The Story of Blue Mountains

March 29, 2021

<a href="https://peterdoran.bandcamp.com/track/blue-mountains-feat-haley-heynderickx">Blue Mountains (feat. Haley Heynderickx) by Peter Doran</a>

It’s a Monday afternoon and I’m listening to Anais Mitchell’s Young Man in America record. Outside there are birds flitting around the feeders hanging from the cherry tree. The day is grey but thankfully dry.

On Friday the second single from my upcoming album Voices was released. The song is called Blue Mountains and you can listen to it at the link above or wherever you stream your music.

This song is the most straight ahead folk-country thing I’ve ever written. I wrote it quickly on a guitar that I inherited after the passing of one of my favorite people and musical mentor, Vinny Baker. Vinny was a huge fan of bluegrass and country music and I’m convinced there was a lot of that energy still in the instrument when I picked it up for the first time and the song kind of came from that and from his spirit. Strange thing to say, but I believe it.

Check out the great Vinny Baker blazing away on this beautiful Bourgeois guitar:

I’VE BEEN THERE IN A SONG

Around this time I saw the American songwriter Sam Amidon performing in Vicar Street in Dublin, Ireland. He played his song “Blue Mountains” and I was completely spell bound by it. Whatever it was about the mood in the venue and the hypnotic nature of the song and his performance but I felt transported to these Blue Mountains, I felt like I was there.

This feeling stuck with me in the coming days, how it was so amazing that music can sometimes completely lift you out of yourself and transport you into an other world. So this gave me the first line of my song “I’ve never been to the Blue Mountains, but I’ve been there in a song”. That was the song. From there the rest of the song just flowed… I imagined a guy, a simple, clean living man going about his days, working his 9 to 5 just getting on with things… He’s got a good relationship on the go and things are going just fine. But there at the back of his mind is the idea of leaving the whole world behind and moving with his lover to live out his days deep in the Blue Mountains.

That’s it, it’s a very simple folky love song but it’s got some quality of peacefulness and contentment in it that I like and I hope others do too.

“I HEAR A WOMAN’S VOICE ON THAT ONE…”

Before we made an official start on recording the album, I spent an afternoon with producer Hally (Ronan O’Halloran). We sat together in the studio where we would record the album and I played all the songs that I had, just voice and acoustic guitar. I wanted him to hear the tunes and get his feedback and ideas about production etc. After I finished playing Blue Mountains he immediately said “I hear a woman’s voice on that one”. That sounded like a good idea to me so I told him I’d think about who might be around that could work on the track. As luck would have it, one of my favorite songwriters and people, Haley Heynderickx, happened to be on tour in Ireland around the time we are set to start on recordings.

I opened up a few shows for Haley on that tour and even promoted a sold out show for her in my hometown of Mullingar. She and Andrew Stonestreet spent about a week with myself and my wife at our old farmhouse in the Irish midlands. It was a fine time we had. I asked Haley if she would be up for singing on a track with me on the new record and she kindly obliged! The recording turned out really well I think. On the morning of the session we worked on it a little over the breakfast table and played through it a couple of times. It was very easy and relaxed. At the studio we set up together performed it live. I think the album recording is about the third take we did, and listening back now it makes me very happy just how well our voices locked together for the phrasing and emotional intensity. Haley is genuinely one of my favorite artists so it’s just a real treat that we got to make this little audio document together.

I first met Haley maybe six years previously when she was visiting Ireland and performing at some open mic nights. It was just pure chance really that we ended up on the same bill. I was struck by her quality and her spirit then and still am. I was playing a show in Dublin that week and I invited her up to sing a song mid set. Captured here on camera by Musicians with Cameras:

At that time I was recording an album called Outlines, and I asked Haley about singing on a track called Bright White Hearts , we didn’t get to make it happen for that song but it just goes to show that if a thing is meant to be… life is long.

Anyway I really hope you enjoy the song. Thanks for reading and thanks for listening.

If you’re on Spotify you can follow my artist page here

~ Peter

“Delicate and absolutely stunning” – Ed Smith, Today FM
“Peter Doran and Haley Heynderickx weave a wonderfully gentle slice of folk with their duet “Blue Mountains”. Simply a joy to listen to – The Last Mixed Tape
“Blue Mountains” may be a perfect folk song. Doran and Heynderickx’s voices blend perfectly together. It’s such a chilled out, beautiful folk song that is impossible not to be sucked in by. There aren’t many perfect songs out there, but “Blue Mountain” is one. – If it’s too loud.com (music blog)
Ahead of the release of his upcoming album Voices (out May 7), Peter Doran shares his stunning new track ‘Blue Mountains’. Incorporating elements of folk, Americana and country, he’s joined on the track by American songwriter Haley Heynderickx – Hotpress

~ Peter

Nothing New Under the Sun

February 11, 2021

Cover Pic by Kevin May / Graphic Design Eugen Kern-Emden

11th February 2021

“Nothing New Under the Sun”, the first single from my upcoming album “Voices”, will be released tomorrow on streaming platforms world-wide. Special thanks to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. I am so excited for this song – and the record as a whole – to at last see the light of day. I hope that you love it every bit as much as I do.

“Nothing New Under the Sun” is a song about those moments when you feel uninspired and sleepwalking through your days. It’s about recognizing that feeling and figuring out a way to shake yourself free of it. “Give me one time, something tribal, something bloody for my survival”. The final verse offers hope of reinvention and the belief that there is something yet to become.

It’s been six years since my last single release – “Moon” from the “Outlines” album in 2015. Six years seems like an eternity, and maybe it is, but things take the time they take and sometimes you just have to follow the flow – or lack thereof as the case may be.

In those years I have gotten married and moved into an Old Farmhouse just outside my hometown of Mullingar. Since moving here I have tried my hand at growing vegetables / lime-plastering / digging holes / fixing stone walls / chopping Timber / planting fruit trees /basic wood-working / Concert Promotion / painting / music-studio building and of course continued adventures in Songwriting. All this is to say I haven’t been in complete hibernation these last years.

Having such a space of time between records makes this new one feel in a way like a debut album. There was lots of time to work on songs, time to live with them and let them grow organically until they were at a place that I was really happy with. I am very proud indeed of this bunch of songs.

At the beginning of 2019 I had songs enough to make what I believed could be a very good record. But I had no plan in place about how I would record them. One of my ambitions then and now is to make a record in my own home studio here in the farmhouse. But work was progressing slower on that front than I had hoped so I needed to find a place to record. An early idea was to try and get access to the closed-down studio where I recorded my first album “Wood”. I could bring in some mics and try to work away myself like I had done for “Outlines”, but I quickly abandoned that idea because I really wanted to work with other people on this one. To surround myself with good people. Good musicians. So that we could kind of bounce off each other in an inspiring and musical way and hopefully bring the best out of these songs.

I reached out to my friend Hally who has a studio a little over an hour away from me and asked if he would be interested in recording / producing the album with me. I knew Hally for a few years at that point and admired him both as a musician and an engineer / producer. Hally, thankfully, was excited by the idea and we set to work planning out a timeline for recording and discussing recording philosophies and approach etc. and who we might try and get to play on the album.

I will write more about the whole process in the coming weeks but for now I am just so excited for people to hear the first fruit of this labor tomorrow. The first single “Nothing New Under the Sun” was the first song we tackled on the day one of band recordings so it seems fitting to put it out ahead of the other songs as a taster of what’s to come.
I’m so thankful to the musicians involved and I feel blessed to have so many incredible artists add their musicality to this project. The first notes of the song are played by cellist Mary Barnecutt who made the wonderful string arrangement for this song. Violin & Viola were played by Aoife Ní Dhornáin.

The stupidly talented Lenny Cahill played drums, bass, piano and organ on this track and – as with the majority of the record – he is the musical glue of this song. Without his sensibility, musical intuition and creative input this would be a much different record. The icing on the cake then was to have Emmett Tinley sing harmony on the song. Emmett is one of my favourite songwriters and to have him be part of this song was such a great treat.

Well that’s it, I’m excited to take these first steps with the new album. There will be no shows for a little while yet so I will do all I can to get the music “out there” as they say. You can listen to the song on my Spotify page or stream / download on Bandcamp from tomorrow. Please do follow me on either or both platforms to keep up to date with all the new music that’s coming this year.

Thanks for reading,
thanks for listening

~ Peter

10 Years of Rain

March 15, 2017

Last September my debut album “Wood” turned 10 years old. I gathered up some of the original guys who played on the album and had an anniversary show in my favourite home town venue, The Stables in Mullingar. The concert was captured for posterity by the talented and lovely folks at Kerbute Productions.

We’re going to be releasing individual songs from the night over the next couple of months, but right now I’m delighted to share the first in this series. I thought we’d start off with something with a little bit more energy than is usual in my songs. I do hope you enjoy. This one is called “Rain” … It was a lot of fun.

Please share as far and wide as you can and help the musics to reach new people. Thanks!

…and here, if you’re curious, is the same song, played on the same stage, from about ten years earlier…

↞ Newer Post: A fascination with Hally

Older Post: Anthem ↠

Anthem

January 21, 2017

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

New song in the works… "Anthem" Rewrite the anthem rip up the contract(s) I feel a golden age coming on rewrite the anthem – rewrite the song when the Kingdom falls and the king don't come When the dam won't hold and the water runs When the veil lifts and the pieces fit We trade our skin for a new skin We trade our skin for a new skin Oh – let's play Oh – let's play on Oh yeah let's play Let's play God #singersongwriter #acousticguitar #bourgeoisguitars #irishmusic #originalmusic #indiemusic

A video posted by @peterdoran on Jan 21, 2017 at 7:51am PST

↞ Newer Post: 10 Years of Rain

Older Post: Bowie, Spooky Ghosts & Creativity ↠

Go Slow – Live on the lake

December 14, 2016

It’s less than two weeks to Christmas. I’m sitting in a coffee shop, surrounded by Christmas lights. On the radio – “I don’t like cricket – I love it”. A painted snowman wearing a black top hat stares at me from the window with two uneven black eyes. Today is Wednesday and I’ve made an arrangement with myself to make Wednesday website day. Tell me why is it hard to make arrangements with yourself?

This week I want to share a song that I recorded last month in Switzerland… This song has been in the air for a year or more now and has taken a long time to come together. Some songs are like that… tricksy, crafty things. I can’t say for sure if it’s done yet, or if it’s as good as I think it should be. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what a song is. But with this one I must be patient. That is the central theme of the song… to be patient with things as they unfold… that every step in becoming is important, that it’s not good to rush things.

This was filmed on the lake in Brienz, Switzerland, which is one of my favourite places in the world. Filmed on an iPhone by my friend René, a guitar maker, a Jedi of wood and an altogether wonderful human being. He filmed with the phone in one hand and an oar in the other. You can hear the oar cut the water has we slowly turn around to take in all the mountains behind us. Hope you enjoy the song – if you do, please share on your Facebooks / Twitter / take a screen shot, print it out and put up on your fridge … however you can make the songs travel is good 🙂

Go Slow

“Noise, when the lights go out in your playground mind.
Noise in the dance club that’s your heart sometimes
and there’s noise in your muscles aching to climb
but there’s quiet underneath this that you’re trying to find

Go Slow, Go slow, good change will slowly come
Go slow and know that this is your becoming
Yours alone

Well a man gets lost in the stories that he tells
Be kind with the names that you give to yourself
and I know that you’re running to be more than you are
don’t the stars have their rhythms , it’s the same in your heart

Go Slow, Go slow, good change will slowly come
Go slow and know that this is your becoming

In your rise, in your fall, in your dusk, in your dawn
In your changing mind, in your animal heart
Go Slow…

Go Slow, Go slow, good change is slowly coming
Go slow and know that this is your becoming”

–

↞ Previous Post: Leonard Cohen

Next Post: Lazarus – A Resurrection Story ↠

Leonard Cohen

December 7, 2016

Leonard Cohen considered himself nothing more than a minor poet. I considered him a master. I fell in love, first with his work, and afterwards with the man. I loved the wisdom in his words and the deep calm of his speaking voice. He could sing too. His voice changed a lot of over the decades, in the end there was little difference between Leonard singing and Leonard speaking.

For me, he was an inspiration, as a songwriter of course, but equally so as a human being. Somehow, Leonard’s brand of greatness seemed like something you could dare to reach out for in a lifetime. Whereas someone like Bob Dylan seems like an altogether different creature, Leonard was human, vulnerable and not perfect. He wrote slowly, carefully. He spoke in the same way. He was drawn to hard work and discipline, and had an unerring commitment to his craft. These same impulses showed up in his spiritual life. In 1996 he was ordained a Zen Buddhist monk following a five year retreat to Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles, a well earned break from Boogie Street.

from Leonardcohenforum.com

In reading about the man and watching many interviews, his humility and humour always shone through above all else. His presence, clarity, his thoughtfulness and charm was always deeply inspiring. Truly inspiring, as in … “this is the type of human being I would like to be someday”. These are the type of qualities I would like to nurture in my own life.

one of my favourite interviews with Leonard Cohen

When he passed, It felt like the death of a friend or a family member. A disturbance in the force. We have lost a master and the world feels darker for his light not being there. But, like Bowie earlier this year, he has left us with a last parting gift. His final album, “You want it darker” is to my mind, one of his best. Lyrically and musically it’s pretty much flawless and the production – courtesy of his son Adam – sounds warmer and truer than maybe anything he’s done. If you haven’t heard the record yet I can’t recommend it enough – so beautiful. I hope it brought him some comfort to know that he was going out with some of his best work. Maybe he didn’t think about those things at the end. Maybe he was just doing what he always did, waking up early and getting to work. He said in recent interviews that he knew his time was coming to an end and that he was simply trying to put his affairs in order; to finish old poems and make sure all his business affairs were taken care of, that his children would be okay.

Leonard Cohen with his young Son Adam.

I am deeply thankful for all the gifts Leonard Cohen gave to the world. Thankful that he continued to work through years of anxiety and depression and come out on the other side. Thankful for his songs and for his Grace. He is gone now to stand before the Lord of song, with nothing on his tongue but Hallelujah. He will be missed.

For further reading I highly recommend Sylvie Simmons excellent book “I’m Your Man”.

My version of “Bird on the Wire” , Switzerland, November 2016

↞ Previous Post: First Champions

Next Post: Go Slow – Live on the lake ↠

First Champions

July 20, 2016

There is a book called “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron. It’s a work book of sorts for artists and aspiring artists. For some reason my Mother had a copy. I think she skimmed through it before deciding it wasn’t for her. She gave it to me and I immediately put it in my desk drawer, where it sat untouched for about a year.

Now that I’m beginning to get over all the excitement of getting married, I feel a desire to re-commit to the business of living a good creative life. So I’ve started working through the book. One of the exercises in the first week is to write a letter to one of your early artistic champions. Someone who believed in your abilities from the start. So I wrote a letter. I wrote to Vinny.

Vinny Baker was a friend of my Father and the greatest guitar player I ever heard. He was the single biggest influence of my first musical years. An inspiration, he was the ideal to work towards. The gold standard. Together we picked out my first real acoustic guitar and together we recorded the album “Wood” in 2006 at his VeeBee Studios. He passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly three years ago today. I think about him all the time.

Letter to your champion:

Dear Vinny,

I want to thank you for letting your love of music spill over into everyone who met you. I’m thankful to have been exposed to your passion and musical knowledge at such a young age. Music lit you up and then it lit me up. You were the wise man handing out knowledge with kindness and warmth. You were my teacher and guide. When I was a boy you were a God and now you are gone. You were discipline and joy. You loved your instrument and the hum of electric amplifiers. You hated all pretence.

I remember hiding, spellbound and underage, in darkened corners of pubs all over the country, watching you performing miracles on a red Fender Stratocaster. I remember a note that went on forever. I knew then that I wanted more than anything to be a musician.

“Wood” is almost ten years old. That record wouldn’t exist without you. I remember clearly, early mornings at the new VeeBee studio. Before any work could begin, we would have coffee, and maybe a sandwich or a slice of toast. It was a very important and exciting time. Thank you for your enthusiasm and patience on that project.

This was my education and music was a warm blanket I was wrapped up in. I was in love. I owe you more than I know and now you’re gone. Your guitar is under my care and I try every time I pick it up to do it justice, to honour your spirit in the wood, and in the world.

I will be forever thankful for the time you gave me and for the sparks in your hands.

Vinny’s Bourgeois Sloped-D Dreadnought guitar (Now owned by Peter)

↞ Previous Post: The Great Trade

Next Post: Leonard Cohen ↠

The Great Trade

June 22, 2016

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.

: The Great Trade

: 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

↞ Previous Post: Wedding Bells & Glaciers

Next Post: First Champions ↠

Sugar Rush – Dublin, June 20th

June 15, 2015

Live in Munich last month.

A week from now, I play The Sugar Club in Dublin city. I last played this beautiful venue in 2006, almost ten years ago, for the release of my first record “Wood”. It’s crazy how much has changed since then. It’s a whole new cast of characters, a whole new bag of atoms, instruments and songs! I was 22 years old then and bringing my very first record into the world. It was a good night and an exciting time. I must have been nervous as hell because I remember breaking a string on the very first song! I never break strings.

Live at the Sugar Club at the Wood album launch, September 2006.

Sadly, two of the musicians that played on that night in 2006 have passed away in the last years – Vinny Baker (who was my musical mentor and great friend, and who produced the album we were launching that evening) and Cani Bruton, a fantastic bassist and long time friend who played on my first two albums. Both are hugely missed and have left deep holes in man peoples lives. I’m sure some of their spirit will be in the music next week. In fact, recently I had the opportunity to acquire one of Vinny’s acoustic guitars, It’s a stunning instrument and I’ll be playing it next week, trying to do the great man proud!

The Late Greats. Two hugely talented and deeply missed friends -Cani Bruton & Vinny Baker.

The venue is beautiful with a great vibe and warm, clear sound. I’ve seen some great shows there in the last years. Among them Jazz singer Gregory Porter (one of the most amazing singers I’ve ever heard in the flesh), fellow Irish songwriter Rhob Cunningham, and most recently the mind-bendingly good Snarky Puppy. The room has the feeling of a classy old cinema or theatre, with it’s comfortable tiered seats, oval tables and wood pannelled walls.

The Sugar Club

For this gig on June 20th, I have the good fortune to be joined by the stupendously talented Nicky Brennan on electric gutar and Darren Sweeney on Bass. We’ll mostly be playing songs from the “Outlines” and “Overhead the Stars” records, along with a couple of brand new ones that I’m enjoying playing recently.

With a week to go I’m starting to feel that usual mixture of and excitement that comes with putting on a big show. On a Saturday night in our Capital City… I’m not nervous about the performance, the stage is where I feel the most at home and comfortable… the most relaxed. The songs are in good shape after two months of touring here and abroad. The guitars have just been re-strung. I’ve done good advertising, having put probably more money than is sensible into postering in the city and online stuff too… I’ve individually reached out to almost everyone I know and told them of the gig.

But yet, there is still the worry. The nervousness comes from that little voice in my head that Steven Pressfield calls “resistance”. Resistance appears whenever you try something bold, whenever you create something, whenever you go out on a limb… For me the voice says things like “

1. Nobody’s coming to your show.
2. Nobody cares what you have to sing about.
3. Bob Dylan already wrote all the songs.
4. Everybody is going to see the Script instead.
5. Acoustic guitars are stupid.
6. Art is stupid.
7. Why don’t you get a real job.
8. Nobody’s coming to your show.”

But that’s not real, it’s just the resistance talking, the fear. As an artist you can’t let the fear get to you. Instead we do the show, we keep believing, we make the art, we sing from our f**king hearts and no matter what we a never ever give up. That is the only thing that matters. To have the chance to sing to people and to bring some joy to their evening is a very special thing and I’m thankful for that.

I’m so excited to sing some songs with friends in the Sugar Club next week.

Hope you can be there with us and bring all your song loving friends along.

Tickets on sale through ticketmaster.ie and tickets.ie ( with the latter being the slightly cheaper option)

Best wishes

-Peter

Exceptional Irish Songwriters: Damien Rice

February 11, 2015

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

Damien Rice – Manhattan.
photo by Lisa Carpenter Photography

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

In the Beginning.

January 15, 2015

Young Peter with curly hair & dirty Cheeks

I’ve been told that when I was very young, I would sometimes sit in the field behind my Grandmother’s house, hitting on plastic bottles and singing “Let it be” by the Beatles. Mrs Byrne, a retired music teacher who lived next door to my Grandmother, would tell my Granny that she saw some ability in me. I have no memory of this, but it’s a nice picture to have. Read More

The Songwriter’s Guide To Album Release Day:

October 24, 2014

Today is the 24th October 2014. This is the day that “Outlines” my fourth studio album, is available for the first time in digital stores the world over. You’ll find it on itunes, amazon, spotify and a host of other places that albums go to wait for hungry music-lovers (OR music-hungry lovers!) to come along and snap them up. Read More

The World is Wide

September 3, 2014

“The World is Wide” official video (By Lucy Jones) coming this month… Listen to the album track and see stills from the video below:

Lucas and Zakk Baker in the Official Video for “The World is wide”

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…

August 25, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for free newsletter here

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:

“Brilliant 11 minutes. So much more than a music video. Bone-marrow Irish but some how also Universal. So Fine.” – @Stilpix via Twitter

Have you heard Alela Diane?

August 21, 2014

“Your eyes were green, your skin was darker than the colour of my own. We took a shower in the dark. Your Mother wasn’t home. O I think of you sometimes. Of the snow, and that Colorado Winter Blue.”

Alela Diane

Every now and then I come across a song or an artist that entirely captivates me. A voice or a mood that calls me in and holds my attention with force. It happens rarer than I’d like, but that’s what makes these things special. Music like this isn’t to be found at every turn, and when you do find it, or it finds you – be thankful, and devour it. Read More

Meet the Muse:

August 14, 2014

Things are busy in Doran-Ville at the moment. “Outlines” is finished, artwork, videos and shows are all on the way. But this weekend is a very special one for me on a personal level. My good lady Therese and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary as a couple. This is starting to get serious!

Excuse me while I bite your head off.

Diving with a clear mind + Album release dates

July 23, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for free newsletter here

Swedish high diver Arvid Spangberg at the 1908 Olympic Games from the fourth Olympiad.

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

Video: Live From a Dublin Café

July 9, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for free newsletter here

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

July 2, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for newsletter & get free music here

Here, in this little house, we made a record.

“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

Musical Values in a digital age:

June 19, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for newsletter & get free music here.

Photo by Sergey Sergeev (Wet Plate Collodion)

Some thoughts on abundance vs scarcity, & the values of recorded and live music in the digital age:

Shooting the Lighthouse: Video Day 1.

June 11, 2014

Written by Peter Doran for peterdoran.com. Sign up for newsletter and get free music here.

__________________________________________________________________________

On shoot for “The World is Wide” Video – Photo by Lucy Jones, June 8th 2014.

I’m feeling a bit hyper and caffeinated this morning. Last night was another late one. It came after a long but enjoyable day of trekking and adventuring with Lucy Jones and John Hennessy of Kerbute Productions (Video-makers extraordinaire). It was day one of making a video for a song of mine called “The World is Wide”. The song is about two children with adventurous hearts. We spent the day at Howth, a picturesque village on the outskirts of Dublin.

Tea, Chocolate, Music, Books.

June 5, 2014

My mouth tastes of dark chocolate and green tea. I’m at the kitchen table listening to Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” record, a life-shaking album if there ever was one! I’m not feeling in full-blown essay mode this week, but I’d like to share some of the interesting things that have crossed my mind, eyes and ears in the last week or so: Read More

The Story of Sleepless Street

May 28, 2014

My second album “Sleepless Street” celebrated its fourth birthday this week. If you haven’t heard it yet, now is the perfect time to discover it… For a little while, “Sleepless Street” is available as a free download over at bandcamp.com.

> CLICK HERE TO GET SOME SLEEPLESS STREET IN YOUR LIFE <

Name-your-price Download of “Sleepless Street” at Bandcamp.com

Please share this music with anyone who might enjoy it. That’s what it’s there for after all.

The Rattle in your Puzzle Box

May 7, 2014

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Recently, I went through a bit of an Alan Watts obsession. He got me thinking about the self, the ego and all that good stuff. A lot of these ideas spilled out into a song called “Puzzle Box”. The finished song will be on my new album “Outlines” which is coming this September. For now though, for a taste and a tease, I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of the song in raw form. Read More

You want the Moon?

April 24, 2014

“Last Night I was dreaming about you my love, last night I was dreaming of you. In the morning you didn’t materialise, in the morning you didn’t come true” – Peter Doran , “Moon”

Come close, I’ve got a new song for you…

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“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

peter-doran

The Story of Blue Mountains

I’VE BEEN THERE IN A SONG

“I HEAR A WOMAN’S VOICE ON THAT ONE…”

Nothing New Under the Sun

10 Years of Rain

Anthem

Go Slow – Live on the lake

Leonard Cohen

First Champions

Letter to your champion:

The Great Trade

Introducing “The Great Trade”

Blackberry Wine (Lyrics)

Sugar Rush – Dublin, June 20th

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

In the Beginning.

The Songwriter’s Guide To Album Release Day:

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:

A Film-Maker, A Songwriter and a Grandmother walk into a Room…

Have you heard Alela Diane?

“Your eyes were green, your skin was darker than the colour of my own. We took a shower in the dark. Your Mother wasn’t home. O I think of you sometimes. Of the snow, and that Colorado Winter Blue.”

Meet the Muse:

Things are busy in Doran-Ville at the moment. “Outlines” is finished, artwork, videos and shows are all on the way. But this weekend is a very special one for me on a personal level. My good lady Therese and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary as a couple. This is starting to get serious!

Diving with a clear mind + Album release dates

Video: Live From a Dublin Café

New songs “Things You’re Dreaming of”, “Always Kind” & “Tug”, filmed live in Dublin May 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thiu_o-SpRo

“Outlines” – New Record is DONE

“Outlines”, the fourth album from Peter Doran is due for release this Autumn.

Musical Values in a digital age:

Some thoughts on abundance vs scarcity, & the values of recorded and live music in the digital age:

Shooting the Lighthouse: Video Day 1.

Tea, Chocolate, Music, Books.

The Story of Sleepless Street

Please share this music with anyone who might enjoy it. That’s what it’s there for after all.

The Rattle in your Puzzle Box

You want the Moon?