Sun Collective - Ogham Scars (single)
Ogham Scars is the new single from Dublin-based group Sun Collective, featuring contributions from harpist Gemma Doherty, part of duo Saint Sister. ‘Ogham Scars’ is the final of three singles shared in the run-up to, and in conjunction with, the groups’ appearance on award-winning and internationally acclaimed Irish music series, Other Voices, TONIGHT April 15th on RTÉ 2 television, RTÉ Player worldwide & subsequently on Other Voices YouTube.
Produced by Ross Turner (Lisa Hannigan, Villagers), and recorded by Ber Quinn (John Grant, Divine Comedy), ‘Ogham Scars’ features artwork from visual artist and Aosdána member John Noel Smith, and a live video performance of the song from Other Voices Festival in December. Watch it here
Speaking about the song, the band’s frontman Caimin Gilmore says:
“I robbed the title (& possibly the entire meaning) of ‘Ogham Scars’ from the work of painter, John Noel Smith. A number of his series use Ogham iconography, which simultaneously recalls and disassembles the early medieval Irish alphabet, re-purposing the linguistic symbols into motifs that are both aesthetically traditional and contemporary. His re-imagining and dismantling of this imagery, for me, asks questions of how people use old & contemporary iconography to communicate ideas, language and identity. It was only recently I realised that I wrote ‘Ogham Scars’ mirroring the ideas I formulated about the meaning of his work.
It features the beautiful playing of Gemma Doherty from Saint Sister. There’s a sense of mysticism that the harp in unison with the guitars lends & obviously suits the song title. I recorded on a few tracks off Saint Sisters upcoming second album & I’m writing a piece for Gemma and cellist Kate Ellis (Crash Ensemble) at the moment, so it just made sense to ask her to lend a hand to the work.“