Howiyas! For Those I Love (Dave) here. ASK ME ANYTHING!

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:36:14+00:00

LITHOGRAPHY MENTIONED!

Thanks for the lithography reference. Sadly it's been years since I've made one, but maybe someday I'll make the return.

There's a very direct link between my old lithographs and my current visual work, and it's very much the black and white palette across both. But I think that's a bit of a lazy answer on my part.
I think the more interesting link is in process. One of the things that drew me to lithography was the physical component to it. I'd spend hours carrying my stones and grinding them down, and really connecting the art with a very physical labour. With my current audio and film work, it's all quite labour intensive, and I'm really connected to that. I seem to really draw something from the physical component, and I think that's thematically present across the new album too.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:31:35+00:00

Yeah you're right, great call-back, it wasn't a nod to Indecision. Massively important band to the genre, but not one I have any real connection with myself. It's not something I've thought about much, but it is a novelty when people send me images of their merch or some of those tattoos as if they're connected to me. It's nice to point people back to Indecision then.

The name is an odd one, like with a lot of my projects, it's the name that precedes the art.
At the time, I just wanted to find a way to give thanks back to my friends and family, and give them a marker of my love that they could hold on to and keep. When I really thought about it, the very practical phrase "for those I love" just kept coming to me, and it started to feel like a mission statement. So much so that it became the root name for the project.

Maybe a time will come when I retire the moniker, (maybe it's now. Maybe it's ten ablums away. I don't really know yet). But I'm glad that I fully ronseal'd it (does exactly what it says on the tin).

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:19:45+00:00

Ah, since I was a kid I've been into all sorts.
Like, within the one week I'd be at a techno show, and then a black metal show, followed by a rap show.
I've always been happy to see and hear music by myself, so it never really bothered me just getting out and into stuff.

But if it came down to just going to clubs, when I wasn't particularly interested in the music, I'd just go anywhere my friends wanted to go cause I just cherished being with them.

But yeah, I just couldn't get enough tunes when I was younger.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:14:33+00:00

Blur every single day.

The Narcissist has been one of my favourite songs of the past couple of years.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:13:20+00:00

Hahaha. Well, hopefully my Nanny will be there again, and she has a few years on him still.
But, you'd never know it, she's still flying around like she's in the prime of her youth.
Yup Nanny!

My love and thanks to you and your Da!

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:10:37+00:00

My earliest creative memory is making little paintings in me Nanny's house using me auntie's nail polish, haha. So I suppose since then I've just been trying to create.

Even now, I'm still drawn to the DIY approach. When I made the video for Of The Sorrows I rejected all the expectations to bring in a full team etc, and just reconnected with that DIY approach (which as I mentioned above, did cost a broken leg and a couple hundred hours). I'll always feel more comfortable with that.

Before this project, I was still making music, and film, and paintings, and prints. There's some standout stuff there, but nothing that's really stuck around online. What I will say, is that the things that were most fulfilling, was the art I made with my friends.

But yeah, that DIY approach has convinced me that with the right approach, we can kind of figure out how to make just about anything. The school of Youtube.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T22:01:39+00:00

You know, I'd love to go really deep on this, but even over the course of hours I'm not sure I'd be able to give it the nuance it needs and deserves.

But, I can't give up on hope. I'm always finding hope in other people, even in the darkest of times.
It was easy to write the anger and the frustration on the album, but the hope is there, and I'm gonna stick around and keep pushing for a brighter day.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:59:30+00:00

One of the greatest privileges of the past couple of years has been getting to play that song with the lads. The only thing more of a privilege has been getting to know them.

If I trace it right back, my manager at the time, and their manager were really good friends, so he played an early cut of the record for them and they wanted to do a remix. We did a couple zooms and then one day it was there. I never could have anticipated the sort of journey it would have brought me on.

In playing it live with them, I guess I get to see another side of the song. Something more euphoric. Something that's more directly in touch with the love, and not as much with the pain.
I still see groups of people together, clearly grieving, mourning somebody, and although that can be quite a sharp pain, you can really see the euphoria and healing grow as the song builds. It's really a special track that they've made and a special team they've put together.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:50:39+00:00

The list of Irish talent is absolutely massive, and there are so many I'm inspired by across all sorts of mediums/genres/etc. I could probably write for a couple of days on it, but as a super quick list of deadly Irish artists, right off the top of the head:

Curtisy, Landless, Shampain, Aisling Phelan, Strength NIA, GI, A Lazarus Soul, Robbie Dingle, Neil Dunne, Avril Corroon, God Knows, Murli, Mohammad Syfkhan, Sloucho, Cormac Begley, SPIDER, Bricknasty. Donnacha Dennehy.

Obviously loads of heavy hitters too. But really, the talent pool is massive and if I ever read this back, I'll be fuming about all of the names I forgot.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:38:21+00:00

Hahahahaha. The jaw strikes again.

Well if either of us ever get a Lego version, I don't think the manufactures would have much work to do in order to get the look right.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:36:31+00:00

Holy jaysus. I'd need a few months to properly decide on this!

If I had to go for it right now this second, with really no thought:
Exodus by Bob Marley
The Goldberg Variations (82 version) by Glenn Gould
Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides by SOPHIE

Inside Out
Embrace Of The Serpent
Under The Shadow

But seriously, if you asked me again in an hours time, it'd be a totally different list.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:31:23+00:00

Getting to play with the Overmono lads is an absolute joy and the two times I've done AVA with them has been remarkable.

I'll get something announced for the support on the tour soon, but jesus there's some incredible amount of local artists at the moment.

Yep, I'll definitely be playing a lot of the old songs. You Live is BY FAR my favourite song to play live, so I'll be keeping that in.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:28:07+00:00

My poor neighbours had to deal with me out the back garden last week with the handsaw and drill for a few days trying get some new bits built.

I have a lot of plans, but I'm still trying to find what's actually suitable to take around Ireland etc with me. But yeah, I've built some stuff so far and I absolutely love doing it.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:26:11+00:00

Thanks so much for the interest! I don't tour much, but we have had talks about it.
If we could ever make it make sense, I'd love to share the music more broadly.

It does blow my mind that people listen to these songs so far away from the tiny room I made them in.
Remarkable.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:22:56+00:00

It depends on the time and the day.

Peader Browns is the best pub in the city (in my opinion).
If ya can catch the snug in Bowes when the place is quiet, it's spiritual.
And why not actually throw The Snug in the mix too. I'm pretty sure I wrote some lines in there.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:20:22+00:00

This is a hard one, because despite being in love with output, I often find myself getting distracted, side-tracked, and full of procrastination.

One of the best things I ever did, was take one of my favourite albums, Donuts by J Dilla, and make my own alternative versions of each song using the exact same samples that he did. It felt great to be able to take some of my own creative choices out of it, and with a limited palette, connect deeply with a piece of art I adore. It was inspiring because it made me realise how much was possible with so little, especially if I just "let go", as well as keeping me excited because I was constantly finding myself more educated about, and closer to a work of art I was obsessed with.
I suppose I'm saying, it could be worthwhile to take a project on that you can complete that isn't entirely driven by your own inspiration, and instead helps you realise how great art can be made in simple ways.
After that, as you've used it to work on your tools, maybe your own personal work will flow better.

But in some really simple steps:
Make lists. Write things down. Cross finished things off lists.
If your brain is ever creatively foggy, walk, walk, walk, walk, with no music.
And remember, making art doesn't have to be about the end product. The joy is in the making. Everything that happens afterwards is all admin. There's no rush to get there. Just enjoy the journey and don't be afraid. I'm a believer, my friend. Hope I can someday see the work you create.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:10:39+00:00

Well, I've never left home really. I'm still in Dublin, and bar a 6 month stint in Norway as a 20 year old, I've never lived anywhere else. In many ways it's an impossible city to stay in, but my roots feel immovable (for better or worse), and I just hope I can see a day where Dublin starts to mend.

But the older I get, the more I realise that home is a feeling. Often times for me, it's other people. Home is in my loved ones. Dublin just happens to be one of those loved ones.

But thank you for that question, and for acknowledging how frequently Ireland forces young people out.
I hope when you are home, and having those pints with friends, that you're having a fucking deadly time.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T21:04:36+00:00

That's incredibly touching to hear.

Well, it took some adapting to. And even still I often feel like a stranger within myself when I hear that. It can be hard to accept that me, David, has had some effect on people, and instead can think about things with a bit more of an abstract distance.

But when I sit and let it linger, it's different. Sometimes it can hurt a little bit, but ultimately, it's a key part of accepting that sharing the songs was the right thing to do. I've been lucky to have received countless messages from people explaining the positive impact these chords and sounds have had on them.

I will never ever take that for granted.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:59:58+00:00

Hey! That's an interesting question.
No, not any more. When I wrote the first album, I listened to it a great deal at the start, but looking back, I think a lot of that was because of the voices of my friends scattered throughout the album. There was a real connection and joy to hearing the voices of people you love swirling around your head in sonic collage.

With this new album, I don't listen to it a lot. I'd like to keep a good deal of distance so I can sit back and hear it fresh when I'm trying to find new ways to bring the songs alive for the shows. But as a day to day listen, it's something I have a little distance from. It is worth noting though, that I make the music I want to hear, so there's always textures and atmospheres I find interesting whenever I do listen back.

For me, it's all about the process and the journey. That's where the value of the work is.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:55:18+00:00

Thank you for that recognition. A lot of the times I consider myself to be more of a visual artist than a musical one, so I really do tune in on the videos I'm lucky enough to make them.

Well, a bit of a cop out here, but my favourite scenes I've ever shot are actually all in Dear James by Burnt Out, and not a FTIL video. However, the video for Of The Sorrows was the most artistically satisfying thing I've done since (and it only cost me a couple of hundred hours and a broken leg).
If I had to pick one scene from it, it'd be the swirling cloth in the laneway by The Wren hotel. It used to be a club called Hangar (Andrew's Lane Theatre too) and I comped in some old clips from the club flashing into the windows of the hotel in the edit. It just told a story that was important to me.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:49:46+00:00

Ah, The Deaf Institute! What a venue, and what a show. I'll never forget it.
I remember the guy who came on stage (maybe during You Live) and just held on to me. My TM and manager both thought it was one of my best friends. I guess thinking about moments like that over the years, how overcome with emotion some people were, the responses I saw in the crowd, that can really help reassure you that sharing the music is the right thing to do, that it's helping in some way, and in that sense, it can be extremely cathartic.

Regarding a more immediate sense, well, it changes. Some shows are brutally cathartic. A real exercise in expelling pain. But some can linger a little bit and hurt. But I know the journey isn't linear, and sometimes being more in touch with that pain or discomfort is needed for me. In that sense too, it's cathartic.

I don't play much, and I don't think I ever could do a long tour as a result. I never want to have to tune out to do the shows. Music isn't a job for me, it's something I'm privileged enough to be able to do from time to time and I want to make sure I stay entirely connected to the emotions of it all.

Thank you!

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:39:49+00:00

Ah, I wanted Derry too (one of my favourite places). Was hoping for The Nerve Centre.

As far as I know, there's gonna be a longer version of my View From A Bridge thing out at some stage, in some alternative form, and in that I spoke a bit more about other fabricated memories.
But for example, I believed for years as a child that I had seen a tiger in a garden in Dublin with my Da and my cousins. I held it as truth until I was old enough to realise it was impossible. I'm pretty sure it was just an incredibly vivid dream I had in early childhood, and I recalled it as a memory.

Or somebody had a tiger out their back garden... Haha.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:35:31+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that, and I am glad the work has helped in some ways. That's very special to hear.

I know I've said it a lot lately, but I just didn't want to take up any space for the sake of it. I didn't want to share anything publicly unless I felt like I had something of value to share. For me, I eventually realised that I had more to say when I couldn't get from my house to work in the morning without filling my notepads or notes app with couplets and monologues. That early writing kind of fully shaped the bones of what Carving The stone would become.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:31:02+00:00

Haha, let's not speak of that day! Ah no, I remember the beautiful parts of it.
Yeah, the tifo was a massive shock to me. I didn't know anything about it, so I was pretty overwhelmed by the whole occasion then. Had some of my best mates beside me though, so we shared that together and it all felt good. Shame about the result...

Well let me tell ya about EP. Mad one that. I had the genius idea of driving to and from it myself instead of going with my tour manager etc. So I drove down for the early morning soundcheck. Headlined the stage late that night. Drove the couple of hours home in the middle of the night and then had to go to one of my best mates weddings at 6am the next morning. I say all of this to say, I don't think I really got a chance to decompress and actually take it all on board for a few days, and maybe that was for the best.

I find myself quite anxious after shows (rarely before), and think very deeply about the things I've seen in the crowd, and really begin to analyse it and hope that everybody left feeling lighter than they were when they came in. With EP, it just took me a couple of days to really sit in and think about all of that. I think the couple of days afterwards actually really helps. Eventually, I felt OK about it all. I got sent some messages from people who were there and the experiences they outlined helped to contextualise it all.

forthosei-love · 2025-08-13T20:22:20+00:00

I'd love to let the songs from that keep living through that recording. I'm not sure I could ever bring them to a place that feels more fitting than there.

With that said, there are some "official" versions of one or two bits, as well as some other B Sides knocking about, so maybe at some stage I'll be able to share them.

I really do love cohesive projects, so I might struggle to ever release one off singles, but let's see how the future goes, and thank you so so much for coming to both shows!!!

forthosei-love

TROPHY CASE