Culture
01 Dec 20

Ciaran Lavery and Joshua Burnside announce double A-side: 'True Love’s Flame / If I Could Only Fly'

Proceeds will go towards The Welcome Organisation, a Belfast-based charity that has been providing support services for people affected by homelessness since 1996.

Northern Ireland Music Prize-winning artists Ciaran Lavery and Joshua Burnside have teamed up to reinvent Blaze Foley and David Lynch tracks for a brand new, double A-side release.

The money raised from the new project - titled True Love’s Flame / If I Could Only Fly - will go directly towards the vital and life-saving services of The Welcome Organisation.

“With the pandemic being a primary focus worldwide, I felt this was an appropriate time to remind people about the plight of homelessness that continues to exist, and the fantastic and selfless work that charities like the Welcome Organisation do on a daily basis, even with limitations to resources & financial support to deliver the best service that they can," Ciaran says of the collaboration.

"It’s an honour to direct all proceeds to this wonderful group. In addition, earlier this year Joshua Burnside released one of the most complete albums I have heard in quite some time, so it was an honour to work with him on these songs," Ciaran added.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic hit, The Welcome Organisation has had to significantly adapt its services to meet the demands of the pandemic.

"The whole process was entirely opportunistic, thanks to the pandemic clearing every band/artist’s travel diary for this year, we were able to put these songs together with minimal fuss. The two tracks are beautiful in their own right, with such wonderful sentiments behind them. It’s also the first time I’ve covered a song sung by a talking monkey ('True Love’s Flame'), so that’s special in itself."

Ciaran has joined forces with the likes of Luke Sital-Singh, Saint Sister and Rosie Carney in his career.

In 2016, he was one of 30 artists hand-selected by Willie Nelson to play at his BBQ at Luck Ranch in Texas, alongside the likes of Jenny Lewis. With over 100,000,000 plays on Spotify and around 30,000 followers, Ciaran’s achievements keep on coming.

Now two months removed from the release of his critically acclaimed sophomore album Into The Depths Of Hell, Belfast-based songwriter Joshua Burnside recently unveiled a new music video for one of his album standouts, ‘Under The Concrete’.

True Love’s Flame / If I Could Only Fly arrives this Friday, December 4.Bandcamp pre-order the new double A-side here.