“It’s clear the singer’s music shows that same grit and passion 9 years ago as it does now, however, from his latest singles you can see his style develop and mature.“
This week, I caught up with Kevin Casey, who is a Dublin 15 born rock musician. I wanted to find out about his upcoming single, Shout It Out, his latest EP release, Live Sessions at the Omnitone in Las Vegas and what he got up to during lockdown.
It’s clear from his work, especially songs like The Story of my Life and Get Up, he draws influences from Springsteen and Bon Jovi, however, when asked, Casey explains the first band to influence him was actually Oasis, and then in later years he was inspired by Springsteen, as he felt like he could relate to his working-class roots and honest songwriting, the latter you can clearly see in Casey’s debut album Magnolia Road, a very personal and real collection of songs. As for music at the moment, while Kevin loves the same artists and bands, he goes on to speak about growing Irish music scene and is loving work from artists like Ciaran Moran, Ger Gallagher and Inhaler.
Casey’s European tour was cancelled due to the pandemic, this was a huge disappointment both to the artist and fans, but this free time was definitely put to use. He released plenty of new music; a double A-side single called The Show Goes On in March, followed by It’s Alright in June, Sing My Soul To Sleep in August and then a Live EP recorded in Las Vegas from 2012 in November. As well as this, he was able to write eleven songs, which he plans to release throughout the year, so fans have plenty to look forward too!
When asked about Live Sessions at the Omnitone in Las Vegas, Casey explains this EP was a complete accident. This was recorded in 2012 and completely forgotten about. Then during the lockdown, while going through someone of his old demos and he came across the session, Kevin thought it would be an interesting release, so he got it mastered and put it out in November. It’s clear the singer’s music shows that same grit and passion 9 years ago as it does now, however, from his latest singles you can see his style develop and mature.
Casey says he would love to go back there to record again and see how much he has grown as an artist. On the release of the EP, all the proceeds from Apple Music and iTunes downloads were donated to the Dublin Zoo fundraiser. I could only imagine how daunting it was for a young artist to work in a studio that has seen the likes of Snoop Dogg and Celine Dion, although, I was shocked to discover, it was more so daunting, as it was the first time, Casey had recorded solo and without his band.
His new single Shout It Out is coming on the 26th of February and on listening to a sneak peek, it’s an upbeat and refreshing song about freedom and equality. The lyrics are inspired by a lot of the events of 2020 and is reminiscent of Oasis from the Britpop era of the 90s. The song recorded in Studio Seven Kildare and was mixed by Grammy-Award nominee Billy Farrell.
This single no doubt will make waves in the Irish Music Scene.
