I first encountered Ailbhe Reddy in an underground venue in Toronto, where she played a short set along with some other bands from Ireland. I was practically in tears for half of it. She is a rare breed of musician; relatable and approachable, while her talent remains untouchable. Live, she will joke around (sometimes at her own expense) with her audience, until the pluck of her strings begins and she disappears inside herself. Her performance is confrontational in its intimacy and honesty – Ailbhe lays herself so bare it's like she's daring you to watch her bleed.
The Dublin folk singer is releasing her latest video and single "The Tube" with EARMILK, only a short while after the triumphant release of her sophomore EP Attach to Memory. It's a lyrically raw and passionate track, and the video is visceral and compulsively watchable. "The Tube" follows Reddy's trajectory on Attach to Memory from using lone acoustic guitar and minimal strings to a full-fledged band, but it has more of a distinctly pop undertone than anything she's released in the past. Of the song, Reddy says:
'The Tube' is a song about having no explanation good enough for someone, so the only
thing I had left to offer was the small gesture of walking them to the nearest tube station. It's a song about struggling to express yourself properly to someone, which I think is probably pretty universal.
In addition to her video, Ailbhe has created an exclusive playlist for EARMILK – aptly titled "MAWNIN GLORY"– an amalgam of folk, indie rock, and hip-hop. These are songs she likes to listen to while in transit – or on the tube, if you will:
"I've picked a few more uptempo tunes, as I like to blare these into my ears to get me in a good mood while traveling. I've given them 'sing-along ratings'."
Check out a few of her upcoming Tour Dates:
October 18th – Black Box Studio, Belfast
October 19th – Roisin Dubh, Galway
October 20th – Cyprus Avenue, Cork
October 21st – Whelan's, Dublin
October 27th – Liverpool Philharmonic, Liverpool
October 28th – The Met, Bury
October 29th – Oporto, Leeds
October 30th – Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury
November 1st – The Canteen, Bristol
November 2nd – St. Pancras Old Church, London
