Posts tagged Audrey Gallagher

It’s interesting to note that Audrey Gallagher got her big break from radio. Well, kind of. In this revealing interview, she also talks about being completely insulated from knowing of the success and impact of “Big Sky.” After achieving early success as a vocalist for the rockband Scheer in the early 1990s, Audrey Gallagher began her journey into electronic music in 2004 as Aureus. In 2007, as Audrey Gallagher, her track “Big Sky” was voted trance anthem of the year. Audrey is now one of dance’s most sought after singers. Radio KUL Extra talks about the leap to electronic territory, and her comeback plans for this year.

Audrey Gallagher

Do tell us how you got involved in making dance music.
It’s all been a little accidental. I had been working on an project called Lima with Neal Calderwood and we’d recorded a few tracks and sent them to local radio stations. Paul McClean who was working with BBC radio in Northern Ireland got hold of the tracks and he played a few to Chris from Agnelli & Nelson. The boys got in touch and and we wrote Holding onto Nothing. Through them I met John O’Callaghan and through that met Armin van Buuren.

You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in dance music. Agnelli & Nelson, Armin van Buuren, and John O Callaghan just to name a few. What do you notice that they seem to have in common?
While they all have different styles & different ways of working they are all incredibly passionate about what they do. They love music, they have MASSIVE record collections and they all look for a level of perfection. I’ve loved working with all of them.

Ireland must be extremely proud of your accomplishments. Does music run in your family and did you grow up making music?
I have no idea how Ireland feels about what I’m doing. I live in a pretty rural area & I don’t go to clubs so I don’t really know what goes on. I’m always proud when musicians from Ireland, whatever the genre, get a break. My whole family is musical. It’s been, and still is, a massive part of our lives. There was always music in the house. I had piano lessons and was in the school & church choirs. I was also an Irish Dancer so I think that’s where my sense of rhythm comes from. I joined a rockband when i was still at school and started writing properly. We released 2 albums so it feels like I’ve always been involved with music. I still go to traditional Irish singing sessions with my Dad.

Are you in the midst of working on new material? Do clue us in about what your current plans are.
I have been working on new material and have just finished tracks with Claudia Cazacu and Australian No.1 TyDi. I’ve also written a new track with John O’Callaghan which will be on his new album. I have some other projects in the pipeline but I’m not the fastest songwriter in the world so you’ll have to wait & see.

Do share with us about the process of recording “Holding Onto Nothing” and “Big Sky.” These were recorded very far apart. Both tunes remain sealed in history as some of the dance’s biggest anthems, but how did it differ working on both tracks?
Thank you. With Holding Onto Nothing all three of us were in the studio writing, it was my first experience of writing to a dance track. With Big Sky, John was in Dublin and I was up North, we’d never even met. John sent me the basic chords and I sent back the vocals and luckily it worked very well. This seems to be the way I’ve worked since. I’m very lucky to have my own studio and a great producer in Neal Calderwood and luckily the people I write with seem to like what I do.

Tell us about a pleasant highlight in your music career so far.
I think seeing the reaction to Big Sky, first at Planet Love and then at Armin Only. As I said earlier, I live in the country and don’t go to clubs so I had no idea what was happening with the track. I went to Planet Love to meet John. Armin played the track in his set and pulled me up onstage and i could see and hear 10,000 people singing the song. To see that was amazing. All you can do is write your music and put it out there, what happens to it after that is out of your hands.

What’s the best thing about being on tour, and which has been the most memorable place you’ve been to so far.
The best thing is having the chance to perform and see your music come alive and to see what it can mean to some people. Also on the Armin Only tour I met some great people and have made some good friends, we’ve all had a laugh. Everywhere I’ve been has been different in a good way, they’ve all been great. But a big shout out to Bucharest Armin Only crowd who stuck it out through the rain, and I mean heavy rain, all night.

Who would you like to work with given a chance?
There are so many people. I’d love to work with Linkin Park, I love their sense of melody. Also Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode and Solarstone, again great ear for melody.

And lastly, any message for your fans who are reading this.
Thanks to everybody who’s enjoyed the music and made it their own.

Audrey Gallagher is set to guesthost Radio KUL episode 082 with Simon Lee and Alvin on Friday, April 17th, 2009, with special invited mix from Kyau and Albert. Don’t miss it!

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