New to Hot Press: Skywriter

“I spent a lot of time in LA a year or two ago,” explains Amy. “Playing a new location in a new city – in a new country even – is something else. It’s incredibly inspiring and it makes you a better player. I always find that I develop a huge amount of self-growth each time I visit – when I get home, I’m energised to write and create more.”

Upon returning home, Quirke was set on music as her career, having been exposed to so many influential figures during her time abroad. “When I was sure about what I wanted, I still wasn’t sure how I wanted to pursue it – as Amy Quirke, or Skywriter, which is what I played under in LA. Being home made it easier to find the right drummer or guitar player as well. I also felt here was where I needed to be for recording and studio time. Really, it’s easier to get around everything. As much as I loved LA, if I’d stayed there I’d still just be gigging and not in the studio.”

Quirke’s new single, ‘Dirty Face’, was inspired by mid-twenties life crisis. “A lot of people can relate to that,” notes Amy. “It’s that thing of not knowing what to do or where to go in the real world. Sometimes you end up with a job that leads you away from any vague ideas you had to begin with.”

As Quirke settles into a new groove in life, she keeps striving to improve her creative output. “The occasional harshness of the music industry is part piece of drives me,” she asserts. “I’ve been gigging for a long time, and I used to hear the whole thing of, ‘She’s a girl, she can’t get on the stage and do this’. It’s disheartening – but I can do it and I’ll show you that. It’s not like I have to prove anything - but sometimes it makes you want to up your game. And the sense of the community in Mullingar pushing me on as well, it’s fantastic.”

‘Dirty Face’ is available for streaming on Spotify and iTunes now. Skywriter plays Electric Picnic later this year.