Mercury nominee Lisa Hannigan to play the R—is’n

Date Published: {J}

Lisa Hannigan rounds off a fruitful year with an Irish tour that takes in the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday next, December 8. She first emerged singing alongside Damien Rice in 2001, her beguiling voice adding immensely to the Kildare man’s songs. When that collaboration finished, Lisa began working on her own material, releasing her debut album last year. Sea Sew was met with very warm reviews and was nominated for this year’s prestigious Mercury Prize. All in all, it has been a busy but exciting year for Lisa Hannigan.

“It’s been pretty hectic, in a brilliant way,” says the Dublin based singer. “I had week off but I’d just come back from LA so I’m mad jet lagged. Most of time I’m at home at four in the morning going ‘Sleep!’.

“We were over doing a tour with David Gray. It was amazing craic; they were so nice, his crew, the band and the audience and everything. It was just brilliant.”

The short break at home provided some much needed downtime, but Hannigan is not bemoaning her packed diary.

“Myself and the band have been touring the whole year, pretty much. We’ve had a couple of weeks off here and there but mostly it’s been going all the time. There’s no complaint out of me!”

The Mercury Prize is one of the most respected awards in the music industry. It lauds big-name acts like Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead but also has a penchant for surprises, like when Klaxons were awarded the prize. Although Lisa was beaten to the Mercury by Speech Debelle, the nomination alone gave her profile a huge boost, especially in the UK.

“I wasn’t expecting it all; it wasn’t in my mind,” Lisa says. “I know my manager had entered the record but I didn’t even think about it aside from that. It was so unlikely; I was absolutely over the moon when I heard. The record we were bringing out independently, here and in the UK. It was such a gift; it’s hard to even get your record in the shops over there. That [nomination] really helps; it’s like a big kick!”

Lisa Hannigan and her band attended the ceremony in September and enjoyed the industry junket thoroughly.

“We kind of treated it as a bit of a Christmas party. We went and played our song, and it was great to watch everyone else. Then we just got pretty drunk! It was a brilliant night.”

The hand sewn artwork for Sea Sew really makes the album stand out from other dour looking releases. How did Lisa come with the eye-catching concept?

“I had wanted this idea of a needle book, of thread and fabric,” she explains. “I just thought I could stitch all the lyrics in. It worked out really well in the end. It took about a month to make it but I really enjoyed it.

“I’m actually sowing today as well, because we’re doing a special edition of the record,” she adds. “It’d got a live CD with it and some new videos. I’m stitching a new slip cover over the top so that’s what I’ve been up so late the last couple of nights.”

Although the singer’s first forays into songwriting were tricky, Sea Sew is the work of an artist who has found her feet.

“I used to find it very difficult,” Lisa says about the writing process. “I think it was the blank page syndrome, when you just don’t know where to start. A couple of years ago I started writing songs to some thumpy old bit, a really simple piece or a bass line. I’d write to that and figure out all the music afterwards which I found much easier.”

Lisa Hannigan is ably backed up by an excellent band. Do the musicians help her arrange her songs or does she bring finished songs to the table?

“A little bit of both,” she says. “Usually I would arrange them and say ‘this is the song’. Sometimes I’ll play it and they’ll all find their parts. It just depends really, if I see them the moment I’ve written it or whether I’ve got a couple of weeks to myself.”

Lisa and her band enjoyed a triumphant set at this year’s Electric Picnic but they didn’t have time to soak up the buzz for too long afterwards.

“I usually go down on the Thursday and get dragged out [of there] on the Monday,” says Lisa. “This year, because the Mercurys were on, I had to go down on the Saturday and leave on the Saturday evening. It was really brief! I hardly saw anything; I went for a really quick spin around the Body and Soul area and that was all I got the chance to do.”

Despite all this hurrying around, Lisa is glad to be as busy as she as is.

“I’m enjoying every minute – how could you not? The travelling and the playing, and the gigs have been going really well. I wanted to make the record, and I knew there were a couple of people waiting for it but you don’t know anything beyond that. I’m just so glad it’s gone down well – I still get really excited when I hear something on the radio!”

Before Lisa Hannigan released her album last year she embarked on a nationwide tour of small, intimate venues.

“I’d never stood at the front before,” she explains. “I really felt like I needed to do a tour and just figure it out, in front of an audience. They were brilliant those shows, it was so scary and so fun and exciting to be travelling around and doing it for the first time. I’ll always remember those shows very fondly.”

Within the space of a year, Hannigan has found herself going from these smaller places to playing bigger venues like Vicar St in Dublin and the Radisson show in Galway. Fans of the singer will be glad to know she’s excited to be coming west.

“I’m really looking forward to that gig,” Lisa says. “Galway’s one of the best place in the country to play, not just for the audience, but to just be in the city for the day. It’s always great to wake up and go ‘I’ve got four hours before sound check and I’m in Galway. Sweet!’.”

Lisa Hannigan plays the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday, December 8. Tickets €23 from Zhivago, Shop St or www.ticketmaster.ie or the venue.