Grian Chatten // Fontaines D.C.

“I write all day, every day. When I’m in the thick of it, it’s a struggle to focus on anything else"

For Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. , there’s no such thing as a writing ritual if you never stop writing.

Chatten calls his writing process his "constant annoying companion. I have writing on speed dial 24/7." But he says that he's always had a healthy relationship with writing because he's never forcing it. The key is to not take it too seriously or to make it appear to precious. "I treat it with as little importance as possible," he says. “There’s a degree of flippancy. No judgement, no pressure.”

So while there’s not a ritual per se to Chatten’s process, he does a few things to ensure that he’s productive. He writes on his phone. No journals or notebooks because even paper makes it appear too precious. And he’s especially productive in soulless chain coffee houses and restaurants. “It removes the pressure and takes me out of context,” Chatten told me.

By his own admission, Chatten’s 24/7 ritual can be exhausting. “I’m trapped right now in a period of intense songwriting that actually affects my ability to hold a conversation,'“ he says. While he should be listening to the other person talk, he’s actually going over lyrics in his head. So Chatten says that at some point, he’ll need to establish boundaries to his songwriting process to avoid the constant threat of being “sucked into that void.”

But having songwriting on speed dial means that Fontaines puts out incredible music, and their new album Skinty Fia is my favorite album of 2022. I saw them live for the first time this week, and my advice is this: if they are in your town, run do not walk to that show.

Listen to the podcast episode below!

*photo by Filmawi