We spoke with Keelan X about “Fresh Paint” and more!

Hey! Can you share the story or inspiration behind your latest track, “Fresh Paint”? What motivated you to create this song?

A: The song title was inspired by a documentary that I was watching one evening on the telly about the Royal Family; the pervasive smell of freshly painted walls everywhere they went. The song’s lyrics cryptically allude to life scenarios and the painting over of our emotional landscape quickly before we deftly hop onto the next scenario…a pervasive cover-up operation we’re all guilty of!” Musically, the sound on this track is influenced by both 80s and modern-day production values. I tried to blend a bit of old and new.

Your lyrics often convey deep emotions and stories. In “Fresh Paint,” what themes were you aiming to explore, and how do they reflect your personal experiences or observations?

A: I like lyrics that are open to interpretation. Besides, I’m not much of a storyteller songwriter. I’m more about the vibe and creating sentiment through the combination of words and melody. That said, in ‘Fresh Paint’ I am definitely referring to scenarios I’ve had in past where you think a person is the only one and then it goes off track and you have to establish boundaries in order to rebuild your self-esteem. The lyric about city walls refers to this.

There’s a real mixed bag of themes and emotions at play in this song. For instance, my punctuality wasn’t always great in the past, hence, the line “I’m not late just got delayed, been held up in a narrow escape”. The narrow escape refers to moving on from a relationship and when I’m in one I like a bit of breathing space etc.,….so the song is a real dolly- mixture of thoughts that just happened to make it into the song. If it was a style of painting, you might call it “abstract expressionism!

How have your musical influences shaped the sound and style of “Fresh Paint”? Are there any artists or genres that particularly inspire your creative process?

A: The kind of musical influences at play in Fresh Paint I would say are a blend of artists and production values I like. Although the song was written on guitar initially, I didn’t want it to sound guitar-driven. I wanted that Juno-60 synth dominant in the mix and I wanted that warm, fuzzy West Coast 80s sound in the track too.

I really like a lot of modern pop production…I find artists like The Weeknd, The 1975, Melanie Martinez, Post Malone, Phoebe Bridgers etc., very inspiring. I’m also heavily influenced by the more classic songwriting of the late 1970s and 1980s synth-pop (Prefab Sprout, David Bowie, Tears for Fears, The Smiths etc) and I also like indie artists like The War on Drugs, The Killers, Sam Fender etc.

Could you walk us through your creative process for developing “Fresh Paint”? From initial concept to final production, how do you bring a song to life?

A: I literally wrote the main chords and melody line the night before the recording session with Alex O’ Keefe (Producer) at his home studio. I sometimes do this and pressurize myself into coming up with something the day before going to record. I recorded the initial idea as a voice memo on my iphone…acoustic guitar and a rough melody line. The rest of the track was written in the studio on the spot and finalised over the course of this 1.5 day recording session. On this track I wanted to move away from some of the indie-guitar sound on earlier releases and explore making the main chords of the electric guitar not sound too much like a guitar at all, and blend in with the snyths. Alex helped me achieve this to his credit.

I mixed and mastered the track about a year later with Cian Sweeney so it was ready to release before the end on 2023. It usually takes a few mixes to get the sound just right. Sometimes at this stage we are making final production tweaks so all the elements work.

The cover art is the final piece in the puzzle. I usually produce the artwork myself in Photoshop. I wanted to produce something that was a cross between Reservoir Dogs meets Miami Vice. It usually takes me an hour or two to get something that looks about right.

Creating music can be both rewarding and challenging. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while producing “Fresh Paint,” and how did you overcome them?

A: Working on the track with up n’ coming producer, Alex O’ Keefe was real easy. We mucked around with Juno 60s, a Korg Minilogue XD. I think we riffled through some samples from the Splice sound library. Choosing the right snare sound I find is critical and kinda defines a song. I was heavily into the Linn drum machine sound at the time. We blended this with an acoustic snare. The guitar parts were played on a Fender Strat. Alex played some guitar parts on the track too. He’s a tasty musician. As part of the production process I usually create a short-list of songs I’m listening to at the moment. I remember refencing Post Malone, The Weeknd, Billy Ocean, Tears for Fears, SZA, The War on Drugs for this track. Once I recorded the track I had moved on to writing and releasing other tracks in the meantime. About a year or so later, I felt it was the right time to release the track. I had been working with producer Cian Sweeney on some new tracks so it made sense to ask Cian to mix “Fresh Paint” as he was familiar with my sound. Cian was super easy to work with. I mixed the track remotely over Zoom with Cian and we bounced off a few versions till we had it in the pocket. The track was mastered by Richard Dowling.

How have your fans and listeners responded to “Fresh Paint”? Is there any feedback or reaction that particularly stood out to you?

A: The reaction to the track was very strong. Internationally my songs are getting picked up more and more by the Synthwave / Alt-Pop community. I did a number of radio interviews both in Europe and the USA. The song was picked up by a number of online magazines, blogs and a few hundred Spotify playlists too.

Moving beyond “Fresh Paint,” can you tell us more about your background as an artist? How did you get started in music, and what has your journey been like so far?

A: I was in a band in the late 90s/early noughties called The Marigolds and we recorded a couple of EPs. I had spent time living in LA busking/doing gigs and supporting myself though off jobs such as painting houses before returning to Dublin. After 3-4 years of this, like a lot of song writers / musicians I found myself getting disillusioned with the whole thing. I just wasn’t able to have any decent standard of living and paying the bills was a constant challenge so I knew I had to make a change. So I went back to college an did a Masters in Interactive Media and got a job as a web developer in the burgeoning Internet industry.

I pretty much gave up playing in bands until I lived in London a few years later and fooled around in a couple of “bands”…just jamming and doing the occasional gig. After the financial crash in 2008, I spent the decade getting life back on track through entrepreneurial efforts including forays into the web technology and property world, all the while developing a more spiritual side. Diving into yoga and literature, I explored new aspects and depths I hadn’t done before. I like to push my own envelope. Lockdown happened and for a lot of people it was a time to explore the previously unexplored or forgotten aspects of themselves. For me it was to return to flirting with music again – writing and recording some original music for the first time in over a decade – I have released 7 tracks since November 2021 with the latest being “Fresh Paint” and have an album worth of material almost ready for release.

How do you feel you’ve evolved as an artist from your earlier work to now, with the release of “Fresh Paint”? In what ways has your music changed or grown?

A: I’ve embraced the whole Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) recording process. When I released my debut single “No Fall of Rome” it was mostly all indie- guitars and drums with just a modicum of snyths used. I still like the raw, visceral quality of an overdriven guitar but I’m enjoying and all the various VST plugins and synthesizers.

Looking ahead, do you have any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about? Can fans expect new music or tours in the near future?

A: I’m working on some co-write stuff with a USA-based producer which I’m excited about. I’m also planning to get my debut album releases in 2024. I’ve been putting it on the back-burner because releasing single seems to be the way to build a fanbase nowadays. I’ll be doing more gigs in Ireland and then hopefully the UK this year.

Finally, what advice or message would you like to share with aspiring musicians who look up to your work and hope to carve out their own path in the music industry?

A: Build a great team around you as you can’t do everything yourself. Nowadays, not only do you have to be able to write and produce great songs but you also need to be a multi-media and social media guru. For me, I know I can’t be an expert of it all so I work with people who know this stuff better than me!