Gemma Dunleavy: Proud of her northside roots as she brings a slice of reality to her music
Gemma Dunleavy plays at Kino in Cork on the weekend of Sept 26-27.
Dublin singer and producer Gemma Dunleavy is proud of her roots in the northside of the capital. The Sheriff Street and North Wall communities from which she hails don't get a fair hearing, she believes, so she's happy to offer a more-rounded picture through her music.
Most notably, Up De Flats, her most recent EP, combines deeply personal balladry with R&B and UK Garage production on a release that's been winning heaps of praise.
“I feel really proud, and relieved to have our community’s stories out there,” she explains down the phone in advance of a visit to Cork.
“I feel a sense of accomplishment that people from outside of our community are listening to these songs, and they’re sticking with people, which means at some point, they’ve gone through the lyrics, or sang along with them, and that’s stuff that I feel our community has been trying to tell people for ages, and no-one’s been listening.
“It’s even evident in friends of mine from outside the community that still use classist slurs, they’re now hearing the perspective of the mother with a drug-addict son, or the young boy that got caught up in crime and had everything stacked against him. I hope it’s opened some minds.”
Dunleavy co-produced the record with collaborators (in and around the time of Covid-19 and attendant restrictions), and her songwriting is very much drawn from her own life and perception. It weaves imagery of inner-city community with the struggle of the working-class experience through the eyes of five different protagonists, linked together by field recordings from her local area.
“I started working on a documentary before this record, so I had a lot of sound recordings and stuff, from the kids and neighbours. When I went to make the songs, my demo versions were just the stories of each song, and a character for each, and I was open with it.
“We only had a week in the studio, and then everything happened. I had a few songs that I made in my room, then we brought them into the studio to record the harp, and stuff. It all ended up going back to my room, where they were mixed, as Covid was happening.
“It was a bit scatty, the production process, for me the priority was the authenticity, the stories, and getting them right.”
Hearing a northside Dublin accent in hip-hop is no novelty at this stage, but hearing Dunleavy’s delivery applied to varied strains of sounds in her frame of reference has definitely resonated with people, and sparked conversations regarding class and perception in Irish music.
“For me, going to music college and going to ballet from a young age, wasn’t really the norm for people from my area.
“People with that accent have so much richness to them, there’s a history in your accent of dock workers, and dressmakers, and seamstresses and community workers.
“Be proud of that, bring it into the theatre, and into the studio, and into the lecture halls of your colleges. Bring that into Áras na hUachtaráin. Don’t leave your accent.”
Dunleavy has started gigging again after the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent restrictions, including Dublin’s Workman’s Club and three upcoming dates at the Kino in Cork. Both venues have to cater to the ‘new normal’ in providing socially-distanced shows, seated and with table service.
She talks about what’s to be expected from her live show in those circumstances, and the change in vibe that attends.
“You want to be on a vibe with the audience, but I had those two shows at the Workman’s, and they were just so fitting.
“We’re craving communication with people, and what better way to do that than to sit down with 50 people, I have my harpist with me, and we just sit down and talk into the songs, which I don’t normally do.
“It’s been really nice to take a minute between songs, play them in a more intimate way, and it really suits the setting.”
Gemma Dunleavy plays the Kino on Washington Street, Cork, on Saturday September 26 (both gigs sold out); and Sunday September 27 (doors 5.30pm, tickets still available at uTicket.ie).
- ‘Up de Flats’ is available to download now from gemmadunleavy.bandcamp.com.
