Sorcha Richardson
Sorcha Richardson
Words: Damien Joyce
There’s an old Irish word called “Aonarán”, which refers to someone who enjoys solitude rather than feeling lonely and it came to mind when talking with the Dublin singer/songwriter Sorcha Richardson about the release of her third album Draw The Outline.
Sorcha has several tracks including ‘Ruin the Night’, ‘Don’t Talk About It’, ‘Shark Eyes’, ‘Archie’ and ‘Oh Oscillator’ that I enjoy, but this new album already resonates more and will probably stay with me longer. It is pared back, contemplative and restorative listen while keeping a warm, full sound to her guitar surrounding her intimate vocals, especially on tracks like the album opener ‘Sea Pink Moon’, ‘Grenadine’ and ‘Dogs Best Man’.
I started our conversation by mentioning to Sorcha that I went back listening to her previous album Smiling like an Idiot, which I never thought was busy before, until I listened to these 2 albums side by side.
Sorcha: “Yes, Smiling like an idiot is the busiest of my albums. We made that at a studio in Dublin called The Clinic, that has an amazing analogue synth collection. There were so many fun keyboards, synths and machines to play with; we were quite experimental when we made that. For this Draw The Outline album, one of the things that was most important was space. Chris W. Ryan, who produced this album, and I spent a lot of time muting and carving stuff out. I wanted there to be less going on, I’m happy for those albums to be cousins rather than siblings.”
Damien: One of the lead singles, ‘Illinois Again’ has this great line:
You said, "Don’t go get all in your head about it[Text Wrapping Break] But babe, that’s the only place I know"
Was that an anchor track that you built around, or were there lots of different ideas going on?
Sorcha: “The first thing I started writing was ‘Illinois Again’. But I also knew for a while, I didn’t want to treat it as the anchor because I knew I wanted that to be the ceiling of the album in terms of the sonic intensity of it. There were times when I found some of this album hard to write and to finish. Some of the songs I made many different demos of very different versions of them. But I think part of that was because I knew I wanted to make an album that was more understated. Sometimes I would spook myself a little bit, and I would lose my nerve a little bit and be wondering, is this entertaining enough? That’s when your producer becomes really important, because they can kind of remind you of what you set out to do.”
Damien: You don’t need to reveal what tracks are autobiographical or not, but are you someone who goes into your head a lot?
Sorcha: “I’m finding that I’m becoming more and more so, yes. But I don’t know if that’s since I moved to West Kerry. I spend more time by myself; I go on long walks and long train rides alone. I found myself not trying to fill that space with entertainment. Perhaps that’s where some of these songs came from.”
Damien: Do you think the move to West Kerry has helped you settle into yourself a bit more?
Sorcha: “I think it’s made me a bit happier. After the COVID-19 pandemic, I was living in Dublin for a couple of years. I didn’t quite know how to come down from being on tour, and so I never felt rested. I always felt a little bit that the adrenaline was still in me, and I don’t think that really suited me. Even though I haven’t been to Kerry for like a month because for me to live in West Kerry is to never be there! But it means that when I do get to be there, even for three or four days, that sort of equals maybe three weeks of downtime in Dublin”
Damien: Do you feel connected to the land down there?
Sorcha: “I really do, much of the album I wrote when I was out of the house enjoying the expanse of the landscape, every way you look, it’s the sea, the mountains and the cliffs.”
Damien: In this modern world built for noise, quiet music is sort of an act of resistance in a way?
Sorcha: “I don’t know if it was being completely overstimulated by the world when I was making this album, but I was listening to a lot more instrumental music. I would drive from Dublin to Kerry and often not listen to anything. I think I was really craving space, stillness and quiet, and that is something I was really trying to capture in the album while still writing choruses and melodies.”
Damien: Yes, and I think it sounds great. Dare, I say maybe as a result of getting a little bit older?
Sorcha: “Sometimes I think when I was younger, I was always outwardly confident, but I think sometimes that confidence comes from insecurity. I’m more comfortable now with not knowing the answer and not proving myself so much. I think I maybe got to a point where I felt; it’s actually okay to be a little bit quieter. I don’t feel I need to convince people of myself, so much that maybe I did ten years ago.”
Damien: You’re almost fifteen years writing and performing, how are you now at those few final moments before you get on stage?
Sorcha: “So much more comfortable. I mean, there’s always an adrenaline spike, but it’s one that I’m very familiar with now that it doesn’t freak me out. For so long, I didn’t know what to do with that feeling and I thought I had to pretend I wasn’t nervous. Sometimes a show is incredible, and then sometimes a show is okay. Maybe that’s because the venue is a weird size, or maybe it was a Monday, or maybe I just was a little funny that day. I think going into a show and being excited for it and wanting it to be good and being prepared for it, but without feeling like it’s going to define you is a good place to be.”
Damien: You spent four years in New York studying creative writing, did that help or hinder you in your own songwriting?
Sorcha: “I think it helps me a lot. I didn’t really have my own voice as a songwriter, perhaps until after I finished my creative writing degree. I think part of that was because obviously you’re just getting older, and you’re learning to not wear your influences so heavily. But there was a lot that I took from it that I sort of started to apply to my songwriting, which I think is why my first two albums are so narrative driven. They’re like a collection of short stories in a way, which is what my degree was. So, I think that it gave me a sort of way of looking at the world, observing and learning how to write that down. You’re always trying not to get stuck in your own habits. That's why I love tours because every day you get a chance to do it again.”
Damien: I guess this album must add to a great live performance because you’ve got a wider palette range?
Sorcha: “Yes, even I think that’s partly why I made this album because having toured the last two albums for the past couple years, you just start to feel like you want to go somewhere slightly different for the benefit of the live show as well.”
Catch Sorcha on tour in November, with her dates in Kerry, Cork, Dublin - The Academy on Friday Nov 6th - and Belfast. Draw The Outline is out now on vinyl, CD and Digital. sorcharichardson.bandcamp.com
