CREDIT EOGHAN O’BRIEN
Irish tour starts April 17th – Dublin, Limerick, Wexford, Belfast, Cork
Festivals – When Next We Meet, Beyond the Pale
“A wonderfully idiosyncratic musician, crafting songs that could have something classicist and occasionally straight-up Old World to them, but filtering them through a modern disposition” — Stereogum
“Beautifully crafted, thoughtful work” — The Irish Times
OYLEGATE, the new album from Paddy Hanna, is released on Strange Brew today, April 11th on limited edition 12” vinyl, as a digital download and across all streaming platforms – buy-here.
In celebration of OYLEGATE, Hanna kicks off his Irish tour in Whelans, Dublin on April 17th, followed by dates in Dolan’s in Limerick, Wexford Arts Centre, The Sunflower in Belfast and Levi’s Corner House in Ballydehob, Cork. He will also play festivals When Next We Meet on June 8th and Beyond The Pale on June 14th.
Bringing together some of Ireland’s most innovative musicians and creative minds, Hanna has curated a brand-new, dazzling display of light, music, theatre–and a touch of the extraterrestrial, which will bring the audience into a celestial new dimension.
Tickets available via Bandcamp.
On Saturday, April 12th, Record Store Day, Paddy Hanna has teamed up with record and gaming store The R.A.G.E., Dublin, where the artist will be there in person signing exclusive OYLEGATE album packs, only available in store. The album pack contains a signed vinyl album, tote bag, postcard and limited edition, hand painted print by Liam Redmond.
OYLEGATE Record Store Day album packs are limited to 50 and cost €37.50. Download images here.
In addition to signing records in The R.A.G.E., Paddy Hanna will also treat fans to a special live performance of album tracks as part of the store’s Record Store Day celebrations.
Performance on Saturday, April 12th from 4pm and space is limited, so the advice is to get there early! The R.A.G.E. is located at 8 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. Directions here
OYLEGATE, the upcoming album from Paddy Hanna, is a journey through the euphoric highs and crushing lows of parenthood, delivered with his signature blend of melancholic wit and lush, off-kilter charm. Elation and exhaustion. Love and terror. The weight of responsibility and the strange, disorienting beauty of watching life unfold before your eyes.
After his fourth album, Imagine I’m Hoping, arrived to critical acclaim but not the mainstream success needed for him to continue on as a full-time musician, Hanna found himself at a personal and artistic low point. However, thanks to support from the Arts Council and the encouragement of his family, Hanna has returned as the intrepid captain of his own ship; he may not know the destination, but he’ll see us along the journey with his graceful pop sensibilities.
Determined to sidestep the usual sentimental trappings of writing about having a child, Hanna found an unlikely creative companion in grim Soviet-era cinema. As he wrote, films like Solaris flickered in the background—bleak, meditative landscapes that mirrored the depths of sleep deprivation and the existential wonder of bringing a new life into the world. This contrast of warmth and detachment, of intimate revelation and surreal detour, courses through OYLEGATE’s DNA.
Despite its moments of cold introspection, OYLEGATE is sonically rich and enveloping—an effect captured in a single request to producer Daniel Fox: “sweet, sweet caramel.” Hanna wanted the music to feel like satin lining the listener’s ears, wrapping them in warmth even when the themes tilt towards darkness.
True to form, OYLEGATE marks yet another creative leap for an artist who refuses to be boxed in. “One advantage of being an ‘artist’s artist’ is that you never have to worry about being creatively different between albums. There’s real freedom in doing whatever you want and not being judged for it. And even if you are judged, who gives a shit?
That spirit of fearless exploration—of finding joy in the unknown, the absurd, and the deeply personal—defines OYLEGATE. An odyssey of tenderness and turbulence, it’s the sound of an artist embracing life’s messiest, most beautiful contradictions.
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