All old school friends from Waterford, who grew up playing together in vari… Read Full Bio ↴All old school friends from Waterford, who grew up playing together in various bands and discovering the records they collectively grew to love, O Emperor emerged with debut long-player Hither Thither in 2010. A record of immense depth and far-reaching confidence, it was received with lavish praise from fans and critics alike, earning the band a Choice Music Nomination (Irish album of the year). Since then, the band have shared the stage with the likes of MGMT, Spoon and Villagers, performed at a range of Festivals including SXSW, Benicassim and the Electric Picnic, had a special arrangement of the song “Sedalia” commissioned for a performance with the RTE Concert Orchestra and received praise from Rolling Stone, NPR World Cafe, Artrocker, BBC 6, Hot Press, The Times and many more.

While debut Hither Thither could be described as a lush tapestry displaying a classical use of depth and shading, Vitreous, their second album, is more like a stark, multi-coloured and pixelated piece of pop art. Heavily distorted drums take their place alongside syrupy analogue synths and disgusting fuzz guitars sounding like bees buzzing inside tin cans. Beautiful landscapes are destroyed with disparate, abrasive sounds in perverse displays of artistic self-destruction.

Recorded at Big Skin HQ, the base for the band’s label operations. The band’s own DIY studio was (literally) built from the ground up with everything from label administration to recording happening inside its grubby, fire-stained walls. The resulting recordings are a direct representation of this operation, being the band’s most ambitious and accomplished work to date; a stamp moulded from their many meandering sessions there.

Vitreous was entirely produced/recorded by the band, affording much time for them to play around with old synthesisers and other strange pieces of equipment lying around, while also regularly playing host to all-night parties/recording sessions with friends. The nine songs on the record represent a fraction of the ideas explored in over fifty demo recordings undertaken in the studio in the year the album was recorded. The fruits of these exploratory sessions are borne out by the succinct articulation of the musical ideas on Vitreous, a refinement that comes only with a healthy measure of experimentation. No qualified sound engineer was present, allowing the band’s whims for making things sound “wrong” to slip through the net. Without the presence of a sensible, discerning individual to pull the reins in on such things, the production on Vitreous boasts an artful curiosity and adventurousness which becomes ever more attractive as the record unfolds.

Clocking in at just over 29 minutes, the record is striking for its sense of economy and directness. More remarkable still is the fact that within this half hour of music, such a broad musical spectrum is taken in. In this way, the listener’s sense of duration is warped, unhinged by the depth and detail of the work. The record proceeds with each song as a self-contained island with its own sonic character; a 29-minute island hopping tour taking in snippets of Kraut minimalism, 70s/80s glam/art rock maximalism, freak balladry, Prog noodling and electronic flights of fancy. Certainly, any element of the organic folk leanings evident on debut Hither Thither, are forsaken in some of the album’s opening lines: “Get me back to my gutbucket bedsit where I can smell the shit in the city air”. And so it continues thus….

Vitreous is a work that finds O Emperor carving out their very own unique aesthetic perspective. The sounds themselves admit a sense of this discovery. Luckily for everyone else, this record is one that is rediscovered again and again with each listen.

In November 2018, they released their third album Jason.

In March 2019 Jason was the winner of the Choice Music Prize for Irish album of the year

Po
O Emperor Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Despite all the raining and the wind and the snow,
Nobody ever saw him, nobody saw Po.
Born to no parents, no conceivable birth,
Occupies mass and space with no value of worth.

And who are you? who are you?
Poor old Po where has he been,
His eyes in the mirror are the only thing that shows him.

Colours and shapes only laugh at him,
Outlines have stated their distain for his frail frame.
But then one night at his home in a tree,
Came a rat tat tattle on his door that made him feel unease

And who could this be? who could this be?
Mr Po where have you been, I'm a taxman official
And you owe quite a bean!

Poor old Po! Oh where did you go?!
Once upon a time you played in his mind but
The cruel tricks of time had planned for you to resign
From your post, now just a ghost

Poor old Po how hard you were hit, you'll have to wait in line to
Claim your social benefit

Overall Meaning

The song "Po" by O Emperor is a unique and mysterious one. The lyrics tell the story of Po, a character who seems to be an outcast or an invisible man as he is never seen by anyone despite his existence. He is described as having no parents and no discernible birth, yet he occupies space with no value of worth. The song highlights the theme of isolation and disconnectedness in society. The lyrics suggest that no one cares about Po and he is invisible to the world. However, he is still there, and he can see himself in the mirror, reminding the listeners that being invisible does not mean one does not exist.

The song takes a drastic turn when a taxman official shows up at Po's door, revealing that he's not as invisible as he thought. The encounter with the taxman official highlights the theme of bureaucracy and how people are valued by their worth in society. Po is 'worthless' and ostracized by society, leading him to become a 'ghost' and depend on social benefits. The song conveys a sense of melancholy and despair as it concludes with Po's fate being sealed.

Overall, Po is a song that delves deep into the concept of loneliness and the feeling of being outcast in society. The lyrics offer a poignant reflection on the human condition and the importance of recognizing the value of every individual, no matter how different or 'worthless' they may seem.

Line by Line Meaning

Despite all the raining and the wind and the snow,
Despite facing all kinds of harsh weather conditions,

Nobody ever saw him, nobody saw Po.
No one ever saw Po or knew of his existence.

Born to no parents, no conceivable birth,
Po had no known origin or birth story.

Occupies mass and space with no value of worth.
Po exists in the physical world but has no value or importance attached to him.

And who are you? who are you?
An inquiry into the identity of an unknown person or entity.

Poor old Po where has he been,
Expressing sympathy for Po and acknowledging his absence.

His eyes in the mirror are the only thing that shows him.
Po only sees himself in the mirror, indicating his lack of presence in the outside world.

Colours and shapes only laugh at him,
Po is laughed at by physical objects like colours and shapes that are normally inanimate.

Outlines have stated their distain for his frail frame.
The outlines of objects express their dislike for Po's weak and fragile body.

But then one night at his home in a tree,
Suddenly, at Po's home in a tree,

Came a rat tat tattle on his door that made him feel unease
A suspicious noise at his door made Po feel afraid.

And who could this be? who could this be?
A repeated inquiry into the unknown identity of the source of the noise.

Mr Po where have you been, I'm a taxman official
The source of the noise reveals themselves as a taxman official, asking about Po's whereabouts and taxes owed.

And you owe quite a bean!
Po is being told that he owes a substantial amount of money.

Poor old Po! Oh where did you go?!
A continuation of the sympathy towards Po who is now confronted with a tax debt.

Once upon a time you played in his mind but
Addressing Po's past and the fact that he was once thought about.

The cruel tricks of time had planned for you to resign
The inevitability of getting older and leaving behind certain things or people.

From your post, now just a ghost
Po is no longer in a position of relevance or importance, instead being compared to a ghost.

Poor old Po how hard you were hit, you'll have to wait in line to
Acknowledging that Po has had a tough time and that he will have to stand in line to receive help.

Claim your social benefit
Po is eligible for a social benefit, however, he will have to go through certain steps to receive it.

Contributed by Jason R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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