Naas musician Hally set to release new series featuring 52 songs for New Year's Day
By Kim O'Leary
As final preparations get underway for the Christmas holidays, one Kildare singer-songwriter is going above and beyond to finish a musical challenge he set himself at the beginning of the year; to release 52 songs before the end of 2017.
Perhaps a little daunting for some musicians, but Ronan "Hally" O'Halloran takes it all in his stride with his 15 years' worth of experience in the music industry. Hally is currently living Naas and he went to secondary school at Newbridge College before studying for a Masters in Music and Technologies at Trinity College in Dublin.
Speaking to KildareNow, Hally explains that he set himself this mammoth challenge of writing, producing, mastering and mixing one song every week for 52 weeks (1 year) to challenge himself and to also clear some backlog after taking a few years out from performing. The project, which is titled Peeling Onions, features a mixture of music, an art film, a live show, and a documentary about the journey and it has proven to be quite popular with Hally's followers online.
Hally says: "At the start of 2017 I wanted to set myself a new challenge as an artist, and I also had a lot of material after taking a 10 year break from performing. So I decided to see if I could finish those songs and release one every single week, fully produced, mixed, mastered up until the end f the year so that's 52 songs in total."
Hally grew up in Kingsfurze Avenue in Naas and it's clear from some of the lyrics and visuals of his music videos that growing up in the area has inspired him. He says: "Initially I started off painting and writing instead of music, they allowed me to express myself when I was young. I discovered my love of writing and making music in the latter part of my teens. "
Hally started out with Sony Records in Ireland before leaving the country to live in the United States for a few a few years to gain more experience and to meet other artists for collaborations.
Now that he’s a married father-of-two young children, Hally is writing and recording music closer to home at his very own studio Arthouse Studio in Naas. He describes himself as being an indie singer/songwriter, although some of his work does include elements of other musical genres including jazz and folk music. “My idols would be Nick Cave, David Bowie, Tom Waites, Beth Orton, to name a few. I really admire them and their work,” explains Hally.
Now in the 50th week of the project, Hally is working hard in the studio to release the final two songs and he is hoping to post the music video and song live on his Facebook account on Sunday 31 December, 2017. Hally says: "It's pretty full-on in the studio at the moment, I’m fortunate to have my own studio to write and record whenever I like and my family’s very supportive. Some days it would be 9am-5pm, but in the last few weeks I’ve been putting in 18 hours at the moment; there won’t be much of a rest for me until after Christmas as I’m working right up until the end of the month."
So what would his own personal favourite song be from Peeling Onions? "My favourite would be “Lite Years”, it's just very simplistic and I love the visuals of the video," says Hally. The single "Lite Years"tells the story of one’s journey through life filled with a sense of self-discovery and uncertainty, providing a deeply nostalgic and deep feeling for the listener.
Next up for Hally in 2018 will be more writing in the studio and possibly some collaborations with other musicians. Hally's Peeling Onions series will be released in full on 1 January, 2018.
Check out Hally's single "Lite Years" below and visit his official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hallymusic/
Photo by Ronan Melia
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