Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Aileen Henderson has long been one of Galway’s most talented session vocalists, performing and recording with a huge variety of acts around the country. Her ability as a singer across styles and genres has seen her front an Irish tour featuring collaborators of Vulfpeck and the Bay City Rollers. And at times, the fullness of her performing schedule has made it difficult to focus on her original material – but that has started to change.

Last June, Aileen released her debut single, Lights Out – a refined, hook-heavy country pop effort that spelled the perfect introduction to her sound.

And its successor arrived last month. Just What I Need is anthemic, guitar-driven pop music that showcases the best of Aileen’s vocal style and ability to manipulate melody. She explains that arriving at this form of songwriting was about expanding her range and ultimately returning to the music she knows best.

“It’s very pop driven but also has country elements,” Aileen argues.

“I feel like that [sums up] my style perfectly at the moment. It’s quite straightforward – a love song that tells the story of a chaotic world where the only thing that’s needed is the company of a loved one. You could call it romanticist or however you want to interpret it.

“I’m inspired by a lot of country artists like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, but I do listen to a very broad range of music. My Spotify is very random from Billie Eilish to Andrea Bocelli. I always played country music up until I was about 16 I’d say, and then I decided this is just not cool at all and I stopped for a while.

“I remember getting really into Katy Perry and trying to fit into that kind of style, and then I went to music college in BIMM. That definitely diverted me from country music for a while.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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