Just over a year ago, we featured Irish musician Aoife Doyle and her video for Clare Sky, the second single from her album Infinitely Clear, which received the highest accolade from the Irish Times, a 5-star review. Her new single Wicklow is released today and is accompanied by an animated video created by Aoife Balfe of My Aunt Sally Productions, who said:
“My Aunt Sally was delighted to get to work on this video. It was a real treat to work with a song with such evocative visual imagery and with the artist Aoife Doyle.”
As I’ve mentioned, Aoife’s vocal delivery and lyrics form a potent combination that calls to mind the likes of Joni Mitchell. Aoife Balfe’s animation taps into the feel of the song, contemporary yet shot through with folkloric threads as old as the land, which gives Wicklow its magical edge.
Aoife Doyle is originally from Bray, Co. Wicklow, and is now living in Co. Clare. While she has been performing for many years, it was upon moving to the West Coast of Ireland that she found her songwriting voice.
“In Clare I had more quiet time to reflect. The lack of billboards, traffic and other superficial stimulation makes life a lot simpler. I think nature is the most primal form of creativity and living in the country and keeping a garden etc. you’re seeing the cycle of creation from seed to plant to harvest. Watching this cycle has helped me greatly to understand the nature of creativity as well as the time, attention and care you have to give to gain a fruitful harvest. And this learning has facilitated my songwriting.”
She grew up in a house steeped in traditional and folk music.
She cites a wide and varied range of musical influences, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Alison Krauss and Eva Cassidy, as well as Marvin Gaye, Tammy Tyrell, Joni Mitchell, Beyoncé, Declan O’Rourke, Ger Wolfe and Bjork, and echoes of this intriguing mix come through to various extents on different tracks on the album.
Wicklow was produced by the highly-regarded musician, arranger and producer Michael Buckley, as was the album, “one of my best musical decisions”. Doyle is joined by a stellar band on the track, featuring some of Ireland’s most in-demand musicians, including pianist Johnny Taylor, guitarist Jack Maher, bassist Andrew Csibi and drummer Dominic Mullan.
Wicklow will be released on 12th January 2023 and is available on Bandcamp, Aoife’s website www.aoifedoyle.com and other online platforms.
Wicklow was recorded at House of Horns studio in Dublin.