Lockdown sees singer/songwriter evolve beyond folk and indie roots

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Galway-based singer-songwriter and producer Josh O’Leary has spent the guts of two years expanding his sound beyond the folk and indie-rock roots that had informed his work with the now-disbanded college four-piece Rodney. Under the moniker of Jossle, the Kinsale native devoted himself to bedroom production over the first lockdown and stumbled upon a sleek, summery feel that incorporates interesting, artificial sounds while being anchored by a classical acoustic guitar.

It’s a combination that’s offered a distinct and absorbing basis for his sound – and the time spent honing it has now culminated in the release of an impressive debut single.

Garden Couch was released on September 24. A shimmering, hopeful instrumental complimented by captivating vocals – it is an appropriate summary of the sound Josh has honed on Soundcloud in the last year or two. It bodes very well for an artist whose act is still developing on and off stage.

“It kind of came together over the first lockdown,” he says of the project.

“I was at home in Kinsale. I’d dabbled in production but I really got stuck into it. I would sit at my computer for five hours a day making tunes. I was always big into hip hop and I had my roots in folk and trad – that came out more in Rodney but I wanted to introduce more of a pop element into it.

“I started working with more electronic sounds while keeping the acoustic element in there and eventually I settled on a sound that I’m happy with which is relayed through the single. It did take a while to get there and I felt like I was kind of switching between styles for a while. Rodney was more rocky than I wanted to be but I’m happy where I am now and I can see where I’m going in the future.”

At the time of the single’s launch, Josh was touring alongside Galway trailblazers NewDad in his home county of Cork. He has added Ronan Henry to the setup on stage and plans on filling out the band further.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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