Dave Balfe aka For Those I Love has released the instrumental version of his seminal 2021 album of the same name.
As I talked about recently, with a look at the samples on the record, Balfe is a brilliant producer so it make sense to be able to hear these productions on their own.
I used to drive around at night, my friends stuffed into the back of the car, exploring the geography of Dublin and being content with just that. I’d burn mix CD’s to play. Omar S, Omar Souleyman, and DJ Rashad, the sounds of that Kia Rio. Every now and then I’d sneak one of my own tracks into the mix, something I’d been working on but keeping to myself. If one of my mates piped up asking ‘here Balfey what is this?’, or ‘why can’t I find this on Shazam?’, then I’d know I had something special, and that instrumental would be stored away, later to be reworked in the sea of tracks built for my debut.
Today I’m releasing the instrumental version of this album as an ode to those times. The background sounds to a friendship that will never leave me.
Listen to the instrumentals here:
My podcast with Balfe from 2019 is here.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
