All Tvvins
It’s not uncommon for bands to begin with grand dreams of future success, but for every realised ambition there are dozens that don’t progress beyond the practice room floor. When Conor Adams and Lar Kaye formed All Tvvins, their shared goal was to headline Dublin’s 1600-capacity Olympia Theatre – and that was achieved when they sold-out the venue last autumn, just weeks after their debut album ‘IIVV’ crashed into the Irish album charts at #2.
“To achieve that in two years was pretty special and a real validation point,” beams Conor. “Our parents could go, ok, you do music in real life!”
That sense of self-deprecation is never too far away from either All Tvvin, but they’re not the kind of people to ruminate too heavily on the long and often immensely challenging journey to get where they are today. Instead, being shortlisted for Album of the Year at the Choice Music Prize earlier this year symbolically closed the ‘IIVV’ chapter of their career.
It was an era full of events that must’ve seemed a world away back when they set that initial goal. Along the way, they have toured Europe, played SXSW, shared stages with Arcade Fire, Foals and Pixies; performed at the 2FM Xmas Ball in front of 15,000 people; amassed over 10 million spotify streams; and Lar was introduced to The Edge of U2 fame, who was not only “very humble and a really nice dude” but already knew All Tvvins’ music.
After a minimal break (Lar went to Iceland for a week, Conor chucked all of his equipment into his kitchen to create a makeshift studio), the duo soon “turbo-boosted” their writing process. Whereas they previously painstakingly crafted each song together, they instead found themselves creating almost completed ideas individually before allowing the other partner to put their stamp on it.
It was a very natural process, given that they’d spent months in each other’s pocket. “It was just an intense time, wasn’t it?” asks Conor of his bandmate.
“Yeah, it got too much,” agrees Lar.
“But,” laughs Conor, “we never killed each other! This new method of separating and just meeting up once or twice a week had an absolutely different result.”
Most of the new tracks emerged on piano and synths before being fleshed out into a band dynamic. Inspired by a whole world of influences, Lar describes them as being “varied and extreme” and “emotionally charged”, while Conor notes that his interest in keys means that he has barely even picked up his bass in months.
The first new track to be introduced to the world was “Alone Together” featuring James Vincent McMorrow earlier in June and the follow up track is “Anything” which will be released on 22nd September with Irish & European Touring news to follow soon after.