Q&A: Irish musician Declan O’Rourke
Tara Shaskey catches up with critically-acclaimed Irish musician Declan O’Rourke ahead of his New Plymouth show with French Canadian group Vishten.
I read your upcoming tour in New Zealand will be your first time here, are you excited?
I have been to New Zealand before, around 1998 for a couple of weeks. We have some close family friends from Palmerston North so spent Christmas there that year. But I’m really looking forward to coming to play music for the first time.
Is there anything you plan to do or see while in the country?
Last time I was there I was taken to a party at someone’s house. Most of the folks there were Ma¯ori. We had a sing song, and the way they were all singing together was really like the family gatherings I grew up with. Everyone sang and joined in. It was a spiritual experience I never forgot. I’d like to see more of that.
How would you describe your music?
Brilliant! Haha… Well I’m mostly a storyteller, but sometimes my songs are from somewhere within. Always honest. There’s humour, darkness, beauty, and hope, and stories. No point sittin’ in one gear all the time. Stylistically I wander all over the place. Musically I work solo a lot with an acoustic guitar, but I’m not really your basic strummer, there are so many colours, I’m very proud of my guitar style.
What sparked your passion for music?
It’s always been there, and I always loved it, and felt connected to it. It was always a source of tapping in for me. Like a little world you could relax inside, and be free with. Nowadays we probably call that meditation, a connection to the source, but it’s more playful than that.
If you could share a meal with any musician, past or present, who would it be and why?
I think someone like Bach would be really interesting, wouldn’t he? I might need a translator though.
What inspires your songwriting?
All kinds of things, but I think the biggest thing is you have to be moved by something, or tickled enough to say ‘‘I want to share that feeling’’.
What’s next for you, are you working on any new material?
I’ve just sent my sixth record to print and it comes out the week after I return from NZ. It’s called Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine, and is a collection of original songs I researched and wrote over the last 16 years. It’s in the style of a lot of the traditional music I was raised on and has been a labour of love.
What can the audience expect from your upcoming shows?
With a bit of luck they will leave feeling a little dizzy, like they don’t know what happened in the room. And with a little luck I’ll feel the same way. I never play the same show twice. I like to connect with an audience and respond to what happens there in the moment. I play songs from all across my career and always include newest songs.
❚ Declan O’Rourke and Vishten will play at the 4th Wall Theatre on Wednesday, October 11.