‘Into the War, Into the Water’ Written as part of the ‘To The Mountain’ commissions for the Iron Mountain Literature Festival 2021: ‘Into the War, Into the Water’ was written by Ailie Blunnie and produced by Daragh Dukes, with video by Edwina Guckian & Dreoilín Productions ________________________________________________________________________ The text of this piece is based on interviews from two RTE Radio One documentaries about coal-mining in Ireland: ‘‘From the Miners to Prosperity’ (1972) and ‘‘The Long Strike’ (2009). The song is inspired by the Sliabh an Iarainn, Lough Allen, and Arigna areas of Co. Leitrim & Roscommon. Huge thanks to Daragh Dukes for his beautiful production work, to Edwina Guckian for creating the wonderful video, filmed in the Derreenavoggy coal mines in Arigna. With special thanks to Vincent Woods, the Iron Mountain Literature Festival, The Arigna Mining Experience & Leitrim Arts. Watch all seven ‘To The Mountain’ commissioned pieces here – by Róisín Kelly, Séamus O’Rourke, Alice Lyons, Stephen Murphy, Michael Harding and Pat...
read moreBy way of a quick update, I’m working collaboratively on a soundtrack for a children’s show at the moment. I’ll link the music as soon as it’s done so you can have a listen, and I’ll share details of the performances so you can go and see it for yourself if you’d like to. I really like doing this kind of work because it feels less about what I’ll snappily term ‘dredging up the swampy tortures of the soul and serving them medium-rare to people who never ordered them’ (singer-songwriting) and more about, for example, finding sounds to accompany baby birds as they valiantly learn to fly. (Boing. Wheeee. That sort of thing). It’s lovely – I’ll give all the details once it’s complete, as well as sharing the tracks. I hope you are well...
read moreHere’s a taster of the music for ‘Medea’, the latest Irish-language production by Splódar Theatre Company (who are based in North Leitrim). I was delighted to write new music for this & had the pleasure of working with Daragh Dukes again (production). You can have a listen here: MEDEA Promo #1 // MEDEA Promo #2 MEDEA Opening Dance MEDEA Dance It’s in its last week on stage this week, but hopefully it will get another run down the line. Enjoy, Ailie...
read moreI had the opportunity to play as part of Culture Ireland’s Templebar Tradfest showcase at the beginning of this year, and an interview and some songs were recorded and included this week on the weekly Tradfest Podcast, presented by Ruth Smith and Kieran Hanrahan, and produced by Born Optimistic. I have to say a very kind thank you to the crew for including me in this podcast and being so warm and sympathetic to me and the songs and music. It’s a rare and lovely opportunity to get to participate and chat to these folks and I really appreciate the platform it offers too. I talked about life in Carrick on Shannon, some formative musical encounters and some future plans and directions. Also features great music by the Lost Brothers and the Silken Same. Hope you enjoy listening! Episode 20 – https://tradfest.ie/podcasts/...
read moreHere’s a couple of snaps from SIVE’s magical EP Launch last week in Anseo! Was delighted to be playing support. Photos by RF Amod. Buy/Listen to SIVE’s brand new EP here! Website: http://www.sivemusic.com/music Spotify: http://tiny.cc/lww86y YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sivemusic Photos also include: Mark Dudley (guitar), Patrick Hopkins (drums) & Graham Heaney (bass) RF Amod,...
read moreI have officially released the Rocky Road to Dublin to the radio stations :-) Feel free to request it, and if you are a radio station, feel free to contact me if you haven’t received a copy yet. Stream/download/buy: Rocky Road to Dublin “..breathing brave new life into this classic ballad” Ruth Smith | RTE Radio One Simply Folk | RTE Culture Record Label: Happy Out Records Release Date: 10th March 2019 _______________________________________________________________________ ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ is a traditional Irish folksong. The lyrics are attributed to 19th-century Galway poet, D.K. Gavan. Ailie Blunnie: Vocals, Piano, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar Arranged by Ailie Blunnie and Daragh Dukes Produced and recorded by Daragh Dukes Mastered by Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering, Limerick Video was filmed on May 24th 2018 on the way to Leitrim to vote to repeal the 8th amendment of the Constitution of Ireland: Rocky Road to...
read moreWe spent International Women’s Day @ The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim – 8th March 2019 ACT 1: Victoria Geelan, Joleen McLaughlin, Rowan Armstrong ACT 2: Ailie Blunnie, Roisin Blunnie Photos by Fergal...
read moreHey! Here’s the full version of the Rocky Road to Dublin that I shared in the last post. The video was filmed on the way home to Leitrim the night before the Referendum in May (to repeal the 8th amendment of the Constitution of Ireland). Happy New Year! ..and thank you for all your support and help in 2018 ☆ Ailie x Song Credits: ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ is a traditional Irish folksong. The lyrics are attributed to 19th-century Galway poet, D.K. Gavan. Ailie Blunnie: Vocals, Piano, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar Piece also features metronome Arranged by Ailie Blunnie and Daragh Dukes Produced and recorded by Daragh Dukes Mastered by Richard Dowling, Wav Mastering,...
read moreHere’s a quick link to a new arrangement of the ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ that myself and Daragh Dukes made, which was used in this RTE Sport Super 8s taster video recently: Old Ballad, New Verse – It's @DubGAAOfficial v @officialdonegal – live on @RTE2 from 6.30pm #rtegaa #Super8s pic.twitter.com/EoR2rOTZW8 — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 14,...
read more[This piece was originally published in Hot Press Magazine on Wed 7th February] I’m going to jump right in and suggest that most musicians who self-release music these days experience the process as a mixed blessing: there’s a lot of freedom, as well as a lot of limitations. I’m at a stage where I release a good standard of music, but not at the stage where I’ve used a PR service, or have a manager or booking agent, or anything like that. I’m somewhere in between. My day-to-day schedule is a mixture of music, English-teaching, and college (psychology/psychotherapy). The best part of self-releasing, for me—aside from the freedom element—is the hands-on industry experience you get. This includes everything from copyrighting songs, to negotiating door-splits, to buying barcodes. I like the idea of creativity being the joining-together of old ideas in new and relevant ways. I think it’s important to try and dip your toes into all of these various pools of knowledge to create space for those sparks to ignite. That being said, the practical and financial considerations of releasing music independently are a worry. Then you have the emotional stuff of managing expectations, and trying generally not to go mad in the process! For me, success is defined by the intrinsic reward of writing songs that I’m happy with artistically, and painting them onto a canvas of imaginative sound worlds (in collaboration with producer, Daragh Dukes, in the case of my latest release). Quiet, focused work, crafting and chiselling away at the emotional and sonic landscapes I’m trying to create: in a sense, luxuriating in the solitary world of musical introversion. After the release, you’re into the great unknown of the post-release limbo, and this has been the biggest challenge, in my experience. The quiet, focused work takes a back seat, and the expectation is to push yourself publicly, visibly, frequently, across multiple platforms, to optimise exposure. The self-releasers have to find the energy and confidence to push through with renewed vigour, especially if they have opted to go without additional PR support. Tough going. The trouble for me, in this regard, has been staying focused while navigating the various forces influencing perceptions of my work. Unlike the earlier stages, it’s hard to find a yardstick for post-release success. Airplay? Reviews? Interviews? Gigs? Venues? Audience numbers? Streams? Followers? Money? What’s more, it’s probably not particularly fruitful: a lot of what happens within those domains is likely to be out of your control. Your conscious control. Your unconscious control. Other people’s conscious control. Other people’s unconscious control. (I was reading about this recently. It’s complicated!) And then, out of the blue, some independent voices can come into the frame – music lovers, radio presenters, producers, writers, strangers – and they just like your music. Simple as. And that’s nice....
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