Irish singer-songwriter Stephen McCorry has just released ‘Prayer’, the latest single from his forthcoming debut album, ‘Gliding Amongst The Crows’. With a husky voice reminiscent of Tom Waits, Chris Rea and Rod Stewart, Stephen’s music is a fresh take on the piano-based, horn-driven soft rock and R&B of the 1970s.
‘Prayer’ is a minor blues written about the persuasive nature of hardship and its ability to shift an individual’s core beliefs. Featuring swampy horn arrangements inspired by New Orleans jazz, it centres around an atheist father’s loss of his newborn daughter. Stephen says, ‘this was based on a true story of someone I knew and I thought it was a fascinating concept to write about; how grief and desperation have the capacity to rewrite our fundamentals’.
Stephen’s journey began busking in Belfast, before moving to North America and performing on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles. His signature raspy voice and thought-provoking lyrics have been charming audiences and drawing fans from all over the world for the better part of a decade.
’Busking has a lot of risks, from living in my car to having my guitar stolen, but it can have a lot of rewards too. You meet every type of person on the street, and much of my musical support has come from the friends, fans and collaborators I’ve met on the road.’
His debut album, recorded at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver, showcases horn arrangements by the renowned Irish saxophonist and Glen Hansard bandmate, Michael Buckley, as well as the magnetic vocals of English singer-songwriter Phoebe Katis.
Featuring 12 original songs self-produced by McCorry, the album invites the listener on an eclectic emotional journey. ‘I think that’s what makes a good record – when the listener is being pulled in a lot of different directions, both musically and lyrically, and I feel we’ve achieved that with this album’.
‘Gliding Amongst The Crows’ will be independently released later this year. For interviews, live performances or more information, please get in touch.
Stephen McCorry
