I Dreamed I Dream: “Five feral women making horrible, loud noises” ...super! 

One of the more exciting developments in Cork music of recent times is something of a reassertion of a unique voice that seems to be in the water, that certain good-natured snark - not that it hasn’t always been there, or hasn’t manifested itself in different ways over the years, but its idiosyncrasies are themselves more of an informing factor, acknowledging the voice in which native Corkonians self-examine, get the best of life’s situations, and move forward.

There’s something about city-based five-piece I Dreamed I Dream, best summed up in the band’s own self-identification as “no-punk b*tchwave”, that will resonate with anyone - idealism in the modern age, exasperation with misogyny, grief, hurt, and resilience - and that’s equally as true of their live excursions to date, including s for the likes of the Frank and Walters and The Altered Hours, as it is of their extended-player ‘Why Say a Lot?’, releasing digitally on Friday October 20.

It's so mad, who will text ya, or who will reach out, who you meet on the street who's like "f**king loved that, actually

Lead-off single ‘Apparition’ is the band’s simmering yet snotty-nosed take on dream-pop, which has made the rounds in the past few weeks, and added to a burgeoning reputation. ing your writer over Zoom from Dublin’s NCAD, percussionist/vocalist Julie Landers talks about the response to the single’s release: “I'm delighted that was the first song that came out. It's so mad, who will text ya, or who will reach out, who you meet on the street who's like "f**king loved that, actually". It's just been so uplifting, very bolstering and just... sound.”

Vocalist/bassist Claire Aherne wrangled the song’s lyrics and melody out of a difficult period in her life, and attests to the power of the process of unburdening during said release. “It's definitely the most personal song off the EP. For that to be released as the first single was a brave move, maybe a bit of a brazen move, but to see it be so well-received was quite empowering. It was nice to take something that's caused you so much grief, and to turn it into something that exists outside yourself, that other people can relate to, and that people can connect to and engage with. I think it means a lot to all of us.”

Assembling as a five-piece via mutual friendships and influences, the band came together after Landers and guitarist Elle O’Leary Kelleher were invited to play Sligo’s Spilt Milk Festival, after a Covid-era track of theirs, placed online under the name ‘Patti and Selma’, caught organisers’ attention.

They’ve not wasted time in forging a sound that’s not shy in the least about its Corkonian-ness - EP opener ‘214’ bids a sean-nós farewell to a no-good youngfella who makes his exit in a fiery blaze aboard the Glanmire bus; while the opening meanderings of ‘Tintin Haircut’ throw a knowing wink at the city’s post-punk history. But when asked about said influence, O’Leary Kelleher is quick to centre the conversation in the environment they’re emerging from.

“I suppose sonically, anyway, people talk a lot about the history of Cork, and how that's influenced bands, but I think that contemporary Cork bands are a massive influence on us. as well. I think when you listen to a track like 'Apparition', there's a lot going on. There's been some really lovely shoegazey, and more alternative stuff there, Elaine Malone and Mossy for two.

“Everyone is learning from each other all the time. It's great. I'm hoping that when the EP comes out, we might get some dirtier takes on shoegaze and post punk [from other bands] or maybe there'd be like, a little sean-nós revival or something like that. That'd be cool, wouldn't it?”

With that being said, casting about for Cork connections gives way to the fact that the city, with all of its idiosyncrasies, is the stage on which this band, this record, and the experiences that inform it are set - and when asked about its writing, Aherne says that same familiarity with the city’s contours, including her own home, is an informing factor on the band, their dynamic, and their creativity.

“We do an awful lot of jamming in my house, and I think that is really the backbone. Where we've made a lot of stuff is, we've either had five amps and a little tiny radiator and the five of us inside my bedroom, or we've been in the living room or we've been in the utility room - just kind-of contortionists, stuck in this tiny little house, tiny little rooms in the middle of Cork city. But I think once we start jamming, it's like we all find a rhythm, and we find something to go with that. Someone we hit a note a certain way, or someone might play a riff a certain way, and that might nearly flick a switch in someone else's head - "oh, I've lines to go with that, I've a riff to go with that". It's like making a cake - everyone brings something to the table, we don't know what we're doing at the start, but it all ends up weaving into itself, and we end up making something lovely.

"Even if we don't come out of a practice having made something, the act of making itself is where the craic is. We could do an hour-and-a-half's practice in my house and come out with no songs, but we would have laughed 'til we were bawling crying and we would have written something that sounded like it should have came out of [Irish kids' telly classic] The Morbegs. We all pat ourselves on the back and be like, well, at least we had the craic. And I think it's those little tiny moments where you don't make anything concrete, that leads you to the things that lead you to the times where you do make something concrete.”

Intending simply to venture out to West Cork to record a debut single earlier this year, the band’s excursion to Wavefield Recording Studios in Clonakilty saw them find a like mind in owner, engineer and producer Brian Casey - who got right into meeting the band where they were on a musical and personal basis, and helped them get the most out of their time at the facility - and a few more songs in the can as a result.

“Anyone we talked to before we went, if you said to them, "oh, we're gonna work with Brian and Sarah', it was like "ugh, amazing". It's just their reputation, Brian is amazing at what he does, and that was so reassuring to hear. I had never done the professional studio recording thing before. I don't know if any of us had, so there was a level of unsureness going in there. But they made us feel so at home, it was the loveliest space ever. We went to bougie SuperValu [Scally's] in Clonakilty beforehand, got the snacks, and it was just really, really nice.

"Setting up the room, there was no rushing us - this was going to take the time it took, and we'd gone in with a clear enough plan for ourselves anyway, but just not having that was just so important for us, I think. The first song we played to settle ourselves in was 'Apparition', and we ran through it, recorded it live, and I just Brian's voice coming in on the monitors afterwards - "that brought me so much joy". His excitement made such a huge difference as well.

“Throughout the day, he'd be throwing in different things, different ideas of how to record, how to layer up the vocals. With 'Tintin Haircut', he was like, 'oh, I'm gonna do this thing where I double up the vocals, but speed them up, slow them down, to make this weird wail-y ghost-y thing in the background'. Just someone who was willing to go with us to these kinds of places of weirdness and experimentation.”

The band’s next opportunity to bring gig-going audiences with them to said place will be on Saturday October 21, when I Dreamed I Dream launch their debut EP at Cork Opera House’s Green Room (the former Half Moon Club to, ahem, more seasoned Cork heads), with Inchworm in tow.

The shindig is being put on by mysterious gig-going entity Seánie Buttons, who seems to be haunting the room on a more regular basis moving forward, leaving the civic cultural facility’s side doors open to a wide array of community sonic tomfoolery.

“I'm excited to see everyone and just have a gig,” muses Landers. “It feels really surreal, this is our first headliner. I feel like so much of what we've done so far, the timing has always been really good, and very serendipitous at times, but it just feels like a really good time to do it.

“The Green Room is such a lovely space. I've stopped being as anxious for them as I was at the start. Now it's just like, "oh, I get to play music with my friends". That's the best thing. So I'm really excited for that, excited to see everyone, the way the Cork heads show up for each other is one of the coolest things.”

You should definitely come see us and have a good time with us. We might do some baptisms and stuff

“You get to a point where you're kind-of like, “I'm having so much fun, I don’t care”,” says O’Leary Kelleher. “But yeah, if you have any interest in watching five feral women and one inchworm make horrible loud noises at you, you should come to see I Dreamed I Dream and Inchworm at the Cork Opera House Green Room. You should definitely come see us and have a good time with us. We might do some baptisms and stuff.”

“Speaking of baptisms, it feels like organising a christening,” concludes Aherne. “My dad's birthday is the day after, if anyone has any ideas on what to get my dad for his birthday.

“I'm stressed, to be quite honest. Stressed to the nines. We're making stuff. We're putting on a show. We're getting ready. We're learning the dance routines. We're hiring 40-odd different people in. You don't know what's going to hit you. Definitely come down if you're up for a bit of whoopy-gannery, a bit of how's-it-goin'.”

I Dreamed I Dream’s debut single ‘Apparition’ is available now for at https://idreamedidream.bandcamp.com, and across streaming services. Debut extended-player ‘Why Say a Lot?’ releases across the same platforms on Friday October 20.

The band launches the EP on Saturday October 21 at Cork Opera House’s Green Room in a Seánie Buttons Presents show, with from Inchworm. Tickets €12 are available from corkoperahouse.ie, and the venue’s box office.

Suggestions on birthday presents for Claire’s aul’ lad can be addressed to the band directly on Instagram: @i_dreamed_i_dream__.