Music
08 Sep 20

The Riptide Movement, PowPig & Ciaran Lavery on Van Morrison

As part of our ongoing celebrations for Van Morrison's 75th birthday, The Riptide Movement, PowPig & Ciran Lavery share their reflections on Van's music and legacy.

The Riptide Movement

Over the course of their remarkable career, The Riptide Movement have risen from buskers on Grafton Street to playing with the BBC Orchestra, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones. They've also built up a powerful live profile, with performances at Electric Picnic's Main Stage, Glastonbury and Benicàssim – as well as a headliner at Dublin's Olympia Theatre back in October. They released their new single 'Fall A Little More In Love' last month.

The first time I remember connecting with Van Morrison's music was when I watched The Last Waltz for the first time. It's an amazing concert and documentary, with performances from Bob Dylan, The Band, Neil Young and Muddy Waters to name a few. But I always remember Van Morrison singing 'Caravan' and standing out amongst all these other legends. I have been a fan of his music since.

I think his songs have been a soundtrack to our lives really, they sound as good and relevant today as when they were first released. For me personally, songs like 'Days Like These', 'Moondance' and 'Brown Eyed Girl' evoke great memories and are timeless classics.

I remember been an excited kid on the train to Belfast to see Van Morrison and Bob Dylan in the Botanic Gardens in 1998. I always remember my two uncles, who brought me to the gig, telling me I was about to witness two of the greatest legends of all time take to the stage. They were right! I was lucky to see them both in concert, and years later, I was lucky enough to share a stage with Van the Man at the Cornbury festival in the UK. That was a special day for me and my band.

He's such a prolific songwriter and artist. He's released over 40 albums and he's been writing great songs, releasing albums and performing for over 50 years, since his days with Them in the mid-’60s. He's a living legend – I'd hold him in the same high regard as Bob Dylan.

I do feel a connection to his musical legacy – I think he's paved the way for Irish artists and has set the musical bar for us all. Not only has he been an influence on our music, he has also influenced artists who have influenced us, like Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix and Nick Drake.

We’ve covered ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, which is one of my favourite songs and reminds me of someone very special.

Watch The Riptide Movement's performance of 'Brown Eyed Girl' for Rave On, Van Morrison at 8pm on Wednesday, September 9.

PowPig

Tipped as one of the Hot Press ‘Hot for 2019’ acts while they were still in school, PowPig have emerged as one of the most captivating alt-rock bands of recent memory. Following a string of acclaimed EPs, festival performances, sold-out headliners and a support slot for Girl Band, the Limerick four-piece made their highly anticipated return in 2020 with ‘Intellectual’.

When we were all kids our parents exposed us to a wide range of music. That was our first introduction to Van Morrison. As we grew older and became more and more involved in the Irish music scene, it was very necessary that we educated ourselves on Van Morrison – especially because we were writing our own music. Study the best as they say! Also, Paul Durcan was on the English course, and Van Morrison collaborated with him on a song called ‘In The Days Before Rock n Roll’, which piqued our interest, and made us dive further into his works.

The quantity and quality of the music he has released is very inspiring to any recording artist. We're in the middle of recording our own album, so seeing his beyond impressive discography majorly motivates us to get our act together and produce the best album that we can.

It would be very difficult to find an Irish artist that didn't in some way feel some sort of connection to his legacy. It’s inspiring for us as an Irish band to see what Van Morrison has achieved in his career, on both sides of the Atlantic.

We love the catchy guitar licks throughout ‘Natalia’. It’s a song that you catch yourself humming both the words and the guitar when you listen to it. It’s also a positive and upbeat song, which is something that has been difficult to do in our own writing, with everything going on in the world. It was the song that made us feel the happiest, and was very fun to play and put our own twist on.

Watch PowPig perform 'Natalia' for Rave On, Van Morrison at 8pm on Saturday, September 12.

Ciaran Lavery

Ciaran Lavery's sophomore record Let Bad In saw him rack up millions of Spotify streams. His language is that of heartbreaking melodies, gentle acoustic guitar and deep, cavernous sonics; he has a sound to get lost in. His latest album Plz stay bb was released to critical acclaimed earlier this summer.

I was a teenager perusing the shelves of HMV when I came across Moondance. Back then, I used to love taking a punt on albums I didn’t know much about. Obviously being from Ireland, everyone knows of Van Morrison’s music – the classics anyway.

This, however, would be the first full album of his that I had heard in its totality. As most teens are, I was highly impressionable, so it was a great time to start delving into the back catalogue. Van is synonymous with music here – his legend is almost larger than life. Somewhere at some wedding, the echoes of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ or ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ (if it’s a wedding with some jive) can still be heard. In a sense, his music has always been present and it likely always will be.

Two things make him so special – his songwriting ability, and his prolific nature. His back catalogue is tremendously vast, and when you look at it, he was churning out albums year after year, with songs that any artist would chop off their arm to have in their jotter.

It’s difficult not to feel a connection, because if you’re from Ireland, you’ve grown up with his music in some shape or form, whether it be ‘Days Like This’ – which soundtracked the peace process in the mid’90s – or your uncle with the locks playing some Them, he’s been there. In a way, he transcends music here and becomes more of a cultural figure, or an icon, only one that lives and breathes.

I’ve covered ‘Country Fair’, which has great lyrics and a great story.

Watch Ciaran Lavery perform 'Country Fair' at 7pm on Saturday, September 12.