FIVE FAVOURITES: Ailbhe Reddy

A raw and relatable record about existing in the emotional ether at the end of a relationship, Dublin-born artist Ailbhe Reddy’s upcoming third album, KISS BIG, is a wholehearted affair that continues to spotlight her talent for empathetic songwriting. Set for release on 30th January via Don Giovanni Records, across nine tracks she dismantles the cyclical nature of love and the ways in which we persist and resist, but ultimately succumb to romance once again when the breakup cycle is complete.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Ailbhe to ask about her “Five Favourites” and she picked five albums by an eclectic range of artists who have inspired her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch the official video for Ailbhe’s latest single ‘That Girl’ too…

 

1. Fiona Apple – When The Pawn…
I heard this for the first time when I was working an office job in my early twenties. ‘Paper Bag’ came on the radio and I felt like it was written just for me. I was immediately hooked. I went and bought the album that same day and spent months obsessed with it. I, of course, went through Apple’s entire back catalogue and was so inspired by her as an artist and individual. The production, lyrics and vocal delivery still blow me away every listen.

2. Julia Jacklin – Crushing
After I recorded my first album, I got a lot of comparisons to Julia Jacklin (what a compliment!) but I had never heard her. ‘Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You’ came on while I was driving in my car one day and it destroyed me! I pulled over and put the whole album on and listened from start to finish. What a journey. So simple. So perfect. I’ve been a fan ever since and think she’s one of the best songwriters around.

3. Jeff Buckley – Grace
This is a formative one for me. I learned a lot about playing guitar from a book of music from this album. I definitely spent a long time shoehorning nice jazz chords into my songs as a result. I was a kid when I first heard this album — my mum had a copy in her car that she used to listen to. It wasn’t until I started playing guitar that I started really listening to the songwriting properly. By then YouTube existed and I spent hours finding every single video I could of Jeff playing the songs from this album. I got to sing a few songs from this album at a show celebrating the 30 year anniversary of this album a while back, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for his vocal performance.

4. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
I saw the dance/musical version of this in New York City two years ago and cried my little eyes out. Not just because it was beautifully performed, but because no album reminds me of the pure love I had for music as a teenager as well as this album. When I was 15 or 16 I got a little 8-track and recorded my own version of ‘Chicago’ on it. Still, whenever I hear that song it brings me back to that time. Pure love and awe and discovery. The song itself is rich with imagery and feels like a full novel, and my own memories on top always make it a joyful listen.

5. Big Thief – Capacity
‘Mythological Beauty’ was my introduction to Big Thief, I heard it playing in a friend’s kitchen and was immediately grabbed by it. There was something so mesmerising about Lenker’s vocal delivery and also the lyrics are pretty daaamn perfect. Again – it feels like a novel in a song. How can someone sum up their mother? Such a complex, deep relationship. Yet, she nails it. I got to see the album live in Dublin and was blown away by the band live which kicked off my journey as a long time fan. ‘Mary’ is another song from that album that I think is spectacular, and part of its charm is how different it is from the rest of the band’s discography. I’ve seen it a few times live in different iterations and it’s always been so special.

Thanks to Ailbhe for sharing her favourites with us!

Ailbhe will be playing a London headline show at The Lexington on 21st April to celebrate the release of KISS BIG – tickets are on sale now!

Watch the video for her latest single ‘That Girl’ below.

Follow Ailbhe Reddy: website, bandcamp, TIDAL, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Su Mustecaplioglu

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: Orla Gartland – ‘More Like You’

A poetic alt-folk tune that tries to overcome feelings of inadequacy, Irish songwriter Orla Gartland has shared her latest single ‘More Like You’. Taken from her debut album which is set for release later this year, the track is a charming rumination on how “feeling second best” can affect the way you view yourself and others around you.

“I know that I’ve been obsessing in the worst way,” Gartland sings over soft beats and playful keys, gently examining her own vulnerabilities and anxieties about being replaced by another. “‘More Like You’ is about a jealousy I felt for my best friend’s other best friend; someone I simultaneously disliked and wanted to be,” she admits, but through careful introspection Gartland has now made peace with her initial feelings of discomfort. This journey is reflected in the choreography in the accompanying video for the track, directed by Greta Isaac.

“We brought Elan Isaac on board to choreograph the piece and she absolutely smashed it,” Gartland explains. “I had never danced before and she managed to put together a piece that felt so thoroughly me. The movement in the video mirrors my journey of finally making my peace with the other person. We shot the video with a small crew of 5 in a village hall in South Wales near where Greta & Elan grew up. It was lashing rain that day, but with a bit of movie magic we managed to pull off a fake sun.”

Watch the video for ‘More Like You’ below.

Follow Orla Gartland on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Henry James

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Wallis Bird

Having just released her sixth album Woman via Mount Silver Records/Caroline International, modern folk singer Wallis Bird seems to be in a good place. The Irish songwriter uses her music to speak out against injustice, writing in a confessional style and blurring the lines between the genres of modern folk, roots and soul.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Wallis to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her song writing techniques. Check out her choices below, and scroll down to watch her video for ‘As The River Flows’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Ani DiFranco – Living in Clip
Changed my life. I was 11, was really growing into my skin on the guitar and my lyrics, I was finding out who I was and Ani burst down my doors. She was a queer feminist in defiance of bureaucracy and sexism and it was so fresh and out of this world to me, I found my back straighten and my eyes clear. It was a turning point. They way she pounded the guitar as if it was a weapon, the depth of chord structure, the prolific output, the badass necessity for creativity – no one like her then nor now.

2. Björk – Vespertine
Björk married Avantgarde with pop and classical in this ethereal, emotional warm embrace of a record. It’s an absolute timeless classic where electronic and traditional instrumentation move horizontally across space and time, and she dances the linear by diving deep into langerous pregnant pauses, long sensual outros of choirs with purist choral, Icelandic landscape escapism… I visualise deeply when I put this record on. Lyrically she discovers a new side to her sex, which she describes it in a detailed, curious, positive and private way – celebrating vulnerability, dreams, intimacy, secrecy and this fragile flesh we’re all in.

3. There Magic Lantern – A World in a Grain of sand
I’ve listened to this record more than any other record I think. Possibly over 200 times. The emotive dynamic, the positive message tinged with some kind of despair. The musicianship, the instrumentation. It moves from English folk to exotic afrobeat to modern NY jazz. It sounds open, wide and luxuriously recorded, giving so much breathing space that the listener feels freed and cosy and listened to. I adore the clever drum timing, the breathy wind instruments and Jamie Doe’s unique vocal style and gently powerful lyricism. This album is a friend of mine.

4. Sam Vance Law – Homotopia
Sam is a friend of mine, but before I knew him I was a fan of his music. We played in the band together and I basically stole him so that I could spend time with the person who wrote what I consider an iconic modern pop record. He tells tales, long and short about narcism, sexual adventures and misadventures, coming out, social suicide, staying in the closet, faking a happy marriage, all wrapped in orchestral instrumentation, sometimes punk, sometimes indie pop, ambling bridges, satirical and snide lyrics, true love, true confusion in youth, pure dreams, mature and clever and unforgettable. Vidal Gore meets The Cure. An album like no other.

5. The Prodigy – Music For a Jilted Generation
My first foray into how beautiful and merciful getting fucked up and dancing your pain away can be. It is wild, concentrated progressive passionate hard and heavy and fucking fantastic dance music. My sister played loads of these tracks at her wedding and all the siblings just broke the dance floor open! it was a real source of relief for us as a family. If we were pent up, if we needed to wind down, this album always did the job for us, when it was playing you left each other alone and everything was all ok afterwards!

Thanks to Wallis for sharing her favourites with us. Follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Jens Oellermann

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ALBUM: Lisa Hannigan & s t a r g a z e – ‘Live In Dublin’

Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan is set to release her new live album recorded at Dublin’s National Concert Hall with contemporary-classical orchestra s t a r g a z e, founded by conductor André de Ridder. This collaboration sees Lisa’s folk/pop songs played with new orchestral ensemble arrangements and has taken her to the stages of London’s Barbican and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. Live in Dublin serves as a treat for old and new fans of Hannigan, capturing her mesmerising shows across a discography-spanning 14- tracks, including new track ‘Bookmark’.

Love is a key theme on the album, as is nature. The songs lend themselves perfectly to an orchestral setting, bringing out the emotional undertones at the heart of the tracks. The bird-like flutes of ‘Ora’ and the stirring violins which create an atmosphere of sad beauty on ‘Prayer for the Dying’ are particularly beautiful. There’s a lovely change in pace on tracks like ‘Anahorish’ which is sung acapella; ‘Nowhere to Go’ which showcases Hannigan’s slow, plaintive voice as comforting and emotional, before the urgency of following track ‘Lo’, which breaks through with its persistent heartbeat-like rhythms.

Other highlights are the haunting atmospherics on ‘We the Drowned’, which will move you to tears, before the fairytale chimes of ‘Lille’ enchant with their ethereal undertones. Overall, the orchestra swell out the songs, stirring the emotions, adding to the soundscape created by Hannigan’s poetic lyrics. The song is the conductor, her voice is the key instrument. The album closes with ‘Fall’, where the orchestra quiets down and we are sung out with just Hannigans’s vocal harmonies, and guitar.

If you are new to Lisa Hannigan’s songs, this is a wonderful album to discover her gems. Now you will hear them transformed, bringing their inherent dramas and colours to the fore, amidst a backdrop of sublime keys, affecting strings and perfect percussion.

Live In Dublin by Lisa Hannigan & s t a r g a z e is due for release May 31st on digital platforms, vinyl and CD via Play It Again Sam.

Photo Credit: Gerry Sugrue

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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