A lot can change in a year. Few know that better than Belfast’s brilliant Makeshift Art Bar, who fuse post-punk, grunge and sludge metal into something compellingly electronic. Released just three days into 2025, their self-released debut EP propelled them from Belfast obscurity to cult favourites, headlining their own UK tour, becoming 6 Music regulars and finding record labels knocking at their door before the year was out. We spoke to the band about what this whirlwind rise has felt like, their Belfast roots, and recording new music with Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox.
You’re from Belfast – what’s the scene like there at the minute, and how does it differ from somewhere like London?
Joseph: It’s good, but very small. There are a few bands doing really well, like Chalk, and our friends Stratford Rise, who are amazing. A lot of it, whether intentional or not, is a bit more aggressive than what you get elsewhere.
Callum: Compared to London, it’s tiny. But that’s probably to our advantage – it’s easier to stand out and push to the front. There are probably three Makeshift Art Bars in London; in Belfast, there’s just us. It helps to be unique where you come from and build that foundation before taking it elsewhere.
Joseph: I also think it’s good that there aren’t loads of bands. We’re less influenced by what’s around us because there just isn’t that much. In bigger cities, everyone’s watching the same acts, and it all starts to sound a bit similar.
What’s it like seeing so many Irish bands – and Irish culture in general – having a moment right now?
Joseph: It’s really good to see. It’s benefited us a lot – Chalk doing so well helped us hugely. They put us on their support tour, which was our first exposure to mainland UK. We wouldn’t have had that opportunity, at least not that early, without Chalk and Irish music doing well in general.
Callum: I think when you’re Irish, it can feel like a bit of a novelty. But you’re not going to say no to the spotlight being on you. You take it and make the most of it.
Alleyah: We don’t really think about it that much. Being from the North, sometimes we’re not grouped in with Irish artists – we’re in that grey zone. But recently we’re being recognised as Irish in write-ups and stuff, which gives a larger sense of belonging. The Irish community’s great too – at Left of the Dial we played an Irish showcase. It’s cool being far from home and still meeting people who feel connected. It’s a nice community.
You guys played Left of the Dial recently – how was that, and were the crowds different from UK ones?
Joseph: It was really good. Honestly, I think it was our favourite gigging experience. It’s such a cool city, and with the festival there’s so much going on all the time.
Alleyah: I think people who go to that festival just have such a deep love for music and appreciate anything that’s put in front of them. We were received really well in that way. The crowds weren’t too different either – there were loads of people from the UK. There were even two guys from where I live in Northern Ireland who said they’d been to all four of our gigs. That was crazy.
Did you manage to catch any good bands there?
Joseph: Madra Salach were good. Ain’t were good too, and there was a band called Torba – they were mental. We only saw about half a song, which was disappointing, but it was this crazy kind of techno guitar music.
You’re on tour at the minute, with gigs everywhere from Luton to Paris to Rotterdam. Do you get to explore the cities much when you’re there?
Joseph: Not really, to be honest. Rotterdam was good because we spent three days there, so we could chill out and see the city, but normally it’s just so busy – we get in and have to start soundchecking straight away.
Alleyah: Especially in the UK – it’s just a lot of driving. It’s a pain in the ass. Tomorrow we’re going down to Cardigan, which is a five or six-hour drive. It’ll be great, but your whole day is gone. It’s a shame, because there are all these places we’d love to see.
Callum: With festivals, especially multi-venue ones, you’re kind of forced to see the city since it’s spread out. I like that. At Manchester Psych Fest recently, we went everywhere.
From today (30/10/25), you’ve got ten gigs in eleven days. How do you keep the energy up physically and mentally?
Alleyah: Get on the beers. Lots of drinking – the Irish way of doing it.
Joseph: Rotterdam was tough – we had four gigs in two days, which really took it out of us. But it’s not the playing that’s hard, it’s everything leading up to it. The rest of the day is horrible, but once you play, it’s great. You sweat it all out.
Your debut EP includes Notice Me, which is seven and a half minutes long. Did you go into that knowing it would be that length, or did it evolve naturally?
Alleyah: Yeah, I don’t know why we did that. We talked about cutting it down. We struggled with it a bit because we didn’t want it to be long, and we didn’t know what to do with it. At one point we were like, just keep it.
Joseph: When we play it live, I swear it feels like a three-minute song. I’ve never thought of it as a seven-and-a-half-minute one. There’s so much energy in it – more than the recording captures, I think. It’s probably our most energetic song. It’s my favourite.
As listeners, do you prefer longer, more immersive songs like that, or shorter, punchier ones?
Joseph: Certainly. Some of my favourite songs are 20 or 30 minutes long.
Alleyah: Not for me, man. Five minutes is enough for me.
Callum: The music has to justify being that long – I’m not going to listen to four chords for 20 minutes. Basketball Shoes is a great example; it’s 13 minutes but keeps you hooked the whole way through.
You recorded some new music last summer – how did that go?
Joseph: It was really fun. We recorded with Daniel Fox from Gilla Band, which was really cool. He’s someone we all look up to. The way the songs used to sound before recording compared to how they came out – us and Dan bouncing ideas around – was really fun. We were super happy with what we did.
What was he like to work with? What was his approach?
Callum: Very reserved. He kind of lets you come up with your own thing. He won’t input too much, which is good – it forces you to really figure it out. He might give you a small prompt that helps, but it means the end result still feels very much like our music.
Compared to your first EP, is the new stuff a continuation of that sound, or are there new elements coming in?
Joseph: Everything continues a bit, but we’re going a lot more electronic – that’s the main difference. That and the lyrics. I’ve tried to put a lot more effort into them. Some of the songs on the first EP don’t really mean anything, and I don’t like that. I want it to be something you have to actually listen to.
A couple of weeks ago marked two years since your debut single Inertia. How has the band developed since then?
Joseph: Oh wow. We’ve got new members now – my brother joined not long ago.
Alleyah: We’ve grown so much. We probably need to hype ourselves up more. Even in the way we write and perform – we’re just happier now. Two years ago, we had no clue what we were doing. Back then, being a smaller band in Belfast could feel hopeless, like it wasn’t going anywhere. Things going well now has given us a confidence boost. It’s nice to expand out of that – it’s such a small scene, you end up playing the same five venues over and over. We’re just so glad to have a platform now.
Callum: Yeah, sometimes we forget. If you told us when we released Inertia that we’d be playing Rotterdam or doing a UK tour, we’d have said no chance. It’s crazy how quickly things change. Six months ago, a record deal felt like a dream – and now we’re in a position to say, “nah, not that one.”
Two years ago you released Inertia – two years from now, where do you see Makeshift Art Bar? What would you like to have achieved?
Joseph: Just to keep doing this, honestly. I’m really enjoying what we’re doing, and if we can just do more of it, I’ll be happy. I’d love to have an album out – that would be a big step.
Alleyah: For me, it’s about travelling. I want to go to as many places as possible – Korea, Japan, America – that’s what matters to me. It’s all about the experience.
Words: Donovan Livesey