Singer-songwriter Ruairí Connolly discovered the talents of Jessica Doherty after the release of the young prospect's debut single 'Wolves' earlier this summer. Naturally the pair hit it off, resulting in 'Lying Eyes', the latest single to be released under Connolly's Ruairí and the Owls moniker.
'I'd heard her song and thought it was incredible,' says the ex-Furlo bassist, who began the solo project following his former band's hiatus and released a debut full-length album Midnight Oil in January this year. 'Peter Doherty (who produced the track) agreed with me that we had to have her sing on the song and we're so happy that she did.'
The collaboration came as a surprise to seventeen-year old Jessica, who was on way her to perform at a Generator NI showcase in Los Angeles when her manager e-mailed her the track. 'I absolutely fell in love with it and think Ruairí is an incredible lyricist and writer,' she says. 'The production was perfect and I knew straight away that I'd love to perform on it.'
'The entire process was so easy and straightforward and it really was down to Peter's wonderful production skills. I felt totally at ease working with both him and Ruairí and I know we're all really proud of the track.'
'In hindsight, I can't imagine this release with anyone else singing on it,' adds Connolly. 'Jessica brought a lot of ideas to the table and it was a really great experience to collaborate with her.'
Directed by local filmmaker Paul Brown, the music video is based entirely on a single concept. 'We didn't really want to shoot a performance video because we didn't feel that it would add anything to the track' he continues.
'I was on the phone with Paul bouncing around ideas and we came up with the idea for this video and we knew instantly we were on the same page. The video was a lot of fun to shoot.'
Connolly himself recently shot to stardom after a Facebook post shared by Culture NI captured the hearts of followers far and wide. The amusing post subsequently went viral, making headlines north and south and giving the musician, on his way home from a 'Lying Eyes' recording session, a taste of the Internet celebrity status.
'Lying Eyes' is released via MPC Music Group on August 20 to pre-order on all major digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.
