Friday / Dé hAoine
Sorcha Durham is a songwriter and composer based in Dingle on the West Coast of Ireland. Combining a deep love for piano with intense synth melodies and dreamy vocals, Durham writes ambient pop songs that are both ethereal and fierce.
Tá Sorcha Durham thar n-ais ar an stáitse! Le tacaíocht óna seanachara as Walking on Cars, Evan Hadnett ar na drumaí – ná caill amach ar an ngig speisialta seo i Séipéilín an Dísirt.
Out of college and at a loose end, she and some friends got together in a kitchen one day to have a jam. They formed a band (Walking On Cars) and would go on to be one of Ireland’s biggest musical exports. Fast forward ten years and a number one album later, triple platinum selling single “Speeding Cars” in the bag and sold out tours spanning the whole world, the band decided to call it a day in early 2020.
After a deep breath, Sorcha decided to take some time to mould her own artistic vision. “Making music is a fundamental part of my being so I naturally turned to that to help me process everything”. Having always had an interest in synthesis she enrolled in a music production course in 2020. This gave her the technical foundation to start creating the music she wanted to make. “Combining the organic sound of the piano and my voice with electronic elements like vintage synths and Drum machines is what really excites me”. Going solo and writing her own songs without the band was a whole new challenge. “It was refreshing but daunting at the same time… These songs are my first chance to tell my own story.”
Gathering all the gear they could find, Sorcha and her fiancé Ben set up shop in the spare room. They spent countless nights writing and re-arranging until they got to the core of Sorcha’s vision. Over a year of postponed studio dates later, the whole project was pretty much finished at home. The only thing missing was ‘real piano’ so they shipped off to Cork to record the final touches with Christian Best in Monique Recording Studios along with some live drums played by Alex Ridley (Dáithí, Houseplants).
What came out of the process is a four track EP called All I Wanted. Released in May 2023, it’s a collection of tracks full of heartache, anger and hope. The first single ‘Fireside’ was praised by Nialler9 for its ‘ambient pop mood’. Her follow-up single ‘Heart & Soul’, and ‘Don’t call me Darling’ have enjoyed airplay across Ireland. The Irish Times listed her as an artist to look out for that year, and she was tipped as Hot for 2023 by Hot Press.
Having found a new lease for musical life, she’s already working on the next batch of songs and is ready to take on the world again “A captivating listen that finds its power in Durham’s performance.”- The Last Mixed Tape
“Sorcha Durham continues to impress post-Walking On Cars with her second single Heart And Soul’.”- Golden Plec
“Melding her proficiency in the piano, her primary instrument, Durham sensitively combines that with melancholic electronic motifs that are all at once infectious and intimate.” – Totally Dublin
“Large-scale in its scope and reach, the big music of Sorcha Durham’s ‘Fireside’ unfurls within a widescreen, dramatically charged production brought to the fore by Durham’s commanding presence.” – The Last Mixed Tape
“…imbued with melancholy and minor, drawn-out chords.” – The Sunday Business Post
https://linktr.ee/SorchaDurham
https://youtu.be/fc3WYCmMSrg?feature=shared
