A music graduate who has also worked alongside young people with mental health issues, Northern Ireland singer/songwriter from County Armagh, Conchúr –pronounced Connor– White’s story began in bands. He played in atmospheric indie-rockers Silences before their split allowed Conchúr to develop his solo voice at his own pace. That sense of freedom colours Conchúr’s music. On the Bikini Crops and Dreamers EPs, he filtered the influences of acts such as Arctic Monkeys and Father John Misty into songs at once playful, referential and experiential. The moonlit plea of this year’s Atonia, a cathartic reverie on sleep paralysis, showed White’s melodic and lyrical talents blossoming. White has just announced support dates with John Grant & Richard Hawley on their upcoming tour playing the songs of Patsy Cline, then shows with The Magnetic Fields in Europe in November. His new album, Swirling Violets, will be out 19th January 2024 via Bella Union. An irresistible invitation to float along with White, Swirling Violets is a magic-realist wonder from a new name to reckon with, bathed in a radiant glow. 

What Conchúr says: “Rivers was recorded in a cottage outside Pomeroy in Tyrone. I went away for a few days to demo tracks for the album, one of which was Rivers. I’d always intended to re-record it but never did as I came to like the idea of having something on the album that I’d made by myself; my recording of my vocals and acoustic guitar. I committed to all the effects and sounds pre-recording as I didn’t want to spend a lot of time mixing demos, so everything you hear on the song was as I heard it. I added a few harmonies and manipulated my vocal to try and emulate an uilleann pipe in the bridge section, but aside from that it’s basically a live recording. I’ve always liked the music of Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, and it’s without doubt the most folk-inspired and folk-sounding song on the album.“

“I Did Good Today is a song about craving validation but understanding that such approval can come at the expense of honesty or integrity. Musically I reference the likes of Midlake, Aldous Harding and Bleachers. The track was recorded in a Belfast church with producers Danny Morgan Ball and Kris Platt and mixed in London by Matt Wiggins.”

His Mixtape:

Velvet Underground – Here She Comes Now

I initially thought this was a Nirvana song. When I was thirteen a friend gave me the ‘With The Lights Out’ box set which included a cover of ‘Here She Comes Now’. I was obsessed with it so imagine my surprise when I heard it on ‘White Light/White Heat’. It’s such a simple track, it’s almost a pop song. I recently performed with John Cale from Velvet Underground which was a real honour!

Big Thief – Vampire Empire

I’m in awe of Adrianne Lenker and this band. They’re probably the newest band/artist to break into my top 10 of all time. Their songs are timeless. They’re familiar but not derivative and after seeing them perform live, I can vouch that they are every bit as good live as they are on their records. This is one of their newest tracks and it only highlights that they continue to write great music. The chorus is such a release.

Blue Americans – Somebody Like U

I have met too many talented songwriters and musicians not to have realised that there are thousands of amazing songs that I may never hear. Blue Americans were made up of Kris Platt and Danny Morgan Ball who produced the majority of my forthcoming album. They did reach a lot of people but less than the music deserved. I could have picked any of their songs but this one has a special place in my heart. If we have something old and something new, we obviously need something blue.

Harp – I Am The Seed

‘Midlake’ were a reference point for my new track ‘I Did Good Today’ and ‘Harp’ is the project of their former singer Tim Smith and his wife Kathi Zung. There are definitely nods to 80’s production but they’re part of a palette that features, at its core, elements of folk. It’s a really hypnotic track and I think the video is really suited to the song. Their album will also be released on Bella Union.

Bleachers – Chinatown

I played this song over and over again last year so I’m sure it has had some influence on the album. It hooked me in on first listen. I love the production, some of the sounds reminded My Bloody Valentine. As I listened for the first time I thought to myself, wow i could hear Bruce Springsteen singing this and sure enough, he appeared in the second chorus. The mix between the acoustic guitar sounds and synth pads is really beautiful and it’s lyrically very moving.

Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans

Another artist who has written countless great songs. It seems as if it’s hard to retain critical acclaim when you become a huge name in music but Lana Del Rey is a brilliant songwriter in my eyes. I’m pretty sure the guitar sound in the intro is a Nord Stage Piano preset but I never grow tired of it, very cool.

The Album: Released through Bella Union in January, Swirling Violets is allusive and intimate, unearthly yet instantly accessible: touching on fully felt themes with grace and lightness, it’s a richly imagined album of multitudes from an instinctive talent. 
 As White explains it, “There wasn’t a conscious theme, though the songs operate in the same sort of space, that sense of surrealism. There’s ghosts, there’s other worlds. There’s a cosmic feeling, questions about the beginning and the end and dreams. And then there’s simpler songs, love songs about the feelings of infatuation you have when you’re young” 

The tracklist:

1. The Holy Death
2. Righteous (Why Did I Feel Like That?)
3. 501s
4. Rivers
5. I Did Good Today
6. Swirling Violets
7. Red House Parlour
8. Before Ten
9. Fawn
10. The Woman In The War
11. Deadwood

Swirling Violets will be out on January 19, 2024 via Bella Union. Look HERE for more information on Conchúr White.