The last time we caught up with Carosel they had just finished a terrific set at this years rainsoaked Oxegen Festival. With numerous positive mentions in the national press since and the occassional television spot it seemed the time was right to break free from the shackles of the Irish music scene. And where better than Paris to exercise your artistic freedom? It is from the French capital that Michelle Phelan, originally from Naas, talks to Living In Kildare about Carosel's new life in France and their plans for the future.

The group, which is made up of Phelan and multi instrumentalisit Pete McGrane, were approached last March after a gig in Dublin by a promoter from Paris who, Phelan says, "loved the show and thought we would go down great in France". A few gigs were promptly booked in both Paris and Lyon. "It has been amazing and we already have advanced bookings to go back to Paris as the reception was so welcoming!"

Perhaps it is no surprise that Carosel's brand of sunny pop music should go down so well on the continent. An unaffected simplicity pulses through their music which has little in common with much of the contemporary indie scene. Where much of the music coming out of Britain at the moment is indebted to the post punk outbursts of bands like Joy Division and Talking Heads, Carosel take their lead from classic songsmiths like Burt Bacharach and Bill Withers.

Phelan reveals that much of their first album "Kaleidoscope" was written in France. The album, featuring perhaps their most famous song to date "Easy As It Flows" brought them to the stages of both of Ireland's largest music festivals, Electric Picnic in 2008 and the Oxegen Festival in 2009. The Punchestown festival in particular still brings back fond memories, "it was such a great buzz playing at a big festival and walking out onstage and seeing a full tent topped it off".

A tour of local radio stations followed which finished off with an appearance on Pat Kenny's radio show, "which was lovely too".

Phelan is also quick to point out, however, that there are some downsides to the industry too.An industry which to surviv you must be prepared to work hard and expect some disappointments. "If you want to do music for the long haul you have to take the good with the bad. Some people will love the music others won't. You have to focus on the positives and keep going onwards".

A definite positive has been the move to France which sees the group tackle a very different music scene to the one they left behind in Ireland.

"Well the size difference alone is huge. There are over 10 million people living in the greater Paris area so there are great opportunities. The music scene is really diverse here in Paris because there is such a large mix of different cultures so you can find so many different venues catering to the different styles all around the city".
Another part of this re-location is having to build a whole new audience once more and then there is the small problem of learning a new language.

"The hardest part has been learning French to speak to the audience but it's getting easier- Pete is practically bi-lingual so he is absolutely fine - so we can lean on each other.

"I suppose at some gigs it has felt like a whole new experience because you are playing to a crowd that might not know who you are or have heard anything about you, but then that's also exciting when you don't know how they will react".

When in this position of course, "having a catchy chorus is handy... something which is an integral part of our songwriting".

Summing up their experience till now, Phelan insists it's a case of, "so far so good". Though is well aware that it is a pivotal time in their career. At the moment the group are in talks with some labels as well as licensing companies but are taking a cautious approach to the whole affair.

With the major labels tightening their belts in an increasingly desperate market fewer risks are being taken on new artists, unless, of course, they can guarantee some kind of immediate financial windfall. Carosel are all too aware of the perilous state of industry. "We like having the freedom to record and grow creatively… which is something the major labels are just not allowing artists to do right now. The likes of Rough Trade and xl would be dream labels for us. As they have been known to nurture their acts. We'd love a supportive label like that to help us grow but without smothering us. If it happens it would be great, but either way we will keep fighting the fight as they say!"
The shift in the industry has led to an increasing dependance on social networking sites something Phelan believes are "a brilliant way to connect with fans".

"So many people are online now, it's the best way to get news out to people, to let them know about gigs and new releases. Our last single "Easy As It Flows" was available on our website www.carosel.ie for free download and there were over 1,200 downloads in the first week. People just prefer to do things online these days and it's a great way to boost the stats".

New songs are already going up on the band's Myspace including "Star", a not so subtle dig at the many "celebrities" littering the tabloids over the past few years and also the title song from their most recent EP. They intend to lock themselves away for the start of 2010 in the south of France where, "we will hopefully get lots of demos recorded" and write most of their second album. From there the songs will be road tested before a release date is set.

You can find more information about Carosel at www.myspace.com/caroselmusic or on their own website at www.carosel.ie