Another project that was released recently is Ambiences from Éire. This collaborative album of electronic ambience fused with acoustic Irish music was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. The project was the brainchild of producer Lister Rossel of West One Music Group in London, who commissioned me to participate as a composer along with Niamh Nolan, and Sean T. Ahern. We began working together in late 2025 and wrapped up our composing duties last April. Most of the collaboration was remote, but I added some piano parts during a trip to Sean’s studio in London last May, and Sean oversaw the recording of Niamh’s voice and several Irish instrumentalists (including himself). The project couldn’t exist without Niamh’s stunning vocal work at the heart of the album.
I could write so much about the process of making this music. For now I’ll say that all of the collaborators were a joy to work with, and it was a thrill to hear one of my compositions realised as a string quartet. Counterintuitive to my own understanding of myself as an artist, I really enjoyed composing within the parameters given to us by the producers and staff at West One. When there were notes or suggestions about a particular piece I really enjoyed the challenge of meeting those requests while sustaining the original intent. I look forward to doing more work of this kind (until we’re all replaced by AI).
