Unplugged for Share a Dream Foundation - Charity EP

Unplugged for Share a Dream is a charity EP created by Martha Tuohy (15) and Eric Flaherty (17) two second-level students from Portumna, County Galway.

Share a Dream is a charity close to Martha and Eric hearts. Eric’s little sister Davina, diagnosed with a brain tumour and Hydrocephalus in 2013, was lucky enough to be in receipt of a Dream (and a Child of Courage Award) in 2014. After seeing how much Share a Dream did to make one little girl smile during a very difficult time in her life, Eric and Martha wanted to do something to help raise funds for other ill children who deserve to have their dreams come true.

Both Martha and Eric are talented musicians, Eric attends the Royal Irish Academy of Music for Piano and Martha is a receipt of the Royal Irish Academy of Music award for Vocal Performance so the idea of recording a charity EP seemed natural to the two. Familiar songs are stripped back and reworked with an acoustic leaning, firmly rooted in the piano and vocal talents of these two teens. From the outset the sound was intended to be simple, raw and emotional. “It needed to sound like we do when we play at home. It isn’t perfect but we wanted to create the idea for the listener that we were sitting down to play a gig just for them. This is how we play for our friends and family and we wanted to capture some of that feeling on the record” said Martha

The acoustic treatment is given to 4 tracks, all of which represent the varied musical tastes of Martha, Eric and their families.

The lead track is All I Want by Kodaline – this is a truly heartfelt and mature performance by the young singer. This is followed by Little Talks (Of Monsters and Men) which introduces fiddle and guitar to the mix, giving a traditional Irish tilt to the track. On a more traditional twist the EP also includes a haunting version of Danny Boy. Not the typical choice for teenagers, but a song that they love performing, and they felt the record wouldn’t be complete without it. The EP ends with Rhianna’s “We Found Love” reducing this dance track to its bare bones, but still maintaining the upbeat nature and sense of fun that these two teenagers love to bring to music.

The EP also has 2 Bonus Tracks. An instrumental version of You Raise me Up which showcases Eric’s amazing talents on the piano, and a jazzed up version of Royals by Lorde.

Martha and Eric are extremely proud of their EP and are very excited about raising money for Share a Dream. The goal is to raise enough for at least 1 dream for a child – around 2000 euro. Share a Dream is an entirely volunteer organization and does not receive any government or lottery funding and so we know that all monies raised will make a difference.

The EP will be released on Sunday 27 March with a launch in Martha and Eric’s hometown (O’Meara’s, Portumna) at 7pm.