First Published May 2021
SORCHA, SOFIA, AND BRÍ ARE THREE TO HEAR
Chances are that anyone who knows the music scene in the midlands will already be familiar with the name of SORCHA FAHY from various singer/songwriter nights. Well, the Tullamore native has now taken the next steps in further building her reputation at a national level too, with the release of her stunning debut single, No Sleep.
Sorcha first came to my attention, as she did many others, when she began showcasing her immaculately emotional interpretations of various songs via her social media platforms. These videos, usually as simple as a piano and vocal set-up, placed Sorcha’s vocal gift right at the centre of everything…and by everything, I mean the very heart of the listener.
What I felt, others felt too. And following the strength of this online reaction, Sorcha began gigging her original material around Ireland, playing intimate sets supporting fellow musicians in venues like Whelans, the Grand Social, and The Vintage Rooms. Sorcha supported JJ Hannon at his debut Irish show in the Academy, Dublin , and has also made appearances at the Canal Quarter Festival and Riverfest.
Released on April 9th last, Sorcha describes No Sleep as being about, “…finding yourself in a cycle of bad habits and struggling to pull yourself out of them. This all leads to a place of anxiety and panic when you don’t keep the promises you make to yourself, leaving you feeling like control over your life is slipping away from you.”
In the works for over a year, No Sleep was originally in Sorcha’s diary for a March 2020 studio session, but that ended up being postponed until July due to the health restrictions around Covid.
No Sleep was eventually recorded at Darklands Audio recording studio in Dublin with Dan Doherty. “Dan’s great at guiding you through the process whilst delivering your vision for the track”, confirms Sorcha. “As well as producing the track, he laid down the drums and bass, and Kaitlyn Cullen- Verhauz performed the stunning cello on the track. I provided keys and vocals.”
To double the impact of this spectacular debut, Sorcha has also recorded a video to accompany the No Sleep, filmed on location in Whelan’s Parlour Room, directed by Gerard Walsh, and shot by David Christopher Lynch. According to Sorcha, “The video represents a repetitive cycle of events in a surreal setting but also captures the real and intense emotions that accompany that. The gradual build in the song, the intensity of the shots, the turning bottle, all mirror the image of a life spinning out of control and one that’s a victim of its own decisions.”
Sorcha recently performed an acoustic version of No Sleep on the RTE Today Show with Maura and Daithi.
Sligo’s LISA STANLEY was born into showbiz with both her parents being household names in their own right, the legendary Maisie McDaniel and the gifted Fintan Stanley. That showbiz gene has seen Lisa shape a successful career of her own over the years, with her weekly appearances hosting her own show – The Lisa Stanley Show – on Spotlight TV making her a very well-known face with fans across Ireland, the U.K., and beyond.
Lisa has toured extensively with the likes of Nathan Carter, Dominic Kirwan and The Phil Mack Country Music Tours, building up a fan base wholly appreciative of her four studio albums.
And the Stanley star will be shining bright for a third generation too, with the news that Lisa’s daughter, SOFIA, at only seventeen, has released a brand new single. Describing herself as a “passionate pop artist”, Why? showcases Sofia’s strong and confident vocals which have been causing fans and commentators alike to sit up and pay attention. Birmingham based Sofia actually joined Lisa’s band as a backing-vocalist, and would even perform some of her own songs during Lisa’s shows.
Despite her youth, Why? displays a maturity that bodes well for what we can expect to hear from Sofia in the years to come. The track touches on the silver-linings that can occur even through some of life’s more unfortunate events. Why? was inspired by an uncomfortable, awkward day at work, with the result that Sofia ended up putting pen to paper in order to get those feelings out of her system, doing so in just three hours. The combination of Sofia’s powerhouse voice and the sincerity of her lyrics create something that listeners of all ages will be able to relate to.
Why? is the follow-up to Sofia’s previous releases, last year’s Angel, and 2019’s Sweet, Sweet Smile, with the track incorporating a wide variety of styles and sounds fusing elements of rock, electro-pop and even soulful R&B. While it took ‘one of those days’ in work to finally bring the song to life, Sofia definitely has the songwriter’s knack of threading experiences together in order to weave the story she wants to tell.
Sofia explained, “I was able to look back on some of my most embarrassing moments, ones that simply wouldn’t give my mind peace, and draw on them for the sake of the song. Moments like calling your teacher ‘mum’, or committing a photobomb, to getting someone’s name wrong and wanting the ground to swallow you whole.”
Sofia recorded and produced the song herself in her home studio last October, using Logic Pro X on her laptop and voice memos on her iPhone. Sound-wise, Sofia reveals that the song was inspired by a wide variety of different artists, ranging from Julia Michaels, to Ariana Grande, and with even a little pinch of Shania Twain in there, too.
“I think”, continues Sofia, “that for anyone who has ever spent long stretches of the night re-living any social faux-pas or mortifyingly clumsy incidents from their past, ‘Why?’ will surely resonate!”
According to Offaly indie-pop princess BRÍ, her latest single More Than is, “about craving more than the situation you currently find yourself in. It’s a place where passion and emptiness meet, the point where two conflicting paths overlap and where all that is cloudy becomes clear.”
Fans who have been following Brí’s career to date will already have enjoyed her debut single Low Supply, it’s follow-up Polite, and most recently, Burying. On the back of the success of those releases, Brí sold-out her own headliner show in Whelan’s, earned high praise from a multitude of blogs and at radio, and was selected to perform at Beatvyne’s MusicX Tech Experience. 2020, despite all of its obvious difficulties, saw Brí performance at the esteemed Whelan’s Ones to Watch, the Ruby Sessions, headline in the Sound House, the Spirit Store, and festival line-up announcements such as Vantastival.
With More Than, Brí expressed a determination not to let the chaos of the past year hold her back. Speaking about the process of the project, Brí said, “My original plans for the visuals fell through due to travel restrictions. After a lot of waiting for restrictions to lift, I decided to direct my own music video and my friend Constance Vance stepped in as my photographer, videographer, and stylist. We discovered that she had talent to burn! The photos and video were shot at Charleville Castle, Tullamore.”
Bri continued, “In this music video, I long for more than my current situation as I struggle to sit with the spinning wheel which, for me, symbolises that ‘groundhog day’ feeling. Watching this video back reminded me that my passion for songwriting could never have been discovered if there wasn’t firstly a struggle. The very action of writing a song to express this was my answer to feeling the passion and excitement in my life that I was craving. I love the simplicity of that.”
As well as fashioning up those homemade visuals, the vocals on More Than were also somewhat of a DIY affair, recorded in Brí’s bedroom due to restrictions. “Darragh Nolan, of Asta Kalapa studios in Wexford, built magic around it as usual,” revealed Brí, adding, “and my friend Aidan Mulloy lent his electric guitar skills once again. He also makes his debut bass performance on this track.”
~ All three tracks – NO SLEEP from SORCHA FAHY; WHY? by SOFIA STANLEY; and MORE THAN from BRÍ – are OUT NOW, available on all platforms and to request from radio. The official music videos for all three songs can also be enjoyed on YouTube (Search Sorcha Fahy Music, Sofia Stanley Music, and BRÍ respectively).
On The Right TRAX 