On The Rocky Road To Dublin: Basht. On The Irish Scene, Wunderhorse, And New Material

Words: Darci Jackson

Photography: Izzi Glover

They’re next in line in a myriad of alternative guitar-rock currently brewing in Ireland; Dublin four-piece, Basht. are carving their path with gritty guitars, hair-rising vocals, and moody undertones.

Basht. are Jack Leavey (vocals, guitar), Lughaidh Armstrong Mayock (guitar), Louis Christle (bass), and Jake Brennan (drums). 

“I suppose we don’t really know any different,” explained frontman Leavey after revealing Christle, Brennan, and himself all grew up in the capital city.

“Being from Dublin is great because there’s so many great acts coming out of Dublin. There’s been a great advertisement internationally of the Dublin scene and I think it’s just because of how good the scene is at the moment.”

Mayock mentioned how, although currently being based in Dublin, his roots come from farther afield.

“I grew up in a place called Leitrim - kind of in the middle of nowhere - and I moved up for college. I’m based in Dublin and that’s how I met the lads. It’s the smallest population in Ireland, there’s only like 30,000 in Leitrim.”

“Up Leitrim!”

As we sat in Leeds’ Eiger Studios, with its industrial, albeit cosy, atmosphere - complete with warm lighting and minute fake plants perched around the room - talk turned to the band’s summer shows during this year’s festival season.

Playing both inner-city and outdoor festivals such as Truck Festival, Sound City, and Into The Great Wide Open - with the latter causing just a bit of trouble:

“We got to play on an island off the coast of The Netherlands, last weekend, and we had to get a flight to Amsterdam, then get a two hour transfer to a ferry port, and then a two hour ferry to the island,” noted Leavey

“And then, the next day we missed our ferry back so we got stuck on the island.”

Despite their misfortune, they still describe The Netherlands’ Into The Great Wide Open as “pretty up there” regarding their favourite festival sets.

“We’ve picked up a bit of steam over the summer [and] got to do some cool stuff. We did Reading which was a big one for us,” added Leavey.

Basht. have certainly picked up steam, not just over the summer but across the whole year too, with the release of their second EP, Bitter and Twisted, and a headline tour across the UK (including two dates at Paris’ Supersonic) to accompany it.

Speaking about the EP, Leavey remarked:

“We recorded that in a strange manner. We had a couple of members leave the band around the same time so myself and Louis went over with a couple of friends, and we just kind of put the music down as we knew it, and made a pretty good go of it.”

Laden with fuzzy riffs and an underlying energy made for the stage, Bitter and Twisted is a cacophony of alternative rock, ready to pour its heart out.

“It seems to have come together pretty well.”

And it seems that their fanbase definitely agree with that sentiment.

“It’s been mad because it only came out fully in May and then we toured it straight away, within a few days. And there [were] people reacting really well to it and buying the actual EP, and it meant a lot that we got such a positive reaction,” further commented Leavey.

Basht. are no stranger to the bright lights, after having already toured with Wunderhorse, Been Stellar and The Goo Goo Dolls. And with us they talked about still being in contact with the Newquay rockers.

“When we played with them, they were much smaller than they are now and we obviously knew how amazing they were. It’s great to see how far they’ve gone and how far they’ve taken it. They taught us a lot,” began Leavey, with Christle adding:

“It’s nice to be in contact with them still at festivals or shows, just kind of catching up. They’re lovely guys, as well as their music just being fantastic.”

With a European tour in the pipeline, as well as supporting Scottish rock band swim school on the UK leg of their UK & EU tour in November, Basht. are already planning ahead for the future. 

And with them recording new material, could we see a longer body of work soon?

“We’re working on our first album at the moment, which is exciting. We’ve done a couple of EPs and now it’s just kind of time to focus on that, and that’s what we’ve been recording,” revealed Leavey.

He goes on to mention how it’s not just their debut album that the four-piece are working towards:

“More of the same - writing, recording, touring, and that kind of cycle. Just doing festivals and keep going.”

“Taking it more places, I guess,” followed Christle.

As the Irish guitar revolution continues to steamroll its way across the current scene, Basht. mention bands such as Cardinals, Adore, Bricknasty, SPRINTS, and Gurriers as just a few of their fellow artists that they’re currently enjoying.

“There’s so many amazing acts you forget to mention,” Leavey explained.

Basht. are a band that are, underneath their quiet and brooding demeanour, four very clever musicians, eager to bring their passion for alternative rock from the rocky road to Dublin, to the rest of the world.