When we spoke with musician Ryan Hunt of Castle Arcade last year, he talked of how moving to Dublin from Monaghan to attend BIMM expanded him to new musical horizons that were not afforded back home.

Since then, Ryan has finished college and returned to his native county. When Ryan spoke with Post-Burnout this year, we asked him how he found the music scene at home to be now.

“Honestly, the only live, original bands that I’ve seen in Monaghan in the last year was Post-Party, who are originally from Monaghan, but they’ve also moved to Dublin to pursue music,” he laughs.

“There is a lot of music in Monaghan, and a lot of it is country. In Monaghan, there’s a country festival in the summer and a blues festival. So, that’s very popular down here, especially country music. Massive, down here. But I don’t think that comes through in my music! [Laughs]”

Instead, Castle Arcade’s music blends a mix of Ryan’s experimental interests with pop music. “I’ve tried to combine the alternative style of guitar music with the more pop melodies and stuff,” Ryan says.

“For sure, that hasn’t changed too much. But, I guess, since last year, I’ve definitely gotten a lot more into electronic styles. I think the newer stuff that I’ve been making since this EP, it comes through more there, but you’ll have to wait a while to hear that, first. [Laughs]”

In the year and a bit since our interview, Ryan has been busy. “I’ve been head down, working on a lot of music,” he says. “I’ve started working a lot with other artists and stuff. I’ve done a lot of session guitar work in the last year, so that’s kind of where most of my time has been going. This time last year, I sat down and started producing the EP […] so, that’s been taking up a lot of my time at the minute! [Laughs]”

The EP referred to is Castle Arcade’s latest, Tongue Tied, which was released today. “Production started around September of last year, and most of it was done in my little studio that I have here,” Ryan says of its creation. “I try to do as much of it as I can, as possible, just because I love the process of building songs out.

“I think around January time, then, I got in touch with Keelan O’Reilly from Post-Party, and, at the time, he had a studio in Drogheda, so I went down to him and we spent two days working on the vocals and helping shape them.

“He’s just insanely talented when it comes to vocals, which helped push me to another level, which is great! He’s also a fantastic producer, he’s so good. He’s worked with so many up-and-coming bands over the last while. I’ve known him since I was about 17. He’s from Monaghan, as well, so we’ve known each other for years at this point, and it was my first time actually working with him, so it was really nice to finally get that to happen.”

The songs on Tongue Tied deal with a specific point in Ryan’s life. “They’re all sort of connected to key parts of my life, I think, in the last couple of years, anyways; in my early twenties and stuff,” he explains.

“I’m in my mid-twenties, now.  A lot of my writing, I find, if I’m trying to think of something to write about and it’s real contrived, like, ‘Oh, I’m going to write a song about this,’ I find it impossible to write that way. It needs to have some sort of link to my life, I guess.

“It’s the way I live now, I enjoy a flow state, then. So, they’ve all kind of come from key moments in the last couple of years. They’re all very much about growing up and what you go through in your twenties and stuff, like break-ups and finding new love.

“‘Dreaming’ is about after I finished college and I was stuck in a rut after, being like,  ‘Oh, what do I do now?’ When you’re out of that routine that you’re so used to, for years and years, and I see my friends moving abroad or going travelling and stuff, I’m kind of like, ‘Will I do that? What am I going to do next, like?’ [Laughs]”

Despite logistical line-up changes, Castle Arcade has remained strong as a full band. Ryan feels that the work he’s done as a session player over the past year has expanded his musical tastes, similar to when he first attended BIMM all those years ago, and this is seeping its way into his music.

“I think it just kind of happens out of boredom, almost,” says Ryan on experimenting. “You get so used to working in one sort of style that you go, ‘OK, I’m going to push myself. I want to try something new,’ and you kind of push yourself.

“I think your influences are always there, so, regardless of what you do… – unless you’re trying to completely shut them out – …you’re going to incorporate your old influences and what you know what to do.

“Especially, for me, I was writing indie music for years and years and years. I still am, obviously. [Laughs] As I got more into different styles, it’s always been indie music that’s been influenced by the other styles. It kind of comes through in the music, I feel.”

To celebrate the release of Tongue Tied, Castle Arcade will return to Dublin on December 14^th to headline Upstairs at Whelan’s. “There should be plenty of new music. I’ve been writing a whole bunch of stuff, so you’ll hear the full EP live,” Ryan says of the gig. “We try to make it as much of an experience as we can. I’ve hired in lights and am doing the full monty with it, almost. [Laughs]”

Castle Arcade’s latest EP, Tongue Tied, is on all streaming platforms now. Tickets for their gig at Upstairs at Whelan’s on December 14^th can be purchased through Whelan’s website. You can find Castle Arcade’s music, live dates, and social media accounts on their Linktree.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… at 21:00 (IST) tonight to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.