Brightening the corners

Other Voices: Songs From A Room, the television series shot in Dingle, Co. Kerry on the run-up to Christmas and presented by Frames frontman Glen Hansard, will hit TV screens in Ireland at the end of February.

The series features some of the leading names from the new wave of Irish singers and songwriters who have emerged over the past few years, including Hansard himself, Damien Rice, Paddy Casey, Damien Dempsey, Nina Hynes, Maria Doyle-Kennedy, Fergus O’Farrell and Martin Finke, amongst others.

Described by producer Philip King as being like a "photograph of a moment in time" in Irish music, the series was shot over a six-day period in the Church-of-Ireland Church of St James in Dingle, which became an intimate venue for the occasion. The live shows, which produced some sparkling musical moments, have been transformed into 13 half-hour broadcasts, which will run every Tuesday night on N2 at 9pm.

The first of the shows will be screened on February 25th and features music from The Frames. Other early highlights in the series include appearances by Damien Rice (4 March), Interference (11 March) and Damien Dempsey (18 March).

"I don’t know if it’s the right word to use about musicians operating in this vein, but there was something convivial going on during the week," Philip King comments. "It was like the beginning of a musical relationship for some of the artists involved. A number of them began to write songs together, so that it became a context for something creative to happen."

The series will be launched on February 20th – a Thursday night – when a special edition of the John Kelly radio show Mystery Train will be broadcast live from The Shelter from 7pm. Some of the artists involved in Other Voices have been lined up for a special performance, the first hour of which will air live and the second, taped for later broadcast. Tickets for the evening will be invite-only due to the early hour of the gig and the taping process.

Check back with hotpress.com for details of how to win tickets.