Peter will be the subject of a one-hour interview special entitled Vocal Chords: Iarla Ó Lionáird In conversation with Peter Gabriel that will be broadcast on RTE Lyric FM in Ireland (and online) on Friday 26 December at 7pm. You can listen again to the interview here.
This special show is a precursor to a new series of programmes on RTE Lyric FM entitled Vocal Chords, where Iarla Ó Lionáird embarks on a musical odyssey to discover the global phenomenon of the human voice as well as asking the simple but vital questions: why do we sing and what happens when we do? The full series will start on Friday 1 May 2015.
Iarla is one of the leading figures in traditional Irish music and will be familiar to many of you through not only his solo work but also his association with groups such as The Crash Ensemble, Afro Celt Sound System and most recently The Gloaming. Iarla has also lent his voice to movie soundtracks such as “Gangs of New York” and “Calvary” and has recorded with the likes of not only Peter but Robert Plant, Nick Cave and Sinead O’Connor.
In this opening programme, Iarla meets Peter at his home studio in London to talk about Peter’s own vocal journey and asks what singing means to him. In an diverse conversation Gabriel shares his favourite music, from The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’ and songs of the “Pakistani Pavarotti”, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to his key musical influences including Otis Redding and Nina Simone.
“I think everyone, musical or not, should learn to sing and find out about their voice…..I think it’s an understanding of interpretation, as well as … delivering melody” says Peter as part of the in-depth discussion
“There’s this whole other interesting thing that happens with songwriting too, I’ve performed now a couple of times… on a couple of tours song that aren’t finished, because when they’re just rough sound and made up words.. (Gabrielese I call it), they have a different life than when you pin them down with real meaning and text… they’re just sound, and they’re maybe less sharp instruments but they’re every bit as evocative, emotionally.”
Vocal Chords: Iarla Ó Lionáird In conversation with Peter Gabriel that will be broadcast on RTE Lyric FM on Friday 26 December at 7pm. You can listen again to the interview here.
You can read more about the series in general and this special programme with Peter at http://vocalchords.ie