Declan de Barra

NEWS

Done!
I have finished the album, it is mastered and waiting on the artwork. Which I attack this week. I think it should be out in Europe late September through Black Star Foundation distributed via cargo.

What the hell am I up to?
Well the short answer is finishing "A fire to scare the sun", my second album. It has taken longer than a def Leppard record but it sounds better. It is not out of Brian Wilson genius that it has taken so long. It is more a case of being interrupted by the need to tour and write the occasional TV script to keep me alive. It is almost there!

There will be a physical and digital release with the physical version coming out on Black Star Foundation distributed via Cargo. I will be making the physical release as unique as possible. Otherwise what's the fucking point right? The only reason I buy cds is for the artwork or that spur of the moment thing at a show.

Life has been good. I am getting to work with musicians who scare me with their brilliance. I have a great creative flow going at the moment. As soon as this album is done i will be whipping out two quick EPS One will be all created using vocals and loops. The other will be a collaboration album. Each song written with someone else. Throw myself out of the comfort zone so to speak. Keep me on me toes.

Their will be other projects happening throughout the year which i will fill you in on as soon as i can. But safe to say you will be getting bombarded with new material on a more regular basis.

On a sad note I am killing the forum part of the site today. It has reached spam death. The best way to interact with me is on my blog. You can look forward to a new website with the release also. There will be a bunch of European shows From July till the end of the year.

Last Minute shows
The awesome Kíla have asked me to play some shows with them during their march shows. I love this band and it is an honour to play with them. So if you are kicking around Ireland at this time come along and see a great show, they are the real deal. Details on the live shows page.

Recording
Yesterday i posted on my main blog that I was trying to figure out how to pay for some recording equipment for the album i am recording. Someone posted saying i should set up a donation system for people to help. So I have set up a donate button above where people can donate as little or as much as they want to help me record "A fire to scare the sun". At this stage anything helps...

This is not a call out for donations, it is just there if people want to help in the recording process. So don't feel guilty if you spend the cash on a coffee instead. Life is short.

I don't know how the next album will be released or who it will put it out in various countries.
I have my thinking cap on for various alternative ways of releasing it and how it will look.
But for now i am swimming in the big lake of how it will sound.

The fun part.

Thanks a million

Declan

On the road again
I am heading for the airport again and will be on the road until the middle of December. You can check out stories of stupidity, high art, boredom and excitement in my diary

Extra tracks to download for free
I have added an extra tracks section to the Music/Video part of the site. The first track is an improvised piece from Lich in Germany recorded for radio in a restored synagogue. Mary Barnecutt is on cello.

I will try to get tracks up as often as possible. These are free to download under a creative commons license, which means you can download and pass them on. So enjoy and spread the music amongst your friends. It really helps!

Mini Vids
I am starting to make Mini Vids for the songs off "Song of a Thousand Birds".These will be 30-45 seconds long and I hope people will help me spread them around. The first one is finished using an animation i created 7 years ago. These will live in the Music/Video section

Diary
I am in the last stage of writing the next album. You can catch up on what i am up to on my diary which i update at least once a week. Otherwise feel free to head to the forum and discuss whatever you like, I always love to hear what people are creating, reading watching and so on.

I have changed to wordpress for my blog. If you have subscribed to the old blog please go to the new blog to subscribe. Sorry for any trouble.

Flickr.
I have added a flickr account to update photos on the road http://www.flickr.com/photos/declandebarra/

New Shows, New Writing.
It looks like I will be spending a lot of time on the road this year, touring most countries in Europe and heading to North america for shows in the States and Canada. I can't wait. I have started writing the second album and I can't wait to get in the studio to work with fantastic musicians and friends again. I will let them stew and develop on the road for a while before I put them down.

North American Release
I am delighted to announce that I have signed with Translation Loss Records for a North American release of "Song of a Thousand Birds". I really like their spirit and attitude towards music and the bands on their label. This will see the record available throughout the United States and Canada. They have great distribution so it should not be hard to get a copy in a store near you. Thanks to everyone for their patience in waiting for it to come out over there. The record comes out in early 2007 and I will be touring both the USA and Canada as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to playing for you and meeting new faces.

Oh, and for you Vinyl Junkies? Translation Loss also plan to release it on vinyl.

Diary
I have changed the diary to one I can update when I am out on the road. It's always nice to spell badly and massacre grammar when you are away. I promise to update it regularly from now on. Hand on heart!

Little Black Boat
After doing a show in Germany with cellist Kate Ellis doing some improvised pieces, we decided to turn it into a project called Little Black Boat. Hopefully we will take this on the road. You can check out some pieces on Myspace.

Update
There are shows for the rest of the year posted in the live shows section. I have posted a new video and will be posting up some video footage from some live shows too. I promise I will get some diary updates up soon. I am coming to the end of negotiating a North American release for early next year. So i will be seeing a lot of new faces next year when i come over to play. Writing continues for album two and

New Video
A new video of the recording of 'Leaves in the Autumn' is available in the music/video section

Podcast
You can listen to an interview with Declan on the O2 making waves Podcasting Ireland site

Irish Tour
Declan will be touring Ireland in June and July. Part of this will be supporting the wonderfull Julie Feeney

TV performance
Declan performed on RTE television's arts program " The View" on May23. You can check it out here (scroll to end of page) enjoy!

Read the Interview with Declan in Sunday Tribune here

Cellists, viola players and violinists...musicians all!
Declan is always looking for musicians to play with in different countries so if you are a serious musician and interested in playing some shows with Declan you can email
info[at]declandebarra.com

Irish Album Launch
"Song of a Thousand Birds" is released in Ireland March 31 through Gael Linn Distribution and Rogue Goat. Declan will be launching the album at Crawdaddy in Dublin on March 25th with the wonderful Julie Feeney supporting.

Apple Tree Radio single
The second single 'Apple Tree' has been released to Irish Radio. You can help Declan by requesting "Apple Tree' by email or text on the stations listed here.Apple tree has just been reviewed in the Irish Magazine Hotpress. You can read it in the reviews section.

2006 Shows
Some more European shows have been added for 2006. A full European tour is scheduled for early 2006 to coincide with the release of the cd in various countries. Declan is also hoping to tour Canada the U.S.A. and Australia later in 2006. Keep your eye on the tour page or subscribe to the mailing list to be updated with shows in your country.

Blackbird Song - Hotpress Magazine single of the fortnight!
You can read the review in the reviews section.

Online Release
At long last Declan's debut album is available online for purchase in the shop section. The album has full colour 12 page booklet printed on matt stock with artwork and handwritten lyrics by Declan. If you visit the music section you can download three mp3s for free or preview the whole album.

GERMAN SWISS AUSTRIAN RELEASE:
'Song of a thousand birds' will be released in February 2006 in Germany Switzerland & Austria through German label Decoder Records .

ALBUM UPDATE:
The artwork for 'Song of a Thousand Birds' has taken longer than expected and has delayed the online release till October 5. In the mean time there are some mp3s to whet your appetite in the music section.

Negotiations are underway for a releases in different countries early 2006. Declan will be hitting the road soon after.

SINGLE RELEASE:
'Blackbird song' will be released to radio here in Ireland on the 27th of August.

ANIMATED VIDEO:
An animation is in the works for the second radio single "Apple tree" due later in the year. It will be available from the Music/video section for download as soon as it's completed.