RORY Hall (aka Proper Micro NV) will launch his new album at a double header show at The Record Room this Friday October 18 with DJ/Producer JLB.
Hall’s releases have been hailed and played by BBC Radio, Nialler9, Dan Hegarty and Jenny Greene of RTÉ 2fm, The Irish Times, Hot Press, The Last Mixed Tape, and Clash Magazine, who described his music as “dazzling.”
Since his debut LP dropped in 2018, Rory has concentrated on one off releases that have one eye on the dance floor, the deep and dark house music of ‘Forever’ and the blissed-out dance of ‘Never Go On’.
Rory chatted with Limerick Post this week and discussed his upcoming album ‘Microsaurus,’ released on Wednesday October 16.
It is an album that he says he couldn’t have made five years ago. Microsaurus marks a departure from his previous single releases, showcasing a more layered and electro-pop sound.
The opening track features his sister Tamara Hall on spoken word. (Tamara is also releasing her own dance productions).
He remembers, “there was a time around 2020 where I thought I had something, and then the pandemic happens.
“During that time a lot of people were releasing music, but myself, I just put out a few one-offs, it didn’t feel right for me to put out an album.
“Then eventually I came to this album, and it felt right, and it is the first time since the first album that something felt fully right to be an album.
“I think the stuff that’s coming out as part of this album is very electro pop rather than full on straightforward dance. It’s a very different sound for me, but it’s a sound that I’ve always wanted to do, this deep sounding electro pop thing.”
Having taken some years to get to the point of completing the new album, is it a case of it has taken time to develop the production skills to create the sound you wanted?
“I don’t think I could have made this album five years ago. You develop that skill over time, and you develop that ear a little bit more.
“I think the older you get in music for the most part anyway, the wiser you get, the technically, better you get.”
Rory released a new single, ‘Just to Drop,’ on Wednesday October 9, accompanied by a lyric video and a live version.
This new earworm from (Proper Micro NV) deals with one of his favourite obsessions, themes of space and the universe.
“I like to think about space and the universe a lot. I wrote about our relevance to the rest of the universe, and how we’re just a drop in the ocean.”
If you have seen a Proper Micro NV show you will know that they are joyous colourful affairs,
Rory becomes other characters and there will always be costume changes. He has a space in his house for his many stage clothes, masks and lighting. Hall’s electronic, dance-driven and theatrical shows have turned heads at Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Latitude. Whelan’s Dublin, Shoreditch, London and some prime guest slots with Gemma Dunleavy and HousePlants in Limerick.
“I’m trying to find new things to get and to use for the live setup, I think that theatrical side to me will always be there when it comes to the live performance. It’s like a mask, almost, it lets me loose for whatever reason. It’s almost like a character, to be honest.”
The album launch gig happens in The Record Room on Friday October 18, a double header with JLB who is one third of pop trio Kero Kero Bonito. The JLB has performed in clubs across the world including New York, Paris, Peckham and Tokyo.
