Deaf Joe
As Deaf Joe, Irish musician Joe Harney creates soulful, atmospheric music that pushes emotion to the fore. From the folk etchings of 2012’s ‘Burrowings’ (which featured the much-loved ‘Joanna’) to 2019’s largely instrumental ‘Love Stories’ and collaborations with Katie Kim and Percolator, Joe deftly moves between genre, exploring new sound-worlds on each new release.
On his fifth album, Kalachuchi (out March 2022), the Edinburgh-based artist’s exploration of forward-pushing electronic pop comes into focus. Across thirteen songs Harney navigates love, longing and loss framed in widescreen electronica. Recorded in Scotland, Denmark and his native Ireland over three years, Kalachuchi is a release born from, and quietly deferential to, solitude.
Across 40 minutes, Harney picks apart everything from the tug-o-war of close relationships to the cosmic restlessness of getting older. A certain beatitude, not least in Harney’s journey to fully embracing life as a gay man, luminously shines through. "The last two albums, Stuck and Love Stories, were made after I came out and they let more light in,” says Harney. “I wanted to continue that with Kalachuchi, keep the curtains open, kick the fucking windows out, Even if things get heavy here or there, it can still float, still feel buoyant, still shimmer."
Kalachuchi is out on March 9th, 2022. Download now.
“Genuine moments of beauty” - TLMT
“One of Ireland’s most engaging and surprising artists” - Hotpress
“Merging folk motifs and organic instrumentation with tremendously immersive electronic textures, these thirteen tracks make for a comforting and meditative listen” - Totally Dublin