The track comes ahead of the Waterford songwriter’s long-awaited debut EP This Record is a Nixer, to be released on 6 December 2024 on Limited Edition Vinyl, and two headline shows, in Whelan’s Upstairs, Dublin on Saturday 7th December, and Luca Records, Waterford on Friday 13th December.
‘Faith of Old’ is the latest single from Tadhg Williams’ upcoming EP This Record is a Nixer. The song explores a young man’s relationship with faith. It begins a quiet, indie-folk song and builds to a crescendo of strings, frustration and spirituality, which echoes of Mick Flannery and Damien Dempsey.
“This is a very personal release for me. The cover art features my Grandmother marching with the Order of Malta as a young woman in Waterford (front right of image). She was a huge influence on me growing up. My outlook of the world is very much shaped by her, and the kinds of conversations we had together.”
“Those conversations were about the kind of Ireland we lived in. The influence of the Church and how society expects you to commit to a particular institution. What I learnt from her is that your faith is personal, and that we should all explore that without outside influence.”
“She was an incredible woman. She died eleven years ago but I’m still learning new things about her. Only last year I learnt she was Chris Blackwell’s first office manager in Island Records in London. Having worked in the music industry myself to think my grandmother did as well, I was totally blown away by that!”
Following a sold out headline show in the Cobblestone, Dublin on Sunday 9th June, and critical acclaim for his previous releases this year, ‘Faith of Old’ comes ahead of Tadhg’s long-awaited debut EP ‘This Record is a Nixer’, on limited edition vinyl, accompanied by headline shows upstairs in Whelan’s on Saturday 7 December and in Luca Records, Waterford on Friday 13 December.
“I feel like this EP has been a long time coming. Things get in the way – money, jobs, life – I feel like this EP now is an accumulation of my early twenties. I always wanted to take some of my songs and record them acoustically, with an added bit of texture in piano and strings. There’s more life in these songs yet, I’m not done with them. But this felt like an appropriate first step.”
The cover art features Williams’ grandfather, Alan Morrissey, as an 11-year-old on the beach in Waterford. “There’s so much joy in that photograph. The innocence and freedom of childhood. Given the songs on the EP are very much about the different mental challenges of your early adulthood – being financially independent; trying to understand and being frustrated with politics, religion; heartbreak; and the simple difficulty of how to enjoy life – I felt that picture was a perfect juxtaposition. While we navigate all these different challenges, that kid is still inside us all.”
“I try to keep that image of my grandfather in my head at all times as a reminder that while life has its challenges, it is in itself utter joy.”
Speaking about the limited edition vinyl release of the record, Williams said: “‘I’m a total vinyl nerd. To be honest, I wanted to press vinyl of this EP for myself rather than for any other reason. This is my first proper collection of music. It felt appropriate to have a physical representation of it. And to have my grandfather’s face on the front of a record feels very special as well.”
Tadhg Williams is a folk songwriter from Waterford but has lived in Dublin for six years. Described as “a luminary in the contemporary folk music landscape” by Pure M Magazine, he has earned widespread critical acclaim for his most recent singles, including plays on RTÉ Radio 1, Today FM, FM104, Beat 102 103, iRadio and Radio Nova, and articles in RTÉ and Hot Press Magazine.
Since Williams released ‘The Summer Song’ in 2021, he has worked to develop his stage craft, supporting a variety of acts from Mary Black and The Stunning to Kingfishr and Niamh Regan, and has completed an undergraduate degree in history – a huge source of inspiration for his songwriting.
In 2023, a small Irish tour road-tested new songs alongside a band, before going into the studio with producer, Geoff Warner-Clayton (Gavin James, Kingfishr, Driven Snow), to further develop these songs. They have been mastered by iconic producer John Reynolds (Sinéad O’Connor, Damien Dempsey).
TRACK LIST
Nixer
Faith of Old
Endgame
Frank Edwards
Hole in the Wall
LIVE DATES
Whelan’s Upstairs, Dublin – Saturday 7 December (Tickets)
Luca Records, Waterford – Friday 13 December (Tickets)
“This is quite an excellent song… There’s something sort of very poetic about it. What an epic war time song it is.” – Kieran McGuinness, Radio Nova on ‘Frank Edwards’
“I was blown away with it. His storytelling in this is absolutely phenomenal.” – Nessy Monaghan, RTÉ 2XM on ‘Frank Edwards’
“Tadhg is a poet who conjures songs both humorous and moving, rich in humanity.” – Junior Brother
“Catchy and relatable.” – Claire Beck, Today FM on ‘Nixer’
