Toby sings, does the lyrics, makes noises, plays drum machines, sequencers, special effects and samplers.
Colm does guitars, programming, loops, effects stuff, fly catching, delf and posters.
Rory does keys, samples, fish, learning and can manipulate a great many random instruments and things.
Jim does visuals, ladder climbing, screen hanging, projection, logistics, fish and cabinets.
Wiggle's sound bagan in 1999 when three musician friends shared a house in Sunday's Well, Cork. Jamming in a spare room, they experimented with a Beatbox, musical instruments and an array of gadgets and toys to create the unique Wiggle digi-dub sound. Through their creative promotion and quirky artwork they soon became well known locally and as the years passed, Wiggle could be found playing in all corners of Ireland at many underground festivals, parties and gatherings, from the hills of west Cork to the mountains of Kerry, to a field in Roscommon or a beach in Mayo.
Dub music is a huge influence on all of us. The ethics and ethos of dub music contribute to this. As a group we feel that conscious reggae music is necessary in society. The social gathering aspect and dancing to dub sound-systems creates a sense of well being within and we like to nurture that feeling as much as we can.
Wiggle gigs are like entering an ever evolving sonic landscape, their songs segue and flow into one another. It’s an electronic rhythm riot, part entrancing mash-up, part swirling voyage that makes their every Wiggle gig an extraordinary event not to be missed!
The focus on improvisation has always been there. That is why the sound and performance of Wiggle is so alive. Every gig is different. Faithful repetition does not appeal to the band. Wiggle play for the dancers, a symbiosis happens where the music feeds the dance feeds the music feeds the dance and so on until they are told to stop!
Wiggle released their debut album ‘Brighten the World’ in spring 2009. It has all the favourite 'Wiggle-live' songs including 'Dancing Images', 'Give a little Love' and title track 'Brighten The World'.
GL: With everything appearing on social media sites within seconds of occurring, what's your take on the mystique being taken away from bands in modern times?
Wiggle: We're a pretty mystical and rootsy bunch ourselves. Sharing stuff on social media sites is no harm as far as I see it. Music is not about creating an ego cult, its a collective endeavor. Since the days of cassette tapes there have been bootlegs of gigs and recordings. If yer interested enough to watch someones footage of a gig you are probably and hopefully going to say to yourself at some point "I wish I was there" and sure ya might take a notion and go to the next gig. It's like free advertising in a way.
If you download music through file-sharing sites, more often than not it'll be mp3s you're downloading, and while they're grand, the MP3 sounds crappy compared to the wav version, and to get that you need to go official and buy a CD or get it direct from the bands website or whatever... well hopefully that happens somewhere.
Bands are now relying more and more on the live performance to survive with the recording side of things being seen as a loss leader. The gig or event is becoming more and more the 'thing' now for musicians, just as it should be.
GL: In more recent times, visuals have been added to the live performance. In what way do the visuals complement the sounds coming from the stage?
Wiggle: The visuals are another way for us to connect with our audience. They give a sense of immersion in the Wiggle vibe. We want our gigs to be an experience and visuals increase the sense of adventure and discovery, they give our sound another dimension, also it keeps Jim busy.
GL: It's now a number of years since Wiggle formed. What's the secret behind the band's longevity?
Wiggle: I don't know that there is a 'secret', if there is Rory is the man to ask. As far as the music goes, every gig is different, we try to keep it fresh and interesting for ourselves as well as the audience. Personally we're a fairly easy going bunch and we try our best to be nice to each other. At this point we're all family and have come to accept each other just as we are, complex evolving humans.
GL: What significant changes have you observed in the Cork music scene over the years?
Wiggle: The indigenous Cork music scene is great, it ebbs and flows like most things but there has always been a great camaraderie in the Cork music scene. The rebels rock together! We have a great bond with the Revelation Soundsystem and the World Bass Culture crew, they support us and we support them, family style. We were all gutted about Crowley's closing up shop on McCurtain street by the way. That was one of the great musical hubs in Cork.
GL: According to the news, the past few years have been all doom and gloom. How important is it for people to be able to go out and let their hair down and what part can Wiggle contribute to this?
Wiggle: Doom and gloom exists but it is just one small part of life. The end of the world has been coming since the beginning of the world. We try to remind people that there are other ways to exist in the world, gathering, dancing, celebrating life and not moaning about it, well not too much. Try and live in your present, be positive about it. As Toby sings 'Brighten the world today, just by what you say... just by what you do'.
GL: There are some really good bands in Cork at the moment but, Wiggle aside, not all that many that incite dancing, even less so now that Fred are set to call it a day. Why do you think there are so few "dancey" bands about?
Wiggle: Cork has always represented musically. Sad to hear about Fred alright, we started up round the same time as them I think. I remember Joe with his dreads back in the day. Sure that's just the way of things, so it goes. Many's the great band has come and gone in Cork since we started.
As regards 'dancey' bands, that really depends on what your definition of a band is. There are plenty of people in and around Cork making music that lots of people dance to that maybe wouldn't be considered a band in the traditional sense, that is with drums, bass, guitar and a singer, sure we're not a band in that sense, we've got hardware doing our beats.
GL: What bands have made you dance recently?
Wiggle: Revelation Soundsystem clan always, any and all of the World Bass Culture family - ManG, Spetz, Rastinny, Rungus, Harry J, Lionheart, Cian Finn, Bisect, Hank Wedel, Brian Enos' 'Music for airports'.
GL: The venues and festivals Wiggle have played over the years are as diverse as they are many. What makes Wiggle so versatile on the live front?
Wiggle: We're ready to give most scenarios a shot, we just enjoy playing live.
GL: What do you enjoy most about being in the band?
Wiggle: Playing music loud and live with each other, being in the moment. Hanging out together is always good, that and having a laugh.
GL: Tell me one thing people might not know about Wiggle?
Wiggle: Practice makes perfect but nobody's perfect so we don't practice, we play.
