Initially evolving from a chance encounter on Soundcloud between frontman/guitarist Fatboy and producer Cillian McCauley, Bricknasty expanded to a fully fledged physical band with the introduction of Dara Abdurahman (bass), Korey Thomas (drums) and Louis Younge (sax/keys). From infectious energy and soulful chords to soft, woozy vocals, together Bricknasty’s music effortlessly traverses RnB, neo soul, jazz and psych citing influences such as D’Angelo, MF Doom, and Timbaland. As the members have flourished, so too have their songs, with each individual contributing to both existing demos and the wider texture of the collective’s identity and vision. Their obvious harmony and musical synchronicity as a band extends to their live shows too, which have caused a groundswell of word-of-mouth buzz in Dublin and beyond.
Central to Bricknasty’s story is frontman & guitarist Fatboy’s experiences growing up in the Dublin suburb of Ballymun, a district known for its social problems including unemployment, high crime rates and drug abuse, heavily associated with Dublin’s heroin epidemic in the 80s and 90s. With external prejudices further nourishing this notoriety, its residents were rarely granted the opportunity to present their own perspectives. “There was loads in the news at the time about Ballymun and the type of people who lived there”, reflects Fatboy,“But anyone what lived in them flats at that time will tell you they were unreal to live in and the sense of community was very strong.” Raised between two of the towers known as the Ballymun Flats,
Fatboy’s home was the reluctant poster child for the area’s infamy. Built in the early 1960s to serve the city’s swelling population, the group of high rises were unceremoniously demolished in the early 2000s to make way for new developments. The trade off for this ‘regeneration project’ was the dispossession and displacement it left in its wake.