PREMIERE: Jack O'Rourke shares animated video for new single 'Coffee Song'

Fresh from receiving a Choice Music Prize nomination earlier this month, Jack O'Rourke is back with a brand new video for his latest single, 'Coffee Song' – premiering below.

The track, which featured on his acclaimed 2021 album, Wild Place, was released as a single in late January, as the Cork singer-songwriter's highly anticipated first offering of 2022.

"There’s an almost cinematic feel to the album, like a soundtrack to some classic Hollywood movie, perhaps by Nora Ephron," Ellen Gough wrote in her review of the album for Hot Press. "O’Rourke’s captivating baritone and masterful piano are the stars of this particular show. Wild Place seals Jack O’Rourke’s reputation as one of Ireland’s most gifted performers."

‘Coffee Song’ follows previously released singles ‘Opera on the Top Floor’, ‘Patsy Cline’ (nominated for Best Original Song at RTÉ Folk Awards) and ‘Sea Swimming’ – which was recently selected for the Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year shortlist.

“'Coffee Song' is a celebration of everyday rituals that can become magic,” comments O’Rourke. “Written at a time (during Covid) when my interactions were rare – I found something beautiful in the morning ritual of a small piece of art in the foam of a morning coffee. It gave my day a curious purpose. The extraordinary in the ordinary.

“I sat at the piano and this story of these characters was developed – the idea of a conversation of broken people with cautious hopes and dreams," he continues. "Initially it could have been a duet, but now it’s a story like many of the songs on Wild Place. Cormac McCarthy’s arrangement elevated this song to a soundtrack for me, his notes and counter melodies adding just a little movie sparkle.”

Drawing influence from the legendary likes of John Prine, 'Coffee Song' further establishes O'Rourke as one of the most compelling singer-songwriters in the country. Take a look at the video for 'Coffee Song' – storyboarded and animated by Michael Ledwith and Myrdin Steenkamp (elucidatestudio.ie) – below: