It seems fitting that music would bring me back to this little space on the internet. One thing that has remained constant is my love for all things DIY LK. Formed in 2017, the lads have been consistent in the wildly talented acts they've booked for shows in Pharmacia, and let's not forget last year's smashing weekend for the second annual Féile na Gréine in August 2019. I have found that music has been a major source of solace throughout this pandemic, transporting me far away from my house in rural Kilkenny back to my beloved Limerick. There is nothing quite like the atmosphere of a live gig; hair flying, jostling bodies, and thundering drumbeats, however, this seven-band compilation DIY LK Bed Covers has satisfied my appetite for live performances for now.

There is something comforting in listening to anything DIY LK, it feels like a warm hug. The tracks in their entirety evoked an unusually large variety of emotions in me. I've spent most of the days during this pandemic sat in front of my laptop, typing hundreds of words and deleting them again, trying to finish my Master's degree. I have listened to this compilation for many of these days. I've loved the spin put on each song, I am pleased that I can detect signature sounds of each band in each track.  Bands were paired randomly and were left to choose a song to cover. For a compilation recorded at home in houses all over the country, it is remarkably polished - I was told it was a lot of back and forth sending recordings, I can only imagine how long this project has been in the works! 

I am not an expert in music terminology so you won't get a fancy review here. I guess I just wanted to show my appreciation. On May 1st, Bandcamp is waiving their fees so that musicians with their discography on the platform will receive the full amount paid! In this case, proceeds go towards Limerick-based charity Doras Luimní who protects the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in direct provision. So please, if you haven't yet, consider spending that fiver you were going to spend on another bag of chips on this compilation!

                          


Returning to the music scene is Bleeding Heart Pigeons after a hiatus, their musical abilities are showcased powerfully in this emotional cover of Casavettes' track 'Winter Smoke.' Towards the closing of the cover, there is a rhythmic instrumental that especially moves me. Micheál Keating has dazzling vocals. Cathal Histon, the band's keyboardist, and sampler told me how there is 'an incredibly friendly and supportive musical community here in Limerick and the compilation speaks to the strength of that.' Bleeding Heart Pigeons released a single titled 'Real Connection' recently, accompanied by a fantastic video created by Graham Patterson and Hugh Heffernan from Piquant Media. 

Next up is Cruiser's cover of 'Bob & Rachel' by Anna's Anchor. Ger Devine's gravelly vocals emphasize the ominous tone of the cover. I especially appreciated the harmony between Ger and Rachael Drennan's vocals during the chorus, a powerful combination that I've often heard during the band's live performances. Let's not forget the wizardry of Steve Savage and Chris Quigley! Speaking to Ger he informed me that 'Bed Covers was our attempt to put something out into the world using the means we have available to us at home.' Cruiser's work recording their second album has been put on hold during quarantine so let's hope that lifts soon so we can hear more from them!

Casavettes' cover of 'Since We Were Strangers' was the track that inspired me to write this little piece. The alternative rock band released their debut album 'Senselessness' in February of last year. Diarmuid O' Sé's vocals add such a heartwrenchingly poignant tone to the lyrics, I guess the song took me back to a time in my life when I felt similarly to the situation described in the lyrics. The song's melody is so beautiful. Diarmuid praised the song highly, saying "'Since We Were Strangers' was to be released only a week before the cover compilation so we thought it would be fun to have a cover of it so soon after. Aside from that, it's a stunning song. Lyrically, compositionally, everything'

I've been an avid supporter of 'His Father's Voice' since I first heard their anthemic single 'No Room For Romantics'. Ash O'Connor has a dazzling tonal quality, the combination of her vocals and the lyrics are stunning, her voice was running through my head throughout the writing of this. I really admire the band's ability to create energetic instrumental arrangements for song choruses and this cover is no exception. The strings and percussion combination creates an absolute headbanger. If you haven't listened to their discography yet, what are YOU doing? James from the band spoke of their cover choice, exclaiming 'Cold is a banger, so it was a bit of a no brainer the second we found we had Scenes.'

Hey Rusty puts a delightful slow spin on Cruiser's 'Rubbernecking,' it makes for a fascinating contrast. This stripped-back version of the track is honestly gorgeous. In this cover, John Ahern adds some harmonica to the cover and it honestly creates such a lovely atmosphere when you listen to the song. I also enjoyed his accent coming through the vocals, the whole cover is very soothing. John told me 'it was really fun to strip it back to just guitar and vocal. I played around with the melody and chord sequence a little to make it more like something I'd normally do.' Of Casavettes' cover of his track 'Since We Were Strangers' John gushed, 'I was really touched by Casavettes' version of the track, the guys did such a gorgeous job on it'

Last but not least we have Scenes covering Bleeding Heart Pigeon's track. I found one section of the song reminded me of the opening of Sigur Rós' 'Hoppíolla.' For me, it made the track all the more emotive, the more I listened the more the cover resonated with me. I have yet to see Scenes live but I hope when this quarantine finally ends and gigs resume that I will get the chance to. I chatted with the mastermind behind the cover, PJ Galvin who modestly said, 'I got to attempt my favourite Bleeding Heart Pigeons song and His Father's Voice turned one of my tunes 'Cold' into a super synth masterpiece. The whole thing was really fun to get stuck into and everybody produced incredible results using only the equipment they had at home'

Five months later, here I am. Picture that person who walks into a room of people and awkwardly waves. That's how I feel having returned to my blog. My first creative venture. A lot of my followers on social media and people I've met in the last few 3 or 4 years know me because of this little space on the internet. They know me as the writer, the blogger, the girl who has interviewed a lot of interesting people in Limerick city. I don't necessarily dislike that label at all, in fact I'm flattered. It's just, at this present moment it's not the label, or rather the person I am right now. I hate that I'm not as active as I once was on my blog. In the past I've cited poor mental health, college or other various things as the reasons why I haven't sat down to write. In the last year and a half I've learned a few things about me that have enabled me to worry less about being so constant in my posting.

I am a singular minded person. Meaning that I tend to focus on one thing at a time, be this academically or creatively. This isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. My main reason for not writing is because I've found myself enchanted by another creative world in recent times. I've found myself more and more engaged in the world of photography. First it was just photos to accompany the words I wrote for each post. I liked documenting my emotions and my experiences through word. 2018, as a lot of you know, was a very tough year for me. I won't get into the nitty gritty of it but I spent a lot of time feeling absolutely miserable, I can't recall how many times I cried until my head hurt. I tried and failed many times to put it into words how I was feeling.



There were very few things I found solace in. However one of those things, I discovered, was photography. At first, I just posted photos of my day to day life on Instagram, photographed on my phone. Snow covering the ground, sunsets and little details that caught my attention. Red berries, how they contrasted with the green leaves surrounding it. Then I started using my little DSLR camera more and more. I began reading about techniques and testing out different ideas. The people I've lived with were used to the sound of my camera timer beeping or asking them to pose for me while I took multiple not-so-good photos to try and improve.

I started discovering photographers that worked on series, sequences of images all with a recurring theme or story to explore. To name a few; Petra Collins, Sarah Bahbah, Emmina Saccone. All of these are women believe it or not. I began to think about exploring a feeling or an emotional story through image. So I began trying to create some of my own. I cried when I put out my first photo series 'Where does the love go?' because it was such a personal thing for me. I put my heart and soul into creating my series 'Athrá (Repetition). This time last year if you'd peeked in to my room you would have seen me sitting on the floor in my bedroom in Briarfield covered in petals, standing in front of coloured lights. Testing poses, images and shadows. Of course, it wasn't perfect. Nothing I ever create is. I refused to call myself a photographer in the beginning because I thought I wasn't good enough. But I've realized that ANYONE can be a photographer. I love looking on people's Instagram accounts, be they someone who posts photos of their dog to someone who really knows their craft. It's a little snapshot into someone's world, an insight into how they view what's around them and I think that is so fascinating.



I've always been a visual person. I'm one of those people who can't watch a film without analysing how the cinematographers set up shots, replaying my favourite scenes over and over just because I liked the colours used in that one scene. I don't claim to be an expert of any kind. In fact, I'm average. But, having something to work on and improve on is a motivator. I do see improvements in the photos I take all the time. People I talk to about photography don't realise that I memorize every little tip or constructive criticism I get and try my best to weave it into my work. If I could pin a label on my work, (is it possible really to put a definitive label on any aspect of yourself, who knows?) the best word I can come up with is experimental. I like to try everything. I think you could call my own life, 'one big experiment.'

Now when I listen to music, I imagine visuals in my head of what I would photograph to express what the words make me feel. It's a beautiful daydream world to live in. As I wrote this I was listening to a playlist of mine that I've titled 'Wavy sounds.' I'm listening to 'Someone Else,' by a musician called Tourist. I used to think of the words I would use and write pages and pages to capture how the sounds made me feel. But now, I find myself thinking in colours, in gestures, in different shades of light and shadow. When I listen to the GLORIOUS synthy instrumental in the middle of 'Die Young' by Sylvan Esso, I imagine visuals of warm embraces, golden light, soft smiles and messy hair. The human mind is the best camera if you really think about it. How many images do we have in our minds at any given moment? I've tried to explore these images, these thoughts and feelings through word and now I have turned to photography to make sense of it all.



Exploring this part of me has been truly amazing. If you scroll back on my Instagram you'll see the quality of my work wasn't so good. But whenever I cringe at that work I try to tell myself that I was merely just testing the waters and I continue to do so. I like looking back because I usually can remember how I was feeling when I took or posted a certain image. I love capturing a moment, a feeling so that I have it preserved forever. I guess it's that collector in me. I collect brochures from all the exhibitions I go to, I write down the experiences that have shaped me and I capture the world around me in as many ways as possible. I really hope I don't sound pretentious or cheesy. Maybe I am, who knows? But please don't beat yourself up if there is something you keep meaning to come back to, but something else has your attention. If there's something that excites you, focus on that. Don't try and force anything. Let it all flow as naturally as you can, I promise you'll feel a lot better about it all.

I have no idea where this venture into photography will take me. I don't know if I will ever fully return to the world of writing and blogging. Maybe I will scrap photography next year and try something entirely different? Who knows. Either way, I'm fairly glad that the people around me have allowed and welcomed this new venture of mine.

If you want to see what I'm doing in the near future, your best bet is finding me on Instagram. Until next time,