EDEL MURPHY, a singer, actor, and musician from Dublin, has toured globally with Celtic Woman and performed as a soprano soloist in Riverdance.
In her album Motherland Songs Edel showcases folk anthems and modern classics.
She released her debut EP Bluebonnet Spring in 2015
This week she spoke to the Irish Post about the power of storytelling, her upcoming album Motherland Songs, and how memories of Sligo summers and stage dreams have shaped her sound...
Dublin woman Edel Murphy (Pic: David Cleary)What are you up to today?
Juggling my day job and preparations for my gig in June! We’ve recently finished production on the album – Motherland Songs – and now all my energy is focused on making the launch as special as it can be. We’ve been in the studio getting the album finished for the last few months, so it’s been a little while since I’ve been on stage and I’m so eager to get back up there.
Which musician or singer has most influenced you?
At the risk of sounding clichéd, it’s hard to choose one. From the Nanci Griffith, Queen, and Bob Dylan tapes that my parents played on the drives to Ballymote to visit my grandparents, I received my first lessons in emotive, beautiful storytelling. It’s something I strive to carry through into my own performance – the importance of the story, the character telling it, the emotion in the voice and the connection to the listener.
What’s on your smartphone playlist at the minute?
It’s a mixture of new and old with a healthy dose of nostalgia in there. CMAT has the top spot at the moment, her song I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby! is on repeat. The Gloaming’s Samhradh Samhradh is a stunning version of a tune I remember singing in a choir as a child. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kate Bush, Yola, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen are all regulars. Tim Minchin’s Apart Together is a favourite. Carsie Blanton’s Harbor is on there, which is a great song that we ended up covering for our own album.
How would you describe your new album and live show?
We call it a ‘historical jukebox’. Back in 2018 my friend, longtime collaborator and producer Ewan Cowley and I discussed the concept of a new music show centred on female stories that draw from the wealth of brilliant female musicians and songwriters from Ireland, America and abroad. The show grew from there and we lovingly crafted new arrangements of songs from the greats like Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Kate Bush, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton – the list goes on and is replete with songs that are a singer’s dream to perform, and which tell women’s stories of struggle and celebration from the Dustbowl, through the protests of the 1960s, right up to the tumult of today. From the show came the album and a chance to bring our interpretations of these well-loved songs, along with some original tunes, to a wider audience.
Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine?
Howard Shore – The Battle of the Pelennor Fields. It brings me to tears.
What is your favourite lyric from one of your own songs?
Careless Hands, my original song on Motherland Songs, has the lyric: “Make room on your shoulder / for the Devil who told you / to put your heart into Careless Hands.” On the surface it’s a love song with a ‘shrug and get on with it’ kind of narrative, but as I wrote it I realised that it was really about ignoring my discomfort for the comfort of others – something I think a lot of women have been raised to do, which is why it found its home on this album of women’s stories.
Is there a book / piece of poetry / piece of writing that has been a major influence on you?
JRR Tolkien wrote: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” It’s a phrase that has stuck with me through the highs and lows of my life and career, and is something I repeat to myself when I need reassurance or a bit of perspective.
What are your musical ambitions?
With this album I’ve achieved one of them already! We’ve worked for so long on it and to have the album set for release is indescribable. My goal now is to tour the show at home and abroad, to bring it to new audiences. I also want to keep writing songs and keep developing musically.
Which musicians / artists would you like to work with?
A chance someday to sing with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra is a dream that is, I hope, achievable!
What are your Irish roots?
I’m a Dub, born and bred. My Dad is from Finglas but as my mother is from Ballymote in Sligo I spent much of my childhood there visiting my grandparents. Eating 99s with strawberry sauce at Strandhill is a very happy memory.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
The back roads of County Sligo along which my Grandad would zip in his car, honking the horn before each bend in the road with us kids piled in the back.
What would you say has been your proudest moment on stage?
The day that my Granny came to see me perform as lead vocalist on the Gaiety Theatre stage. She couldn’t often travel from Sligo to Dublin at that time because of her health, but she came. I could see her from the stage, beaming.
What has been your favourite venue to perform in?
I have been so lucky. I’ve performed in Radio City Music Hall, in Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, in the Hammersmith Apollo in London – stages I previously had only dreamed about visiting. It’s never just the venue – it’s the people, the energy the audience can bring to a performance. There’s nothing like it.
Which living person do you admire most?
Ireland’s first female president, Mary Robinson, for her career-long fight for human rights in Ireland and the world.
Which trait in others do you admire most?
Kindness.
What would be your motto?
What’s for you won’t pass you.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
From a choir teacher I had as a teenager, who has remained a friend – “There are no wrong notes, just right notes in the wrong places.”
What’s the best thing about where you live?
I live close to the city centre in Dublin, which means I am in walking distance of every gig that Dublin has to offer.
The Cobblestone is nearby for live traditional music, the theatres and music venues on the North and South side are just a short walk away. There is so much musical talent to be found in Dublin and it’s on my doorstep!
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