Mayo born singer/songwriter Faraway Martin (otherwise known as Mairtín Farragher off stage) is developing a reputation for writing fun and melodic pop songs that stick in your head and refuse to leave. The talented performer first came to my attention when a friend of mine told me that she had met him while on J1 during the summer of 2018 and that he was worth keeping an eye out for, and I eventually had the chance to see him perform at The Zodiac Sessions shortly afterwards. I really enjoyed the set.

The Qatar based musician’s first single, Intoxicated, which was released October of 2018, was the first look we got at this inimitable style. On this track, the Mayo native talks us through the difficult relationship that many of us can have with alcohol on nights out, using the interesting narrative strategies of personifying the different aspects of our drunken selves as separate people. The instrumentation on the track is instantly memorable, as the humorous spin that Faraway Martin puts on the message at the heart of the track draws in the listener.

The followup single from the singer/songwriter again demonstrates this unique way that the performer has of addressing common and relatable themes back to the listener. There is a really lovely sentiment at the heart of the song and again the melodic and welcoming style of songwriting on show helps to represent it in a lovely way.

Falling In Your Sleep is a song that deals with the simple idea of falling lying in bed with somebody and thinking about what they might be dreaming about with the hope that they are dreaming about you. Through the song, Farragher uses the imagery of somebody jumping or twitching in their sleep to mean that in their dream they’re falling to create the sentiment of someone falling in love with someone else. It’s very hard not to listen to this song with a smile on your face, an effect that is helped by the cute music video that accompanies the track.

MK