RESONATE: Philip Christie - POSTPONED

Event postponed
Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny

Please note: This concert has been postponed due to to unforeseen circumstances. We are working hard to schedule a new date for the performance, and we will update all current ticket holders as soon as we can.

Philip Christie: Composer & Improvisor

Collaborators: Ronan Kealy: Singer/songwriter

Philip Christie (O Emperor, The Bonk) and Ronan Kealy (Junior Brother) delved into the world of medieval Irish mythology as part of their participation in the RESONATE: Music Network Artist Residencies Programme.

Composer and improviser Christie with collaborator Kealy will debut the brand new work created in the RCC’s Sound Studio during that residency in their performance on Saturday, 19th February.

Waterford native Christie and Kealy, originally from Kerry, were two of six musicians appointed to this major new initiative which provided financial awards and a range of additional supports to facilitate the making of new work and creative partnerships.

The artists collaborated on an exploration of music for two voices, guitars and rhythm using stories about a mythohistorical group of people, the Fir Bolg, as their inspiration.

They developed an imagined traditional folk music, intertwining their voices to mimic the sounds of duophonic singing, a technique where one individual produces two strands of melody simultaneously.

Christie and Kealy spoke in detail about this project to the RCC in an interview last November. You can read the full interview here.

Philip Christie

Philip is a songwriter, performer and producer originally from Waterford City. He developed a strong interest in music from an early age, beginning to write and perform in his early teens. As songwriter and vocalist with the band O Emperor, he has released two albums – 2010’s ‘Hither Thither’ and 2013’s ‘Vitreous’ – both of which were shortlisted for the ‘Meteor Choice Music Prize’.

He has also contributed to various recordings as an arranger, including the string and brass parts for both 'Hither Thither' and 'Vitreous', and string arrangements for the album ‘Do You Think You’re Clever?’ by Cork group The Shaker Hymn. Since 2015, Philip has been recording and performing his own original work with group The Bonk.

Most recently, Phil won big at the 2019 Choice Music Awards when another of his original projects 'O Emperor' scooped the prize for 'Album of The Year'.

Ronan Kealy / Junior Brother

Ronan Kealy is an Irish singer/ songwriter who performs under the name Junior Brother. Chosen as The Irish Times’ Best Irish Act of 2019, and nominated for the 2019 Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, Junior Brother has built a rabid following thanks to unmissable live shows, and music both excitingly forward-looking and anciently evocative. His strange stories unfold with reckless abandon upon a distinctive Guitar and Foot Tambourine accompaniment, influenced as much by the avant-garde as music from the middle ages and his home place in rural Ireland.

Junior Brother has been steadily building a fanbase around Ireland and beyond, winning hearts in iconic venues such as Vicar Street (Dublin), The Beacon Theatre (New York), Cork Opera House (Cork), Blackpool Opera House (UK) to name just a few. He has played support for a variety of like-minded acts such as The Proclaimers and Glen Hansard, the latter bringing him on a tour of the US East Coast in July 2019. "Pull The Right Rope", Junior Brother's trailblazing debut album, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize Award for Irish Album of the Year. Two nominations were also earned at the 2019 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, for Best Folk Album and Best Emerging Folk Act. Vigorous approval from modern-day Irish figureheads such as the Rubberbandits and Cillian Murphy has furthered Junior Brother's stock, the latter playing Junior Brother several times on his BBC6 Music Radio Show. Along-side further airplay, his television performances include appearances on RTÉ’s the Tommy Tiernan show, Other Voices and the Choice Music Prize Awards night in Vicar Street.

A video recording of Philip Christie's new material will be shared on Music Network’s and each venue’s social media channels 4th – 9th April.

RESONATE: Music Network Artist Residencies
Presented in partnership with glór, Ionad Cultúrtha, National Opera House, Triskel Arts Centre, The Dock and Regional Cultural Centre.