If there is one place you can always find peaceful solitude, it’s the bathroom. Unless you’re a parent. I’ve heard it’s a free for all in that case. Thankfully, it was blissful solitude for Fintan when he sat up one night with the shower on one side and the sink on the other and penned his latest single, “Body.” A beautiful love song for the ages, it could sit on the shelf next to the likes of Bieber and Sheeran right now. We talked about the Biebs and much more as Fintan took us into his family, future, and yes, bathroom in this back and forth.
Kendra: You’re a young guy but have been writing since you were even younger. Who were some of your inspirations as a budding nine-year-old songwriter? Was it Bieber? Because I got some major Purpose-era vibes from your sound.
Fintan: Bieber is more of a life coach for me than a musical inspiration but I’ll take that as a compliment anyway. When I was first writing songs as a 9-years-old I was really into Queen and Frank Sinatra. Then I started getting really into songwriters like Damien Rice, Glen Hansard, and Jason Mraz.
Kendra: You also weren’t alone when you got into music. It’s always been a family affair of sorts. Do you have any siblings that aren’t musical?
Fintan: Both of my siblings are very musical and arguably much more talented than me. My brother remains a really integral part of my “team” and plays every show with me. My sister got a stable job as a school teacher, so she’s sort of the black sheep of the family.
Kendra: Do you feel like every musician should have to busk at least once in their life?
Fintan: I don’t know how we could go about enforcing that law, but I definitely support it. Busking is a total performance boot-camp. You have to earn every passerby’s attention and you have to constantly be engaging. If you get lazy then your audience literally walks away. I can’t think of a better way to learn the trade.
Kendra: Let’s talk about the now. You wrote “Body” while in the bathroom. Because it’s such a great song, are you kind of convinced that you’ll write the rest of your music in that particular room now?
Fintan: Haha I think that’ll be a one-off sort of thing. The only reason it was written in the bathroom was so I didn’t wake up the person in the next room so I’m just trying to use it as inspiration to afford a bigger place.
Kendra: Despite the location, “Body” is more about love than bodily functions. It’s a beautiful song about being with someone through it all. It will make people think not only of their own relationships but those of some of their favorite fictional couples. Other than your own, what couple in TV/movies do you feel embody the idea of what “Body” represents?
Fintan: First of all thank you, secondly what a dope question. I just watched The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, and although the parent’s relationship ends with the mom being haunted by ghosts and dying, there’s a beautiful monologue the dad has as he’s reminiscing about their relationship that totally sums up what I was trying to say in the song. In the scene, he talks about how they fought like every couple fights, but they did it with love and were always on each other’s side. I thought that was really sweet. Again though, hopefully, my own life story has a happier ending than theirs.
http://soundcloud.com/fintan-obrien/say-it-again
Kendra: “Body” isn’t all you have up your sleeve. You have a whole EP, Then We Fall. If you had to sum up the album in five words what would it be?
Fintan: Yesss, whole EP coming soon. I could just cheat and list the 5 songs but I’ll actually try:
Honest, Warm, Sparse, Romantic, and Soft.
Kendra: What’s coming up for you in the coming months you can share with us? Touring at all?
Fintan: Other than releasing the EP on March 22, I’m heading to Toronto that month with my brother and we’re playing a residency at The Cameron House every Wednesday of the month. Touring is the absolute dream though so that’s 100% on the horizon.
