Island life is perfect pandemic retreat for Galway’s rising star

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Alt-pop singer-songwriter LAOISE is one of the bigger names to emerge from Galway in recent years – and her brand new EP will only serve to reinforce that upward trajectory. Her music tends to match the tone and weight of her vocal – songs that are dreamy and entrancing whether they are backed by an experimental stream of electro-pop or a minimalist piano instrumental.

It’s a sound that has been popularised in recent years by the likes of Charli XCX and Sigrid and, in an Irish context, few can compete with the catalogue LAOISE has built in the last four years.

On February 26, LAOISE is set to release her third EP, Healthy. Constructed with Richey McCourt and long-time collaborator Sean Behan, the EP is playful and full of energy.

With three of the project’s five singles already out in the world, it has already garnered a wealth of attention and critical acclaim. The latest of those tracks, Gravy, was released last Friday and, on Sunday, it became LAOISE’s first song to officially chart.

“I wasn’t looking at my phone so somebody had to send it to me for me to know that it had happened,” she recalls.

“I’ve entered into breakers charts before but I’ve never been in the official charts and it seems like there’s been crazy support over the last week. It’s very funny to be releasing music right now because the only way I’m communicating with people and seeing how they react to it is by looking at my phone.

“I keep imagining that if I just put my phone in a drawer, it’d be exactly the same for me. It feels a bit surreal but it’s really exciting, especially as an independent artist, to have that kind of noise.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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