Feature: Gerr Walsh Decodes “When The Stars Don’t Work”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
The tune came to me in the form of a choppy guitar riff. I initially tried creating an indie rock song around that, it sounded good but it was too busy and I wasn't fully happy with it, so I spent the next 6 months or so trying different approaches until the song eventually revealed itself to me. I surrounded myself with world class musicians; Adam Marcello on Drums (Katy Perry, Brandi Carlisle), Keith Duffy on Bass (The Corrs) and the wonderful singer songwriter Naimee Coleman helping out on backing vocals. We did a session as a band at Audioland Studios about 12 months ago. We got the bones of the song down and I’ve been dipping in every few weeks since to refine it and finish it off with Engineer/Producer Anthony Gibney at the desk guiding me all the way.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "When The Stars Don’t Work?"
There was that revealing moment when the song transformed from a frenetic indie rock sound into a more chilled folky, lush, pop song, keeping more in line with the previous two singles. It was like the song was trying to tell us this all along but we weren't listening. I took the chord progression from the demo and used that melody as the wurli melody line at the heart of the song, a very different song but I'm very happy with it.
How does "When The Stars Don’t Work" fit into your overall artistic vision and what can listeners expect from you in the future?
All these new songs have the acoustic guitar at their heart, tonally and rhythmically but they're emersed in other textures, keyboards, synths and various effects and that is my sound right now. It’s always evolving and it might go in the direction of pure electronic or it might go all 'Nebraska' and just be me with a microphone and a guitar, we’ll see.
Can you tell us more about you as an artist?
I released my debut EP ‘Prevailing Winds’ in 2016, and then my debut album ‘Ghosts of Hope & Magic’ in 2021 a collection of indie folk songs with a hint of pop which got great airplay on local and national stations. Since then I’ve been gigging around the country, playing festivals and playing with some well known Irish artists – Gemma Hayes, Paddy Casey, Joe Chester. I’m currently working on a new collection of songs which I’ll release as an album in September 2025. My songs have been compared to The Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout and Elbow.
Can you share the story behind one of your favourite songs that you’ve written?
I try to let subconscious ideas bubble up to the surface when writing songs, my favourites are those that spring up out of nowhere, like being handed a gift from a ghostly being from another realm for you to make sense of, 'Dream in D' was one of these. The melody had been swimming around my head and at the same time I had a dream of a scene from my childhood, just me and my friend, very innocent and sweet but the song is written from the perspective of my more worldly adult mind, there's a contrast between light and dark, innocence and cynicism.
