- Music
- 02 Dec 20
Dublin-based songwriter Morgan MacIntyre and multi-instrumentalist and composer Gemma Doherty team up with Lisa Hannigan for their new song The Place That I Work. The song tells the story of a reconciled friendship following a period of estrangement, setting the traditional Irish Ballad form against a bedrock of atmospheric strings, synthesizers, and birdsong.
Saint Sister's second single this year, The Place That I Work, follows the release of Dynamite in March. Both follow the duo’s 2018 debut album, 'Shape Of Silence'.
Built around mesmerizing close-knit vocal harmonies, electro-acoustic harp and synthesizers, Saint Sister have been sonically likened to Enya and Cocteau Twins.
The arrangement of The Place That I Work features a distinctive blend of interlocking three-part vocal harmony. Doherty, who arranged the piece, details the process: "After a few attempts at an arrangement, it seemed like it should be quite free and driven by the vocals, possibly a cappella. We’re so used to singing as a duo and creating vocal harmony with two voices, but with three voices you can find a real sense of completion within the chords. When we started thinking of it in three-parts, the first voice that came to mind was Lisa’s."
When being asked about the songs origin, MacIntyre explains: “I wrote this song while I was working as a Christmas temp in Dublin’s oldest book shop, Hodges Figgis. One day a friend, who I hadn’t seen since we had a misunderstanding, came in and caught me completely off guard. I was, all at once, angry that we hadn’t talked for months and that they had chosen now, to come to where I worked to make peace, but also undeniably relieved and happy to see them, to know we were still friends.”
Saint Sister first met Lisa Hannigan in 2016 at Other Voices where they quickly developed a rapport, and months later Hannigan invited them to join her 2017 European tour. Saint Sister opened 15 dates and joined Hannigan on stage each night to sing backing vocals, so when the time came to record their second album, it was obvious which voice they had in mind for the song.
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The new album is coming in 2021, so stay tuned!
Watch the video to Saint Sister's The Place That I Work!