The Goo 1
JAN '25 WORDS: ADHAMH O’CAOIMH Cormorant Tree Oh
Mary Keane is Cormorant Tree Oh, a multi-disciplinary artist and musician from Dublin who continues to impress with her distinctly original approach to her craft. Seeking to interweave the sonic with the visual to create a distinct world while taking inspiration from folk, psychedelia, horror soundtracks and nature field recordings, Keane has garnered a nifty following of devotees. Her first self-titled album, alongside a series of illustrations, was released in 2018 and was followed by Swoontide in September 2022, her first release on the always interesting UK label, Trapped Animals label. Some choice support slots with Lankum last year certainly raised the profile of an artist that uses unconventional instruments and backing tracks to create a sound that makes her newest release Moonish one of the year's most intriguing listens. Can you tell me about the recording process for the new material? Who was involved and where what happened? I have always recorded my music at home on my laptop. My location may have altered over the years but my process has remained the same. The money and time pressures that come with recording in studios has always put me off, plus I like to work completely on my own. For Moonish I rooted out an old recording of my friend Brendan Doran playing flute which features on To Be Flowers. Ian Chestnutt also tipsily added Moog synth to some of the tracks which I really liked. Ian has mixed and produced both Swoontide and Moonish. The album was mastered by Harvey Birrell. You’ve had some remarkable live performances over the last year. How was Quiet Lights? Sweaty! But also very enjoyable and attended by a lovely bunch of storm soaked folks. I was delighted that myself and Aoife Wolf were invited to play this year. I’ve a real soft spot for Plugd and Cork in general. It’s my fave Irish city. Sorry Dublin! Where does Cormorant Tree Oh come from? There is a tree on a tiny island on the River Liffey where cormorants go to roost. The tree looks like it was struck by lightning but it was in fact killed by the bird's acidic shit. I’ve always loved the sight of these gothic looking birds warming themselves on its branches. I wrote a tiny song about it too. Lyrically, what moves you to write, and how do you approach it? Something odd happens to me before I write a new song. I usually get into a really bad mood. I feel agitated and restless, maybe like an animal before it gives birth!? There’s a strange tension and I never recognize the signs at the time. It’s only afterwards I see the pattern. I suppose my lyrics are inspired by stuff that’s happened in my life, with a few exceptions. Words and music often arrive separately. Can you tell me a little about Human Lanterns? Human Lanterns is a new band I'm in with Paul Clynes, Thom Parkes, Will Whyte and Ivan Deasy. The band came about after Paul asked me to sing on a bunch of songs he'd demoed, giving me free reign to write about whatever tickled my fancy. He then roped in the lads who are all deadly musicians. I've never tried to come up with lyrics for someone else's music before so I was sceptical of my abilities, but it ended up being a really fun process. The music is influenced by Can, Ennio Morricone, Boards of Canada, Slint and people popping their clogs in an absurd manner. How did you get involved with Trapped Animal records? Having just finished Swoontide I was hoping to find a label to release it. I saw that Maija Sophia had put out Bath Time with Trapped Animal so I sent the album to them. Joel got back to me within 24hrs and before I knew it they were on board. I was very lucky that they were so sound and willing to take a punt on a then gig shy, relatively unknown artist such as myself. Who excites you at the moment, in the Irish Music Scene? There's so much going on that I find exciting. A few standouts would be Crying Loser, Julia Louise Knifefist, Hands Up Who Wants To Die, Róis, Richard Proffitt and Natalia Beylis. Cormorant Tree Oh’s third album Moonish is out now and available to order on www. cormorant-tree-oh.bandcamp. com/ PAGE 15