Tony Dunn, aka the mastermind behind the post-metal/prog-metal project SGÀILE, has probably rarely had such a good start to the new year as in 2024. With his new album „Traverse The Bealach“, the Scotsman not only presents his first and immediately successful concept album, but is also delighted with the positive response to it. In our interview, the Glaswegian reveals the story told on the record, whether SGÀILE will ever perform live and what the influences for Dunn’s music are.
Please introduce SGÀILE briefly. How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?
I usually describe SGÀILE as progressive atmospheric metal, with a sprinkle of post metal stylings I guess. One thing that is quite common in reviews is that it’s difficult to pin the project down to one genre, and you have to hear it to truly understand it.
Your music has an uplifting element. It is powerful and encouraging, it spreads a positive mood. How do you think you achieve this?
Genuinely, I’m not sure. I think it might be because I’m a sucker for a good melody. I do enjoy heavier music at times, but I’m often turned off if there are predominantly heavy vocals or a lock of dynamics. That search for a great melody when I’m listening to others will inevitably transition across to my writing, and maybe that contributes to the overall vibe.
After leaving Falloch and Saor, you have remained to atmospheric post metal with SGÀILE. What fascinates you about the genre?
I love atmosphere in music, which is often conveyed without words. I spend a good deal of time listening to instrumental bands, and actually SGÀILE was originally intended to be an instrumental project. Bands such as If These Trees Could Talk, Cloudkicker, Tides From Nebula and Long Distance Calling, they can create soundscapes that take you on a journey without ever needing a vocal line, and that both inspires and fascinates me. I also love the juxtaposition of beauty and intensity that comes with the genre. Just listen to Alcest, Harakiri For The Sky or Deafheaven and try not to feel moved by the raw emotion in every note.
Did you leave the bands mentioned above because you no longer wanted to be part of a band (or more harshly, these bands) or did you also want to get out of the music industry to a certain extent in order to escape the pressure of having to contribute to albums and go on tour?
My experience with each band was different, each experience had its positives and negatives, and each split was for varying reasons. Most recently, the split from Saor was mostly down to the fact that I have a full time job and was getting married so couldn’t commit to the heavy schedule they were planning. The creation of SGÀILE was simply a way to scratch the itch of writing music again, without the pressure of deadlines, rehearsals and travel.
Was there a key moment when you realized that you wanted to start your own project?
I had always wanted to do my own thing, and had actually written some demos back in 2015, some of which ended up on Ideals & Morality. I had written music as far back as my teens, but the rigorous schedule of being in three serious bands over a six year period meant I wasn’t ever able to get my teeth into it fully. I missed writing so, two days after I left Saor, I bought a new laptop and started writing again for SGÀILE.
Your latest album „Traverse The Bealach“ is a concept album. Please tell our readers what story you tell on the seven songs on it. What were your sources of inspiration for this?
The concept is open to interpretation, but it’s essentially the story of an unnamed traveller heading north in a post-apocalyptic Scotland while facing inner demons and trying to discover what is next for him. My inspiration for the tale was a mix of post-pandemic anxiety, welcoming two young daughters into the world, and a fascination with long distance hiking. I’m particularly drawn in by the Cape Wrath Trail, which is a trek from Fort William to Cape Wrath, the most north-westerly point of mainland Scotland. It takes about 2-3 weeks and is absolutely brutal ! I hope to attempt it someday.
How has the response from fans and the press been so far? Are you satisfied with it? Do you feel you have reached more listeners with your second album than with your debut?
Oh it’s been incredible! I think there has been something crazy like an 800% increase in Spotify listeners alone, and Bandcamp has been off the hook as well. Selling out the initial batch of CDs in less than a week was completely unexpected, and it has brought people to appreciate the debut album as well. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and I’m just incredibly grateful to everyone who has sent through their feedback.
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Is a growing audience important to you or do you see SGÀILE as a valve whose positive side effect is that other people enjoy listening to it?
I would be lying if I said that the growing audience didn’t matter to me, because of course it does! Being able to share music that I worked really hard on for two and a half years, and have people all over the world listen to it, means a great deal to me. That being said, Sgàile is a creative outlet for me, it’s a way of expressing myself and making music that I enjoy. I won’t be pushed towards making music for others in a particular style, because all that does is make the material feel contrived and robotic. If I like it, it goes down on record, regardless of the style or the soundscape within any particular track.
Within a band, musicians can give each other feedback on individual songs during the songwriting process, point out strengths and weaknesses of individual passages and inspire each other. Who is this counsellor for you? How do you write your songs?
As I alluded to, I write songs for myself. Having a full time job and two kids is incredibly taxing and it can wear you down, so my way of keeping myself centred and keep my mental health in check is to write music. The process is varied but my favourite part of writing is having that blank screen in front of me, an open book to just lay down some ideas. Sometimes they work, and other times I feel like I have wasted a few hours because nothing tangible has been produced, that’s just the nature of a creative outlet I suppose. My main sources of opinion are often my close friends, but mostly my sounding board is Mike Lamb, who does the mixing and mastering for SGÀILE. Mike has incredible industry experience and I trust his opinion above most others, so he has helped immensely through the creative process.
One of your recent Facebook posts featured a section of your record collection, clearly showing a collection of Devin Townsend records. How big is his influence on your music? What other bands and projects influence your music?
Devin is my biggest influence, he’s a major source of inspiration both as a musician and as a person. His wall of sound crossed with intensely beautiful melodies are something that I’ve tried to emulate over the years, and to be honest most of my material ends up sounding like tracks that Devin would leave on his cutting room floor! Other sources of inspiration are acts like Katatonia, Heretoir , Insomnium, and some of the more mainstream progressive artists like Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Tool, Sleep Token etc.
How do you keep up to date with the music scene? Regular visits to your favorite record shop, recommendations from friends or using Spotify’s release radar?
All of the above! I’m a big Spotify user, I have music playing constantly, and I try to support my favourite artists where I can by buying vinyl and T-shirts etc. Recommendations flow through constantly, and it’s difficult to keep up but I try to absorb new music where I can. A recent favourite of mine has been the Irish/French band Domhain, who released their EP „Nimue“ last year, it’s definitely worth a listen. Their drummer, Anais Chareyre-Megan, designed the logo and artwork for SGÀILE as well!
You already released your debut on the label Avantgarde Music, which focuses on atmospheric, avant-garde black metal. How did your collaboration come about? How difficult was it to get a record deal as an individual artist without your own discography?
I had released a couple of songs online that were intended to be singles for either an EP or an album, and I simply put a promo pack together and sent it to a few reputable labels. Avantgarde picked it up and I’ll always be very grateful for that. In that sense it wasn’t too difficult to get signed up but there was a few years of history of playing in well known bands, and the experience of touring and playing festivals, that worked in my favour. Avantgarde are incredibly supportive, they let me do my own thing at my own pace and hopefully I’m able to pay them back with the sales of „Traverse The Bealach“ and beyond.
What’s next on the agenda for SGÀILE? What will be your next steps with the project?
I’ve already got some ideas put down for a third album, I’m toying with the idea of recording an acoustic EP, and also toying with the idea of taking the project live. The next couple of months will be the defining factor, if the album continues to do well then who knows what could be next!
Touring is a financial challenge for bands. Poor advance ticket sales, increased transport costs or unforeseen dangers such as the outbreak of a pandemic can quickly turn a tour into a financial loss for the artists. Does that put you off touring? Will you be playing concerts with SGÀILE?
As I said, I’m thinking of taking the project live, but the circumstances need to be right, the stars need to align with gig offers and further album success. If everything goes the way that I hope, then we could start looking at a live band this year, with a view to playing shows in 2025. I’m very wary of the potential hazards of going live, but I have a band of amazing musicians that are also close friends that are ready to jump on it if that decision is made.
In Germany we say that you shouldn’t turn your hobby into a career if you don’t want to lose the joy of it. Do you agree with that? Or do you wish you could make a full-time living from your music?
Now that’s a question! I guess I’ll sit on the fence on this one, because making a living doing what I love would be incredible but it would also being enormous pressure. I’m not sure I’d want that for myself, my family or for SGÀILE.
You live in Glasgow, Scotland. How do you experience the music scene there, as multifaceted and extensive? Which bands would you like to recommend to our readers?
There’s obviously the juggernaut that is Bleed From Within, and some friends in the bands Godeater, Ruadh, Ramage Inc and Opsat. I also love a local synthwave rock band called Artax, who have some incredible songs in their back catalogue. It’s difficult for me to comment on the scene as a whole because I’m not actively involved in going to shows anymore, so there are probably hundreds of Glasgow bands that deserve recognition and I’m just unaware of them.
I would like to end the interview with the traditional Metal1.info brainstorming session. I’ll give you a few terms and you just say the first thing that comes to your mind:
Talisker, Chivas Regal or Bushmills: Nah, Isle of Arran 10 Year Old
next concert attendance as a fan and not as a musician: Enslaved, Svalbard & Wayfarer in a few weeks (cannot wait for that!).
Tony Dunn in ten years: old man with two teenage daughters!
Thank you very much for the interview, Tony. The last words are yours. What else would you like to say to our readers?
Just a huge thank you to everyone who has shown their support over the past few weeks, it’s very much appreciated!
20. Februar 2024 Sarah Punke
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