https://soundcloud.com/shomo92/sets/dancing-down-ravenhill
December 2nd saw the launch of Morgan MacIntyre’s EP Dancing Down Ravenhill in the Sugar Club. Trinity’s own Morgan Macintyre has been captivating us with her sweet and soulful folk melodies since coming to Trinity in 2010. Last year she won Trinity’s Battle of the Bands and as a result opened Trinity Ball’s main stage.
Trinity’s own Morgan MacIntyre has been captivating us with her sweet and soulful folk melodies since coming to Trinity in 2010
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That following summer she supported Joan Armatrading in Belfast’s Grand Opera House, sang alongside Nancy Griffith at the Belfast Nashville Festival and played at numerous Irish festivals including The Electric Picnic, Vantastival and Sunflowerfest And all this while finishing her BA in History and Politics. I sat down with Morgan to talk about her burgeoning musical career.
When did you begin singing/song-writing and how do you feel you have progressed up until this point?
I’ve always been singing, the way children do to entertain themselves. I’d make up songs with my friends and in the back of the car in long car journeys it was when everyone else grew out of it and I kept going I felt a bit embarrassed about it. I would sing my wee songs for my family but only started taking it seriously when I was around sixteen and I began singing at parties and chancing a few of my own songs. But I was always writing, not anything unusual, they way all kids do I guess.
What is your creative process like? Do you write quickly or over time? Does the music or lyrics come first?
I’m only able to write a song worthy of keeping if I’m going through something myself
The writing process for me is always very sudden. Despite my best efforts all the songs are autobiographical so I’m only able to write a song worthy of keeping if I’m going through something myself, whether its happy or sad. But it mostly is sad, again despite my best efforts. Song writing is a complete emotional exercise for me. If I’m feeling overwhelmed I just sit down at the piano and get it all out of me in the form of a song, the worse I’m feeling, the better the song and the quicker it’s written. It’s the songs I take my time over that are normally mediocre, lacking in something. Normally the music and lyrics come together but I’m much more into my lyrics than the instrumentation, I often write little lyrics without music, I guess you could call them poems but I would never do the tune without the lyrics. I find lyrics in other people’s songs so interesting, I’m obsessed by them and obsessed with finding out what they mean to the writer. I guess that’s why I take so much pride in my own lyrics and making sure they’re decent.
Many of your songs have sweet folk melodies. Who are your musical inspirations and influences, what musician(s) do you most aspire to sound alike?
I love story telling songs, mostly love songs really. I love all the old story tellers with great nostalgic voices. Joni Mitchell is my idol. I think her songs are just perfect and I’d love to emulate her one day. Johnny cash is another hero, along with the Everly Brothers and Patsy Cline. I’m always playing sad music which isn’t always the best thing to stick on in a social situation but they are the ones I really love.
Your EP, Dancing Down Ravenhill, is coming out in December. In a few short words how would you explain this collection of songs? Are they autobiographical?
They’re all ultimately love songs but each one is of a different nature
All of the songs are completely autobiographical and filled with nostalgia, street names and real memories. They’re all ultimately love songs but each one is of a different nature. The title track is very nostalgic, about holding on to a love which isn’t really there anymore. “Butcher” is about a destructive love, where you love someone so much you start to hate them. “The Thing Is” is the purest love song you can imagine, unapologetically sweet and simple, not very sophisticated but it does what it says on the tin. And “How About Mexico” is about a love which is barely there.
Considering you are so young and have been studying in college for the past four years you have been quite successful. Do you think music is something you would pursue as a career. Do you think the Irish music scene is hospitable to new talent?
When you’re in college you have access to a whole community of young people who are ready and willing to listen to new music
I’d love to pursue music next year. I feel I owe it to myself. Having spent the last three and a bit years studying I feel like I’ve done my bit. I’ll probably head for the bright lights of London when I get a chance and try and sing for a few years to see what happens. I’m really glad I came to college first though. It’s actually benefited my music career a lot. When you’re in college you have access to a whole community of young people who are ready and willing to listen to new music. Plus I’ve met a lot of creative and very talented people in college. All my band mates are people I met in Trinity and I know my EP wouldn’t be the same without them. As far as the Irish music scene is concerned – I guess we’ll see. I’ve been lucky enough to get some good gigs in Dublin so far but this is the first time I’ve had something I could really push and send out to people. I’m hoping the future will bring good things for myself and the EP.
You can listen to Morgan’s new EP ‘Dancing Down Ravnehill’ on Bandcamp at: http://morganmacintyre.bandcamp.com/
