ISSUE# 32.15
ENTERTAINMENT
SEPTEMBER 20–27, 2017 Editor : Mandy Nolan Editorial/gigs : gigs@echo.net.au Copy deadline: 5pm each Friday Advertising : adcopy@echo.net.au P : 02 6684 1777 W : echo.net.au/entertainment
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THE QUEEN
and established a totally different life for myself in Australia. We didn’t really have the power to leave Australia until recently, so it was about making the best of the situation. ‘I am Irish, but there is a real sense of Australia in my music. In Ireland they don’t know where to place it; it’s not strictly Irish and its not Australian. If I had stayed in Ireland and played music I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now. I think Australia has opened up a lot for me. In Ireland there is a beautiful sense of tradition musically, and everywhere you go that tradition is earthing and grounding but can be restricting and stifling, especially with my dad as a musician. Leaving that made me extend myself.
OF SWORDS
L A ST Y E A R A T BEL L O W I N T E R M U S I C I HA D T HE P L E A S U R E O F I N T ER V IEW IN G I R I SH S I N G E R / SO NG W R IT ER ÁINE TYRELL. It was hard not to be intoxicated by the easy power of this beautiful woman who left domestic violence and found safety for herself and her three kids living on a bus.
bed things down. From there we went to Glen Hansard’s house. He has a studio in his house; we recorded there as well. We chose tracks based on where we were. We got a lovely cotWhen she takes the stage I think there is tage on the sea in a place called Drogheda. We something a little Joan of Arc about her – she had two songs that had a sea theme; we chose has a quiet strength that is deeply embedded to record certain songs in certain locations to in her music. Her first album Queen of Swords bring that out. My dad Sean Tyrell is a musiwas recorded in the bus with producer Mark cian, and we wanted to do some recording Stanley following this fierce and fragile road with him. When I was born, my dad was was a warrior on her very own Australian odyssey – caretaker for a research house, in a place called finding her courage, and finding herself. And the Burren. It has a unique geological landguess what, the woman who five years ago scape: it’s like a rock desert with wildflowers; had stopped playing returned to her homeland it’s a national heritage site this area. We called and scored a Number One on the Irish charts the caretakers, who let us record in the house with her song Don’t Be Left Crying. Hers is a I was born in – for three days. It was amazing. story of triumph over adversity; as it turns out, We had the help of Liam O’Maonlai (Hothouse she really is the Queen of Swords. Flowers frontman) and singer/songwriter Áine returned from Ireland last week where, Declan O’Rourke, who both added to the songs thanks to a grant from Creative Victoria, she and opened up their homes and studios to us.’ and Stanley took to the road to record her In the midst of all that, her three children, her second album. producer and her nanny also visited two Gael‘I recorded my first album on the bus in the tacht areas in Ireland. Australian desert so the idea for Ireland was The Aran Islands is one and then a beautiful to do a bit of a road-trip musical journey. We place in Kerry place called Dingle, and they are didn’t have a bus there so we moved from Irish-speaking pockets of the country that Englocation to location. No conventional studios. land never invaded; they remain Irish speaking We recorded in cottages, houses, research to this day. We recorded in the Aras Eanna Arts stations. We were looking for a castle but we had problems with them because castles don’t Centre on the Aran Islands and in the infamous St James’ church in Dingle.’ have power!’ Ireland Áine tells me is a lot like the Aussie desert. You can’t really organise stuff from afar, you just have to turn up and if people like you, then doors open. ‘In Ireland theres a band called the Frames, the bass player and manager gave us their house in Wexford while they were away; that gave us a week sitting still of being able to
Áine went back as an adult to learn Irish, so connecting with her heritage was very important for her and for this new album. ‘In one generation we lost our language with the invasion of the English; it was because it was not allowed and people were trying to assimilate. I have a very big goal to go and live in a Gaeltacht for six months to a year; the
one we were on had fewer than 200 full-time residents. It’s very harsh living in the winter, but beautiful in the summer. There are no cars on the island, just horse and cart, a few farm vehicles. In Dingle we ended up recording in this extremely old church where there were graves from the 1400s. It’s an iconic church in the music industry because they use it for a lot of recordings because of the acoustics. We had stunning locations, in particular going to the gaeltacht areas for me was magical – they really hold the spirit and the sense of Ireland.’
‘Going back to record, I could tap into the very strong sense of culture and also reach out into something much bigger than that. That would have been hard to do in Ireland; it’s not just an album about me any more, it’s much broader.’ Áine Tyrell’s new album will be released in early 2018. In the meantime she and producer Mark Stanley have released her new EP Fledgling Fall, which features her Irish number one Don’t be Left Crying. Even that happening for Áine was serendipitous and proof that she is on the right path.
‘I was asked to do an interview with RTE with 400,000 listeners, which is big for Ireland; it’s While they were on the island Áine took advan- the biggest radio show in the country. Stuff tage of her location and scored a recording at was happening that day so my interview got the local pub. cut, so in lieu of that they asked if I would just record another song and put it on Facebook ‘I went to the pub at night and asked them Live for them. The head of RT music walked to sing an Irish folk song. We recorded the by and heard the track and immediately put whole pub singing the song, a song from 1916. on the playlist, so they put it on their playlist I perform it live as well; it’s great to have it from straightaway, then within two weeks it was the source.’ number two and then we got a message it was Going home was a very emotional experinumber one and it’s still on their playlist. It’s ence for Áine. ’I hadn’t been home in five really affirming; you don’t make your art to get years. When you live away you have to switch number ones or to get accolades, you make something off in your brain to cope being so it because you are trying to make the best far from home; you have to shut off certain possible thing you can make, but to have such feelings. Arriving in Ireland by plane I looked strong confirmation from the radio station that out the window and I lost it.’ I listened to my whole life was pretty cool.’ This return home was both physical and spiritual for Áine, who admits that it was the core of the creative process of recording her new album. ‘The ethos of the album was coming back to find a source for something. My first album is very personal and it was cathartic for me to be able to leave a destructive relationship. It’s about my finding myself again; I was lost for so long. Last time I went back to Ireland I didn’t even own a guitar. It wasn’t safe. I have grown
Áine Tyrell launches her new EP Fledgling Fall at the Mullumbimby Ex-Services on Saturday with support by Koral Chandler. Doors open at 7pm and tickets are available from the website redsquaremusic.com.au. She is also featured at this year’s Mullum Music Festival (16–19 Nov) and will be mentoring the winner of the Singer/Songwriter section in the Youth Mentorship. Tix and program info are on mullummusicfestival.com. The EP is available now on iTunes, on ainetyrrell.com.
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38 September 20, 2017 The Byron Shire Echo
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au/byron-echo