A couple of reviews of the new album and a good interview at the bottom where he makes no secret of his political views:
Damien Dempsey releases his 4th studio album To Hell Or Barbados on June 1st 2007.
The album To Hell Or Barbados takes its title from a Sean OCallaghan book of the same name. This album shows development and incredible maturity from this exceptional artist, who returns with a new and very contemporary sounding album. A variety of musical styles from rock, folk, reggae, and even electronica combine to make this Damienâs most accomplished album yet. Ever the storyteller, Damienâs songs pull no lyrical punches. In Serious we hear a 2 way conversation with a drug dealer trying to tempt a potential client - or is this conversation between a man and his conscience? The electronica track The City is Damienâs homage to his hometown of Dublin. We see Damienâs lighter side in the albums first single, the radio-friendly Your Pretty Smile and his trademark positivity in Chase the Light, How Strange and Summerâs in my Heart. The opening track Maasai, with itâs incredible vocal delivery, is about the ancient tribe and their warrior spirit. Damienâs love of Irish history and pride in his roots is reflected in the title track âTo Hell or Barbadosâ which refers to Oliver Cromwell banishing 50,000 Irish as slaves to Barbados in the 17th century.
Over the last 2 years Damien has toured extensively in Ireland, the UK, USA and Australia, cementing his reputation as an exceptional live performer and a distinctive artist whose recording career now spans over 10 years. . To see Damien live is to really understand the power behind this extraordinary artist and passionate performer who counts legends such as Morrissey, Sinead OâConnor, Christy Moore and Shane MacGowan amongst his many fans.
Damien Dempsey - To Hell or Barbados
- Precise acoustic guitar work and lagging notes make up Damien Dempseys To Hell or Barbados. Dempseys vocals at times go on for long periods of time that will make listeners stand in awe at just how long he can hold a single note. As each lyric resonates, Dempseys timbre sounds like chanting which is very soothing.
The first song has arresting acoustic guitar play which is later joined by thumping drum work. The strumming is quick-witted as Dempseys voice echoes depressing lines such as, When I die, I want to dieWhen I sing, I want to singâŚSet me free. The emotions in the song go from one extreme to the other and Dempseys voice follows suit.
The second song begins with mellifluent acoustic guitar and not much else. This track has a more romantic tone to it as Dempsey expounds on wanting to be engulfed in his sweetheartâs embrace, with lines like, Take me back tonight, take me back tonight. Into your lovin arms, into your lovin arms. Take me back tonight, into your lovin arms.
The third song has Dempsey portraying a darker voice than before. The acoustic guitar work is on the more jovial side as he emotes about being irradiated by another, with such lines as, Ive seen the light of youYesterdays skeletons and cobwebs blew. Your spirit burns so brightHow you illuminate my shadowed sight. It seems Dempsey is conveying through vivid metaphors how a certain person has brought radiance into his otherwise wearisome life and things he had hidden before, such as old scars, are now being healed because of that new and glorious glow.
Damien Dempseys To Hell or Barbados has songs that talk about the important events that take place in life such as falling in love, death, and flubs which one tries desperately to remedy. Dempseys unique vocal range is sure to strike a chord with listeners and bring him a multitude of fans who will flock to hear his matchless brand of musical interpretation.
DAMIEN DEMPSEY greets me with the eyes of a saint and the arms of a street fighter; the warrior poet incarnate.
With guitar by his side he speaks of the healing power of port and brandy. "Itâs great for settling the nerves, " he says with a twinkle. Heâs seriously considering having one now, even though itâs only 1pm. Of the record-promotetour cycle that is the lot of modern day musicians it is obvious the middle one is the biggest chore.
The media thing, you sense, just isnât his bag.
Dempsey walks the walk. He doesnât own property; feels like many 31-year-olds in that he has missed the boat somewhat.
Besides, all the cash he makes is reinvested into touring the world, which he has been doing almost non-stop since his 2004 album Seize The Day and the following yearâs Shotsmade him Christy Mooreâs heir apparent.
When he comes home he still stays with his dad in Donaghmede but he bases himself with his manager in Kilburn for the recording process. Sinead OâConnorâs exhusband John Reynolds remains his sonic muse as he has done since a chance meeting at a party a few years ago. This was a world Dempsey felt no natural part of, but one which he is now extremely comfortable with.
"I was very shy, " he remembers, âjust standing in the kitchen minding my beer so no one would rob it.â Shortly after, Reynolds asked Dempsey round to his home studio where he laid down some of the tracks for Seize The Day. âI didnât know who he was, I was doing nothing else, going nowhere, round in circles.â Reynolds got to work on it, adding strings, dub effects and other bits. OâConnor came round too and she was so blown away by âItâs All Goodâ that she recorded backing vocals as well as her own version. When Dempsey heard the results he ânearly cried. It was just beautifulâ.
Reynoldsâ London home is still Dempseyâs musical base. There are regular sessions in the house with all sorts passing through.
"Everybody sings and harmonises.
The last time I was there, about a month ago, Annie Lennox was there. I was like âJaysusâ. Eno likes the old Irish stuff that Iâd be singing, the old ballads. . . heâs sound as a pound, he is."
Dempsey has been spending a lot of time round Reynoldsâ house recently, recording his fourth fulllength album. It may surprise many of his fans to hear a new, more carnivorous, direction. "I wanted to make it different from the other ones, " he says. âI bumped into Shane MacGowan in the Heathrow airport bar. He was sitting there in his top hat having a few gargles and I was wearing a pair of shorts and t-shirt and he said I didnât look very rock ânâ roll and that I should get an electric guitar. So I bought one. I used to play a bit when I was younger, you know Thin Lizzy stuff. . . so that influenced a lot of the songs.â
Thatâs only half the story. While the album opens with a stadium rock number, it takes in some reggae, electronica and even a Dublin rap conversational piece. In other words, To Hell Or Barbados takes risks and lyrically it confirms Dempsey as one of the few mainstream Irish singer songwriters intelligent enough to draw present-day parallels from history.
There are songs about the Masai, songs about drugs, songs about reconnecting with your spirit.
Classic Damo fair at this stage, but with a musical twist that suggests a restless spirit. You sense there may be at least one more great album in him at some stage.
The title is taken from a book by Sean OâCallaghan about the forced migration of Catholics to the West Indies in Cromwellian Ireland. "They used to brand them and all, " he says. âI thought they deserved a song, those people. I read the book and felt I had to write a song about it. Itâs 200 years since they abolished slavery in the British empire so I also wanted to highlight the fact that itâs still happening . . . be it sweat shops or sexual slavery in the Far East. That it is possible to sponsor kids.â Dempsey himself sponsors a child through the World Vision charity but has a more direct solution for child sex crimes. "Iâd take them out and shoot them, " he says, half-joking.
Being so blunt about social issues has always left Dempsey exposed to some of the more âsophisticatedâ critics. It also puts him under self-imposed pressure to be worthy of his many champions. Some people âwished I stopped singing about the working classes of the worldâ. His supporters, however, âfelt that there wasnât anybody singing about Irish issues. There still isnât.â
It is therefore natural that he is part of the âRock The Voteâ campaign and Dempsey is unapologetic about his support for Sinn Fein.
âThereâs a turn towards outright capitalism in Ireland, multinational big business, corporate Ireland.â he explains. "I know a good few [Sinn Fein politicians]. Larry OâToole has done a lot of work in the community. When you see a politician who lives there and you see them around putting the work in it is attractive. Joe Higgins and those guys are true socialists rather than that fella who claimed he was a socialist. The cutest of them all, according to Haughey.
High praise indeed coming from that fellow. And his ratings keep going up. I just donât understand it, how does it happen? Whatâs going through peopleâs minds? A white collar criminal."
Dempsey wonât be able to vote because he will be in Chicago. âItâs a shame I canât vote. People died to get us the vote so it is very important. Then thereâs yer man Noel Dempsey who seems to be giving away all our gas fields on the west coast to Shell and all these multinationals. Iâm sick about that. There should be a referendum or something before he goes and gives them all away. I wonder what they are getting for that.â
Healthcare is another bugbear.
âHarney seems to have as much passion for it as Superman does for Kryptonite. There needs to be sweeping reforms there, with all the consultants and that.â
Does he ever wonder if highlighting any of these issues ever actually changes anything? "I think Iâve warned a few people off drugs with songs like âGhosts of Overdosesâ, " he says. âI get slagged about singing about drugs but thereâs no one else writing about it. I just lay it on the line and if they donât like it, well I donât really care.â
With that Dempsey smiles. âI think Iâll have that port and brandy now.â
âTo Hell Or Barbadosâ is released on Sony BMG on 1 June Damien Dempsey starts a nationwide tour on 6 June