Barcelona-based, Kildare-native Elle Leon Gallagher has released her second album, A Chara. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
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This album "reflects on the impact of friendship across countries and through time, post-emigration" and was made over the course of a year and a half with friends and collaborators.
"It's an exploration of behaviours and thought processes provoked by close relationships, circling back to friendship as the fertile ground for each kind," Elle says;.
"Whether with ourselves, family or chosen family, the subconscious, romantic entanglements and both inevitable and unexpected kinds of loss that occur within them,"
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Well, I'm definitely double-jointed (if that exists and isn't just a myth?), I fell up an escalator once and I can quote the movie School of Rock pretty much back to front.
How would you describe your music?
It's definitely music for the feelers! And for those who like to poke fun at life's trials and tribulations while doing their best at making sense of them. It's definitely melody-driven and rooted in classic singer-songwriter genres, I'd say, with theatrical flair thrown in every now and then. I'm a sucker for a good pop-rock bop just as much as I am for a ballad with a timeless essence and I'd say that's pretty evident. The heart of the song for me is always the truth sought in the story and whichever way I choose to experiment. Dressing that up in production is just adding colour to that.
Who are your musical inspirations?
My friends/bandmates would probably be the biggest source of inspiration and it's definitely been like that for the past couple of years. From how they all produce or play in different projects to how we come together moves me quite a bit and drives me to keep at this. I've a background in dance and theatre so I think I'll always be drawn to artists who entangle other disciplines into their work, like Bowie and Kate Bush. So, my all-time favourites seem to bounce between more artsy or rock genres to anything lyric-heavy or with a more folk narrative like Laura Marling or Jim Croce, who I'm especially into lately.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Paolo Nutini at Marlay Park. To be honest, I much more enjoyed Imelda May's opening set but I was in the throes of puberty and convinced he was making eyes at me at the time. Absolute notions of that.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses. I thought I was the business.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels) by Jim Croce. Ah, it's just how all the elements are placed and come together and that sing-along nerve it hits with the chorus and the wholesome backing vocals. I love the sweetness in the acoustic guitar patterns and the soft drums put to one side, all in all it's that warm production style that I’ll always take to easily.
Favourite lyric of all time?
I haven't got just one but today I'll go with Vienna by Billy Joel, and there's a few lines that get me in the gut but I'll go with the 'though you can see when you're wrong you know you can't always see when you're right'. It's a go-to for the auld overwhelm. I'm pretty sure my sister belts that out in her room from time to time as well.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I'm going to have to go with Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan because regardless of taking the rather catastrophic lyrics to heart or not I get my kicks from it. Melodically, it's so rich and just hits everything in the right way.
Where can people find your music/more information?
All the usual places; Spotify, Apple music, Tidal, Deezer, Bandcamp and other streaming platforms and on Instagram - @elleleongallagher.
Alan Corr
