VIDEO: INTERVIEW – Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines D.C. Says New Music Is In The Works, Finds Joy In Fatherhood

Grammy-nominated Fontaines D.C. has been quite busy in 2023, having released their highly anticipated new album ‘Skinty Fia’ and toured in support of the new material throughout the year. The album has garnered international acclaim and tackles the emotions they went through in dealing with the need to broaden their horizons to leave their hometown of Dublin, Ireland while balancing the affection they still feel for the city and people they left behind. The album title is representative of the band’s Irish roots as Skinty Fia is an Irish phrase which translates to English as “the damnation of the deer” and the album’s cover art features a deer, plucked from its natural habitat and deposited in the hallway of a home, illuminated by an artificial red glow. The Irish giant deer is an extinct species and the band’s thoughts on Irish identity are central to ‘Skinty Fia’. Songs like “Roman Holiday,” sees frontman Grian Chatten reflect on his experiences of moving to London and embracing the city as an Irish person in the local diaspora. The song sees the band delving further into the album’s poignant themes surrounding identity and belonging, with the lyrics celebrating the camaraderie found in the community of Irish people and friends that the band have found for themselves. More recently, the band dropped the deluxe version of the album entitled ‘Skinty Fia go deo’. The album features a new Orbital remix of the opening track “In ár gCroíthe go deo” as well as live recordings of select songs from the album, a cover of U2’s “One,”, a version of “Big Shot” recorded at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, and more.

Guitarist Carlos O’Connell spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about touring with Arctic Monkeys, becoming a new father, his admiration for Leonard Cohen which sparked him to cover his music, upcoming new music from the band and more.