Humanzi - The Missing Link?

It started with a fight and ended in a band; so goes the folklore of Humanzi. “Ultimately we really hated each other from when we first met and we had a fight. That’s how we got together,” explains Shaun Mulrooney, front man of the Dublin four piece. They now find themselves at the head of a burgeoning scene in the Eire capital having recently signed to Polydor imprint Fiction and set tongues wagging in the UK with the release of their debut single ‘Fix The Cracks’. After a decade of churning out a production line of sentimental, saccharine pop bands it seems something a little more substantial is bubbling to the surface across the Irish sea.

Humanzi, however, began when things in Dublin were going through a more stagnant period and openly admit that they were tired of playing in the city. “We were in bands before this, playing gigs every couple of weeks in the same venues and it just really turned into a nightmare,” says bass player Gary Lonergan. “When we got this band we were like ‘Right, we’re not gonna play many gigs’. We just got stuck into writing songs and recording. We’ve probably played more gigs in England than we have in Ireland.”

A joint love of Dance music plus a mutual appreciation for the thunderous riffs produced by the likes of Led Zepellin helped Humanzi develop what they jokingly describe as “Euphoric punk”. Like most bands they are at pains to describe or pigeon hole their sound but instead when approached on the subject they turn the tables and ask Gigwise our supposedly professional opinion. “Aggressive, confrontational, in your face. Like Primal Scream at an incessant 200mph,” we say. Mulrooney and Lonergan nod in quiet agreement.

Mulrooney is the creative force in the quartet writing the majority of the lyrics. “We get in the odd word,” jokes Lonergan. “Like say ‘me’ instead of ‘us’!” Joking aside Mulrooney takes the lyrical content seriously, something he says that set Humanzi apart from their contemporaries. “Lyrically I think we’re doing something that not a lot of bands are exploring,” he explains. “I like to write about political stuff. Songs with real depth instead of talking about ****ing going to a club and getting your hole of some bleeding slapper.” Take note Alex Turner.

A serious rock star?! Not quite, Mulrooney is hardly Chris Martin. He openly warns Gigwise not to drink from any of the mugs on the tour bus for fear of infection. They have the bravado and swagger of any great band and the rock n’ roll stories to boot. Earlier in their current tour after a night spent drinking in to the early hours the band decided to take part in a round of ‘Teen Wolf’ style roof surfing. While Mulrooney still bears the scars of an earlier incident which forced them to cancel an appearance at T in the Park and a support slot for Queens of the Stone Age. “After twenty or thirty red bull and vodkas I started scaling this fence. On one side there was a ten foot drop into a load of apartments and on the other was a normal drop. I ****ed me knee up. It's still ****ed now!”