Echo draws inspiration from the depths of tragedy and despair

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Tuam singer-songwriter Echo Harte is appealing to Galway natives for help with the shooting of a music video for his upcoming single Sun Don’t Rise. It’s a brave piece of work – because the song deals with suicide and aims to encourage an open dialogue on the topic of mental health.

So this Sunday between 12 noon and 6pm, Echo will be filming the video in Foster Court, where he hopes to be joined by extras of all ages in a bid to emphasise the impact of suicide across generations.

It is a difficult subject to take on and Echo is drawing on his own experience to ensure the song retains a level of personality while drawing attention to wider issues.

“The song was inspired by the death of a classmate of mine a couple of years ago,” he notes.

“I didn’t know him very well but it shocked everybody. He was kind of an isolated soul, he didn’t really interact with people and it was very obvious [that there was something wrong]. He’d often put his earphones in and not talk to people in between classes.

“When he took his own life back in 2014 it was heavy. We went to the funeral… The priest could barely speak because of the enormity of it. The thing that really got to me was the look on the parents’ faces.”

It was shortly after the funeral that Sun Don’t Rise began to take shape. Though it is five years ago now, Echo seems to remember those days vividly. As the title might suggest, the weather played its part in influencing the track.

“Galway got its one annual week of scorching hot weather and it was amazing the day after the funeral,” he recalls.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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