Elkyn – in session for John Kennedy – Radio X – March 26, 2022 – Radio X –
Elkyn in session for John Kennedy at Radio X from this past weekend, and very much a breath of fresh air. Now that we’re starting to dig ourselves out of pandemic/siege mentality and are once again gathering in person to hear music, Elkyn is certainly a welcome addition to the party.
Here’s a small blurb via Elkyn’s webpage to get you up to speed if you aren’t already familiar:
Elkyn debut album ‘holy spirit social club’ is set for release via Curation Records on 18th March 2022 (yep – just came out: Editor), ‘holy spirit social club’ sees elkyn aka Joey Donnelly put his uncensored inner dialogue on paper, bravely airing the thoughts most wouldn’t dare expose. Whether that’s hurtful messages to one’s self, vague and elusive memories or lingering lessons from childhood, it’s all here on ‘holy spirit social club’, unfiltered and searingly honest.
This sincerity is matched in the music. While the arrangements on ‘holy spirit social club’ are far more expansive than those heard on 2020 EP ‘beech’, tender finger picks and elkyn’s distinctive half-whisper still remain at its heart. Though the pain is palpable, its impact – as you’ll hear on ‘everything looks darker now’ – is meditative, enveloping the listener in a safe haven where you feel free to acknowledge the darker parts of yourself.
Rainy regret-tinged evenings, dominate ‘holy spirit social club’. ‘last night’ concerns the final night he spent with a friend, considering the ensuing loneliness that awaits. While ‘change’ finds him on the streets of Yorkshire, revisiting his family home and wondering whether he had fulfilled his father’s desire for him to ‘become a man’ – a sore point that resurfaces again and again on ‘holy spirit social club’.
This unflinching honesty has seen elkyn become a streaming success in recent months, with the one-off singles that followed ‘beech’ making it on to a number of Spotify editorial playlists. After a lockdown spent demoing, he entered Nave Studios with Producer Mark Gustafson, creating more complete songs than ever before. The process was so cathartic for Donnelly that he went on to name the album after the social club that once existed in the basement below the aforementioned studio.
So far, there’s a UK tour happening between now and July as well as promise of an updated session at Radio X (we’ll have that one too, no worries). A lot of positive reviews and fingers-crossed for success with his debut album (get it here – https://ffm.to/holyspiritsocialclub)
Despite wholesale insanity and tsunamis of hate in our current world – there’s still good stuff going on – just gotta listen for it.
Hit the player and enjoy.
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