Edel Murphy: "I owe it to the music, the artists and the women in the stories to do it justice and take it seriously"

Edel Murphy’s Motherland Songs, a collection celebrating the history of women from the 20th century – with covers ranging from Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ to Natalie Marchant’s ‘Motherland’ – was released in early May and officially launched at Smock Alley in June.

The project itself, though, has been in motion for much longer, in the form of a touring live show.

“When we got into the studio,” Murphy explains, “it was a case of about maybe two or three months. Whereas myself and Ewan spoke about the concept of a show called Motherland going back as far as 2018, which we toured long before the album started.”

Created in collaboration with Ewan Cowley, it quickly became obvious that Motherland Songs should be taken into the studio.

“That idea of women's stories and songs, we thought they were really important messages and lifelong lessons,” says Murphy. “It started with the concept of the female narrative. It's less about the act of who sang or wrote the song, but who the protagonist is and what she has to say. Theres a common theme throughout.

“You go back to ‘Trouble In The Fields’, and it's women trying to find a way through difficulty, no matter what that is. There's war, there's hunger, there's environmental disasters, there's smaller personal difficulties… even something like 'Jolene' – on paper, you might think it doesn't necessarily fit in. But the way I look at it, it's a really interesting way of looking at how women treat other women.

“It's all those personal narratives of women being strong and expressing themselves throughout all of these different moments – whether it's leaving home, trying to support a family, or fighting for civil rights. It's always a strong woman talking about what they do to get through this.”

These stories have been a part of Murphy’s life from childhood. With the time spent on the road performing this collection, though, the singer found the opportunity to explore them on a completely new scale.

“I’m trained as an actor as well, so it's always that idea of finding truth in what you're doing,” she notes. “And finding a way to connect to it yourself. Through that performance over all the years, I've found ways to get into all of those songs. I really have an emotional connection to them.”

Murphy and Cowley made the conscious choice to mix those largely Americana-flavoured tracks with their own Irish cultural heritage, creating a sound both specific and universal.

“It was important to both to bring a flavour of ourselves into everything that we did,” says Murphy. “We've grown up playing, working and singing in Ireland through Irish trad music, so it made a lot of sense to add that flavour.”

Through Motherland Songs, Murphy wanted to show the stories of these women for what they were. A feminist project, certainly, but one that she did not want to be preachy.

“Music and creativity are such a great way to help people understand different perspectives,” she says. “Not just feminism, but everything that's going on in the world at the moment. If you can listen to a song, and you can welcome people in, it’s so much easier to get a message across.”

With this large exploration of 20th century womanhood, has Murphy’s perspective on 21st century life changed?

“In some ways, it's a lot of looking back and going, ‘God, wasn't it so awful for them then?’” she replies. “But then, you have to look at today: things have gotten better. We have the vote and we can have bank accounts and stuff like that. But there are countries in the world where that's not the case. So while in the western world, some of the older songs might bring nostalgia, it's reality for a lot of women still. And singing them keeps me grounded in these realities.

“But it's important not to put myself up on a pedestal and say, ‘It’s so important what I'm doing’, because at the end of the day, music is about connecting with people. Realistically, I'm not solving anything, but I'm keeping it alive for people who need others to think about them. And I owe it to the music, the artists and the women in the stories to do it justice and take it seriously.”

Motherland Songs is out now.