A couple of years ago – feeling a bit worn down by city life – My Tribe Your Tribe (aka George Mercer) decided that moving home to Portarlington would give him the vigour and incentive to write and record the album he could feel bubbling under his skin’s surface, and so he set up a studio in his grandmother’s house and began teaching himself the skills to record an album.
Somewhere along the way, isolation crept in, quickly followed by imposter syndrome. George started questioning himself; wondering why certain things weren’t landing; certain collaborators were no longer interested; and why half of his friends had suddenly up and left Ireland for seemingly brighter pastures. After a while, these factors started having an impact on George’s mental health and he found himself half way through the album feeling entirely burnt out.
Recollecting the process, George describes looking at the world as if he were a goldfish in a bowl, lacking entirely in a sense of identity. He recounts a moment of almost giving up: ‘Somewhere along the way, you realise that you’re not Mac DeMarco or Tame Impala, and maybe this DIY recording style can be a bit over-romanticised’. The freedom and ruggedness which originally attracted George to DIY music was now a barrier for him completing the album.
After this, things slowed right down and George took a step back from the recording process, embarking on a journey of discovery; spending long afternoons perspiring in steam rooms with middle-aged men, willing the penny to drop; running to festivals to dabble with narcotics, pleading for an epiphany of sorts; meditating in the woods, imploring the countryside to saturate him with genius. But the solution was much more obvious than he had anticipated.
The closing track of the album ‘Life On Loan’ features the refrain “I Learn A Lot From You”. When mixing this track, George had his lightbulb moment. “Like a voice from the future was being channeled telling me that everything is going to be ok, and there is meaning to all the madness that I was putting myself through.” Maybe this had all been a learning experience.
And so the album that may never have been finally has its release date. ‘I Learn A Lot From You’ will be released on June 14th, launching that night from The Grand Social.
The latest single ‘Imposter’ is out today April 26th.
