New single: Cariñito (English Version) out now!
| Irish singer-songwriter Kevin Herm Connolly returns with new single Cariñito (English Version), in advance of the release of this third album later this year. Recorded between ARAD Studio in Dublin (IRL) and Rio Bravo Studio in Valencia (ES), the track is a cover of a classic song from the Peruvian cumbia repertoire. Known for his introspective yet playful indie folk music, Kevin Herm Connolly has built a reputation as a critically acclaimed and versatile singer-songwriter. Born in Galway in the west of Ireland and influenced by artists such as Tom Waits, Devendra Banhart and Sufjan Stevens, his indie folk stylings have of late taken on a Latin and Mediterranean tint, due to his time spent living and travelling in South America and Spain. This is especially the case with this new single. He explains: “It was on a tiny dancefloor in Mancora, northern Peru, where I heard Cariñito for the first time. I was living there at the time and was immediately taken by it, its rhythm, its catchy chorus, the fact that everyone was singing along and dancing like crazy… I decided I had to work up my own version.” His translated version went viral in Peru during the pandemic when, during one of the various lockdowns, he posted a video performance online. The press there latched on to it and it was shared widely, eventually reaching the ears of the widow of the original writer of the song, Aníbal Rosado, who contacted Kevin to give her approval. Cariñito will be available on all digital platforms on the 26th of April followed by a new album, Kevin’s third, later in the year. Kevin is currently on the promotional trail in South America and is launching the single with a concert in Lima, Peru, on the 26th of April, with further concerts to follow in Colombia, Spain and Ireland. |
Video: “It’s OK (‘Cos We’re in Love)”
“No, YOU went crazy during lockdown”…
I’m delighted to finally be able to share this video with you, begun during the first heady flushes of lockdown when, like the rest of you, I found myself stuck at home, looking at some way to fill the time and flex my creative muscles. As well as my “From the Washing Machine” live performance videos, I decided to make a video for the studio version of my song “It’s OK (‘Cos We’re in Love)”, taken from my most recent album “Make It Up”.
I chose the track as I felt it was suitably manic and energetic and that I would be able to have some fun with it. Armed with a greenscreen I borrowed from my neighbour, I filmed myself “acting out” with various props and in various parts of my house. I also put the call out on social media to get other locked-down folk to do likewise and to send me their own footage. They didn’t disappoint…
It was lovely receiving people’s contributions and to turn the project, begun in isolation, into more of a collaborative one. I’m very grateful to the people from all over the world (Spain, France, the USA, Mexico, South Korea, the UK, Ireland…) who got involved!
You can watch the video on YouTube here. The track “It’s OK (‘Cos We’re in Love)” is available on Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Video Premiere: “It’s OK (‘Cos We’re in Love)”
Greetings all. I hope this missive finds you well.
You may remember me asking you to send me footage for possible inclusion in the video for my song “It’s OK (‘Cos We’re in Love)” back in the throes of lockdown… Well, I’m delighted to say that video is finally ready to launch.
So that we can watch it together, I’ve decided to organise an online premiere on Thursday, the 30th of December at 7.30pm (Irish time / GMT). I figured it would be nice to have something to do in that twilight zone between Christmas and New Year’s, so I hope you can join us!
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For those of you on Facebook, you can sign up for the event here. You can also set a reminder on YouTube at this link, which is also where the video will be screening.
“From the Washing Machine” – Lockdown cover videos
As some of you know, I’ve had a project over this lockdown period where I’ve been posting performance videos filmed from various implements and in various rooms around my home. I’ve called it “From the Washing Machine” but various videos have used a French press, a wheelie bin and a cheese grater. The latest video was filmed through a French dictionary and is my version of “Plaisir d’amour”.
—- From the Washing Machine #7 —-
My version of “Quien te viera” by the Uruguayan singer-songwriter Eduardo Mateo.
One year to the day since I posted my first video in this series, who’d have thought we’d still be in more or less the same boat?! Anyway, I thought I’d mark it by sharing another cover version of a song that I love. Written by the influential but relatively obscure Eduardo Mateo, I can’t remember exactly how I first came across it. I do know that I love the melody and chord changes, and the lyrics are nicely poetic/obtuse. Yes, they’re in Spanish 
Quién te viera
Pensar mientras
Sola llevas sombras del jazmín
Sobre tu cabeza
Quién pudiera
Ser la pena
Que entre el agua
Descansa en tus ojos
Triste luna llena
Si supieras
Un día serás de verdad
Y habrá quien me quiera
NEW VIDEO
KEVIN HERM CONNOLLY (feat. BENNIE REILLY)
UNDERNEATH
Back when one was allowed do that sort of thing, I took a trip to Bergen in Norway to see my good friend Mick. We went on a cruise along a fjord and took some footage on our phones. I thought it could make a nice visual accompaniment for my song “Underneath” and asked Hugh Rodgers to provide his usual editing mastery. You can watch the result on YouTube now.
“Underneath” is a duet with Irish singer Bennie Reilly and is one of most personal songs. Written following the death of one my best friends, it is an attempt to make some sense of the loss, of my grief, of how a person lives on in some way in memories, in the influence they had and the lives they touched.
I asked Bennie to sing on the song as I love her soulful and distinctive voice. The track also features Karl Odlum on double bass and Sebastian Slutzky played the Argentinian tango instrument, the bandoneon.
‘CARIÑITO’ MAKES THE HEADLINES IN PERU
Well, that was quite a few days… First, the Peruvian Embassy began sharing our video and then Peruvian national news picked it up and broadcast it on repeat over the weekend!
It’s a song which is pretty much inescapable in Peru, and I fell in love with it during my time living there. I was delighted and quite emotional when I found out that our version was making waves in the country and that this report was featuring regularly on the national news station, America Noticias. For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, they’re showing our video to the widow of the writer of the song, the Peruvian legend Ángel Aníbal Rosado, who seems happy enough… 😉
Take care.
Kevin.
Now, onto the next video…!
Kevin Herm Connolly 