Áine O'Dwyer is an Irish experimental musician, known for her live performances and recordings, which explore the aesthetics of sound and its relationship to environment, time, audience, and structure. Originally from Pallasgreen, County Limerick,[1] she studied at the Limerick School of Art and Design (graduating 2006) and in London at the Slade School of Fine Art (graduating 2011).[2][3] She is currently based in London.[4]
Áine O'Dwyer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ireland |
| Genres | Ambient, Free Folk, Drone, Avant-Folk |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Harp, piano, Organ |
| Website | https://aineodwyer.bandcamp.com |
As a child, O'Dwyer played the piano, tin whistle, flute, fiddle and harp. She now performs primarily on harp and church organ.[5][6][7]
Live performances
editPublished accounts of O'Dwyer's live appearances include The Music of the Future by Robert Barry, who describes O'Dwyer lying on the floor under a baize cloth, plucking the strings of a harp with her feet, during a performance at the Supernormal Festival in Reading.[8][9]
O'Dwyer's appearance in November 2015 at London's Cafe Oto, in which she dressed as an 18th century scullery maid, backlit with a fan flailing her hair, and played the accordion, was described by The Quietus reviewer Matthew Foster, as "a terrifying sight for the average wuss",[10] while Chal Ravens of Fact Mag described a performance by O'Dwyer as "like an invisible banshee haunting the pipes of the church’s organ, O'Dwyer pummels us with gothic drama from her concealed lair above the altar"[11] and experimental artist Graham Dunning described her live sets as "always refreshing, often very melancholy but often with deliberately jarring sections or silly interludes".[12]
O'Dwyer has also collaborated with artist Alice Maher on a live show, Visitant, which combined dance, music and visual art, performed at the Project Arts Centre in 2014[13] and based performances on her own drawings of mythical creatures.[14]
Albums
editHer albums include Gallarais (2017), Beast Diaries (2017), Music For Church Cleaners (2012), Locusts (2016) and Gegenschein (2016).[15]
Music For Church Cleaners is an album of pipe organ improvisations, utilising graphic scores, recorded at St Mark’s Church in Islington, while church cleaners continued to go about their duties. The sounds of the cleaners' activities were included on the recordings.[16] This album was released on cassette and later expanded into a full-length album as Music For Church Cleaners Vol I & II (2015).[17]
Her album Locusts is No 6 on Thump's The 25 Best Experimental Albums of 2016 list.[18]
Discography
edit| Title | Release info | Year | F | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music For Church Cleaners | Fort Evil Fruit FEF4 | 2012 | Cass | |
| Anything Bright Or Startling? | Second Language SL022 | 2013 | Cass | |
| Safely Adrift | Self-released | 2014 | FLAC, MP3 | |
| Meditations On A World Ending 21.12.12. | Self-released | 2014 | CD-R | Ltd ed. |
| Music For Church Cleaners Vol. I And II | MIE Music MIE 028 | 2015 | 2-LP | avail in other formats |
| Locusts | Fort Evil Fruit FEF50 | 2016 | Cass | Ltd ed. |
| Gegenschein | Fort Evil Fruit FEF49 | 2016 | Cass | [19] |
| Gallarais | MIE Music MIE 045 | 2017 | LP with Digital D/L | [20] |
| Daedalus Airs | Self-released | 2020 | FLAC, MP3 | [21] |
References
edit- ^ Music Limerick, 17 August 2012 - Wireless Folk: Áine O’Dwyer
- ^ The Irish Times, Mon, 26 January 2015 - Áine O’Dwyer’s music to clean churches by, Rebellion against theory - Ian Maleney
- ^ "Áine O'Dwyer ← People ← Cafe OTO". www.cafeoto.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ BOMB Magazine - Áine O’Dwyer by Keith Connolly
- ^ The Irish Times, Mon, 26 January 2015 - Áine O’Dwyer’s music to clean churches by, Rebellion against theory - Ian Maleney
- ^ Pop Matters, 26 February 2015 - Aine O'Dwyer, Music for Church Cleaners Vol. I and II - by Matthew Fiander
- ^ The Irish Times, Mon, 26 January 2015 - Áine O’Dwyer’s music to clean churches by - Ian Maleney
- ^ The Music of the Future, By Robert Barry - - I'm on my way to a music festival near Reading
- ^ Barry, Robert (Freelance writer) (21 March 2017). The music of the future. London. ISBN 9781910924877. OCLC 968443129.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ The Quietus, December 1st, 2015 - LIVE REPORT: Áine O'Dwyer & Księżyc - Matthew Foster
- ^ Fact Magazine, 23 Nov 2016 - Le Guess Who? 2016: Why music sounds completely different when the world is ending - Chal Ravens
- ^ The Attic, February 24, 2016 - Graham Dunning - Mechanical Techno Wizardry - by Robert E. Smith
- ^ The Irish Times, Thu, 20 Feb 2014 - Dark collaboration: four artists, four disciplines, one show by Michael Seaver
- ^ The Herald (Glasgow), 5 July 2017 - Arts News: Aine O'Dwyer at Edge Effects; NYOS Jazz Orchestra tour; Hawaii of the North line-up; drummer's Playtime - Keith Bruce
- ^ "Aine O'Dwyer". Discogs. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Spoonfed.co.uk, Friday, 25 Nov - Áine O'Dwyer, Angharad Davies, Bechir Saade, Anton Lukoszevieze
- ^ "Listen: Áine O'Dwyer's expanded Music For Church Cleaners - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Thump, 14 December 2016 - Best of 2016, The 25 Best Experimental Albums of 2016, Colin Joyce
- ^ Discogs - Aine O'Dwyer Discography, Albums
- ^ MIE - Áine O'Dwyer - Gallarais MIE 045
- ^ "Daedalus Airs, by Áine O'Dwyer". Áine O'Dwyer. Retrieved 8 May 2022.