Galway singer set for more chart success after debut goes viral

Electro-pop artist Laoise Nolan – who hails from the heart of Galway city centre – began her journey with the release of her melodic debut single ‘You’ on the Spotify in November 2016 – and by January the song had gone to number four on the UK viral chart. By April it had topped 200,000 streams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPnQOGn9rpI

The artist herself could hardly believe the achievement of the single with such humble beginnings.

“I was really surprised because Spotify is so hard to crack. We recorded the song with a microphone and a laptop so it was really cool that this song we that we worked on in a tiny little room was heard by so many people!”

‘You’ wasn’t a one-off either; the release of her follow-up single ‘Halfway’ was met with more positive acclaim with BuzzFeed naming the track in their ‘23 Songs you need in your April playlist’ alongside that host of major superstars.

Her EP of the same name – ‘Halfway’ – was released on June 15 to a similar reception, with one online publication writing: ‘It's hard to see a future where Laoise doesn’t break into the Irish mainstream’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFTWkuqCkiA

Away from the studio, Laoise has been touring the Ireland and the UK and she says that one of her more recent live performances has been her most memorable.

“Well they are all different but it would probably have to be Forbidden fruit because first, it was raining so a lot of people came into the tent and they were such a great crowd. They knew all the words which was really an incredible experience for me,” she said.

Laoise recently ditched her guitar during her live performances in favour of a microphone to give her hands a bit of freedom.

Watching her music videos, you get the feeling that her hands are important as she constantly moves them – she refers to it as “spasming”. Her reasoning for this is that her music is very visual. The gestures and music complement each other.

In the modern music industry, being a good singer is not enough. There is something unique that separates the singer from the artist.

The visual aspect is a crucial aspect of Laoise’s work. The album artwork for her E.P is a burst of her favourite colour: pink – as is most of her social media presence. But the cute and light pink from her album artwork betrays her music with its heavy emotional themes and musical tones.

“Yeah, that’s definitely on purpose. It’s really like a paradox! I love the colour pink but when I make music I need to write about my own personal experiences and find what resonates with me,” she admits.

Born into a musical family, Laoise started off playing traditional Irish music sessions on the fiddle with her father Brian in the local Galway pubs like Tí Cóilí and even venturing out as far as Inishbofin, where she first began singing.

Over time, Laoise realised she needed a new sound, away from her traditional Irish roots, to find her own voice.

With electro-pop, she found a sound that was accessible but also never sounded stale. With electro-pop, Laoise found that she could make the diverse music that fit her personality and never feel she was hearing the same song twice.

Laoise is a solo artist but she hasn’t been alone on her journey. When asked for her biggest inspiration, Laoise says she can’t choose.

“Well in terms of musical inspiration, I would always say Stevie Nicks because I have always just loved her and Fleetwood Mac,” she says.

“Closer to home, I’ve been very lucky because I've had some wonderful people surrounding me, in my family to people in college. It’s so nice to be around like-minded people who are happy to collaborate with you, I think that’s really important,” she adds.

Away from her own music, Laoise listens to a bit of everything, even away from her own genre but she does have a few mainstays on her Spotify playlists.

“I love soul music and I would always listen to the Soultronic playlist on Spotify. Oh and eighties obviously; I love the sound from almost anything of the eighties!”

Laoise has come a long way from her days of playing the fiddle – and you get the sense there is something special about this particular Galway girl.