A rain-soaked morning and the mind behind Von Venn
On a rain-brushed December morning in Dublin, where the city blurs into an impressionist canvas of headlights and hurried footsteps, Von Venn sits in a quiet coffee shop, an oasis of calm amid the Monday rush.
It’s here, between visa forms, broken amp tubes, and the soft hum of everyday life, that the band’s essence crystallises: thoughtful, observant, endlessly human.
A mosaic of everything they’ve ever loved, Von Venn is the unguarded vision of Gary Cox, shaped alongside Terry Doyle, Ciara Henry and Mark Wogan, an outfit rooted in Dublin’s vibrant artistic pulse and the reflective stillness of Malahide’s coast.
Their music, a wild-yet-tender blend of rock, folk, indie and grit, speaks to innocence lost and clarity reclaimed.
As they prepare to unveil Forgetting the Fall, Von Venn stands poised at the edge of revelation, offering songs that think, feel, and ultimately urge us to rise, recalibrated and unafraid.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
VON VENN: At the moment I’m sitting in a coffee shop in the city.
It’s a rainy December morning, folks are stuck in traffic just outside my window.
There’s rain pouring down the window and it turns the whole scene into an abstract painting, with all of the colours blending.
I’m thinking of all of the individual lives passing by with all their Monday cares and worries.
Today I’ve a lot on my plate.
I’m heading to India in January so I’ve got to get visas arranged and book flights and all of that stuff that for some reason always ends up more complicated than it should be.
For now I’m enjoying my oasis of calm and doing some writing before I tackle the necessary!
In the afternoon I’m off to the embassy then back home.
Oh my main amp is on the fritz so I need to pick up a new set of tubes somewhere along the way as well!
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you love about it!
VON VENN: So I’m from Dublin in Ireland.
I’m actually living in a small coastal town called Malahide just north of the city.
Dublin is a city with a young population and it’s very vibrant with respect to the music scene and arts in general, which I love.
I still think it’s a very down to earth and friendly city where you can drop into a pub and have a decent conversation with just about anybody there.
There’s a great pub tradition in Ireland where anything can be up for discussion, sport, politics, arts. Passions can rise!
Of course the city has its problems like any other capital city but I’m glad to have experienced growing up in it.
Malahide town is great as it as a beautiful beach and a castle with a park, both perfect for clearing the mind (and writing).
HAPPY: The title ‘Mainstream’ is pretty provocative. What’s the central message you’re converting with this track?
VON VENN: In a nutshell, don’t trust everything you see and hear.
Every organisation, including the media, is owned by someone who naturally has an agenda.
Bear this in mind always and be aware that what’s being presented to you is through someone else’s lens.
The truth is somewhere behind all the messages being delivered to us.
Read widely, cultivate discernment and generate a healthy scepticism.
HAPPY: Can you talk about the specific “formulaic hits” or industry pressures that inspired the lyrics of ‘Mainstream’?
VON VENN: It’s becoming more difficult to find a space for art that is considered controversial.
We self-censor a lot, particularly in the music business.
I think there is a lot of fear that any lyric that may be counter narrative will result in a shadow ban or lack of radio play.
This reduces our lyrical content to “my baby done left me” or something similar.
It seems also the bulk of music had become blander with less melody, complexity or real emotion.
A lot of it feels manufactured to a formula because it is.
With ‘Mainstream’ and Forgetting The Fall, I wanted to turn upstream against the current.
I hope more artists do the same.
We need to find a voice to talk with passion about things that matter.
I believe strongly in expression of thought and opinion.
I think if you put an opinion out there then it’s fair game for anyone to counter it and that’s how it should be.
A healthy society is one that talks and debates, not one that’s stifled by censorship and fear.
HAPPY: Sonically, how does Forgetting The Fall expand or differ from the sound you established on your previous work?
VON VENN: For this album I think the sound is a little more immediate.
Although we still use vocal harmonies and layered instrumentation we wanted to let the song structure come through a little more and with a little more punch, e.g. ‘Mainstream’, ‘You Can Talk to Me’ and ‘Be Free’. A lot of the foundations for the tracks were laid down on an acoustic guitar.
The previous album Jeanie is Out had a lot more soundscapes and layering.
Forgetting The Fall has more of a live sound, more of a sense of space to let the songs breath and more of a feel of a band performing.
HAPPY: What does the title Forgetting The Fall represent?
VON VENN: When I was a kid one of my Dads favourite sayings was “to get back on the horse”.
In other words if you took a tumble get back to doing what you were doing again immediately.
Forgetting the Fall means exactly that.
If some misfortune has occurred, then learn from it, forget the fall and get back on the horse.
With respect to the album the fall is the loss of innocence and trust that can happen in life.
You’ve got to see life for what it is, readjust and move on.
The album tracks create that arc, moving from the innocence and optimism of youth through the hard lessons of life and coming out the other side.
HAPPY: You’re known for your genre-blending style. Which artists or sounds were you drawing from most heavily during this new creative phase?
Von Venn:When I started writing the album I was actually listening to some older tracks from the 70’s e.g. Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young and checking their structures, harmonies and arrangements.
As the songs developed and recording progressed other elements became layered on this, or songs moved off in different directions.
I can hear some of the Queens of The Stone Age, or Radiohead in there.
You might pick out some guitar work that’s like Jonny Greenwood (Mystery Girl) or Johnny Marr (Rain Came Down).
It’s a very subconscious thing rather than a deliberate attempt to be anybody or any style in particular.
The ear hears and the mind and body react to play a part.
The Von Venn crew Terry, Mark and Ciara all perform what feels right to serve the song.
I’m very lucky to have them on board as they bring their own take to the material.
HAPPY: If you had to describe the core mission or purpose of Von Venn’s music in one sentence, what would it be?
VON VENN: To give you music that makes you think and feel, about yourself, the human condition and the world around you.
HAPPY: With the album completed, what do you hope listeners take away from the complete journey of Forgetting The Fall?
VON VENN: Well it’s a simple message and I don’t want to sound trite but sometimes the simple message has the most truth when the wheels come off, don’t lose hope, there’s always something to fight for.
Be yourself, meet the world the way it is and try to make your world and your life what you want it to be.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
VON VENN: Well right now it’s sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy Dublin Monday morning, watching the world rush by, writing lines and dreaming of new songs.
Happy in the moment!
