Kean Kavanagh shares new track ‘Mary’ inspired by John B Keane
Kean Kavanagh shares new track ‘Mary’ inspired by John B Keane
Words: Aoife Ní Bheirn
Following his releases from last year – ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘Heart Attacks‘ – Soft Boy Records co-founder Kean Kavanagh has dropped another character-inspired track.
Set in rural Ireland, ‘Mary‘ is inspired by time-celebrated Irish author, John B Keane.
The lo-fi indie cut, led by punchy bass, haunting guitars and Kean’s distinctive vocal demonstrates his vocal and songwriting abilities, offering a further glimpse into his semi-fictional, world-building style of writing. Previous characters featured in Kean’s work include ‘Jean Javanagh’ and ‘Bill’.
Kean said on ‘Mary’: “I think I’d been reading ‘The Bodhrán Makers” by John B Keane at the time that me and Paddy Ormond wrote the instrumental for this track.”
“The character in this song is similar to those characters; life is tough and music provides peace and relief from those wounds which we must suffer; having someone to embrace on a cold night is even more beautiful still.”
Soft Boy Records has gripped the Irish music scene since its founding in 2015. Alongside his co-founder Kojaque, Kean found himself sharing stages with names such as Slowthai and Lana Del Ray, as well as his consequential solo-slots opening for Maverick Sabre and Vampire Weekend, as well as starring in a Boiler Room documentary about the label and collective.
You can catch Kean Kavanagh live in Dublin on May 9 as part of The Road to The Great Escape.
Listen to ‘Mary’ here.
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