Brigid Mae Power

Brigid Mae Power
Brigid Mae Power performing in 2017
Brigid Mae Power performing in 2017
Background information
OriginLondon/Galway
Genresfolk
Years active2010 (2010)–present
LabelsFire Records, Tompkins Square Records

Brigid Mae Power is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician.[1]

Early life

Power was born in London, England to Irish parents. Her family relocated to Ireland when she was eleven years old.[2][3] She learned to play the button accordion before starting to sing and play piano as a teen.[4][5]

Career

Power began releasing music under the name Brigid Power-Ryce in 2010. Her debut EP You Are Here was released by the independent label Rusted Rail in 2010.[6] This was followed by two self released EPS, Ode to an Emryo in 2011, and Eee Tuts in 2013. The live album I Told You The Truth was released in 2014 by the label Abandon Reason. Power recorded the album in the St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, Galway city. The Irish Times wrote of the album "the setting gives her haunting vocals a spiritual resonance".[7] After meeting American musician Peter Broderick at a gig, Power travelled to Broderick's studio in Portland, Oregon in 2015 to record her debut studio album.[8] After finishing the production of her debut album, she received a two-album deal from American label Tompkins Square Records.[9]

Her debut self titled album Brigid Mae Power was released in 2016 and was a critical success, receiving positive reviews from Pitchfork,[10] Record Collector,[11] and The Guardian.[12] In an interview with Uncut, Power stated the album was inspired by her experiences as a single mother.[13] Power promoted the album with a tour of the UK and Japan.[14]

Her second studio album The Two Worlds was released in 2018.[15] The album was met with widespread critical acclaim from the music press, with Pitchfork writing "The Two Worlds is Power's most ambitious and her most introspective".[16] The album received 4 star reviews from Uncut,[17] The Guardian[18] and Record Collector.[19] The Line of Best Fit wrote "Stately, solemn, slow-burning and seriously beautiful, most of The Two Worlds isn't far removed from its predecessor's intimate templates".[20]

Power's third album, Head Above the Water, was released in 2020 by Fire Records.

In 2021, she appeared on Other Voices.[21]

Power released her fourth LP, Dream from the Deep Well, in 2023. The album received favourable reviews from critics, with an aggregrate score of 76% on Metacritic. [22] The album entered the UK Official Folk Albums Chart at number 10.[23]

Discography

Brigid Mae Power at Rough Trade West in 2023

Albums

EPS

  • You Are Here (2010)
  • Ode to an Embryo (2011)
  • Eee Tuts (2013)
  • The Ones You Keep Close (2017)
  • Burning Your Light (2021)

Live albums

  • I Told You the Truth (2014)

References

  1. ^ "Brigid mae Power on Musicbrainz". Musicbrainz. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  2. ^ Power, Ed (4 July 2023). "Brigid Mae Power: 'I underestimated how vulnerable I would feel with everyone knowing my business'". The Irish Times.
  3. ^ "Something for the weekend-Brigid Mae Power Cultural picks". RTE. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Brigid Mae power Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  5. ^ Murphy, Lauren (28 January 2018). "Brigid Mae Power-welcome to her world". The Times. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  6. ^ Andrews, Kernan (11 February 2010). "Brigid PowerRyce to launch debut EP with Roisin Dubh gig". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  7. ^ Barry, Aoife (25 April 2014). "New Found Sounds May". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Brigid Mae power on World Cafe". npr.org. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. ^ Meagher, John (16 August 2016). "Galway musician Brigid Mae power on metoo and drawing from her own experiences of abuse on her new album". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  10. ^ Snapes, Laura (22 June 2016). "Brigid Mae Power". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  11. ^ Goldsmith, Mike (15 July 2016). "Brigid Mae Power". Record Collector. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  12. ^ Empire, Kitty (26 June 2014). "Brigid Mae Power - Singer Songwriter review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  13. ^ Mulvey, John (10 June 2016). "Brigid Mae Power reviewed". Uncut. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  14. ^ Kidman, David (9 August 2016). "Brigid Mae Power". Folk Radio UK. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Brigid Mae Power-The Two Worlds". Folk Radio UK. March 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  16. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power-The Two Worlds". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  17. ^ Bonner, Michael (8 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power-The Two Worlds". Uncut. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  18. ^ Snapes, Laura (9 February 2018). "Brigid Mae Power-The Two Worlds Review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  19. ^ Goldsmith, Mike (28 February 2018). "-The Two Worlds". Record Collector. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  20. ^ Oinenon, Janne (16 February 2018). "-Brigid Mae Power turns the volume up and then down again on The Two Worlds". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  21. ^ "-Brigid Mae Power". othervoices.ie. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  22. ^ ""Dream From the Deep Well" on Metacritic".
  23. ^ "Dream From the Deep Well on Official Charts". Official Albums Chart.