Tipped by many – including yours truly – to do incredible things in 2015, Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery selects and talks about ten of his all-time favourite songs for this week’s Monday Mixtape.
Missed last week’s with And So I Watch You From Afar guitarist/A Bad Cavalier main man Niall Kennedy? Check that out here.
“I had a lot of fun compiling this list. Growing up I was a huge hip-hop enthusiast, which isn’t easy for a scrawny ginger kid from the country. Aghagallon was never a hot bed of gangsterism (that’s a word, right?) but I’ve been drawn to and always have a soft spot for that genre. Tom Waits and Bob Dylan have been such a massive influence on anything I’ve listened to growing up; they kind of changed the landscape and served as a source of education and certainly a bench mark for sure I guess since then I’ve been drawn to lyrics and rhythm, especially honest or vulnerable ones written by the likes of Blake Mills, Anais Mitchell and my close friend Liza Anne. I’ve been lucky enough to watch Liza perform – she’s incredible. I remember being blown away by the honesty of ‘Dogs’; the whole Benji album is an incredible listen, but there’s no filter in this song or dressing up of words, and I loved that. ‘Strangers’ holds a very dear and close place to my heart. I can only hope people get the same joy from this short list of songs that I have.” Ciaran Lavery
