Ailbhe Reddy: ‘The Irish music scene is deserving of lots of funding and love’
Ahead of her performance at Common Threads festival in The Burren this weekend, we caught up with Ailbhe Reddy to hear about the making of her upcoming third album, and the ways in which a song’s meaning can be given over to the listener to interpret as needed.
An artist who’s been carving out her own alt-indie-folk niche since she first arrived on the scene with her 2016 EP, Hollowed Out Sea, Ailbhe Reddy’s emotional sensitivity has made her a force to be reckoned with. Her debut album, Personal History, was nominated for an RTÉ Choice Music Prize, and her sophomore album, Endless Affair, released last year, asserted the artist as a lyricist with a unique ability to delve into the personal and emerge with the universal.
Currently working on her third album that’s set to be released next year, Ailbhe is travelling into The Burren this weekend to tease crowds gathered at Common Threads: A Voyage of Music & Art with some new songs. Taking place from 11-12 October in North Co. Clare, the festival also includes performances from John Francis Flynn, House Plants, and Negro Impacto.
Tell me about your start in the industry. Was a career in the music business always something you aspired to?
I always wanted to be a songwriter, as a kid I was always making up songs and teaching myself instruments and different covers to play. I would come up with incredibly depressing songs and a life I hadn’t really experienced yet, which is pretty funny looking back. I took myself really seriously too, much to the amusement of all the adults around me! So yeah, I always wanted to be in a band. I never thought I’d be a singer, but I suppose that’s just how things shook out because I was always writing.
What is your approach to songwriting?
I always think a song feels most scary and personal when it’s just yours, before everyone else has listened to it. From the moment you show it to anyone else, it becomes less and less scary because it feels like it takes on its own little life and belongs to each listener instead. For instance, I’m in the middle of recording my third album and even though my producer Tommy (who has also worked with Villagers, Pillow Queens, and SOAK) and the musicians playing on the songs are the only ones who’ve heard them, the songs are already feeling a little bit less mine and more ours. It’s my favourite bit.
Lucy Dacus has this great line in a song —
“In five years I hope these songs feel like covers, dedicated to new lovers.”
I think that’s about how we give away our songs a bit.
How, then, does it feel to have people interact with and relate to your lyrics?
It’s really incredibly fulfilling to have people message saying they love a lyric, or having people sing along.
What can we expect from your set at Common Threads later this month?
I’ll be doing a few little new songs and a few little old songs. A nice mix and probably the most stripped-back you’ll see me play for a long time.
Who else are you most looking forward to seeing on the Common Threads lineup?
Dan Smith and Sorcha Richardson, but of course.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Getting to work with people I love and admire, getting to travel, getting to do something I love and make something new from scratch every few years.
Who are some of your big sonic inspirations?
Big Thief, Julia Jacklin, Jeff Buckley, The Shins, Andy Shauf. I could keep going. It’s changing all the time.
What are your thoughts on the Irish music scene?
It’s deserving of lots of funding and love. It’s a shame to see so many venues close down and so many radio shows that promote Irish music struggle. I wish those things could be supported and thrive so much. There are lots of passionate, talented people and I want to see them succeed and get opportunities.
What is the main piece of advice you would give an up-and-comer in the industry?
Tricky one. Find people you trust and stick together. Always share with each other and help each other. Be part of the scene.
What do you hope your music evokes in the listener?
Whatever they need to feel in that moment.
What’s your favourite lyric from a song that you love?
I love that Lucy Dacus lyric I pointed out and I’m currently enjoying this Soccer Mommy lyric from ‘Bloodstream’, which is very poetic.
“Happiness is like a firefly on summer free evenings
Feel it slipping through my fingers but I can’t catch it in my hands”
That song is a masterpiece!
Who are three up-and-coming acts we should have on our radar, Irish or otherwise?
Maria Kelly, Patricia Lalor and Dose.
Over a year on from the release of Endless Affair, do you have plans for your next release?
Yes, I’m almost finished my third album, which will be out next year, so I’ll be doing some touring and such by the end of 2025.
Photography by Su Mustecaplioglu.
Common Threads: A Voyage of Music & Art takes place 11-12 October in The Burren, Co. Clare.
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