Folk singer Davie Furey makes Monroe’s debut

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

Deeply rooted in the folk tradition, Davie Furey and his band come to Monroe’s Live on Friday, April 1. Originally from Navan and now living in Laois, Davie recently released his second album Easy Come Easy Go.

The record was produced by Martin Quinn in Jam Studios in Kells, and Davie is keen to praise Martin’s role in the process.

“Martin’s a very talented man, he’s brilliant at what he does,” Davie says. “As a producer and a musician. He has his own band too. Martin has played a lot on this album. It’s good to have someone you can trust, to work off the same page. To get it out of your head and on to the tape deck.

“I would’ve done the first record with Martin. For this one, I just rang him out of the blue really. He’s very easy to get on with. There is a lot of bull in the market, if you go to the wrong studio you can get very frustrated very quickly. Lads telling you what to do. Martin’s way was allowing you to get the songs out. It made it a pleasure, rather than a chore.”

Easy Come Easy Go is made up of 11 tracks that were whittled down from 20. Was it difficult for DavIE to decide what songs would go on the album?

“I didn’t find it that difficult, really,” he says. “They just fit together – you get a feeling in your gut, what way you want an album to go. On the album, there’s a lot of characters in the songs who are travelling. Tara, Good To Be Back Home and Freewheelin’. All these people are moving somewhere – some of them don’t know where they’re going!

“I would’ve learned a lot of those character songs from my grandfather,” Davie adds. “He was from Oranmore, actually. PJ Furey was his name – he wrote poetry. I think The Connacht Tribune published some of them. He only passed away three years ago – he was 96.”

On Presidents and Ghosts Davie writes about Ireland’s Great Famine. Was it a challenge to put that song together?

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.