Chaplin

Chaplin
Hailing from Wexford in the south east corner of Ireland Chaplin are a five piece band whose depth and diversity of sound defies description. . Despite there being only five musicians, the instruments played include guitar, bass, drums, congas, djembes, darrabukas, mandolin, piano, Rhodes, accordion and banjo among others. The band also have a fondness for electronic programming and luscious four part vocal harmonies.. With such a broad ranging mix of instruments Chaplin display an impressive even sometimes beguiling breadth of musical styles, their sound encompasses country, rock, reggae, hip-hop, dance and folk music while always retaining a distinct element that is uniquely their own.

This broad musical vocabulary coupled with a willingness to experiment makes a Chaplin live show an event not to be missed. A recent review in Hotpress by one of the countries most pre-eminent scribes described it as follows.

“Chaplin are a five piece who bring a tantalising air of the unexpected to every song, stretching the limits of the basic guitars-and drums line-up to breaking point. Within the confines of one song, they can range with effortless ease from prog-rock to country-folk and full on mainstream rock.”

When playing live Chaplin often hire the services of (…….) design team who project images which meld into, interact with and even question the words and sounds created by the band.

The name Chaplin came from a night on the tiles in Dublin city the night before the bands inaugural gig. With no name forthcoming that all members could agree on, it was decided that the bands moniker would be gleaned from the very pub they were sitting in which was Chaplins pub in Hawkins street in Dublin city centre.

To date Chaplin have been selective about their live output preferring instead to concentrate on recording while playing a gig every month or so to keep musically tight. Despite this they have found time to play support to such luminaries as John Martin, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Paul Brady. Declan O’Rourke and The Devlins. While doing this the band have also amassed a yet unreleased catalogue of recordings that most bands would take years to put together. The first release was the “Swings and Roundabouts ep” which was critically lauded and won the band national airplay on both RTE and Today fm. In late 2004 the band recorded a 2fm session for the Jenny Heuston show which again was well received and won the band national exposure. Their present release is the “Paint by Numbers ep” which features five new tracks including “The Story Goes” which premiered live on the Ryan Tubridy breakfast show in May of this year.. Presently in the pipeline is their eagerly awaited debut album entitled “The Payola Project” and a further two ep’s which mean that soon it will be impossible to keep them of the airwaves!

(Chaplin are also presently involved in a set of gigs in conjunction with Wexford Arts Centre, Hotpress, and Beat fm. The first cut sessions are to run monthly from July to September in the Wexford Arts Centre. As a direct result of the First Cuts Sessions Chaplin have recently signed up for a series of gigs both in Ireland and the States with Irish/American band BLACK47.