Bren Berry’s debut album ‘In Hope Our Stars Align‘ is truly an album of singles and he releases this stunning new remix ahead of his performance at All Together Now this weekend. ‘Turn On Your Radio‘ is a paeon to the romance of music radio, this time turned inside out by the wonderful producer and multi-instrumentalist Daithí.
Whether it’s a starry-eyed kid discovering new songs late at night under the blankets, or an absolute banger soundtracking your car journey, Bren brings us back to a magical time of falling in love with random songs before streaming algorithms dictated our choices.
“When I was kid, I spent a lot of time in The Liberties with my maternal grandparents and my Aunt Norrie who was a massive Elvis Presley fan and introduced me to the magic of radio,” reflects Bren. “I have always loved discovering great music on the radio, listening to so many great DJ’s especially at night.”
While Bren was recording these songs, he also really wanted to hand them over to other musicians and producers from different music disciplines to work their magic and create new perspectives and contexts for communicating his work.
Following the recent jaw-dropping Rory Sweeney remix of ‘We Have It All‘, this time Bren hands over to the County Clare wizard Daithi, renowned for his widescreen sample-based electronic music. Daithi completely reupholsters ‘Turn On Your Radio’ into an irresistible psych funk number, with sun-kissed backing vocals and addictive beats.
Despite its optimistic summer sound, like much of Bren’s debut album, ‘Turn On Your Radio‘ doubles as a protest song.
“This is another protest song. We’re stuck in cruise control as we continue to sleep-walk into climate and social disaster. The song is both a literal sentiment and a metaphor. It’s a plea to people (especially myself!) to tune into themselves and to see what’s going on around them.”
Turn On Your Radio (Daithi remix) is out now on all platforms.
Fresh from his performance on the IMRO Flourish Stage at All Together Now, here’s what Hot Press had to say about Bren Berry:
” A perfect example came relatively unheralded, in the afternoon, on the Flourish Stage, where Bren Berry, formerly of the beloved ‘90s indie band Revelino, delivered a performance that was as touching as it was measured. His set was marked by lilting melodies and lyrics steeped in reflection. You might think that this kind of intimate, soul-stirring approach would be drowned out in a festival’s mad rush.
“Not so. Even to someone unfamiliar with songs like ’Turn On Your Radio’ or ‘Bullet Proof’ from his album In Hope Our Stars Align, Berry’s heartfelt delivery was impressive. The set was warmly received by an audience that clearly appreciated both his sincerity and melodic craftsmanship.”