Many ideas from Irish electronic artist Conor Walsh originated from time spent swimming in Cork Harbour, the seaside of his hometown of Cobh, south coast of County Cork, Ireland. A former swim teacher before moving to Berlin, while training for open water competitions in the Celtic Sea, Conor allowed his mind to wander, leading him to new creative horizons.
His musical approach, which ranges from ambient and downtempo to industrial and glitch, draws inspiration from artists like early Autechre and Boards of Canada. Utilising pulsating and morphing rhythms, his ambient inspired music is tied together by sparse melodic ideas complemented by melancholic timbres.
His live set debut at the Kiezsalon, along Muireann Bradley and Henry Earnest in October, will coincide with the release of his first EP on Digital in Berlin.
FACTS
1. A cup of coffee in the morning is nice.
2. My mind has drawn a blank.
3. I don’t know many facts.
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
The process of making music. I am facinated by sound and all the different ways to make sound. I also really love mixing, E.Qing stuff and shaping things, it’s like painting, I imagine.
In terms of artists, John Frusciante has always been a massive influence on my music, not just making music, but having a deeper appreciation for music and the way sounds connect and interact with each other.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started playing music as a child. I studied Music Tecnology in college and got really into song writing and this was also my first introduction to how music is recorded and technically created.
This opened up a whole other side of music creation for me. For awhile I wanted to write songs like Bob Dylan or the John Butler Trio, folky, guitar based music, but it all changed when I discovered Autechre and
synthesiser based music.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Red Hot Chili Peppers – By the Way
Autechre – Tri Repetae
John Frusciante – The Empryean
Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding
Blink 182 – Self Titled
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Music. Art. Lakes. S Bahn.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Glenmore – Cobh Co,Cork. Great place for a swim.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Well I am a swim teacher, so I would probably continue doing that, but without making music after. I would simply exist.
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listen?
Last record I bought – KneeCap – Fine Art. What an album!
Last thing I listened to – Probably Fontaines D.C’s new songs. Everyone should listen to Starburster – great tune.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
At the moment – Fontaines D.C. – mainly as I’m only after getting into them recently so I think they’re cool.
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
As a performer – I opened for a local Cork band called Blaskets in 2023 before I moved to Berlin. I put together the set in a week and a half and played to 20 people. It was the first time I felt like a proper artist and felt like I had finally started to develop my sound. It was a really fun night and the music and creativity was flowing in full. Many a pint was had.
As a spectator – Autechre in Barcelona 2024.
Flew there with my partner for my birthday. An absoloute wall of sounds and textures for an hour and bit. The way they ended the set was amazing, sounded like they just pressed mute on the master fader. So abrupt…. Magical.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
I would say very important. I use Ableton a lot and have a few synthesisers. I would say they influence my process a bit, but I try to let my own creativity drive my process as opposed to letting the technology rule. However, if the laptop dies or your hard drive corrupts… then the technology has complete control. You can lose a whole session.
11. Please tell us a little bit about you new release on Digital in Berlin.
I am very happy to say my self-titled debut Album comes out on Digital in Berlin on October 4th 2024. The idea for an album began with songs derived from a live-set in July 2023.
It was then decided to create an album with live-performance being an intrinsic component to the creative process. All the tracks were layed down live, with a few over dubs here and there, but it was important to me for the album to flow orgnically, with a lot of movement in the timbres and sounds.
Musically, the album drifts towards left-leaning dancefloor music with glitched beats and a Lot of reverb and delay.
