Interference (band)

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Interference is an Irish band originally headed by the singer-songwriter Fergus O'Farrell.^[1] It was established in 1984.

The band was initially formed by James O'Leary and Fergus O'Farrell in 1984 in Cork, Ireland. In the early 2000s, the band created an alternative project, Dog Tail Soup. This project featured a lineup of established musicians, including Swedish artist Camilla Griehsel,^[2] Maurice Seezer, and several others.

The band devised an alter ego, where each of them would alternate the role of singer, performing their songs and covers. The name DogTail Soup was derived from a line in one of Vearncombe's 'Black' songs, "Cold Chicken Skin".^[3]

Interference and DogTail Soup developed a cult following in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the 2000s following several regional tours.

DogTail Soup released an album, Rough, in 2008 on a music label, Nero Schwar^[4] (an independent label established by Colin Vearncombe, one of the co-creators of Dogtail Soup).

Interference outings became sporadic as O’Farrell's health caused long periods of inactivity. During this time, O'Farrell would write the song "Gold" as a solo composition. "Gold" then featured in John Carney's 2007 Box Office Hit film Once during a house party scene where Interference performs the song.^[5] The song would become synonymous with Once and lead to it also being featured in Once: The Musical. The success of "Gold" led O'Farrell to sign a worldwide publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.

Colin Vearncombe died in a car crash on 26 January 2016. O'Farrell died from muscular dystrophy 7 days later, on 2 February 2016.

In 2017, a tribute concert was organized to celebrate O'Farrell and his work. To coincide with these performances, the second Interference album, The Sweet Spot, produced by Dan Dan Fitzgerald, was released on 2 February 2017.

Eleven of these were re-mastered by Bob Ludwig in Gateway Mastering Studios,^[6] Portland, Maine, USA.

Throughout its music career, the band has been nominated and received numerous awards.

The band was featured in the 2007 Academy Award-winning movie Once. Songs by Interference have also been included in the soundtracks for Alan Gilsenan’s All Souls Day and Damien O’Donnell’s Inside I'm Dancing. A collaboration with Glen Hansard, the song ‘Don’t Go Down’ features in the John Carney film Sing Street.

In 2018, Trinity College Dublin’s Music Society awarded Interference an Honorary Patronage to the College Faculty in recognition of their contribution to Irish Music.^[7]

A film documentary on the life of O'Farrell, titled Breaking Out^[8] was released in November 2021.^[9] Filmed over ten years, it follows the history of O'Farrell and his band. From their recording studio set-up in Dublin in the early '90s, the last recording sessions before O'Farrell’s death from muscular astrophysics in early 2016, and the release of their last album The Sweet Spot in 2017.

To acompany the films release, the 31 Interference tracks heard in the film were made into a soundtrack album.^[10]