Ivon Roberts is far from your cookie cutter pop star. Designing everything he does to the kind of music he loves, gives him another edge. His latest single is the kind of pop you’ve missed from the radio. Give this kid a listen, for there are a lot of exciting twists and turns in his music. This is his single with Cian O’Donoghue. This is called Better Guy.
That quick addiction
This song has that Bryan Adams “Run to You” kind of progression, yet feels completely different with these tones. How did you chance upon this?
Cian: To be honest, in the entirety of the creation of ‘Better Guy’, ‘Run to You’ had never come to mind… but now that you say it I completely see it!
Once we decided on the general idea of the song, we needed to find a suitable tone, and we found that this chord progression gave the excitement as well as the necessary grit and underlying tension necessary to display the competitiveness of the 2 characters.
We wanted the chorus to explode to life and so instead of keeping the first chord minor like the verse, we made it major to give it that extra energy and make it more upbeat.
Ivon: As shameful as it may be, I have never heard that song in my life. It’s an honour to have our work be compared to a legend, however unintentional it may have been.
That mystical, refreshing opening chord shows a lot of promise in itself. Ivon Roberts and Cian O’Donoghue create a pop duo that are as enviable as they are to be proud of. The harmonics are a classy addition in certain parts of the verse, and never overdone. As the song builds, you hear Cian and Ivon trade verses.
Your single ‘Thorns’ has some great reception from fans. Tell me the process of constructing a track that has so many genres interlaced.
C: Thanks so much! I am SO bad with genres, being able to dissect them and understand their key components. So to be honest, when I wrote ‘Thorns’, I just made a beat and a chord progression in a vibe akin to Post Malone and the Weeknd.
Then I just let my intuition shape the song. Thankfully, it came out well and the style is certainly something I want to make more of!
What you are actually waiting for however, is the explosive and exciting chorus. They both join forces like Han Solo and Chewbacca (a nerd reference, sorry), and what you have is an adventure worth listening to. Though the pitch is high and needs to have that dynamic tempo that gets everyone hooked, the song that is created is the kind that sticks in your mind weeks after the next one comes.
How Cian and Ivon build a sticky hook
Collaborating with other musicians seems key to your composition. Which are some of your favourites and who would you really like to collaborate with for a unique sound?
I:Well I guess I’ve made quite a brand for myself then! I just find myself inspired by specific aspects of others – whether it be their artistry or their personality. So if I can work that into a song then that’s amazing.
It’s impossible for me to choose favourites since they each have a special place in my discography – from the sheer insanity of ‘The D*ck Pic Song’, to the vocal destroyer ‘I Guess This Is Love’, to the pop fever dream that is ‘A Mental Holiday.’ That’s not even including the collaborations that have yet to be released and the ones that will never see the light of day for various reasons.
I’m open to collaboration of any kind. I have always said that I’d like to do more vocal features on EDM tracks or try something completely out of my comfort zone like country or rock – something different would be awesome.
Producing a catchy masterpiece
The way you produce keeps the melody in the front, and the beats have a warmer percussive heartbeat in the song. Do you do this consciously, or do you like people hooking to the lyrics faster?
C: The way I see producing and mixing is you have to have one major focus at all times – with everything else just supporting that focus. A little hook or riff can be that main focus for a couple seconds, but in general it has to be the vocals. So, as much as I may fall in love with a guitar line or harmony, I know ultimately I have to turn it down so the vocals can be centre stage!
The song actually has a rather slow tempo because the lyrics come thick and fast, so the beat needed to be energetic and very present to give the song that upbeat and frantic feel.
When I’m producing, I’m letting whatever flows into my head flow into the song, but when it comes to mixing it becomes a lot more surgical and logical.
Future plans for these superstars
What else is in store from Ivon Roberts & Cian O’Donoghue? (Both collectively and respectively) What can we expect in the coming year? What about touring?
C: We’re both very busy so I’m sure we will work together again (unless Ivon is sick of me and I wouldn’t blame him!) but for now we don’t have any plans – its certainly something I would love to do again.
For me as an artist, I will be releasing a piano Christmas cover in December, and then another single in January which has a very sad/heartbreak vibe – which we can all associate with the post-Christmas blues!
I am also working behind the scenes with a band to start gigging in Dublin in 2024!
I: When it comes to Cian and I, of course we’re still riding the wave of ‘Better Guy’ and letting the song have its moment before we even broach the idea of the next song. This song came about so organically, in its own time over the span of 2 years, so it would be nice to let something like that happen again. I’d like to create something completely different next time though, really switch things up stylistically and lyrically.
As for my own music, I’m currently in the rollout of releasing singles for an upcoming collaboration project with UK artist/influencer Hannah Dorman – the next single ‘Believe’ will be coming out on November 24th. On top of this, I’m finishing off the mixing process for the last few tracks that will be part of my upcoming two-part solo project coming out in 2024 – with a single or two preceding this release.
Personally, I don’t tour. I prefer the creative side of music rather than the performance side. I’m happier doing this. In fact, I’m currently working with numerous publishing companies as a writer for artists in Central Europe and East Asia, which is extremely fun and very fulfilling creating for established artists and personalities making their names in the industry around the world.
Treating yourself to more
From chorus to verse and back, Ivon Roberts and Cian O’Donoghue have not held back in making a quality, stylish song that depicts both their styles to more than adequate degree. This song would be perfect in the 2022 movie called Someone Borrowed, for it fits just like it was part of the soundtrack. You can listen to other singles by Ivon like Skinny and Crazy About You. Cian has songs like Grab Ya Body and Thorns that are quite popular on playlists. Listen to the duo shake things up with their single above and follow them for more like this!