My music is deep and personal but I couldn’t do it any other way, says Cian Ducrot ahead of new album
“EVERYONE goes through so much s**t. But you can still make it out the other end and that’s what this whole album is about.”
Fast-rising Irish star Cian Ducrot is talking about his eagerly anticipated debut album Victory, which is out next Friday.
“A lot of people are just searching for fame, which is sad to see. It’s important to not be seeking that but just be seeking truth through art and storytelling and help people by telling your true story,” he says.
“I’m lucky that I speak about what I’ve gone through in my life and I get to make music about it.
“It’s deep and personal but I couldn’t do it any other way. It’s been therapeutic and makes me feel less of a weirdo and helps make other people feel less alone. I’ve made an album that means something.”
I’m backstage at Thomond Park in Limerick for the second of Ducrot’s three stadium shows supporting Dermot Kennedy.
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The amiable 25-year-old is on stage in an hour but there’s no sign of pre-show nerves as he chats with friends and family who have travelled to see him perform.
He has been compared to Kennedy as well as Ed Sheeran, and both are inspirations.
Ducrot reveals: “Dermot has been a huge influence — I think every Irish singer-songwriter owes him big time, while Ed has been an inspiration and changed the game for everybody.
“I don’t know Dermot that well, to be honest. We’ve spoken very briefly — I don’t think he’s the most outgoing guy.
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“He’s quite shy and on this tour he’s working, so he’s not necessarily wanting to become best mates with me, which is cool. I still get to see him and what he’s doing.
‘I still don’t feel like I fit in with pop music’
“We’re of a different generation, and there’s no reason that we would be pitted against each other anyway — he’s headlining three nights at Thomond Park!
“But Ed has been an inspiration and changed the game for everybody. As a friend, I’ve spent loads of time with him — we’re really close. We talk all the time.
“He’s the sweetest guy and he has given lots of advice and I can ask him anything and that’s really been amazing for me.”
Music was part of Ducrot’s childhood, growing up in Cork and raised by his French mum who was a concert pianist, flautist and teacher.
He won a scholarship to study classical flute at London’s Royal Academy of Music, but after a trip to Los Angeles, realised the classical institution wasn’t for him and dropped out.
Ducrot says: “When I was a kid, I had a dream of being a pop star and I never questioned that I’d give up.
“If you want something, you go for it. To so many of my friends I’m evidence that you can do whatever you dream of.
“I didn’t feel like I fitted in at college. There were so many cliques and it wasn’t for me. But I’m like that now. I still don’t feel like I fit in with pop music. I’ve got my friends in my core group and it’s important to me to keep people around you that are real.”
Ducrot grew up idolising Eminem and says he’s just as fascinated by him today.
“I was at Maida Vale studios [in London] recently and knowing he’d been in the same room as me blew my mind.
“He keeps it real — he isn’t interested in fame and he made me want to tell my story like he had with his music.”
And he has worked hard to get to where he is today. Ducrot recalls playing a festival and singing one of his biggest songs, I’ll Be Waiting, to just eight people.
He says: “On the plane home me and my manager were laughing, ‘Oh please let’s hope this isn’t the pinnacle of my career.’ But a few months later I put out All For You which was a big success — it was massive in Ireland.” In the last few months Ducrot’s fame has catapulted and he has found himself being recognised in everyday life.
“I’ve been very visible on TikTok so people know what I look like not just what I sound like. I’ve had people whispering, asking for photos or coming over to me while I was playing pool in France or queuing at the café or at the airport.
“I don’t mind most times but when I’m trying to watch Dermot’s set later or I’m getting a coffee, it can be difficult. That’s the internet for you, I guess.”
‘I love my mum. She protected me’
Ducrot is all about honesty in his songwriting and there’s no shying away from what he’s been through. Victory is full of his life stories, covering also his troubled childhood.
He says: “Everybody out there is going through something.
“But you never let that make you feel like you can’t make it your end, because there’s only victory on the end.”
Ducrot’s recent single, Part Of Me, was written after his best friend Philly tragically took his own life.
But among the darkness there’s lots of hope, with love songs inspired by his brother, stepdad and mum, Sabine, who he calls his “best friend”. The song Mama is for her and there is another song about his stepdad.
He says: “I love my mum so much. She protected me and I owe her everything.
“She inspired me to play music in the first place. I can’t make an album and not write songs for the three most important people in my life because they are who I am.”
Ducrot’s huge radio single Heaven was inspired by his brother Eoin who is four years older.
He says: “It was the last song I wrote for the album.
“I just know I wanted to write a song for my brother. I was younger and so my brother had to protect me, and I’ll never get to be that person for him.
“My brother was the one who had to come forward and talk about abuse. It was physical and sexual and my brother had to bring it to my mum’s attention and protect me afterwards.
“I think we were too young. That’s so hard-hitting for me.
I was lucky and got away. I’ve had therapy and as a family we’ve been trying to recover from this horrendous thing.
“But now I’ve dealt with it, it doesn’t bother me at all.
“It’s more what happened to my mum and brother which hurts the most, but we have each other.”
It’s his knack for channelling his emotions into songs that have helped Ducrot get through tough times.
He says: “If I have a strong feeling about something I’ll get my phone out and write verses and verses. I’m lucky I have the power of a song to get me through things.”
When Ducrot lost two friends to suicide a few years apart, he says: “It was so shocking and unexpected.
“You were sat down laughing and joking one minute then they’re gone.
“It was hard to understand that my friends do not exist, and how do you get your head around that pain?
“A lot of people are affected by drugs and alcohol but one of my friends just wouldn’t stop going out and drinking. And he came home after a night out and that’s what he did at home.
“A lot of young people are on antidepressants, and also partying and taking drugs and drinking too much.”
Ducrot isn’t one to shy away from discussing mental health issues and hopes he can set an example to fans that being open and talking about feelings helps.
‘No alcohol, no chocolate on tour’
“I’m not going to be an artist who then hides his story,” he says firmly. “And talking to your mates about how you feel is a help.
“Be real and be open — just feel all the emotions.
“And don’t kid yourself that life is supposed to be happy all the time.
“When Billie Eilish first came out I felt she was glamourising depression and that p****d me off.
“I like her and admire her but I watched an interview with her in Paris with her brother Finneas and Zane Lowe and they were saying their default state is depressed. I shouted at them.
“I’m lucky that 99 per cent of the time, I’m pretty happy. But you’re supposed to have bad times too — that’s what it means to be human.
“But if we open up and talk about those dark moments, it will help and we need to tell people to talk to someone.
“I really think that’s how we should be talking to young people. Being healthy is a game changer too.
“I’ve been healthy since we started touring and we’ve gotten healthier and happier. Now there’s no alcohol, no chocolate.
“Me and my band have non-alcoholic gin. If we want to have a fake drink, everyone’s on the same buzz.
“We have Spikeball to play which is a bit like volleyball and is so much fun.
“We play it for hours because we love it and it makes us happy.
“Sitting around is a killer so we avoid that.
“I’m lucky that my girlfriend is a personal trainer. She is all about exercising for better mental health and she has brought that ethos to the tour.”
With stage time getting closer, it’s time for Ducrot to get ready for his show. The stadium is already packed for his support slot and he’s already looking ahead.
He says: “I’ve loved playing these big shows, and arena and stadium shows are something I want to do too.
“I want to be like Coldplay and still massive, playing Wembley in 20 years’ time. I love live music and being surrounded by an audience.
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“I’m always observing people and there’s a million stories that I haven’t told yet.
“This album is just testing the waters and opening it up gently to the world.”
