‘Liffey Beer’ is one of the most emotional and personal songs I have ever written. It is a present for my Irish sister, my Deirfiúr. My Donegal Deirfiúr, whose eyes glow in the colours of the Atlantic Ocean, wearing her sparkling heart on her Inis-perfumed sleeves wherever she goes. She has experienced a lot of pain since she was a little girl, and at the start of this summer she lost her best friend back home – which is when I decided to write this song for her. She is a fighter, but I want her to understand that she does not always have to go through everything on her own. The song alludes to the Liffey beers we would always drink, sitting on the boardwalk next to our apartment in Temple Bar, talking our fears and dreams off our souls.
She is the purest person I’ve ever met, and I don’t want to imagine a life without her anymore. I love her to the sun and back.
My Deirfiúr loves dancing, so I decided to give the song an Afro-beat feeling that develops into a Reggaetón beat after the first chorus. In contrast to my last EP ‘A Thief of Mother’s Milk’, ‘Liffey beer’ is not painting dream-like soundscapes but offers graspable storytelling. It’s simple and accessible, I want everyone to understand it. It encapsulates our chaotic, heart-warming little life in the middle of a strange city where we found a home in each other. I wish that one day she will make peace with all her dancing demons and focus on just herself and her dreams.’
The worldly Emileo is an alternative electronic artist from Berlin who effortlessly blends Eastern and Western sounds in her music. Sinéad O’Connor herself chose her for the BA Commercial Modern Music Scholarship from BIMM Dublin, where she has finished her bachelor’s degree in Songwriting. Funded through a merit award from the German government, she is now doing her master’s in Music and Culture at UCD Dublin. Supporting artists such as Tori Amos, Joesef, Mundy and Tolü Makay around Ireland, Emileo has performed in venues such as Dublin’s Olympia Theatre and Vicar Street, Galway’s Róisín Dubh and Cork’s Opera House. She has also played at Ireland Music Week, Electric Picnic, Alltogethernow and 2000Trees (Cheltenham). In September 2023 Emileo organised the charity event ‘Music for Morocco’ and was able to raise 1500€ for the victims of the Moroccan earthquake, for which she was personally awarded by the Moroccan Ambassador to Ireland. In May 2024, Emileo released her second EP ‘A Thief of Mother’s Milk’ and performed at The Great Escape in Brighton.