HAVING turned his hand to music, Irish artist David Rooney has now teamed up with celebrated French harpist Floriane Blanke.
The pair has collaborated in a beautiful video, shot in Galway, for his new track Without A Soul.
"I sent a demo of Without a Soul to Floriane, and after a few – for me! – nervous days, she came back with a phone-recorded harp arrangement,” Rooney said.
Scroll down to watch the video
"A few days later, we met up at a session in Green’s pub in Kinvara, in Galway, where Floriane lives – and which is an hour from where my parents live and where I grew up in Eyrecourt, Co. Galway.
"It was a magic night – we played two songs together and in between other unaccompanied traditional singers contributions, we whispered our shared enthusiasms for how well it was working.
The introduction of Rooney and Blanke came about through singer and songwriter Declan O’Rourke, who co-produced David Rooney’s debut album Bound Together.
Floriane is a member of Declan’s Chronicles of the Irish Famine recording and touring band, who were nominated for this year’s BBC Folk Awards.
“When first I listened to Declan’s wonderful album, the harp jumped out at me,” Rooney said. "I played the harp sections over and over again.
"So last Christmas, at Declan’s Vicar St. show, featuring the full album band, I got to meet Floriane and had the opportunity to tell her how wonderful her contribution had been both recorded and live.
"We exchanged albums – Floriane had also recently released her Kaleidoscope, containing a wealth of treasures.
Musician David RooneyThe pair were introduced to Ben Parker at Sloe Sessions in Ballinasloe - who helped produce the video - by singer-songwriter and fellow Galwayman Ultan Conlon.
David Rooney is full of praise for the work of the team there.
"Ben and Mike, of Sloe Sessions, were a joy to work with," Rooney said.
"The fact that Ben is a musician makes all the difference – he instinctively knows where the viewer should be looking."
