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0:00/3:12
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The Door 5:250:00/5:25
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Just in Case 4:370:00/4:37
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Running Free 4:190:00/4:19
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The Brightest Star 4:550:00/4:55
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Take Me Away 4:360:00/4:36
“A unique and original voice that manages to warm the soul and the heart.” - Edgar Allen Poets
Marie Conniffe is a singer-songwriter from Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland. She spent her formative years soaking up the music of The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and especially Joni Mitchell.
Marie began to focus on her songwriting, in earnest, when she arrived in Seoul, South Korea, in 2004. In theory, she was there to teach English but she was inspired by the people she met in the music scene there and she began to gig regularly and to actually finish songs and perform them in public. The highlight of that particular Korean stint was a slot as the closing event of the 2005 World Arirang Festival in Jeongseon, where Marie sang an a capella version of “Mo Ghile Mear”, as well as the theme song of the festival in Korean.
Marie has lived a somewhat nomadic lifestyle since then, returning to Korea on three more occasions, as well as living and working in places like Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Bristol, Galway, London, Dublin and she is now based in Cork. Along the way, she has released two albums of original material. “Through the Door”, essentially a collection of demos, came out in 2011. And then her first proper studio release “Love Madness” came out in 2018. Composed of six “love songs” and six “madness songs”, this album chronicles Marie's experiences of emotional extremes. As she recounts herself, “This album emerged out of intensely strong feelings of love, loss, hope, rejection, confusion and eventually out-and-out insanity. I did the only thing I could do to make sense of the situation. I took those experiences and emotions and I sublimated them into songs. That's my way of accentuating the positive and keeping the truth beautiful."
Marie released a follow-up stand-alone single in July 2021. Entitled “The Door”, it was the first song Marie had ever written and it received a number of glowing reviews upon its release. The video for the song, shot by Luke McDermott, captured the essence of Conniffe’s personal and musical trajectory to that point. Filmed in Dublin on a crisp March morning between Sandymount Beach and Kimchi Hophouse – a Korean bar and restaurant on Parnell St. – the visuals entwine the artist's connection to her places of travel, her home, her craft, and herself.
Her next song, "The Way of the Hummingbird", continued with Marie's tradition of incorporating hummingbirds into her creative life, which began when she joined forces with her Crafter Hummingbird guitar back in Seoul 2005. Referencing the fact that hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards, Conniffe says of the song that “it’s about realising you may have gone wrong or made a bad decision somewhere along the way so it’s about trying to retrace your steps and going back and sorting stuff out and trying to start again afresh.”
After that, we had a 90s-infused anthem overflowing with positivity and good vibes - “Down to the River to Play” became a musical call-to-arms to enjoy the summer months and make the most out of life. In the title of the song, a nod to the harmonic influences of the “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack in her own musical life, Conniffe invites us to go “down to the river to play in the hay”. It’s a catchy, fun-filled number that is well-served by the hypnotic blend of Conniffe’s vocal harmonies and uplifting message.
Conniffe showed her more pensive, contemplative side with her meditative anthem for all humanity, “Stay On Your Own Side". This recording features Chilean trumpeter Felipe Campusano intertwining with Al Quiff's bowed double bass as they lull us down this sleepy flowing melodic river of a tune, kept on course by the lush vocal harmonies of the artist as she makes us all feel just that bit better with some reassuring thoughts about life.
“The brutal honesty is the most impressive factor on this track as Conniffe wears her heart on her sleeves for all to see and hear. ” - The Sounds Won't Stop
“Evoking an insightful state of mind with the magnificent use of simplicity and repetition, the reverberated timbres that make up both the foreground and background captivate your headspace with agility and grace. ” - Buzz Music
“This is what makes great music so great. It's relatable and comes from a real place that you can feel.” - The Sounds Won't Stop