ANNA MULLARKEY, the vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, and the Galway Advertiser Solo artist of the Year 2019, has just released her new mini-album, Spéir.
Featuring six songs, sung as Gaeilge, and dominated by piano and Anna's haunting voice, Spéir was inspired by the seasons and the rituals associated with them. She is accompanied on the recordings by Sam Wright (double bass ), Ciara O'Connor (cello ), and Gabrielle Gonzales (flute ).
The mini-album was commissioned by Galway 2020, and will serve as the soundtrack for the European Capital of culture programme, with its songs used for various presentations of that programme.
Spéir opens with 'Waiting For Spring', which, Anna said, "invites us to join in the forthcoming festivities, as we wait for flowers to blossom and moods to brighten". 'Summer' imagines "how it feels to be a bird flying", while 'Sky Dance' was inspired by the company Gratte Ciel, whose aerialists danced in the sky above Anna for the launch of the Galway 2020 programme last year.
Anna describes 'Larger Than Life' as a "dark electronic piece" to reflect how winter "can be dark and troublesome". Spéir concludes with 'Passing', an ambient track and "a blissful surrender to the changing of seasons".
The album is available on Spotify:https://spoti.fi/32ratul. Anna plays the Róisín Dubh on Wednesday April 22 at 9pm. Admission is €5.
