Image via Unmade In Ireland

One of my proudest achievements on the blog last year, or any year for that matter, was the release of GruffWuff; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging.

It was a truly fantastic way to mark 5 years of BarryGruff and I am incredibly grateful to everyone involved and the overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic response. 2015 may have drawn to a close, but I enlisted the various people who made the compilation what it was, to chat about their favourite moments and sounds from year, and last but not least, is Oisin McCole.

An outstanding and undeniably talented folk singer and songwriter, Oisin McCole has managed to remain rather illusive outside his native Dublin. McCole’s lo-fi blues / folk blend is refreshingly humble and entirely devoid of ostentatious. His songs are beautifully written and constructed, never sounding contrived or over-produced, and posses an incredibly intimate sound and personal touch. A seriously talented songwriter, deserving of far greater attention.

Before we take a look at his 2015 sound selections, you should check out McCole’s excellent back catalogue  here, and his GruffWuff inclusion, ‘Far From The Sea’ (w/ Desperadow)  – of which you can download here for FREE.

What was your personal high point of this year, musical and/or otherwise?

Another year down, another one on the way. I’m not one for writing a whole bunch of words so I’ll try to keep this short.

2015 was a funny year for me musically. I did a good bit of playing, very little writing, and not much recording. I tried to devote more time to music this year than ever before but I generally failed in this endeavour. Between laziness and a general lack of direction I struggled to ever get going. I’ll put it down to experience and hopefully I can be more productive in future.

Favourite album of 2015?

My favourite album of 2015 would probably be Kurt Vile’s b’lieve I’m goin down…. I’m a great one for jumping around when it comes to music and it’s fairly rare that I listen to an album more than twice. But I got big into this one and it was the soundtrack to many a commute, so much so that I brought a bunch of heads along to see him when he played Vicar St in November. ’twas a grand gig.

More recently I’ve been listening a lot to Damien Jurado. His album Brothers And Sisters of the Eternal Son was produced by Richard Swift and I’m fairly in love with the sound of it. Apparently Jurado has been around a while and this is his 11th studio album but I’d never heard speak of him before. But sure that’s how it goes, the longer you hit your head off the wall the more chance the neighbours might hear ya.

Favourite Song from 2015?

My favourite song this year was one by Jim White called ‘Infinite Mind’, especially the version what he did on KEXP. But I’ve since grown a bit weary of it. As oft happens when I pin my heart to somebody else’s sleeve. Although listening to it now, my fondness is rekindled. As oft happens when it’s been a while since I last heard a song. It helps to know a bit about Jim and I’d recommend the film ‘Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus’ to do so.

Also that Jim White song is a few years old so I’ll give a shout out to my friend Desperadow. He was co-producer on the track I submitted for the GruffWuff Compilation. He’s got this lo-fi thing going on and he’s one of a few songwriters around these days who deserves more recognition.

What are you plans for the new year? What can we expect from you?

I’m working on a few things at the moment, I’ve the makings of two new six track EPS but I’m struggling with getting them together. In the last few days I’ve decided to forget them and go ahead with new songs. I’m also working on a video for a singer-songwriter called Aoife Leigh and I’m working on recording some demos for Brendan Carvill too. So all going well I’ll have a little more to show for 2016.

I’d like to thank BarryGruff for asking me to be part of the compilation. Along with some personal moments it was a definite high point of my year. Hope ye all have a good one, may the dawn find you in good spirits.

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