KYABRAM IS BACK!

Since Kyabram was re-released Nov 16th, 2018 and is available now via the Warners store, Declan’s own store, and usual outlets. The record is available on vinyl for the first time, and the CD version has been re-packaged into a deluxe 6 panel digipak, that includes a 20 page booklet with lyrics, and new retrospective liner notes by the artist, giving insights into the recording of each song, and the build up to the making of the record.

Click here to get your copy…

The Making Of Since Kyabram - Mini doc

Ever wondered where Since Kyabram was recorded? Or what it was like to be in the room when they put all these songs down on record?

In 2004 there were no camera phones, and no footage was taken at the studio.

But, in 2018 as we prepared to re-release Since Kyabram and take the band out on the road in celebration, it was decided to film a rehearsal.
Most of the original line up of musicians were available but hadn’t played together in almost 14 years. While considering locations, we were surprised and excited to learn that the little stone cottage the record was made in had been empty for some time and might be available to us. A further inquiry revealed it had just been bought by a young couple who had received the keys but hadn’t yet moved their furniture in.

We asked if they wouldn’t mind us playing a few songs in their new home. They very kindly obliged, and we got to soak up the space of this little house one more time, and fill it with our sounds.

This is a short film of that rehearsal, the reunion, and some old friends reminiscing through the magic of music and a wonderful place.

Players:
Declan O’Rourke – Guitar and Vocals
Steve Wickham – Fiddle
Dan Bodwell – Upright Bass
Anna Houston – Cello
Jack Maher – Second guitar

Sound recorded by Paul Mulligan
Boom operator: Philippe Faujas
Filmed by: John Wilde of Wilde Photography

IN THE ZONE ~

“Summer of 2004. We holed up in an old cottage in Galway. Aidan, Paul, and I set up in the old open-plan kitchen with Tim at the helm in the next room, and gave ourselves 10 days to get the core of the record down… “

GALILEO ~

“…on a piece of paper, Steve and I drew a strange impressionistic map, then built a whole orchestra, and its arrangement in a matter of hours, using only his fiddle and Christine’s cello.”

EVENTS ~

“…the studio shared a boundary wall with the resting place of Raftery, the blind poet. Years before, my Irish teacher, who often caught me drawing guitars on my books, told me I would "end up like Raftery... play’n music t’empty pockets.” I loved the omen, and felt this was my chance to prove ol’ Mr. Doodey wrong.

IN THE ZONE ~

“I had a very strong sense that returning to Galway, I was re-connecting with my ancestral home. It was a very exciting time for me.”

MARRYING THE SEA ~

"There was only one place this song could go on the record, and with it, Kyabram is book-ended by water. Various interpretations of the song’s meaning have been offered to me along the way. Most profess suicide. Would you like to hear my version?… ”

SARAH ~

“…We lost the exact count, but this take was somewhere up in the high fifties or early sixties, after numerous days happily chasing it. There were probably lots of good versions but this was the right one, and the last one…”

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KYABRAM IS BACK!

The Making Of Since Kyabram - Mini doc

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