While Diamond Rings' John O'Regan has recently been opening for OMD and gearing up for festival stops of his own this summer, he's already well into planning his next LP, the follow-up to last year's Free Dimensional. Speaking to Exclaim!, O'Regan says he's begun working on new music, and while in its preliminary stages, it could mark something of a departure from the pop-song format he's been most comfortable in.
"I just finished a tour and have two months to just relax and write new music," O'Regan says. "I'm hoping to write some longer songs with really solid beats and bass lines and make music that really gets people moving."
While the upcoming new album is without a title or release date, O'Regan explains that he's looking to expand his sound outward and pick up on and evolve certain musical threads found on Free Dimensional.
"As with the last one compared to the first, I'm always into pushing whatever direction I'm going in a little further," he says. "So the last one was a little more polished and produced than the first effort. This one, I think, is going to be more informed by a lot of music I've been listening to, as a DJ. Over the past year, I started DJing quite a bit and listening to a lot more groove and dance-based music than I have in the past."
O'Regan adds, "I've never really set out with the intention to make any specific kind or genre of music. The last album really was an attempt to try something different with every single track.
"But I always feel like I tap out at three minutes and 30 seconds or something. I want to keep going but I just can't, and it always sounds better short. I want to be more patient as a writer and a producer and make things go on a little longer. That's also been partly influenced by playing shows over the last year with a band and writing with a better understanding of what kind of parts would be best for a group to play."
Down below you can find all Diamond Rings' upcoming tour dates, several of which find him playing Canada.
Tour dates:
7/7 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest
7/11 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall *
7/12 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
7/13 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
7/15 Boston, MA - Paradise Club *
7/17 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
7/19 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall *
7/20 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall *
7/22 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre *
7/23 Chicago, IL - Metro *
8/10 Squamish, BC - Squamish Valley Music Festival
* with OMD
"I just finished a tour and have two months to just relax and write new music," O'Regan says. "I'm hoping to write some longer songs with really solid beats and bass lines and make music that really gets people moving."
While the upcoming new album is without a title or release date, O'Regan explains that he's looking to expand his sound outward and pick up on and evolve certain musical threads found on Free Dimensional.
"As with the last one compared to the first, I'm always into pushing whatever direction I'm going in a little further," he says. "So the last one was a little more polished and produced than the first effort. This one, I think, is going to be more informed by a lot of music I've been listening to, as a DJ. Over the past year, I started DJing quite a bit and listening to a lot more groove and dance-based music than I have in the past."
O'Regan adds, "I've never really set out with the intention to make any specific kind or genre of music. The last album really was an attempt to try something different with every single track.
"But I always feel like I tap out at three minutes and 30 seconds or something. I want to keep going but I just can't, and it always sounds better short. I want to be more patient as a writer and a producer and make things go on a little longer. That's also been partly influenced by playing shows over the last year with a band and writing with a better understanding of what kind of parts would be best for a group to play."
Down below you can find all Diamond Rings' upcoming tour dates, several of which find him playing Canada.
Tour dates:
7/7 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest
7/11 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall *
7/12 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
7/13 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
7/15 Boston, MA - Paradise Club *
7/17 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
7/19 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall *
7/20 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall *
7/22 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre *
7/23 Chicago, IL - Metro *
8/10 Squamish, BC - Squamish Valley Music Festival
* with OMD