Interference is an Irish band established in 1984 and originally headed by the late singer-songwriter Fergus O'Farrell. As of 2022, the live lineup consists of members Glen Hansard, Paul Tiernan, Camilla Griehsel, James O'Leary, Colm McCaughey, Maurice Seezer, Cal McCarthy, Anthony Noonan, John Fitzgerald, Bertrand Galen, Marja Gaynor, and Maurice Culligan.

Early Beginnings

The band was initially formed by James O'Leary and Fergus O'Farrell in 1984 in Cork, Ireland. In the early 2000s, the band created an alternative project, Dog Tail Soup. This project featured a lineup of musicians, including Swedish artist Camilla Griehsel, Maurice Seezer, and several others.

DogTail Soup

The band devised an alter ego, where each of them would alternate the role of singer, performing their songs and covers. The name DogTail Soup was derived from a line in one of Vearncombe's 'Black' songs, "Cold Chicken Skin". Interference and DogTail Soup developed a following in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

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in the 2000s after several regional tours. DogTail Soup released an album, Rough, in 2008 on a music label, Nero Schwar (an independent label established by Colin Vearncombe, one of the co-creators of Dogtail Soup).

''Once'' & "Gold"

Interference outings became sporadic as O’Farrell's health caused long periods of inactivity. During this time, O'Farrell would write the song "Gold" as a solo composition. "Gold" then featured in John Carney's 2007 film

Once Once may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Once'' (film), a 2007 Irish musical film by John Carney ** ''Once'' (musical), a 2011 stage adaptation of the film * ''Once'' (TV series), a 2017–2019 Argentine telenovela * Canal Once (Mex ...

during a house party scene where Interference performs the song. The song would become synonymous with Once and lead to it also being featured in ''Once: The Musical''. The success of "Gold" led O'Farrell to sign a publishing deal with

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

The Deaths of O'Farrell and Vearncombe

Colin Vearncombe Colin Vearncombe (26 May 1962 – 26 January 2016), known by his stage name Black, was an English singer-songwriter. He emerged from the punk rock music scene and achieved mainstream pop success in the late 1980s, most notably with the 1986 si ...

died in a car crash on 26 January 2016. O'Farrell died from muscular dystrophy 7 days later, on 2 February 2016. In 2017, a tribute concert was organized to celebrate O'Farrell and his work. To coincide with these performances, the second Interference album, ''The Sweet Spot'', produced by Dan Dan Fitzgerald, was released on 2 February 2017. Eleven of these were remastered by

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

in Gateway Mastering Studios,

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, USA.

Awards and Notable Features

The band was featured in the 2007 Academy Award-winning movie ''

''. Songs by Interference have also been included in the soundtracks for Alan Gilsenan's All Souls Day and Damien O’Donnell's Inside I'm Dancing. A collaboration with Glen Hansard, the song 'Don't Go Down' features in the John Carney film ''

Sing Street ''Sing Street'' is a 2016 coming-of-age musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney from a story by Carney and Simon Carmody. Starring Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton and Fe ...

''. In 2018,

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin's Music Society awarded Interference an honorary patronage to the College Faculty in recognition of their contribution to Irish Music.

Documentaries

A film documentary on the life of O'Farrell, titled ''Breaking Out'' was released in November 2021. Filmed over ten years, it follows the history of O'Farrell and his band. From their recording studio set-up in Dublin in the early '90s, the last recording sessions before O'Farrell's death from muscular dystrophy in early 2016, and the release of their last album, ''The Sweet Spot,'' in 2017. To accompany the film's release, the 31 Interference tracks heard in the film were made into a soundtrack album.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interference 1984 establishments in Ireland Musical groups from County Cork Musical groups established in 1984