He chatted to Scott Clarke
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 4 minutes ago
Irish singer Dermot Kennedy joined Scott Clarke on Hits Radio this week to talk about his new music, including an album and single, and his upcoming tour, starting in May.
The singer has been away from the limelight for a while, quietly working on his new music, and he told Scott what it was like to be back saying: “It feels nice to be back in (music), I don’t know, in a headspace that feels quite balanced and just, you know, free from expectation in a way.”
The singer has just released his new song ‘Funeral’, from this upcoming album ‘The Weight of the Woods’, due for release in March and he told us all about the inspirations behind his work.
Listen to the full interview below:
Why ‘Funeral’ is the lead song from his album
Dermot explained why he chose ‘Funeral’ to be the first release from his album, telling Scott: “Sometimes with a song, it’s quite easy to access the meaning of the song and the way you sing it. And this song (‘Funeral’), it felt super easy, like just however triumphant it feels… It was easy to kind of throw myself into the song when I was singing it.
“And I think that’s a very good sign, I guess for me, it just, it’s all about kind of acknowledging the difficult parts of life, but trying your very best to kind of just live in love and light as much as you can.”
He continued: “I think it’s potentially sort of foolish to think like, oh, it can just be good every single day, but to try and keep it there for as long as you can.”
Dermot’s album ‘The Weight of the Woods’
Dermot’s third album ‘The Weight of the Woods’ is due for release on 27th March and chatting to Scott, Dermot revealed that the album was written and recorded between Ireland and Nashville.
Dermot explained that although he’d been working in Nashville – the home of country music – he wasn’t delving into the genre just yet: “No, I’ll definitely be inspired (by country music), but I could pretty much confidently say I won’t do this.”
However, the singer did open up about its sound saying: “The bulk of it’s made down the road from where I live. So mostly it wasn’t this kind of considered thing of like, ‘oh, I need to make this Irish sounding album’.
“I feel like that just kind of happens organically, through the instrumentation, there was a bazooki involved, there was mandolins, there was barons – like this Irish drum, a traditional drum. And so the sound just kind of showed up by itself.”
He continued: “I feel very proud to be Irish and to be part of Irish musical history and all that kind of stuff. And so it just kind of found its feet in that way.”
His tour
Coming up later this year, Dermot will be on tour in the UK and he opened up about his decision to perform at larger venues, including stadiums and arenas, following the intimate gigs of last year.
Dermot will start his tour in Copenhagen in May before coming to the UK and Ireland for several gigs in May, June and July.
He explained to Scott: “I just want to take that feeling from the smaller venues and bring it to those shows and I think that’s quite doable. I think sometimes you can be led to believe like, ‘Oh, I’m playing an arena, there needs to be this much going on and the show needs to be like this to keep it’ and it’s just like, I don’t know.
“I’ve been reminded time and time again for the last 10 years that the music isn’t off, you know? And if you can get the right people in that room, they feel the same way. So yeah, you don’t need to overthink it.”
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Take a look through some of Dermot Kennedy’s biggest songs:
2017: ‘Moments Passed’
‘Moments Passed’ was a song released by Dermot Kennedy in 2017, the song was also included on several of his releases including his debut album ‘Without Fear’, his EP ‘Mike Dean Presents: Dermot Kennedy’, and his compilation album ‘Dermot Kennedy’.
Watch the music video on YouTube.
2018: ‘Power Over Me’
‘Power Over Me’ was Dermot Kennedy’s first successful song in the UK charts reaching the Top 30. The song was also featured on Dermot’s debut studio album ‘Without Fear’.
Watch the music video on YouTube.
2019: ‘Outnumbered’
‘Outnumbered’ is one of Dermot Kennedy’s biggest songs. He released it in 2019 and it became a Top 10 hit here in the UK and his native Ireland. The song was written by Dermot along with a team of writers.
Watch the music video on YouTube.
2019: ‘Lost’
‘Lost’ was a song released in Ireland by Dermot Kennedy in 2019. The song was fairly successful reaching Number 26 in Ireland. In an interview with Songwriter Universe he told of the inspiration behind writing the song.
“I think with that song, the key line is the first line in the chorus: ‘If only you could see yourself in my eyes, you’d see you shine,'” he explained. “When you love somebody—be it in your family or partner, and you wish they had a higher idea of themselves, and you wish they could seem themselves the way you see them.
“I found myself in that situation quite a bit, where you wish they could have a higher self-esteem and to see themselves in a more complimentary way. So that’s what that song is. I find that so much of my songs are messages to the people I care about, which is obviously nothing new in art. But I wish certain people would see themselves the way I see them.”
2020: ‘Giants’
Another hit song written by Dermot Kennedy along with a team of writers, ‘Giants’ was the lead single from this Number 1 album ‘Without Fear’. Dermot admitted in an interview with Songwriter Universe that he wasn’t sure about the song originally. He told them: “He (Louis Bloom president of Island Records) was mad into that one. And I was like, ‘Nah…I’m into every other one, but not that one.’ Then it took me a long time, but I got there eventually.”
Back in 2020 he also spoke to us about the song saying: “It feels strange, and it certainly feels weird to just release a song and not be able to tour it.
“It does feel different, but it also feels like a welcome break too.”
Watch the music video on YouTube.
2021: ‘Better Days’
Dermot Kennedy released ‘Better Days’ in July 2021. The song was written by Dermot during the Coronavirus Pandemic and in a press released he revealed: “This is a song about patience.
“It’s about believing in something brighter, and never losing sight of better days, no matter how hard things might get. In a time where so many people feel worried and exhausted, I would love for this song to remind even one person that things will improve.”
He continued: “As an artist, I feel somewhat responsible to try to make people feel a little better, whether that’s making them think of someone they love, or just taking their mind off their problems for the length of a song. So this is my contribution to hopefully providing some people with a moment’s solace. Better days will come”
Watch the music video on YouTube.
2022: ‘Something to Someone’
Released in May 2022, ‘Something to Someone’ was the lead single from Dermot’s second album, ‘Sonder’. The track reached Number 2 on the Irish Singles Chart and charted at Number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.
2022: ‘Kiss Me’
‘Kiss Me’ was released in September 2022 and features on Dermot’s second album ‘Sonder’. The song reached Number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and Number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Now read:
Dermot Kennedy: How the ‘Better Days’ singer became famous
Dermot Kennedy’s biggest songs from ‘Outnumbered’ to ‘Paradise’
JADE on touring, supporting other artists and her musical ambitions
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.hellorayo.co.uk ’
