Cathy Davey – in profile

Being dropped by your record label can herald the destruction of an artistโ€™s ambitions and self-confidence, but not so with Cathy Davey who has independently released what could well be her best work yet.

Dublin born Cathy Davey was signed to Parlophoneโ€™s Regal Recordings in 2002 after some of her home-recorded demos caused a bit of a stir in the industry,

igniting a label bidding war where the EMI subsidiary eventually pipped Rough Trade to her signature and all this before she had ever performed live on stage.

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While her first album โ€˜Something Ilkโ€™ made only a moderate impact on listeners, it was after the release ofย  her second record, โ€˜Tales of Silversleeveโ€™ย  that Daveyโ€™s confidence was boosted by extensive touring and radio support for songs like โ€˜Rubenโ€™ and โ€˜Movingโ€™ making her a household name.

As the record industry underwent financial crises in 2008, EMI dropped much of its roster leaving Cathy without a label and instead of letting the lack of financial support become an obstacle, she embraced her new-found independence, packed her bags and retreated to France to begin work on new material. Knowing very little French, she found herself recording in a setting that would come to influence the songs in many unexpected ways. Having spent many nights in โ€œa quiet old house belonging to a quiet old widowโ€, she had time to develop her ideas and soak up the surrounding influences and to work in the space that the solitude of being a stranger in a strange land allows.

She returned โ€œwith a handful of joyful songs about love, absence and deathโ€, and declared: โ€œSilversleeve is grand, but Iโ€™ll do better this timeโ€. The resulting album โ€˜The Namelessโ€™ has just been released and you can catch Cathy Davey live this weekend in Dolans, this Sunday May 16. โ€˜The Namelessโ€™ is out now in all good record stores.

Something Ilk (2004) A raw debut recording produced by Ben Hillier [Blur, Elbow & Clinic] in the classic guitar, bass drums arrangement, more of a rock record than anything subsequently released. Included the first hit single โ€˜Clean and Neatโ€™

Tales of Silversleeve (2007)
The title referred to Cathy Daveyโ€™s habit of not using a tissue as a snotty nosed kid.ย  The album is a more confident and acoustic sounding effort with songs brougt to the studio fully formed from home demos. Containing subtle rhythmic textures the record spawned ready for radio hits โ€˜Movingโ€™, โ€˜Rubenโ€™ and โ€˜ Sing for your Supperโ€™. A Choice Music Prize nomination and a Meteor award followed, prompting the Irish Times to state, โ€œThereโ€™s no better female songwriter in Irish music right nowโ€.

The Nameless (May 2010) So no pressure then for the follow up! The first single โ€˜Little Redโ€™ is already a hit. This album has an ambitious production with sweeping dramatic arrangements showing a desire and confidence to make big songs that the recordโ€™s melodramas deserve. Neil Hannon lends his voice to โ€˜Army of Tearsโ€™ and could well have been an influence on the albumโ€™s expansive soundscapes heard on the track โ€˜Habitโ€™ also a potential hit. But it is not all pomp and bluster as evidenced on the gorgeous bluesey โ€˜Bad Weatherโ€™. โ€˜The Namelessโ€™ gets better with every listen as does the evermore assured and confident Cathy Davey.