INTERVIEW MONSTRE: THE SENTIMENTAL TOURISTS : "Our first album should be out later this year"

 

 

Un jeune groupe formé par des musiciens d'expérience. Voilà la formule gagnante des Sentimental Tourists. Une musique toute personnelle qui ne renie pas pour autant le passé en s'ancrant fermement dans l'avenir. Leurs premiers disques nous ont séduit. Voici que le duo a répondu à nos questions. Merci Dave et Paul. 

 

 Taste question: Which artists have influenced you the most, and can you tell us examples about this influence?

Dave:  So many bands I like and respect. But I don't think I've really been influenced by them enough to give you an example.
I just pick up the guitar and play chords randomly and wait for a melody to come, and when a melody comes and maybe a line, then I go for it and it becomes a song. so in that moment the only thing in my mind is writing and finishing that song. I don't think of anything else. 
 
Paul: The Velvet Underground would be one of my biggest influences. I was lucky  enough to have got to support Lou Reed on a European tour many years ago  with my old band Whipping Boy – to  get to hear some of those  VU songs every night on that tour, songs that had meant so much to me when I discovered music as a teenager – a huge thrill and honour.

 

Who is the artist you dislike and why will he/she never influence you?

Paul: Honestly, there are not many artists I really dislike or hate now…every musician or artist has some merit, and my opinion of what is good or bad music is no more valid than anyone else’s. There are lots of musicians and bands that don’t move me in any way, but none that I actively hate! Not a fan of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers…bands like that do nothing for me at all.
 
Intellectual question: Which non-musical artist (filmmaker, writer, painter...) played an important role in the way the band evolved…

Dave:  For me, I would have to say Samuel Beckett. I think any writer, painter or songwriter should read 'Samuel Beckett - A Biography' by Deirdre Bair.
It gives you a real understanding of what it's like to be an artist. It's a long road, filled with failure and success…
 
Paul: Literature and film has always been a big influence on me personally, and I suppose it has seeped into some of the music I have been involved in making.
Writers like Cormac McCarthy & Charles Bukowski wrote about darker themes, and I have always been drawn to music that has that dark or melancholic undercurrent. James Joyce wrote about the place where I was born and have lived all my life, Dublin. There has always been an element of that sense of where I am from in the music I have been involved in making.
And similarly, film makers like David Lynch changed my perspective on what film and art should be -it is not just about pure entertainment, but should be challenging and thought-provoking aswell.

 

 

History question: Can you sum up the life of your group?

Dave: We started In June last year.
We've released 3 E.P.S
1) The Sentimental Tourists
2) Living in smoke dreams
3) Lost Treasures.
We will release an album this year. Oh, And we want to play a gig in Paris!

Paul:  Dave and I both played with different Dublin based bands back in the nineties. I played with a band called Whipping Boy but drifted away from music for a long time. Dave was with another Dublin band, Into Paradise, but has been making solo music and involved in other collaborations since his band broke up. The Sentimental Tourists only formed in June 2024. Since then, we have released 3 EPs…I suppose even though we are a new venture, we both bring a lot of experience from previous bands, who were relatively well known back in the 90s, at least in Ireland. We just seem to work really well together.

 

  

Champollion question: What is the meaning of the band’s name?

Dave:  Paul came up with the name. And I loved it. The idea behind the group was that it would be a collective. a group where members could come and go and exchange ideas, work fast, and then release the music quickly without pression.
Having said that, so far it's just been Paul and myself. But we have an open door policy for anyone who would like to work with The Sentimental Tourists.

Paul: I was reading about this definition of a sentimental tourist. And it just struck as something beautiful…
A Sentimental Tourist is someone who travels with emotions and memories in mind – they aren’t just sightseeing; they’re connecting places with feelings, nostalgia, or personal stories.
They seek meaning in experiences – Instead of chasing checklists of landmarks, they reflect on how each place makes them feel.
They value  memory-making over material things – A “sentimental tourist” treasures a sunset, a conversation, or a moment of stillness more than souvenirs.
They may be reminded of the past, of loved ones, or of personal milestones when visiting new places.

 

 
Buddy question: Who has helped you most in your band’s adventure and without whom you wouldn’t have had the same evolution?

Dave: I've been lucky enough to have worked with some great people over the years.
I recorded 4 albums with 'Into Paradise', and 1 album with 'Supernaut.
I've also recorded 4 albums with Shane O'Neill (Blue In Heaven) since 2021.
And my favourite solo album ' In Headphones'  was recorded with Adrian O'Connell.
I love collaboration. It's been a joy working with Shane. We go back a long way. And we are currently working on our 5th album.
It's great to be working with Paul in 'The Sentimental Tourists'. I love the way he writes and plays. And like me, he works quickly. I love Paul's melody's and distorted guitar.
It's the sound of heaven for me. Our first album should be out later this year.

 

 Paul: Jimmy Eadie was guitarist with Dave’s old band – he is now a sound designer and he mixed and mastered a couple of our EPs. We recorded the EPs on really primitive recording equipment – Jimmy has worked a little magic to make them sound bigger and better than they should. So he has been a huge help to us. And I am hugely grateful to Dave. I was lost to music for a long time, and he brought me back in. He is the reason the Sentimental Tourists exist.
 
Spinal Tap question: What is the most stupid thing that’s ever happened to you?

Paul: Donald Trump is the most stupid thing to ever happen to the whole planet.
 
Question Happy Few: What’s the biggest benefit you’ve derived from your band, and can you tell us about it?
 
Paul: I suppose when my old band split up, I fell out of love with music and lost confidence as a musician. I drifted away from music for many years. The Sentimental Tourists, and Dave, in particular has helped rekindle my love of making music, of doing something creative again. So that has been the biggest benefit for me personally – to reconnect with something I loved doing and was so passionate about when I first discovered music.
 Dave: The songs. The joy of writing and recording them. The friendship. The excitement of hearing Paul's music ideas for the first time. And even the hard work of finding words, meaning, and melody's to fit in with it. Long may it continue.

 

 

Art question: What book, film, record and current band do you really like? 

Dave: Book - Knulp by Hermann Hesse
Film - Train Dreams
Band - Madra Salach
 
Paul: Book – Old God’s Time -Sebastian Barry
           Film – Train Dreams
           Band: We Were Promised Jetpacks   
 
Funny question. What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Paul: This may not be the funniest thing that ever happened but there is a French connection to this story, so I will tell this one - it is like a scene from the movie Spinal Tap! 
My old band Whipping Boy were in Paris the week after our second album ‘Heartworm’ was released. The French Sony Rep told us the wonderful, exciting news that our album had sold 50,000 copies in the first week of release. We were amazed and thrilled – celebrated with a glass of champagne, the mood was so upbeat.
About two hours later, they told us they had made a mistake and it had actually sold 5,000 copies, not 50,000.
I can see the funny side of it now, but I cannot tell you how disappointed we were at the time!
 
Camembert question: Whats France to you, apart from the land of wine and
cheese? (you’re allowed to Google it, the theme is rock and underground culture).

Dave: France is Sam Beckett, James Joyce, Albert Camus, Erik Satie, Django Reinhardt, Shakespeare and company, Daft punk, and I have to mention wine, wine is mentioned in the first song on our first E.P., The song is called, 'And when the moment comes', and the line is , 'Its the grand crus that keep me alive'. Serge Gainsbourg, Air, Vanessa Paradis...and the list goes on..
 
Sponsorship question: Who can you sponsor for Les Monstres Sacrés, and how can you
convince us to talk about them?

Dave: A Lazarus Soul, They will be playing gigs in France this March I think.
And they are a brilliant live band.

 

Paul: Bohemian Football Club. They are much more than a football club. And they have the best football jerseys in the League of Ireland!
 
Patriotic question: Make the list (between 5 and 10) of the top records made par artists of our country.

Dave:
1) Erik Satie - Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes
2) Daft punk - Homework
3) Air - Moon Safari
4) Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme à Tête de chou
5) Django Reinhardt - The best of Django Reinhardt

 

 

 Paul: I will just add one more to that list…
1) Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts – M83
 
 
Patriotic question 2 : Make the list (between 5 & 10) of the top records made by artists of
your country.

Dave:
1) A Lazarus Soul - The D they put between the R and L
2) Paul Brady - Hard Station
3) The Undertones - The Undertones 

4) Whipping Boy - Heartworm
5) Planxty - Planxty
6) The Bothy Band - After hours (Live in Paris) 1979
7) Dolores Keane - Lion in a cage
8) My Bloody Valentine - mbv
9) Engine Alley - A sonic holiday
10) The next new low - and as for loss
 
Paul:
1) My Bloody Valentine -Isn’t Anything
2) Stars of Heaven- Sacred Heart Hotel
3) Into Paradise -Churchtown
4) The Radiators -Ghostown
5) The Pogues -Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
6) That Petrol Emotion -Manic Pop Thrill

7) The Thrills -Teenager
8) The Frank & Walters -Trains, Boats and Planes
9) The Unforgettable Fire -U2
10) A Lazarus Soul - The D they put between the R and L

Thanks Dave and Paul !