Aoife Nessa Frances
Irish artist Aoife Nessa Frances announces forthcoming sophomore album Protector due October 28th via Partisan Records and shares lead single Way To Say Goodbye.
Photo Credit: Ellius Grace
Discussing Way To Say Goodbye, Frances describes it as "a song about endings and a new beginning." While going into more detail adding: " 'Way To Say Goodbye' reflects the feelings when a relationship ends, the difficulty of letting something go. How fear of loneliness can make you hold on to something for too long after it no longer serves you. The process of writing this song was incredibly cathartic and healing."
Alongside the new single comes accompanying video directed by Ellius Grace portraying the journey of two men, one man being carried by another, as they traverse a lush meadow. "This video is an allegory, a physical journey which embodies the emotional ones that many of us have experienced in our lives," Comments Grace "This story is about realizing when someone you love needs to find their own path, no matter how much you want to help them get there."
Protector was born in the spring of 2020, when Aoife packed up her things in Dublin and moved to rural County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. It was there, amidst the stillness, that she began to work on the songs that would become her second album: a personal, mystical journey of self- discovery through dislocation, transformation, and restoration.
Recording took place in a small house in County Kerry, at the foothills of the Annascaul, with Brendan Jenkinson (producer, keys, bass, synth, clarinet), Brendan Doherty (drums), Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (string arrangements) and Conor O'Brien (horn arrangements). The resulting body of work deftly juxtaposes golden hours and arguments, affection and alienation, and above all marks a crucial period of her life that was transformative and left her wiser. In Aoife's own words: "Writing and recording this album was a spiritual experience. Iexperienced love for my family on a level I didn’t know existed, while slowly putting myself back together and watching the "protector" in me grow much bigger. 'Protector'acknowledges the part of myself that steers me towards a brighter path."
Aoife Nessa Frances
UK Live Dates
11/01 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
11/02 - Manchester, UK @ Castle Hotel
11/03 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy
11/04 - Todmorden, UK @ Golden Lion
11/05 - Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
11/06 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
11/08 - London, UK @ Moth Club
11/09 - Brighton, UK @ Prince Albert
11/23 - Belfast, UK @ Ulster Sports
