GALWAY POP-ROCK outfit The Opacas launch their debut album Carpe Diem tomorrow Friday, September 29, with a midnight show in the Róisín Dubh.
The gig marks The Opacas’ third birthday. Born as a virtual ensemble during the 2020 lockdown, Steve Talbot, Peter Tobin, Pat Boyle, Joe Treacy, Mike McLoughlin and Leeds-based guitarist Mark Raynor have transitioned into a live touring and performing band.
Carpe Diem will feature the essential Opacas mix of pop, rock, blues, and Americana. It will showcase new material, and include current singles from debut ‘Out Of My Mind’ to the recent , ‘Shine On’, recorded with the Moycullen Musical Society.
During the Covid lockdown in March 2020 when live music performances were suspended, the band’s members used mobile phone apps to compose and share music with each other. They finally got to meet in person when recording the video for ‘Out Of My Mind’ in a Salthill pub in September 2020.
This began a slew of singles from the Galwegians, accompanied by imaginative and inventive videos, often recorded in collaboration with other performers from various fields.
Singles such as ‘She Walks Away’ and ‘We Won’t Look Back’ featured story-based videos with actors from the Knocknacarra Amateur Theatre Society and Athenry Drama Group. The band also created stripped down, piano-only video versions showcasing creations from visual artists Aoife Dowd and Patrick Kenneally, and photographer Dr Chaosheng Zang.
The Opacas most recent single ‘Shine On’ is a tribute to a close work colleague who died suddenly in 2019 at the age of 42. The melody is a call to the universe for his spirit to shine on, as the lyrics encompass the need to embrace the transience of life.
The creation of the song, and its debut performance in Galway’s historic St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, was captured by emerging Galway filmmaker Greta Thornton in a documentary screened at the Eye Cinema in April.
Admission is free and the gig starts at midnight. Support is from singer-songwriter Tomás Ó Cáinte who released his debut single, ‘Grand Canyon’ this month. For more information see www.Opacas.com
