The Point Of Everything is a podcast based out of Cork that tackles the biggest issues in the music world, near and far, every week. Expect chat, music, and int...
Declan McClafferty aka Ramper released his debut solo album Loner on March 7. Formerly a member of the award-winning Donegal band In Their Thousands, along with his brother, Declan is a session musician who plays as part of Ryan McMullan’s band. He says of Loner: "It’s about lots of things. About my childhood growing up and feeling the wheel go around when I had children of my own and I was on the other side. About the characters I grew up around and the way of life they had that’s almost unrecognisable now. It’s a reminder to keep things simple. I made it for the love of making music. Starting with nothing but ideas and ending up with 10 things that paint a bigger picture is a great lesson. Anything else that’s come along after that is a bonus - and I’m grateful for it all!"
Press release: Loner is an apt name for the album; Ramper played every instrument on the LP, which he recorded and self-produced over six months at his own home studio during stolen moments when his sons were napping. The record was mixed by Daniel Ball (Chubby Cat, Ryan McMullan) and mastered by Richard Dowling (David Bowie, Sinead O’Connor).
Ramper takes the best of primal rural simplicity and transports it into the future whilst telling the stories of our past and ever-changing present. Based on a childhood lived before the internet and in the Irish language first, Ramper captures those moments in time that are almost so simple you may not notice them at first, but when you let them settle hold a beauty that cuts through the noise. Much of his music ruminates on the slow erosion of our language and culture: “It’s not a right-wing approach that things should be conserved and locked down, or that other cultures are not welcome. It’s a lament that the culture of a place and skills like weaving, fishing or boat building are lost, while the people who should be carrying that on are in Australia and priced out of returning.”
Loner’s songs, adorned with woozy pedal steel and deftly fingerpicked guitar, are about the peace of rural living (‘Cold in the Morning’, ‘Back to the Start’), the drawn-out death of Irish traditions (‘EYES’), the struggle to accept depression (‘Pale as the Moon’), the satisfaction of a job well done (‘If You Want a Good Dream’, ‘Promised’), his culture shock upon moving to Brighton for college (‘I Can’t Pretend’) and the many lessons McClafferty learned from his neighbours growing up in Donegal. These neighbours populate the songs, bringing rich colour along with them—like the “real quiet character” on ‘Cold in the Morning’. McClafferty remembers her as “humble and kind, but not very confident. This song is remembering her and putting her at the centre of the narrative for maybe the first time.” Or there are the two very different men on the penultimate track ‘Don’t Forget to Look Up’. “One worked every hour that was sent his way until he eventually accepted retirement and the other read books, smoked cigarettes and was an alcoholic. I attended both of their funerals in the same week,” McClafferty recalls. “This song is trying to zoom out from what a life is and realise the importance of balance. Both these characters would have changed things I think.”
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TPOE 340: Maria Kelly
Maria Kelly released her second album Waiting Room on February 28. The followup to 2021's The Sum of the In-Between, the title is a very real place as Maria found herself stuck in sterile clinics hoping for answers to inscrutable chronic pain, and a dream-like, surreal space representing her own inner world. “This album is an exploration of the roadblocks, both internally and externally, that keep us feeling powerless and taking away our agency,” she says.
On this episode of the TPOE podcast, we talk about her health issues, the impact of the housing crisis, and channeling those experiences into creating Waiting Room. We also discuss her living room tour, supporting Tom Odell at Live at the Marquee, facilitating her writing night Tangent Dublin, and more.
Buy Waiting Room: https://mariakellymusic.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-room
Tangent Dublin: https://www.instagram.com/tangentdublin/
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TPOE 339: Julie Feeney
Julie Feeney won the inaugural Choice Music for her debut album 13 Songs in 2005. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Choice on March 6, Julie talks about what it was like to win the award and the impact it had on her career. We also talk about how she made 13 Songs; playing all of the instruments, including a clock, across the record; self-financing the LP; why albums still matter; and lots more.
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TPOE 338: Choice Music Prize Preview 2025 (with Tilt's John Barker)
The Choice Music Prize for Irish album of the year 2024 will be announced at Vicar Street on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Ahead of the show, John Barker from new Irish music show Tilt (Dublin City FM) joins to run through the 10 nominated acts and help predict a winner.
The 10 nominees:
A Lazarus Soul - No Flowers Grow In Cement Gardens
Curtisy - What Was The Question
Fontaines D.C. - Romance
Orla Gartland - Everybody Needs a Hero
KNEECAP - Fine Art
NewDad - MADRA
Niamh Regan - Come As You Are
Róis - Mo Léan
Silverbacks - Easy Being a Winner
SPRINTS - Letter To Self
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TPOE 337: Alannah Thornburgh
Mayo harpist Alannah Thornburgh talks about her debut album Shapeshifter, released February 12. She is inspired by the traditions of fairy folklore and mythology from rural Ireland. The project began when Alannah was commissioned to compose a piece for the Linenhall Arts Centre’s New Music in Mayo series, curated by traditional musician Emer Mayock. With the support of the Arts Council's Next Generation Award, Alannah conducted interviews with nearly 50 historians, storytellers, and locals, collecting stories and experiences that inform her music. These conversations are woven throughout the album.
We talk about all this, as well the Thornburgh family band and the influence of her saxophone-playing dad, the influence of the late Conor Walsh, and her various collaborations with the likes of Lemoncello and Varo.
Buy Shapeshifter: alannahthornburgh.bandcamp.com
Alannah Thornburgh tour dates:
April 4: The Linenhall Arts Centre, Co. Mayo
April 11: Levis’ Cornerhouse, Ballydehob, West Cork
April 12: Maureen’s, Cork City
April 17: The Cobblestone, Dublin
April 27: Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale, Co. Cork
May 9: The Duncairn, Belfast
May 10: Fennelly’s, Kilkenny
The Point Of Everything is a podcast based out of Cork that tackles the biggest issues in the music world, near and far, every week. Expect chat, music, and interviews every week
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