In Godfrey we trust

There’s been a lot of buzz around the place recently for breakout Irish artist Cian Godfrey, AKA Somebody’s Child, and with his debut album coming next month, supported by a massive world tour, the buzz is about to get a lot bigger.

Somebody’s Child has quickly established himself as a voice at the forefront of the new music scene in Ireland with early support slots with the likes of Kodaline, Primal Scream, and Kaiser Chiefs, as well as national radio play and an appearance on ‘The Late Late Show’.

Newly signed to cult label Frenchkiss Records, Godfrey has just announced his self-titled debut album is out 3 February which has its roots in his formative years growing up in Dublin and the experiences that went with that. It was recorded at East London’s Hackney Road Studios with producer Mikko Gordon (Arcade Fire, The Smile).

With music often said to be a product of its environment, Godfrey is keen to impress upon listeners an image of a modern, progressive Ireland, albeit one with an ongoing housing crisis and not the stereotypical one often portrayed by foreign media.

“We’re not all smoking cigarettes, drinking Guinness around a candle in some pub reading Joyce. We’re a forward thinking group of people who are struggling to afford to live in the place we’re from. This album has been my escape,” Godfrey explains.

In the build up to his album’s release, Godfrey has just released his latest single ‘We Could Start A War’ which was written and recorded in a small rehearsal room in an industrial estate on the banks of Dublin’s Royal Canal. Reflecting the track, Godfrey says: “‘We Could Start A War' is a huge track for us. The original version was a demo I wrote in 20 minutes or so and Shea produced in our little makeshift studio in Dublin. We spent 50 quid on artwork and just put it out, now it's our biggest song. This is now the real version, I guess.

“The timing is also serendipitous because the video is about where it was written, and the juxtaposition between beauty in tradition, and the ugly face of gentrification, of which both are in abundance. Now I've moved to London, partly because of the result of this, not being able to afford life in my hometown.”

Somebody’s Child kicks off his world tour in Groningen, Netherlands, on 18 January, a tour that will take him to the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany and the USA.

He will play Cyprus Avenue in Cork city on 2 March. For tickets and to pre-order his new self-titled album, visit somebodyschildmusic.com.