No time to sleep as singer Niall lives the dream

Niall Connolly celebrates the launch of Sound, his sixth studio album, with a show at The Crane Bar on Sunday, April 21. The Cork-born, New York-based songwriter recorded the album in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with his bass player Brandon Wilde taking on production duties.

“I deliberately took my time with it,” says Niall. “I wasn’t feeling under pressure with it timewise. All told, we probably started it a year ago. We were gigging the whole time as well, figuring out the songs in a live context and then being able to arrange them slowly and precisely in the studio as well. Which has not always been the case!

“I did a real sparse acoustic album with Brandon in 2011 that I recorded in three days,” Niall continues. “The album before that, in 2010, was done in very tiny studio, a lo-fi recording. I like these albums but they were done with constraints of time and recording equipment. I wanted to go back to doing a more full band production.”

One of the standout tracks on Sound is Lily of the Mohawks, which was inspired by a late-night stroll that took Niall past St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. On that quiet street, an engraving of Lily of the Mohawks captured his eye.

“I went home and did some research in my vast encyclopaedia – Google!” Niall says. “I found out that she was the first of the Mohawk family to be beatified by the Church. Surely the contrast of the Mohawk and the Catholic tradition couldn’t be any different?

“So I started thinking about the contrast of that, and also the Irish connection in St Patrick’s Cathedral. It made me think of the dream of the Celtic Tiger and the reality of it; the failed promise in both. So I wrote about 118 verses and I picked my favourite four!”

Niall Connolly lives in Brooklyn, which is seen as something of a creative hub. Being based in New York certainly has its upsides, he says.

“I love it – it’s great for music. Officially, there are eight million people in New York. The sheer population allows me to play all the time, reach a new audience, and go back to the same bed! Whereas when I was at home, you had to be touring all the time. I mean, I enjoy touring but I enjoy it more when I don’t have to do it!

“The other thing is the number of fantastic musicians,” he adds. “There are brilliant musicians at home of course, but people come here to try and achieve some sort of career. I know for some people it ends up being Plan B or C and they’re doing a load of other jobs, but the fact of the matter is there are world-class bass, players, drummers and guitar players here.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.