Molly O'Mahony, singer with art-folk band Mongoose, has released her debut solo single, Remember to be Brave. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
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Molly has spent the past decade writing and performing with art-folk group Mongoose, who have been a fixture of the Irish music scene since their formation in 2012. The band have released two albums and two EPs and shared stages with the likes of Glen Hansard, Mary Coughlan, and Eddi Reader.
She returned to her family home in West Cork in March of last year, along with her four siblings and wrote Remember To Be Brave against the backdrop of the unfolding pandemic. It is the first release from an album she's due to record this summer.
Speaking about the song, she says, "This is a song of hope, recovery and forward movement. I send it out to everyone affected by the crazy year in our wake, and as a rallying cry to look up, open outwards and keep her lit. The world and the people in it are actually wonderful."
Tell us three things about yourself?
I’m from Ballydehob, West Cork (and proud to be).
I’ve spent the last decade making music with art-folk band Mongoose.
I identified as a dog person my whole life until I got kittens over lockdown. This prompted my having to reassess myriad things about myself I thought I knew.
How would you describe your music?
Honest. For most of my life, writing songs has been my main means of accessing and expressing my own truths. If I couldn’t find the words or the clarity in my day to day, writing lyrics and singing them helped me cut through the fog. Gutsy, raw, and heartfelt are other words that spring to mind.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Joni Mitchell for ever and again. I discovered her music when I was a teenager and it was a total and utter life-changer for me, blew my mind and heart wide open. I’ve deliberately taken all the time in the world with trawling through her back catalogue, so as not to run out of discoveries too soon. There are still albums I’m unfamiliar with and that’s just fine. I’ve got Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter on permanent spin in the car at the moment, working its slow and deep magic on me. I would count Tracy Thorn and John Martyn as big teachers in singing from the heart also, Fleetwood Mac for song writing and bad-asserie, Alex Turner for lyricism and Wallis Bird for passion and performance.
What are you most looking forward to post-lockdown?
Going to gigs (God I miss going to gigs!) and drinking pints with friends in the beer garden of Levis’ pub.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Lily by Big Love, it’s so stirring and beautiful.
Favourite lyric of all time?
For pure joy and life-affirmation, it’d have to be:
"Alive alive, I want to get up and jive. I want to wreck my stockings in some juke-box dive". - All I Want, Joni Mitchell.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
As by Stevie Wonder, it’d keep me dancing and joyful for about the longest time a song could, and it reminds me of my mum and the best of times dancing in the kitchen with my family.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
