O’Reilly: It’s a tricky one. We want to be genuine and be ourselves, and we became musicians when that stuff wasn’t important. I think we just try our best to be ourselves, and use whatever social media we can to help get our music out there. Knoxy our bass player is the head of our content department, and without him we’d have very little online presence.
Frontstage Magazine: Your concerts are known for their energy and closeness to the audience. What can fans expect from your „Thoughts & Observations“ tour in Germany in 2025?
Danny O’Reilly: Yes they can expect a lot of energy, 6 happy musicians playing live, and playing the music they enjoy. They can probably expect some Irish people at the shows. Hopefully some crowd singalong moments – just an all round good time!
Frontstage Magazine: What role do your German fans play for you, and what connects you particularly to the German audience?
Danny O’Reilly: We have always been so welcomed in Germany. I think the Irish and Germans are alike in many ways, we like football, beer and music too!
Frontstage Magazine: Our final question is always a bit different: If your next track were a Disney theme song, what would it be about?
Danny O’Reilly: Hmmmm probably about 3 hairy musicians who don’t want to grow up
Wir vom Frontstage Magazine präsentieren euch die Tour in Zusammenarbeit mit a.s.s. concerts & promotion
THE CORONAS: “Thoughts & Observations” Tour 2025
17.03.2025 München • Ampere
18.03.2025 Nürnberg • Hirsch
19.03.2025 Dortmund • Piano
21.03.2025 Hamburg • Bahnhof Pauli
22.03.2025 Berlin • Badehaus
23.03.2025 Dresden • Beatpol
Tickets bekommt ihr hier.
Fotocredit: @THISISWOLFF
