The Irish musician Paddy Hanna has announced his forthcoming album Oylegate on Strange Brew Records, with the release of first single and video for ‘Oylegate Station’
While Hanna’s last album 2022’s Imagine I’m Hoping was critically lauded, Hanna felt it didn’t allow him enough success to continue as a musician (it is incredibly hard for musicians to sustain a career without huge support in the music game these days). Yet, he persevered.
Hanna’s fifth album Oylegate is released on Friday April 11th which was made possible with Arts Council support and the encouragement of his family.
‘Oylegate Station’ is a jaunty track, concerning the highs and lows of parenthood, with a video that sees Paddy manning a space station.
“Low rent fuel, caffeine of all shapes, the midpoint of hope and despair, engine still running at Oylegate Station,” is how Hanna put it.
It was produced by Daniel Fox of Gilla Bad, and the video and songwriter found parallels to being a parent in the 1972 Soviet psychological science fiction film Solaris.
Determined to sidestep the usual sentimental trappings of writing about having a child, Hanna found an unlikely creative companion in grim Soviet-era cinema. As he wrote, films like Solaris flickered in the background—bleak, meditative landscapes that mirrored the depths of sleep deprivation and the existential wonder of bringing a new life into the world. This contrast of warmth and detachment, of intimate revelation and surreal detour, courses through the album’s DNA.
Watch the video, directed by Eoghan O’Brien (credits below)
Video Credits:
Video Directed & Edited by Eoghan O’Brien
Additional Edits: Gary Sheridan
Set Director & Designer: Annick Counihan
Props & LX Build: Liam Redmond
Spaceship Model: Liam O’Brien
Production Coordinator: Amelia Conophy
Of the Oylegate album, Hanna says:
“One advantage of being an ‘artist’s artist’ is that you never have to worry about being creatively different between albums. There’s real freedom in doing whatever you want and not being judged for it. And even if you are judged, who gives a shit?”
Paddy Hanna live
Hanna plays Whelan’s Dublin on Thursday, 17th April. Tickets are €21.95 plus fees from Ticketmaster.
Paddy Hanna
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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, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
