David Rooney Works With Floriane Blancke On Superb New Track

David Rooney has released a video for a new track, recorded with the celebrated French harpist, Floriane Blancke

The ‘introduction’ of these two extraordinary talents came about through singer and songwriter Declan O’Rourke, who co produced David Rooney’s debut album Bound Together. Floriane is a member of Declan’s Chronicles of the Irish Famine’recording and touring band, who were nominated for this year’s BBC folk awards.

“When first I listened to Declan’s wonderful album, the harp jumped out at me,” David Rooney explains. "I played the harp sections over and over again. So last Christmas, at Declan’s Vicar St. show, featuring the full album band, I got to meet Floriane and had the opportunity to tell her how wonderful her contribution had been both recorded and live. We exchanged albums – Floriane had also recently released her Kaleidoscope, containing a wealth of treasures.

"Over the cold winter weeks that followed, I started writing some new songs, including ‘Without a Soul’, specifically with harp accompaniment in mind – and also recalibrating other ones to fit this new dynamic instrument and musician.”

The graft might have been unavailing...

"I sent a demo of 'Without a Soul' to Floriane, and after a few – for me! – nervous days, she came back with a phone-recorded harp arrangement,” Rooney recounts. "A few days later, we met up at a session in Green’s pub in Kinvara, in Galway, where Floriane lives – and which is an hour from where my parents live and where I grew up in Eyrecourt, Co. Galway.

"It was a magic night – we played two songs together and in between other unaccompanied traditional singers contributions, we whispered our shared enthusiasms for how well it was working.

"A few days later following an introduction to Ben Parker at ‘Sloe Sessions, in Ballinasloe, from the great singer-songwriter and fellow Galwayman Ultan Conlon, Floriane and myself were about to make our first recording live on video. It was the second occasion we had played the song together in a week.”

In relation to the finished video, David Rooney is full of praise for the work of the guys at Sloe Sessions.

"Ben and Mike, of Sloe Sessions, were a joy to work with. The fact that Ben is a musician makes all the difference – he instinctively knows where the viewer should be looking."

"Our first session was shot in January,” Ben Parker says, "with Ballinasloe man Barry Power, in his mother's music room, where 100s of people have passed through learning the piano. We also done a session with Loughrea native, Ultan Conlon, and Jon O’Connell, in a local pub which was great. Ultan is a top Irish song writer – he is launching his album in Whelan's at the end of April.

"We really enjoyed the session with the brilliant David Rooney – who was accompanied by Floriane Blancke on harp."