'Lockdown's been amazing, creatively'

Several talented local musicians took advantage of the recent lockdown to write new material, among them Nenagh's Conor Fahy, who will release his third single next week.

Though the idea for 'My Heart, My Soul' was conceived six years ago, Conor was inspired in the weeks of confinement in March and April to record it as a song.

"Lockdown's been amazing, creatively," the local musician reflects. "I’ve got this little home studio set up in my parents house where I’ve just figured out how I want to sound and how to get people to hear my music."

Like the first offerings in his trio of singles under Conor's new solo project, Dáwna, 'My Heart, My Soul' is a powerful tune imbued with deep feeling. Assisted by Anto Hart on percussion, Conor complements his soaring vocals with keys and cello on the track - all of which he recorded quite quickly in his home studio.

And, as was also the case with his previous releases, Conor (28) sourced the lyrical theme for his new song from events that took place years before, but which he never felt ready to release until now. He reveals that 'My Heart, My Soul' was written during his final year at NUI Galway (2013), just after he had returned home from a summer of busking in the US.

"I saw someone very close to me, during the aftermath of a pretty tough break up, go from being very closed off and afraid of getting out there to finding their confidence again and open up to someone who made them happy," Conor says of his new single. "And I didn’t really think I was noticing that at the time but then the song just showed up one day almost fully formed; it just spilled out of me in like 20-25 minutes and was by far the best thing I’d put to paper at that point in my life.

"It was probably the first time I was happy with every lyric in a song of mine. It felt and still feels very honest in explaining how hard it can be to heal from the past. 

"Fast forward six years, about four different versions of the song and a lockdown, and I’ve finally got a version of it I’m really happy with and ready to get out into the world."

Formerly playing with Nenagh band Far Haven, Conor started his own music project last year. 'Dáwna' is a nod both to the Irish word for 'bold' and the sunrise, as in 'dawn'.

Despite having time to pen new material during lockdown, Conor is quick to point out that the majority of musicians are struggling under the loss of opportunities to make income from live shows.  

"I think all creatives are starting to feel the pinch a bit from not being able to do their thing live," he says. "I’ve a headline gig in the Workman’s [Club, Dublin] booked at the end October, which I’ve no idea will actually happen. Here’s hoping." 

In the meantime, the video for 'My Heart, My Soul' will go live on all Conor's social media on Monday, August 10th. An acoustic version of the track will be out a month later on September 7th.

Thanking all for their support on the journey thus far, Conor sounded a particular note of thanks to his friend Lucy McLoughlin for creating the visual artwork to accompany his music.

See more on Conor's Facebook page and his Instagram page, 'Dáwna_music'.