- Music
- 08 Sep 22
The video comes mere days after the release of the singer's long-awaited sophomore album which was met by critical acclaim on September 2.
Following the release of his sophomore album The Great Irish Famine, Junior Brother has released the music video for album track 'The Long Meadows'.
Ronan Kealy, under the moniker Junior Brother, has skyrocketed in popularity over the last year for his weird and wonderful music and videos, as well as his mesmerising live shows.
The video features clips of Irish life, a quietly cathartic and poignant visual. Clips of derelict sites and older men playing music intersperse between clips of Kealy singing.
The simplicity of the video perfectly matches the paired back, humbleness of the instruments in the track.
The Great Irish Famine follows 2019's lauded Pull The Right Rope, which was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, and helped Junior Brother secure the honour of The Irish Times' 'Best Irish Act of 2019'. He also scored two nominations at the 2019 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, for Best Folk Album and Best Emerging Folk Act.
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With influences spanning both genres and centuries, and a devoted following on Irish shores and beyond, the singer-songwriter has garnered major praise from the likes of Blindboy and Cillian Murphy – the latter playing him several times on his BBC Radio 6 Music show. His television performances, meanwhile, include appearances on RTÉ’s The Tommy Tiernan Show, and Other Voices. He has also collaborated with CMAT – with the pair joining forces on the 2020 track 'Uncomfortable Christmas'.
The Great Irish Famine was produced by Julie MacLarnon and Ronan Kealy, with mixing and additional production by John 'Spud' Murphy. The album was recorded onto 2" Tape at Analogue Catalogue Studios, Rathfriland, Co. Down. Additional recording was completed in Guerrilla Sound Studios, North Strand, Dublin and Winton Mews, Rathgar, Dublin.
In his 8/10 review of Kealy's latest album, John Walshe says Junior Brother has "a voice that’s as far removed from the mainstream as it’s possible to get, in a similar manner to that other folk outlier, Cavan’s Lisa O’Neill. The other thing that both artists share is an uncompromising, lyrical talent that shines through everything they do."
Check out Junior Brother's video for 'The Long Meadows' below.
The Great Irish Famine is out now - listen below.
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Upcoming Irish live dates:
SEP 18 - Fall Right Into Place 2022, Claregalway
SEP 24 - Night & Day Festival 2022, Castlerea
OCT 1 - Cyprus Avenue, Cork
OCT 28 - The Button Factory, Dublin
NOV 4 - Dolans Warehouse, Limerick
NOV 18 - Cleere's Bar & Theatre, Kilkenny
NOV 20 - The Spirit Store, Dundalk
DEC 18 - Roisin Dubh, Galway
DEC 29 - De Barra's, Clonakilty
Tickets are available here.