Eve Lonergan caught up with Passage West-based Clodagh Quirke, to talk about song-writing, busking, and gigging in Cork, ahead of her upcoming performance in Coughlans.
“The music scene in Cork is amazing. I actually think it's nearly the best place in Ireland to be at the moment, music wise,” says Clodagh Quirke.
“A few artists have told me to build your cottage around you. I'm in Passage West, I have my little cottage community around me. No matter where I go, I know they'll support me whatever I'm doing.”
The 21-year-old singer-songwriter grew up “forced into music”, receiving classical violin training in violin, and later learning the piano.
She remembers her Dad once came home with a ukulele, which she immediately loved, even hiding out in the shed to play music: “I say he never saw that ukulele again,” she laughs.
“Once I started playing guitar then that's when the song-writing started, whether it's good or not, I don't know, but, I’ve been bluffing away since then.”
Clodagh released The House on the Hill EP last year, five tracks that flow from wistful folk, to gritty folk-rock, and even to some festival pop.
“I like to say folk,” she says about which genre she falls into, “but sometimes it gets a bit boring doing all sad folk songs.
“So, I kind of dip into folk rock. And I think it's good not to limit yourself to a genre, especially when you're still young and figuring things out.”
Finding or creating a distinct sound for a song is an instinctive process for Clodagh.
“I feel like every song holds - this might sound very metaphorical and cringey,” Clodagh laughs, “but I think the song itself holds what it should sound like.”
“So, like straight away when you write a song, not even just the lyrics, but the tempo of it, the key, everything plays a part into what should be heard around it.”
The building up of a song, from a single seed of an idea, to layering sound or adding instruments is a collaborative act.
“I can't take credit for a lot of it because I'm surrounded by so many brilliant musicians who make the songs what they are,” Clodagh reflects. “I might be alone in my bedroom with a guitar, but then it's my friends who actually make it what it is. So, it's multiple ears, gone into each track.”
Though the songs may differ musically, the thread of song-writing runs through them all, creating a cohesive sound identity.
For Clodagh, “it’s all storytelling”.
“I don't think I've any really personal songs,” she reflects, “I don't know whether I don't like talking about myself, but I find it much easier to hear other people's stories and put myself in their shoes.
“Whenever I try to write about myself, it's always just a bit cringey and I don't like it.”
Clodagh’s experience in the Cork music scene began with her and guitar on a street corner: “Growing up busking I was only 11 or 12-years-old. I won't speak for everyone, but I feel like by busking, you learn how to perform. You learn how to play to a street of people who don't want to listen to you.”
“If you get good at busking, I feel like you can get good at doing any gig.”
However, she admits: “There's definitely a stigma around being called a busker. Like when I was in my peak of busking, when I wasn't doing gigs, I loved being called a busker.
“It is something to be proud of, it is a hard thing to do.”
“But for right now, you don't want to be putting on gigs and charging people tickets when you're going to be on the street the next day busking for free.”
She compares the stigma around busking to the label of pub singers: “I have a few friends who are writing original music and they're trying to do original gigs, but then they're also pub singers to pay the bills.
To continue reading please see a digital copy of the Carrihgdhoun.
You can catch Clodagh’s headline show in Coughlan’s on November 7th, tickets are available on www.coughlans.ie.
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