Introducing... Ailbhe Reddy – Songwriting Magazine (2024)

Duncan Haskell

on 11 February 2017 at 9:23 pm

Ailbhe Reddy: “I wrote all the lyrics at my desk in work”

Getting to know a songwriter from Dublin whose captivating blend of indie-folk music is filled with honesty and universal appeal

Name: Ailbhe Reddy

Age: 25

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Style: Brooding indie-folk

Look out for: Relent is out now

For Dublin songwriter Ailbhe Reddy, music is all about honesty. Not just her own dark indie-folk but also in the songs that she loves. “Fiona Apple doesn’t just write about the other person in the relationship and all the crap they’ve done,” says Reddy. “She also writes about her own shortcomings. Her songs are so personal yet I can relate to them on my own level and to me that’s what a really good song is,” she continues.

“When I heard Love Ridden off of her When The Pawn… album for the first time, I was blown away. It’s so simple but the lyrics are something you can understand, even though they’re clearly very personal.”

It’s a skill that Reddy clearly possesses herself, as can be heard on the startlingly affecting single, Relent. “I wrote all the lyrics at my desk in work,” she says. “I take notes on everything. I work in an office job and make notes on the back of envelopes. I also write little things down on my phone. I constantly have these streams of consciousness that I try to throw together and that helps, especially with a song like Relent.”

As the track swells, the listener can’t help but feel that they’re hearing an emotional exorcism of sorts, and wonder how it was born in the mind of its creator? “It was six months after a breakup and I was starting to think about it properly. After you’ve processed things, there’s a bit of retrospect there and I think that can make a feeling a bit guiltier. I thought that releasing Relent would be really scary, just because it’s so personal, but the more people listen to it and respond to it and relate to it, the further away from it from me it is and it’s become more universal.”

The news that Reddy is performing in the UK for the first time at The Servant Jazz Quarters in London on 15 February gives fans the chance to hear her rich voice live and it’s sure to provide a perfectly intimate setting in which to experience her honest and heartfelt music. We can’t wait!

Interview: Duncan Haskell

Find out more here ailbhereddy.com