Ali Comerford - He Knows (single)
Born and raised in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, Ali started playing and studying classical music at the age of 4. After obtaining a Masters of Violin Performance from London's Royal College of Music, she relocated to New York, completing a Masters of Music in Viola Performance at the Manhattan School of Music on scholarship. Ali’s journey in music has seen her grace the likes of New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. She has toured the world with Lincoln Center Stage, playing sold out shows around Australia, New Zealand and the United States. After years as a freelance musician for various string ensembles and chamber orchestras in New York, January 2020 saw Ali come home to her native Jenkinstown in Co. Kilkenny. Faced with her biggest stretch of free time in 14 years, Ali used her artistry to process and bring closure to the various ups and downs oflife she experienced during her time traveling the world with her craft.
Ali has spent the last decade of her life playing other people's music and the time has come to share some of her own. “He Knows” is the first single from her debut album which will be released this summer. She wrote, sang, played and produced every note on the album, finally exploring the full scope of her musicality. The single was recorded at Crossroads studio Kilkenny with recording and mixing engineer Shane Tobler.
This gentle folk track starts quietly with guitar and Comerford's evocative vocal. There is a lot of emotion involved in the story of the song and it's palpable in the singer's delivery. It also showcases her proficiency in playing stringed instruments. The strings in the chorus are beautifully wrapped around the sweet guitar tones and the vocal which seems like coming from the ancient land of the fairies.There's additional depth in the chorus courtesy of the strings.
As Ali explains, the song tells a story of leaving an unfulfilling relationship, the ups and downs of seeking support elsewhere and the resignation that the truth will always come out.
"Oh but there must be a way out
Of this maize that I've been working on
But I've built the walls so high with doubt
Do I keep on building 'till he's gone"