Music Q&A:
The Riptide Movement

Irish four-piece The Riptide Movement are aiming to conquer the UK after signing with Universal/ Caroline International last year. Their album Getting Through will be released in the UK and internationally on 1 June.

You’re well established in Ireland. Why has it taken until now to release material here?

I guess we’ve been biding our time! We’ve written, recorded and produced three albums in Ireland. The UK has always been in our sights but without a record deal, it was proving to be a difficult task. Now that we have Universal/ Caroline International on board and a banger of an album on our hands, we’re really excited to get it out to more ears. We can’t wait to tour the UK non-stop!

Is it frustrating to be starting from scratch here or is it an opportunity for a fresh start?

To us it’s really exciting. We love a challenge and love going out to win new fans, and seeing people’s reactions to our live show is always a lot of fun. We’ve already laid some groundwork in the UK. We’ve played some great gigs like Glastonbury, Hyde Park with the Rolling Stones, London Fields with Bob Dylan and loads of other venues.

You’ve got a couple of city festival dates coming up – a good setting for capturing a new audience?

Yeah! We’re really looking forward to all the UK festivals like T in the Park, Dot to Dot, Live at Leeds and The Great Escape. We just plan to go out and do what we always do. Our live shows are always mental – we give it everything we have.

You took a DIY approach to your first two albums. Have you retained that since signing with Universal?

We’ve been together for nearly nine years now and we’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) what works and what doesn’t. After signing with Universal it was such a relief to actually be able to focus on our music.

How would you describe your sound and what can we expect from the forthcoming album?

Rock ‘n’ roll with elements of folk, roots, indie, pop, blues and soul. We’re very proud of Getting Through. We pushed ourselves to the limit and with the amazing Ted Hutt producing, we were in great hands. It’s a fun, upbeat album with relevance to today’s world. It’s about friends, family, emigration, love and loss.

ANTONIA CHARLESWORTH