Off the Shelf is KLOF’s semi-regular feature in which we invite artists to pick ten objects from their homes that hold meaning — for their daily life, their musical practice, or the overlap between the two. Our latest guests are Lemoncello, the Dublin-based duo of Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella, whose second album Perfect Place arrives on May 8th via Claddagh Records.
Co-produced by Ruth O’Mahony Brady (Lisa O’Neill, Gorillaz) at her studio in Cabinteely, Dublin, Perfect Place follows their critically acclaimed 2024 self-titled debut and confidently weaves synths and electronic percussion into the duo’s organic sound. Written and recorded over two years, the album began during an artist residency in late 2023 in a cabin overlooking the Skellig Islands off Kerry’s southwest coast. From there, Quirke and Kinsella spent a year exchanging voice notes and demos before bringing the material into the studio.
The resulting album addresses both the personal and the collective — the way external pressures find their way into intimate relationships, and the difficulty of navigating an increasingly unstable world. As Quirke puts it: “Sometimes to be clear emotionally you need to be abstract lyrically but you can’t be afraid to take everything off and just stand there completely vulnerable.” Lead singles Meet Me Halfway and album opener Articulate Animal point to a record unafraid of its own tender edges.
Given that openness, it feels fitting that the objects Quirke and Kinsella have chosen to share here tell their own small stories — of places visited and returned to, of gifts received and treasures found second-hand, of the things that sustain a creative life between records. What emerges is a portrait of two artists whose work, like the objects around them, has been shaped by attention, by patience, and by the people in their lives.
Off the Shelf with Lemoncello
Claire Linsella
I’m in the middle of moving house at the moment, which actually was surprisingly good for digging out things I have that I had forgotten about for a couple of years.
The Bothy Band record
Purchased in Letterkenny’s finest Universal Books and Records, an amazing independent second-hand bookshop on Church Lane. You could find absolutely anything in there, so many amazing rare records, books, vintage figurines, instruments, videotapes, cassettes and everything in between. I picked this classic up the last time I was there, The Maids of Mitchelstown arrangement is pure mesmerising.
Hand-painted Frida Kahlo notebook from Mexico
This was a gift from Laura from her trip to Mexico about 3 or 4 years ago. She said the lady was painting them right there on the street. As is with all of my beautiful notebooks, it was blank for a long time, imposter syndrome of writing in such a beautiful thing creeping in. Then I decided to use it for writing notes for musical projects I’ve been involved with. So far in there, there’s notes from a project with my pal Gareth Quinn Redmond, cello notes for a Junior Brother show, lyrics as Gaeilge for songs I sang for a show curated by Bob Gallagher, and some Lemoncello set lists. I need to dust it off again and add more as these are a few years old!
A borrowed fiddle
This fiddle was given to me on lend from Tom Mulligan of The Cobblestone pub in Smithfield. I’m very much enjoying scratching away on it and learning some Donegal-style fiddle tunes. The beginning of a long journey, but it’s very fun. Myself and Jordan caught some tunes with my uncle Martin McGinley last time I was home. Learning tunes is an addictive process; approach with caution.
My Dublin plant
I bought this Monstera when I first moved into Dublin in 2018, and she’s still with me, despite many years of neglect, fair play to her. It maybe is reflective of life in Dublin over the last 8 years, becoming rooted to the place, feeling neglected at times, being squeezed for everything you’ve got, bits of you dying with it, but against all odds, still here, surviving, growing.
A sticker on the fridge
A gift from my sister Amy, this sticker perfectly combines my two great loves, The Simpsons x Donegal/Daniel O’Donnell. It’s the ending from one of the greatest episodes of all time, where Homer’s boss Mr Burns threateningly adds a ‘don’t forget, you’re here forever’ sign in his workplace. Homer covers letters in the sign with pictures of his daughter Maggie, so it instead reads ‘do it for her’. This alternative version speaks to me greatly.
Laura Quirke
Shop bought roses
A little bit of self care goes a long way and these humble Tesco coral roses do it for me. Orange peel optional. Having things around me that evoke the senses, colour, smell, touch, taste help to take me out of my busy worry brain and into the present moment.
It Chooses You : Miranda July
I have become a huge Miranda July fan since I read her book ‘All Fours’ last year. I read this one of hers recently on a trip to the US. It really blew me away. She made this book in 2009 while she was procrastinating writing a screenplay. At that time, there was a classifieds booklet that was distributed to everyone by post called the Pennysaver (like a physical version of Donedeal or Adverts) where people put things up for sale who didn’t have access to the internet or didn’t want to bother with it. The items for sale ranged from leather jackets to Care Bears, tadpoles, baby leopards and Christmas cards. Under the guise of research for the screenplay, Miranda decided to go to a select few of the seller’s houses, interview them and have Brigitte Sire take (beautiful!) photos of them. Each person is someone completely unique, living on their own path. Miranda July’s angle, humour and her way of asking questions is so honest, funny and weird that it gets right to the heart of these people’s lived realities. I found it so moving and heartbreakingly relevant to today as well. I was weeping on the plane, reading it towards the end.
A photo of my brothers on holiday
A photo I took of my brothers on holiday. I like this one because they are each such different characters, and I feel this comes across in their body positions. I’ve been trying my best taking some film photos recently and really enjoying it.
Wood carving of a swan
This little wood carving of a swan from Michael Quirke in Sligo. My dad’s name is also Michael Quirke. We love going there and having the chats with him. He asks you what your favourite creature is and then tells you stories of that creature in Irish mythology and folklore while carving. I feel this little object has magic powers.
Drawing of the Perfect Place album artwork
This is a drawing I made of the Perfect Place album artwork while listening to a demo of the song Perfect Place after Claire laid down cello on the song for the first time. I like to doodle while listening to music and this came through without me really thinking about it. As soon as I saw the idea on the page, I knew it was the album artwork. I love how playful the see-saw-like balance feels on top of that pylon sort of thing. The image is playful and yet dangerous and precarious, speaking to the themes of the album. The two figures depend on one another. If one lets go, the two of them fall off. So they stay suspended in time, holding on to each side for dear life, feet dangling in the sky. The final image that Sophie O Donovan art directed, Erica Coburn photographed, Lorenzo Papace made the structure for & Sarah Flanagan styled, is better than we could have ever dreamed of. There’s a lyric in the song Perfect Place that I think is one of the lines on the album that ties the thing together – the moment we’re in, despite how unstable and unpredictable is the only moment we have.
Be nice to start off in The Perfect Place,
But life isn’t like that, life isn’t like that.
Clear eyes open ready, no layers covering your face
But life isn’t like that, life isn’t like that.
Pre-Order/Save Perfect Place (Claddagh Records – May 8th): https://lemoncello.lnk.to/PerfectPlace
Lemoncello Tour Dates
Thu 26 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Fri 27 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Sat 28 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Sun 29 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
Wed 6 May – Glasgow, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Thu 7 May – Leeds, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Fri 8 May – The Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
Sat 9 May – Stroud, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Sun 10 May – London, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Mon 11 May – Bristol, UK (Joshua Burnside support)
Tue 12 May – Theatreship, London, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
29–31 May – Night & Day Festival, Roscommon, IE
24–26 July – Deer Shed Festival, UK
23–26 July – WOMAD Festival, UK