Since forming in 2019, Irish trio Ash Red, comprising Arthur Murray (guitar / vocals), Tadhg O’Keeffe (bass / backing vocals), and Isaac Walsh (drums) have built a devoted following through relentless live performances across Ireland, including headline shows at The Workman’s Club in Dublin. On 14 November they released their debut album via Blowtorch Records, following their EP STUPID EP released in May this year. The Decibel Decoder learnt more about Ash Red from Arthur, including a short notice offer to support Public Image Ltd.
Congratulations on your debut album The Foreign Game. How does it feel to have this body of work out in the world?
It’s a bit of a strange feeling, to be honest. We were talking about it on release day. We recorded these songs last December, so they’ve been sitting with us for ages, especially since most of them were written long before they were recorded, so it doesn’t really feel like a “new” album to us. At the same time, the release-night gig was one of the best we’ve ever done, it’s a great feeling knowing that many people showed up to hear us play the full album and now they have a full body of work they can go home and listen to.
How did you approach putting the album together? Did you have a selection of songs to choose from or did you write specifically for the album?
This is actually how STUPID EP ended up happening. We originally went into the studio just intending to record everything we had. We picked nine songs plus ‘Control’, which was recorded a year earlier. From playing live, we thought those 10 songs could form an album. The ones we felt weren’t strong enough for the record ended up on the EP we released in May.
‘Enough’ is a particular highlight on The Foreign Game. Could you expand on its background?
The original ‘Enough’ demo is still on my phone, dated 24 April 2020. It was during Covid, so there wasn’t much happening, and it was a fairly bleak time for a lot of people, including myself. I had just bought a loop pedal and was trying to make a more grim version of ‘Today’ by Smashing Pumpkins. The song ended up being quite dark, which probably reflects the time it was written. I actually wrote the first version of ‘Stupid Song’ on the same day.
What track on The Foreign Game came together the quickest? What is your creative process?
Probably ‘Just Words’. We jammed out the instrumental during band practice. Normally I’d write all the music and lyrics myself, but I was a bit burnt out at the time. Tadhg came back at the next practice with the lyrics for it, and they’re probably my favourite on the whole album. I love the meaning behind them. To me, its about the complicity of the western world in the genocide in Gaza. “Words alone won’t make them stop”, the song is short and to the point, we need action because “words alone won’t make them stop”.
Using football as its framework, I understand the album title draws on the history of ‘Rule 27’, which the GAA used to forbid its members from playing so-called foreign games until 1971. Could you expand on this, and its relevance to the album?
I got the idea for the name from a photo hanging on the wall in a pub in Cork that me and Tadhg used to go to quite a bit called Cissie Young’s. It was a framed newspaper clipping from when Ireland played England in Croke Park – I think it was a rugby match. The photo shows a man holding a sign saying “No Foreign Games”, but he’s wearing a full Celtic tracksuit. I liked the hypocrisy of it. People love the outsider when it suits them. You can see that kind of attitude more and more now, especially with the rise of threatening, and really quite scary right-wing politics across Europe, and I wanted to reflect that hypocrisy in the music. Songs like ‘Hopeless’, ‘Just Words’ and obviously the title track say it best. That hypocrisy isn’t only political either – it can be about religion, relationships, having “too much fun” ( ‘DB COOPER’). In their own way, all the songs are playing the “foreign game”.
You supported Public Image Ltd in Cork this summer. How was that experience? Any standout moments?
It was a bit surreal. I was at home after work on the Thursday, sitting in bed watching The Sopranos, when I got a call asking if we wanted to support Public Image Ltd the next day. We obviously couldn’t say no. I didnt even ask the lads if they were free, I just said yes. Tadhg was in Clare and Isaac was on his way to Galway, but we pulled it together. PiL had the place sold out, so it was mental. I grew up listening to PiL and the Sex Pistols, so being on the same stage was bizarre. John Lydon signed the gig poster for me – and drew a cock on it – I intend on getting it framed.
Any plans you’d like to share for 2026? What would be on your wish list if money was no object?
We’re playing Whelan’s in January, and we’re planning to record a few new songs that didn’t get finished in time for the album, so hopefully we’ll release those in the new year, there is one called ‘the man in the high castle’ that i love and can’t wait to put out.
If money was no obstacle, I’d just book a week in Abbey Road.
If I looked in your fridge right now what would I find?
Up until last week, a load of gone-off cans of the worst beer ever made, Rockshore. Tadhg used to work in a pub and he brought home expired beer when we were rehearsing for the album (about a year and a half ago). We promised we’d drink it once the album was out. I’m not looking forward to it.
For more information on Ash Red please check their facebook, instagram and website.