Get to know Irish songwriter and producer Gemma Dunleavy the musical who is combining traditional storytelling with contemporary production to create a truly unique sound. With wobbly synths, harps, flutes and beats blending, her music has a gentle quality to project her dark lyrics, conveying her Dublin upbringing which moves us all. Whilst she is currently on tour with fellow Irish genre trailblazers Kneecap, we caught up with her to chitchat about how she’s changing the game with a modern twist on working class and Irish storytelling through her bouncy, gritty music.
Nearly 4 years on from the release of your EP Up De Flats, have the meanings of these songs changed for you?
The meanings of them haven’t but the weight they carry has. Seeing and hearing from people how a song like ‘Up De Flats’ or ‘Stop The Lights’ made them feel part of something or their pain articulated reminds me that they’re more important than my personal relation to them. They’re a catharsis for people who come from places like mine and it’s not often we feel seen or heard so I don’t take that for granted.
The title track ‘Up De Flats’ began as a documentary; how has being a multimedia artist aided your creative process?
It keeps me going. I love bouncing ideas from one medium to another and making a world out of a concept. It makes it three-dimensional and ever-changing for me. And if I don’t challenge myself, I’ll get bored real fast so it keeps me learning.
Your lyrics look at ideas like community displacement and classism, two challenges in today’s Ireland – how are art and music particularly useful in presenting struggles linked to identity?
I can only speak for myself on this, but having accents like mine played on our national radio stations is and has been so important. Seeing the pride around my area when ‘Up De Flats’ was on the tele was huge. Our area is normally only ever bad-mouthed in the press so it instilled a sense of joy that we hadn’t seen in a while. It’s rare to have working-class stories come from their own mouths when we hear them being performed, and the difference in the narrative that creates is mad. All of a sudden everyone wants to have the accent they used to look down on!
You’re currently on tour with Kneecap – with a distinctly different sound to them, you share similar lyrical tones and messages. How has it been sharing a stage with them?
Ah it’s an absolute pleasure sharing the stage with them every night. Our music is different but there’s the same fight in us and that comes across in performance, so I feel right at home. Couldn’t be touring with a better crew. It’s a nice big rowdy Irish family buzz. We’re nearly halfway through the tour now and I don’t want it to end.
The harp is a unique instrument to perform with onstage – what does this sound bring to your music and message?
It’s a classic Irish instrument and I’m telling classic Irish stories. But there’s a juxtaposition there for most people because the harp is normally viewed as a classical instrument, associated with class and wealth and here it is mixed with common accents and gritty beats – so it feels like a really odd, interesting combo… The harp is the classic Irish instrument and I’m telling classic Irish stories so underneath this is where it belongs. Roisin who plays with me plays so uniquely, almost as if it’s in conversation, so it just works.
What does the use of spoken word in your music contribute to what you want people to take from your art?
I would never call myself a spoken word artist, ‘cause I only ever use my speaking voice in my work when something NEEDS to be said and I think that carries across – it can be jarring and it makes people listen and that’s my intention. It’s like – ‘I don’t want you to enjoy a nice melody, the police murdered this young fella – now listen and help us do something about it.’ It’s important to have our accents and tone peppered through my work. The people of Sheriff Street have the most characterful personalities and life experiences, you can hear that grit in their voice, some of the best storytellers you’d ever come across. I wanna show them off.
Can you name one artist that you feel deserves more love right now?
Ah call me biased but Kneecap couldn’t ever get the love they deserve. Watching them play every night and the energy they bring is incredible, and what they’re doing for the Irish language is fantastic, the amount of young and older people taking classes to learn the language and their ongoing highlighting of the Palestinian people since well before last October is [incredible]. Móglaí Bap is currently running 10k a day to raise money for food for children in Gaza – donate here.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I haven’t released any music in a while but I’ve been working on something for the last couple of years.