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Ian Bermingham launches Old Sea Legs with ‘The Lucky Ones’

September 17, 2021

Crawling with vivid imagery and colourful characters, a timeless tangle of tongue-twisting, brain-burrowing lyrics that can swing from breathless barrage to lilting lament – at times without a moment’s notice – Old Sea Legs is more than just a nom de guerre for songwriterand performer Ian Bermingham; it’s a window into a world entirely of his own creation.

Best known for his time as frontman of Dublin quintet ‘The Eskies’ with whom he has previously toured extensively internationally including major festival performances at Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Reeperbahn, Great Escape, Eurosonic, Montreux Jazz Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival (Australia).

Bermingham now seizes his moment to move into the next chapter of his creative journey with an expansive UK tour, coming noff the back of the release of his debut single ‘The Lucky Ones’ [released 17th September] and a sold out show at one of Dublin’s most beloved venues, Whelans of Wexford Street [19th September].

Displaying all of the storytelling nous and craft of the quintessential folk troubadour, the melodic ear of a pop pioneer and the lyrical largesse that has become so synonymous with Ian’s songwriting, ‘Old Sea Legs’ see’s the Dubliner push himself to new and exciting territory as a solo performer,with a sound that manages to be both expansive and intimate.

‘The Lucky Ones’ is the first ever solo offering of Ian Bermingham’s career and our first glimpse at what his new venture ‘Old Sea Legs’ might sound like. It is a timeless, driving, hook-laden, alt folk anthem, rich in melody and harmony that yearns to be raised high in rooms full of voices.

Striding atop a mix of electronic drum sounds and traditional percussion; the song swaps Bermingham’s now trademark vaudevillian theatrics for a tone altogether more bittersweet, and sees
the Dublin songwriter plough new furrows of emotion across 3 minutes and 45 seconds that manage to be both expansive and dynamic.

“For much of my journey as a songwriter, I have veered towards exploring my own feelings and experiences by telling stories through the eyes of other people; by donning fictional characters and
creating heightened versions of myself. I am drawn to stories of high drama, full of colourful characters from far away places but this song came through a lens far closer to home.

‘The Lucky Ones’ is about the journey that a person goes on when one or more of life’s cornerstones are knocked out from under them. It’s about the shock, the grief, the punch-drunk stupor
that you find yourself in after a lengthy, drawn-out stripping away of a support network. It’s about the trauma of suddenly having to adapt to an altered reality, the loss of a belief-structure and the
bleary-eyed, first steps into the next chapter that we all must take if we are to carry on, regardless of what has been lost.I am very excited to finally share it.”

‘The Lucky Ones’ is available on all good platforms.

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