


Anthem
Last week I finished the great book "Sapiens: A brief history of human kind" by Yuval Noah Harari... It's a wonderful book that I came away from with a better understanding of our species, where we've come from and where we might be headed. I highly recommended checking out the book... Some nights after finishing the book I had dream in which I heard or spoke the words "change the anthem". When I woke I thought this was a cool idea. Around this time I had a new piece of music on the go... So I combined the dream-phrase, the after thoughts of the book and this piece of music together and a new song started to form...
Here's a snippet from it. Hope you enjoy.
~ Peter

The Great Trade

Introducing "The Great Trade"
For the past couple of years, in fits and starts, with great bursts of creativity quickly followed by long periods of distraction or working on other things, songs have been coming together for a new project called The Great Trade. These songs have been co-written with my friend Brian Murphy, a fellow Mullingar native who has contributed electric guitar and lap steel on my last two records.
The first beginnings of this project came when we were on tour in the UK and Holland in 2013. We were both looking for a way to play some shows outside of Ireland and somehow this tour came together. The entire tour lasted about three weeks I think and in that time we spent a lot of time together in vans, trains, hotel rooms, back stage areas and coffee shops. So much of being on tour involves waiting. You're always waiting for the show to start it seems. Hurry up and wait. We filled these spaces with chatter and dreamings and wandering conversations. Out of some of these conversations came songs, or the beginnings of songs, the outlines of ideas.
It was interesting to be kicking around song and melody ideas with another human being for a change. It was exciting and had a speed and energy that I don't often encounter when working on my own. This was the first signs of something coming together. There was a feeling, still is, that we could write some good songs together and more importantly enjoy challenging each other to write well.
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The Great Trade
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The Great Trade
After this 2013 tour I went on to write and record my "Outlines" album and then tour that. Brian has been busy with his other original project "Arrow in the Sky" and playing guitar with the band Cronin. In this way the time gets filled. We grabbed some time here and there in 2014 / 15 but have really turned our attention back to the project this year. In April we recorded our first video with the help of Mark Bennett and Darragh Glennon. The song is called "Blackberry Wine" and was inspired by a book I read about the life of Billie Holiday. I hope you enjoy:
Please let me know what you think. Does it sound different to my solo stuff ? If you have a moment to share the track on Facebook / Twitter so other folk might here it that would be super!! Songs get lonely too you know. Share it aboot.
Good wishes and thanks for reading
~ Peter
Blackberry Wine (Lyrics)
Meet me in the after-hours We'll drink blackberry wine
There's a place not far from here I think you're gonna like
Caroline has fixed a little something for your mind
I've picked a dress to match your eyes
You're gonna sing tonight
Let's go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let's go to the good time house where nobody sees in
INTO this LOW HEAVEN
Pull the sheet from the piano they wanna hear you sing
Fly on up there don't be frightened, show a little skin
Try anything you like
Little Bird don't be shy
Let's go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let's go to the good time house there's no such thing as sin
DOWN in this LOW HEAVEN
-solo-
Fire cracks, opera echoes, Suzie cuts the deck
Horn players all blown out just blown in from the night
Here on top of the world
Little bird why so still
Let's go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let's go to the good time house where nobody sees in
I won't hit you too hard honey no just a little sting
HERE in this LOW HEAVEN

Tour Announcement: Ireland 2015

Up Close & Personal Promotions Present:
Peter Doran Irish Tour 2015
Mullingar Singer-Songwriter Peter Doran takes his new album "Outlines" on the road from April -June with a series of intimate shows across Ireland, with all roads leading to a headline show at The Sugar Club in Dublin on June 20th. Read More
A week in Germany
Photos and journal entries from my recent German tour:
Last September, quite out of the blue, I had a mail from a German lady called Shel, inviting me to Cologne to play some shows. She explained to me that she organises private house concerts and other small shows there, and that artists like Mundy, Mark Geary, Liam O'Maonlai etc. had all played at her place. I've always wanted to play shows in Germany so I jumped at the chance! The tour was arranged for the end of February - last month - and I went into it with an open mind and high spirits. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weeks I've ever had, musical or otherwise.
Read More
The death and life of an acoustic guitar
The fog was heavy and thick and we could hardly see the road in front of us. I was in the passenger seat staring out into the fog, a little nervous now and uncomfortable. This was not a night for driving. Out of the blackness on our left came another car. It cut across the road directly in front of us. It was too close and there was nowhere to go, we swerved, but our car hit the other and we both spun.
Read More
Exceptional Irish Songwriters: Damien Rice
In this series I take a look at some of my favorite Irish songwriters. Some you may know, others you may not. With any luck you’ll make some new musical friends along the way… Please enjoy… Mr. Damien Rice
There Once Lived a Beast and Beauty
I remember it well... The first time that I saw. He was wearing a duffel coat the color of sand, hood-up like a monk. It was a winter night in Mullingar and Damien Rice was opening a show for a songwriter called Hally, who had just released an album called "A fascination with Poppy". I was around seventeen years old, with a great love for music, but no particular interest in songwriters. But something about this Rice guy caught my attention. It may have been his intensity? his voice? the songs? Probably all three. There was a sense of mystery about him, a story... That story was that he had walked away from a band seemingly on the edge of success (Juniper), travelled around Europe, and even spent some time living as a farmer in Tuscany. So far, so romantic. Read More

The World is Wide
"The World is Wide" official video (By Lucy Jones) coming this month... Listen to the album track and see stills from the video below:
I've got a friend called Lucy. Lucy is a video maker, and a saint. Last year at a show, she heard me play a song called "The World is Wide" and she was struck with the idea to make a video for it. Well I'm delighted to tell you that she's done it! She followed through and turned the idea into reality, and it looks beautiful. Read More

A Film-Maker, A Songwriter and a Grandmother walk into a Room…
Last month I had the pleasure of spending a day with Myles O'Reilly, an Irish Film-Maker whose work I've been a fan of for a long time. I knew that good things would come from the day but the resulting 11 minute film is greater than I could have ever wished for. I am so excited to share this with you:

Diving with a clear mind + Album release dates
I was chatting with a friend recently, let's call him Brian - because that's his name - we were listening to my soon-to-be-released album "Outlines". I told him that I was starting to feel a bit stressed out about what to do next. The recording process had been so natural, organic and peaceful the whole way through, but now that the record was done I was starting to feel overwhelmed about next steps. Read More

Exceptional Irish Songwriters – Rhob Cunningham
In this series I take a look at some of my favourite Irish songwriters. Some you may know, others you may not. With any luck you'll make some new musical friends along the way... Please enjoy... Mr. Rhob Cunningham. Read More

Video: Live From a Dublin Café
New songs "Things You're Dreaming of", "Always Kind" & "Tug", filmed live in Dublin May 2014.
A few weeks back, I played a show at Bewley's Café Theatre, one of my favourite venues in Dublin. Musicians With Cameras, the good people behind the "Every Little Thing" video, were in the crowd on the night and made this short musical film:
"From the opening swaying notes of ‘The Things You’re Dreaming Of’, Peter Doran’s music seems to fill the venue as the soft ambience of shimmering guitar backing the songwriter’s gently performed vocal. With the camera work cutting from Doran and his band performing to reactions from the captivated crowd, the musician’s clear talents are visually conveyed to great effect." - The last Mixed Tape Blog
Enjoy the Video? Feel like being awesome?...
Help us get the music to more people by sharing the video on Facebook / Twitter / etc. Grab it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thiu_o-SpRo
I hope these songs bring you some kind of joy. ~PD
Credits:
Filmed at Bewley's Café Theatre, by Luke Byrne and Stephen Allen, Thursday 29th May 2014. Edited by Stephen Allen
All songs by Peter Doran. Performed by Nicky Brennan (Electric Guitar), Darren Sweeney (Bass) and Peter Doran (Acoustic Guitar & Vocals)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the songs and the video! Would you like us to do a show in your town? Write to me at peterdoranmusic[at] gmail [dot] com or use the comment box below. I will get back to you.

“Outlines” – New Record is DONE
"Outlines", the fourth album from Peter Doran is due for release this Autumn.
My fourth album, "Outlines" has crossed the finish line! The album was mastered on Monday by Roger Seibel of SAE Mastering, in Arizona. Roger did an amazing job and the record sounds absolutely gorgeous! I chose Roger because he has mastered albums from many of my favourite singer/songwriters including Bill Callahan, Alela Diane, Laura Veirs, The Decemberists and Elliot Smith. He's pretty much the man for this genre of music. Read More
Tea, Chocolate, Music, Books.

The Story of Sleepless Street
> CLICK HERE TO GET SOME SLEEPLESS STREET IN YOUR LIFE <
Please share this music with anyone who might enjoy it. That's what it's there for after all.
Read MoreYou want the Moon?

“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary. ”
― George Bailey
Exceptional Irish Songwriters – Pearse McGloughlin –
