Irish musician Aoife Doyle has released a video for Clare Sky, the second single from her upcoming album Infinitely Clear. The video was shot and co-directed by Aoife’s brother Ógi Doyle and photographer, videographer and drone pilot Matthew Kelly.
Ógi says:
‘When I listened to the song, I could hear that there was a lot to the lyric. But there’s an overall sense of longing or missing someone. And the big sky is a soothing force. It’s a modern folk song, and I wanted to bring the old into the new. I liked the idea of portraying the old Irish tradition of storytelling and singing around the fire. So the video begins in the cottage with Aoife narrating the story from the fireside. From there, we travel to different locations as if on a journey through the storyteller’s imagination. I wanted to portray Clare’s beautiful Skyline, but I didn’t want to shoot the very iconic locations in the county, so I chose some less known places which have equally beautiful skylines. Our intention was to capture shots which had epic contrast between the sky, the sea and the land, with dramatic changes from green fields to lake to Burren and cliff edge.
Matthew and I decided we would use props throughout to represent the memory of the person. We used the kite, the scarf, the windmill, the feather to portray them being carried along on the wind. Sometimes they’re very obvious, and sometimes they’re in the background. But always somewhere symbolising the sense of longing.’
Aoife Says:
‘Ógi is very creative and works in many different artistic mediums. Having worked in the maritime industry and the coastguard for many years he has a unique knowledge of the landscape and coastline in Co. Clare. We talked about making a video for the song, and Ógi came up with the concept and scouted out all these very beautiful, less frequented locations. Our friend Matthew Kelly joined us which was wonderful as he also has a unique perspective on the landscape from his many years exploring as a drone pilot. He took these epic drone shots of the coastline, the Burren and the lake. Matthew is a musician and has made many music videos. With his vast knowledge and experience he knew exactly how to capture what we were looking for. I had an absolute ball making this video and learned so much from them both.’
Clare Sky was produced by musician Michael Buckley and features pianist Johnny Taylor, guitarist Jack Maher, bassist Andrew Csibi and drummer Dominic Mullan.
While the video accentuates the song, the real highlight is Aoife’s dreamy vocals and the care she places, not only in the lyrics but in how she delivers them; when she sings “watch the tide rolling in”, you can almost sense that tide. She never fails to “…paint you a picture, a picture made out of words…”.
Clare Sky is out now on streaming services and Bandcamp: https://smarturl.it/ClareSky
More here: https://www.aoifedoyle.com/