Regan O'Brien
Regan is a singer songwriter and transdisciplinary artist with a strong experimental quality. She plays rhythm guitar and piano and has a warm, expressive vocal flow. Layering vocals from multiple genres she creates meditative repetitions which bloom out into soul-inflected rock with some alt pop vibes thrown in. Regan's vocal swings from the hip: sliding easily from raw, extended textures into deep sensuality.
A powerful and welcoming presence on stage, Regan always creates a funky, immersive and soulful feel. Regan sings about sex, politics, escape routes, disrupting patterns and the power in vulnerability. Her songs reflect her experiences of seeking meaningful connections in the world. Her poetic, cut ’n’ paste writing style is distinguished by her ability to mesh broad social issues with the dark and tender vulnerability of her personal observations. Beauty is in the connections and songs are the patterns
Her song writing is influenced by Bill Drummond, PJ Harvey, William Burroughs, Joan Wasser, Beth Ornton, Trans-disciplinary culture, Laura Mvula, Folk Magik, Autechre, Otis Redding, Karen D’Alton, Hip Hop culture, Aretha Franklin, Kate Bush, sea swimming and Rock 'n' Roll. She also studied traditional singing styles from Siberia, Korea, Ireland, Malta, Haiti.
For 20 years she has been working as a performing artist, making large scale installation work in collaboration with visual artists, videographers, electronic producers and computer scientists. She has worked in film, TV, theatre and dance. In 2009 Regan started an improvised vocal ensemble: Kwyer was a live-art/music practice which gathered weekly for 9 years in Dublin and was attended by some of Ireland's most creative music/sound artists.
Regan O’Brien has a welcoming presence on stage and a low-fi, bluesy style often playing in collaboration with electronic producers and always creating a funky, immersive and soulful journey.
In the last year Regan has been performing in small venues and events around Dublin and has begun to build a strong reputation as a very “inspiring, moving and talented singer and lyricist”.
Regans live performance work MotherKraft premiers in Project Arts Centre, Dublin from 20-23 march 2024. Where she will showcase tunes from her upcoming album Bounding.