Brothers take a break from The Feeling to try something different

There will be a new album from The Feeling next year, but in the meantime Kevin and Ciaran release The Jeremiah Brothers on June 8, alongside the single ‘Because It’s You’ released the same day.

“This is very different to The Feeling to be honest,” says Ciaran.

“The influences are quite different in terms of the sound.

“We had been recording for a little while, and it became a routine for me to go round to Kev’s place. It’s just that after a while it started to develop a theme in terms of sound we wanted to create.”

Growing up in a family band, the two played ’60s and Irish folk music, and it’s partly to this they return.

The idea is a touching Bob Dylan-esque debut album that brings the ’60s troubadour vibe back into the present. The brothers are set to tour the UK in June and will be playing various festivals throughout the summer.

“There was that ’60s revival, and a lot of people are thinking there is a second revival now. Growing up, our parents were into the folk stuff, a lot of Irish-influenced music, but it was also Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton. We listened to it, and when we were older we ended up playing with them in a couple of different pubs and village halls.”

So which is the real Ciaran? The Feeling or The Jeremiah Brothers?

Ciaran’s point is that it’s perfectly possible to be both: “We were both in bands together when we were 11 and 12, and a lot of that was more rock-based stuff. There is definitely room for everything – but not necessarily on the same album!

“This was just something that we had the time to do and wanted to do in terms of song-writing.

“We had the opportunity, and so we decided we would make it happen.

“But The Feeling is still going. We had our last album out in 2013, and the next Feeling album is early next year. The Feeling, in terms of mainstream awareness, were at the peak in the mid-2000s, but it is certainly carrying on.

“Dan is the main songwriter for The Feeling. It’s just nice to be doing something different. As musicians, unless one thing goes absolutely mad, it’s just good to be keeping busy by doing a multitude of different things.”

And much of it they owe to West Sussex.

“Kev and myself grew up in Horsham, and then we went to school in Crawley where we met Paul, the drummer in The Feeling. I went to college in Croydon where we met the two other guys. Richard is from Forest Row, so there are lots of different elements of West Sussex there!

“We used to rehearse and record down at my parents’ place in Horsham,” recalls Ciaran who would love to do a Horsham gig.

“So far it has been more London gigs, but it would be great to branch out and do some gigs in West Sussex, particularly Horsham, but also Brighton because that’s where we spent a lot of time growing up.

“It was great for us in terms of the schools we went to in Horsham and Crawley where we were encouraged musically, and that had a big influence on us, especially in terms of being able to think in terms of pursing music as a career.

“It made a big difference, certainly, having the facilities we could use for rehearsals.”

Visit thejeremiahbrothers.com.