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Distances

Happy to announce that my collaboration with French artist/producer Vincent Robischung is now available on Bandcamp as Distances. Here you can listen to the original version of White Night, My Flight, Protection and After Rain. This is the original version of WHITE NIGHT. To me this is a silvery (la femme d’argent) upbeat Chemical Brothers … Continue reading →

Machnamh

Machnamh is an Irish word meaning reflection, meditation and contemplation, a fitting word to describe Michael D Higgin’s musings on imperialism in today’s Guardian. Imperialism, as in the English kind, in Ireland. Interesting and timely to see it there. He talks of “a hospitality of narratives”, a term Irish philosopher Richard Kearney uses to acknowledge … Continue reading →

“Here’s the story” : Mary McAleese’s memoir

You might be forgiven for thinking that, having grown up in the north of Ireland during the 1980s, my childhood was awash with politics or proselytising mentors. But it was quite the opposite. The Troubles were not discussed at the table or at my school, in fact, my education in a small, provincial town was … Continue reading →

Borders of the mind

“Do the Nordies and Free Staters even like each other and what does it mean for Irish unity?” Read more here. This Irish Times article probes some burning questions arising from the Brexit debate. What do Free Staters even know about life in the north, and how it was to grow up there in the … Continue reading →

Breaking the Waves

I wrote Breaking the Waves with American producer Storm Craver two years ago, but its release now is timely – for me, somehow it captures the postlockdown mood perfectly. Breaking the Waves Eyes half-crazed, World is ablaze Slide down walls to loosen confines Inescapable the way he craves Back from unadulterated night Fingertips trace questions … Continue reading →

Making music during the lockdown

Coming out of the other side of the lockdown in Sicily, I’ve been thinking about how my choice to make Sicily my home has affected my experience of the “quarantena”, as it’s called here. As our freedom got increasingly curtailed, the importance of mental freedom became only too clear. Here’s a video of Lule Lule, … Continue reading →

Colapesce – a Sicilian tale for World Storytelling Day

Sicily is full of myths and legends. The myth of Colapesce is one of my favourites. It tells of a fisherman’ son, Nicholas from Messina. He was known as Colapesce because of his love for the sea and his skills under the water: everytime he dived into the sea he resurfaced from the waves, ready … Continue reading →

Brexit – a collective English mental breakdown?

The Brexit drama currently unfolding is fascinating for someone as obsessed with identity as I am, so much so, it’s become the focal point of my current novel. In this Irish Times article, an Irish journalist raises questions about English identity that resonate with me, having studied European law at university in Bristol. At a … Continue reading →

Ferrante Fever

“Ferrante Fever” in cinemas across Italy 2, 3 and 4 October 2017… but in Sicily, only in Palermo, too far for me to go. I loved Neapolitan novels but I’m not sure I’d have wanted to go and watch Giacomo Durzi’s movie about the obsession with the writer’s identity… but I’d have liked to have … Continue reading →