Mik Pyro is a national treasure.
Mik Pyro was songwriter, producer and lead singer of the one of Ireland most innovative, influential and hit making groups Republic of Loose. The man exudes funk and groove-laden music. It’s in his DNA.
Republic Of Loose, turning out four top ten albums with hits like ‘The Steady Song’, ‘You Know It’, ‘I Like Music’ and ‘Comeback Girl’, throughout their ten year career. They infested the radio airwaves, went double platinum and sold out venues in Ireland, the UK and USA. The Loose live were an infamously incendiary experience, with every gig uncoiling into a funk-laced maelstrom of spiritual and carnal rapture. Swathes of legends such as Bono, Sinead O’Connor, Snow Patrol and Shane MacGowan were counted among fans and their music was the soundtrack to the fun, debauchery and wildness of boom-era Ireland. But the fun became ennui (as it tends to do) and the steam train that was Republic Of Loose quietly cranked to a halt band members walked quietly away in varying directions.
The demise of the band coincided with a difficult personal time for Mik. He retreated to small gigs in bars playing the blues with his mentors from the previous generation, Pat Farrell, James Delaney, John Quearney and Noel Bridgeman. Together they fused New Orleans Blues with funk and gathered a loyal and dedicated fan-base. Mik described these gigs as ‘nourishing’ in an interview with Irish Times’ Lauren Murphy, but still itched to finish and release his original material.
He began working on a new album and this is the first single from it. It’s Mik Pyro at his best. It’s a brilliantly funky, catchy as hell track which should dominate the airwaves this summer and propel the former Loose man to the forefront of all that is good about Irish music.
Clip via Mik Pyro
The single shows us that no matter how dark, depraved and “strange” things get, music is all that matters to Mik and that loss, misery, loneliness, debauchery, and pain cannot compete with his drive to be an innovative artist. ”I’ve been dreaming ‘bout it all of my life, it’s like waiting for the rain to ignite…I’m gonna make it happen for you girl..so I’m gonna sing”. This is less the kind of ear worm we were accustomed to with Republic Of Loose, it is now more personal, more refined, more ambitious and shows the true depth of his songwriting and production talent.
You can catch Mik live doing his thing in Whelan’s on June 6.
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