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work with without fearing throwing an idea at him
. No matter how stupid an idea he’ll always take it on board and we’ll work together on it.” The ideas presented across The Hill are amongst Hanna’s boldest. He goes to extreme depths with the instrumentation (mostly influenced by Italian film composer Riz Ortolani’s superb soundtrack for Cannibal Holocaust) in how he and his band move between epic Morricone-like sweeping orchestrations to sweetly sung melodies and strong leanings toward Jacques Brel’s distinct theatricality. Recorded in the remote setting of Cork’s Baltimore, over a seven day period in May of 2019, Hanna was joined by his band of Dan Fox and Adam Faulkner (also of Girl Band) with Daniel Fitzpatrick of Badhands completing the set. Now with the finished product ready to be unleashed to its audience, Hanna is faced with the arduous cycle of press coverage and reviews surveying his work. Recently, in Irish press, he was described as “A veteran of Ireland’s indie scene.” More often than not, Hanna’s name is followed by weighty labels such as “hugely important”, “influential” and “undersung”. Leading up to the critique phase of releasing new material, how does he receive assessment of his work? “I’m still suspicious of it. Before I got good reviews, I got a lot of especially not good reviews and even being totally ignored. I’m totally grateful and it’s very flattering, especially after years of trembling nervously to open a music publication to see what someone has said only for them to go to town on your single. Even today my hand trembles!” he laughs, while doing a dramatic recreation of the act. “When you see a good review, it’s not like ‘Yay!’ It’s more an ‘Oh, thank God!’ exhale of relief. I suppose the turning point came for me in 2013 when a band I was in received a takedown for some of our songs that featured on a compilation. I accepted it and it actually proved to be helpful because I knew the songs weren’t recorded in a way I was happy with. This was the catalyst for me writing and recording Leafy Stiletto [Hanna’s 2014 solo debut]. Essentially, the launching pad for me going solo was a bad review. I’m very grateful for that. Negative journalism can be a great thing. Don’t people say that? Sometimes people make good points and you have to take that on board. Journalism is important.” On Jog On Shall We, a diary-entry featured towards the end of The Hill, Hanna utters closely into the microphone, “My heroes are always underachievers.” Burt Bacharach, one can safely assume, breaks that mould. Last summer, Hanna opened for the legendary songwriter and musician on the Irish leg of his tour. So, what happened when Paddy met Burt? “The first time I met him, his wife came to me and said, ‘Hey, Paddy. Burt wants to say hello!” he chuckles. “I was extremely nervous. What do you say to someone who’s met them all; Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin... the list goes on. She brought me onto the stage of the Iveagh Gardens, it was during the day so the place was empty. Burt was alone, playing the piano and she introduced me. He looked up from the piano, kept playing, and said, ‘Hey Paddy, how’s it going?’ He was excessively cool!” Hanna beams as he recounts the moment. On one night of the tour, Paddy joined Bacharach to perform Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. The aftermath involved Bacharach leaning into Hanna to say, “You did good, kid.” You can see from his expression just how much that exchange meant to him. “That was a really cool moment for me, having been that kid who sang one of his songs for the Leaving Cert,” he smiles. “After, the band came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you did it much better than Joss Stone the other night!’ Now that brought me infinite joy!” On the cusp of releasing a body of work with all the hallmarks of a masterpiece, only three records into his solo career, it’s impossible not to perceive Paddy Hanna – his lyricism, sound and general persona – in the same light as his incredible stories; full of comedy, utterly captivating and completely legendary. The Hill will be released on October 18th via Strange Brew Records. paddyhanna.bandcamp.com 55