The transatlantic banjo duo Damien O’Kane and Ron Block met with us to discuss Banjophonics, the splendid follow-up to their much-lauded debut Banjophony, plus musical personalities and the Mongolian nose flute.
In 2018, Irish banjoist Damien O’Kane and American player Ron Block released Banjophony, their first set of tunes for the duetting instruments. We now have Banjophonics, a close-fitting follow-up, but one that further hones the style they began developing on their first album. “The idea has always been to meld the two traditions together,” Ron begins. “It’s not that Damien brings Irish tunes and I bring bluegrass tunes; instead, we write music with the other person in mind. This album is like 2.0, a natural extension of the first one. We’ve learned to do this thing, and now we’re expanding it for the second album. I love Banjophony, and it has its own magic, but this one just feels like more to me.”
“We could easily have made Banjophony and said that we’d done that now,” Damien continues. “But Ron and I talked and thought we could somehow step it up a level. One thing is that on Banjophonics, there’s almost an equal amount of compositions from us both, whereas Banjophony was mainly me. As Ron and I grew this music, we both gained so much from each other.” The album certainly comes across as very confidently played, as well as being a real duo piece, with each player’s style coming through clearly, as well as some exciting and inventive music. “We knew that we could make a record as good as Banjophony,” Damien continues. “But on this one, there’s more experimentation on there, in terms of our playing and how we approached each other’s compositions. I think we stepped it up a bit for this album.”
As mentioned, a key development for the second album was Ron providing more original material, a factor that better balances the music. “I felt it was important that I upped the number of compositions that I sent to Damien,” Ron says. “It’s a collaboration, and I wanted the numbers to be a little bit closer. There’s no counting really [“I’ve been counting!” interjects Damien], but this record has a cool balance and mine and Damien’s compositions have a different flavour. When you learn to play an instrument you bring it so far into yourself it becomes an extension of your personality, and that’s what I feel like we have on this album. It’s our personalities blended together on these songs and then you add guys like Duncan [Lyall], David Kosky, Steve [Byrnes] and everyone else and it becomes this really cool mix of musicality and personality and it’s super fun.”
The list of musicians on the album is impressive, with the three mentioned above joined by Barry Bales, Josh Clark and Jay Bellerose, not to mention appearances from Sierra Hull, Michael McGoldrick and Damien’s wife, Kate Rusby. It’s quite the stellar lineup. “Well, we recorded most of this album like we did Banjophony, which was Ron and myself plus Stevie Byrnes sitting together in a room doing it live, so you get that energy,” Damien explains. “All of the other musicians on there were overdubbed, and apart from being incredible musicians, they knew how to slot into an energy that had already been created. That way, you have the pleasure of them being on your tracks while understanding it all.” He pauses and laughs. “Honestly, Sierra Hull could play the Mongolian nose flute and make it sound good.” Crucially though, the album is still, in essence, a banjo duet album, and the skill of the musicians involved maintains that focus. “Duncan [Lyall] said to me about three years ago to not take away the focus on the two banjos,” Damien nods. “It’s what this collaboration is all about.”
Of course, the two banjos played are as different as Ron and Damien’s musical styles, with the Irishman playing a four-string tenor banjo and Ron using a five-string instrument with a longer scale. Again, it gives the music more depth and variety. “I always think Damien’s sound is more ‘banjoey’, Ron says with a laugh. “It has more mid-range and top-end, while mine has more lower end, so the tones just fit together, which is another reason why it works. Also, I play with fingerpicks in an arpeggiated style, whereas Damien plays with a flat pick. He can arpeggiate too, and we both at times lean into each other’s styles, but I’d say that he mainly plays in that flat-picking style of using single note lines. Really though, all of the music we are playing has really stretched me as a musician and made me think of different ways of playing”, he pauses a moment. “And all at a greatly advanced age,” he grins.
The pair’s musical relationship seems set in stone now, and their intuitive music is a joy to hear. But it takes time to forge such artistic camaraderie. “We were talking about doing this in 2012 weren’t we?” asks Ron. “Yeah, Kate [Rusby], her brother Joe and I went to see Ron play with Alison Krauss at Manchester Apollo in I think 2011,” Damien answers. “In 2012 Kate asked Ron to play on her 20 album, and in the evening we would sit with a glass of wine and I’d say, ‘so, you play bluegrass banjo and I play Irish banjo… I’ve always loved the sound of two banjos…’ So we started talking properly back then.” Damien pauses a moment. “I’ve never forgiven Ron for this one though; I play banjo, right, and my wife invites him over from America to play banjo on her album!” It was a fortuitous decision, and Damien and Ron’s music is a wonderful result of this transatlantic back and forthing. There is a depth of emotion in their sound that feels rich and vital. “I think some joy is a good thing to give people, especially now,” Ron points out. “And the banjo can cover a lot of ground, but I do think it communicates joy and fun very well. Also, I think generally I have an optimistic view; when I go to work, it’s because I have hope and that’s one of the reasons why I make this music.” “There’s a lot of emotion there,” Damien adds. “There’s been a lot going on and sometimes when I’ve felt a bit sombre, I’ve sat down with the banjo and this happy tune will come out and I’d wonder why the music isn’t sad. But I want to write happy music; Ron and I talk about family a lot and I know that ninety percent of the time when I’m making music, I have my family at the back of my mind, so I want it to be a happy thing.”
Banjophonics is out on 1 July 2022
Pre-Order via Pure Records | Amazon
Damien O’Kane and Ron Block UK Tour
Thursday, June 30 – GRANTHAM – Guildhall Arts Centre – Tickets
Friday, July 1 – SHEFFIELD – Greystones – Tickets
Saturday, July 2 – DRIFFIELD – Moonbeams Festival – Tickets
Sunday, July 3 – LONDON – Blackheath Halls – Tickets
Monday, July 4 – WEMSFEST, SUSSEX: Chidham Village Hall – Tickets
Tuesday, July 5 – WORTHING – Connaught Studio – Tickets
Wednesday, July 6 – TWICKENHAM – The Exchange – Tickets
Thursday, July 7 – SETTLE – Victoria Hall – Tickets
Friday, July 8 – NEWTON STEWART & MINNIGAFF TRADITIONAL MUSIC & DANCE FESTIVAL – Tickets
Saturday, July 9 & Sunday, July 10 – TIREE MUSIC FESTIVAL – Tickets
Tuesday, July 12 – GREENOCK – Beacon Arts Centre – Tickets
Wednesday, July 13 – ALNWICK – Playhouse – Tickets
Thursday, July 14 – INVERNESS – Eden Court – Tickets
Friday, July 15 – HEBRIDES – HebCelt Festival – Tickets
Tuesday, July 26 – PETWORTH FESTIVAL, SUSSEX – Tickets
Saturday, July 30 & Sunday, July 31 – BARNSLEY Underneath the Stars Festival – Tickets
Website: https://damienokane.co.uk/ | https://ronblock.com/