Amy Naessens
Amy Naessens has been gaining recognition both at home and across the water since the release of her debut single 'To Be The One You Choose' followed by her most recent track 'Obscene' which were crowned track of the week by SPIN1038, iRadio and FM 104, she was named one of Hotpress' 'Young and emerging' Irish artists.
Her music is a blend of pop, soul and R&B mixing powerhouse vocals and fiery production with delicate songwriting. Naessens has been gigging across the country with multiple performances from her, including a headline show with MCD in LostLane as well as appearances at Sea Sessions live and unsigned, Electric Picnic, Sofar Sounds and the renowned Ruby Sessions.
Romeo and Juliet – Dire Straits
I grew up listening to this song on an old jukebox in a pub my family used to go to for Sunday dinner. I definitely didn’t understand the power of the lyrics behind this song at age six but I could sing the song from start to finish then and now. It's one of those songs that has just stuck with me this whole time. The ability to convey a life of emotions in three minutes just fascinated me more and more the older I got. It made me really want to write lyrics that could transport the listener.
Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard
I come back to this song a lot, it’s easy to get more wrapped up in production and big sounds when you start to record more and more songs. This song reminds me that great lyrics and a great melody are the foundation of a great song way before you add any fluff. Sometimes, when I’m feeling really stuck for inspiration or just overthinking my songwriting ability, I stick this song on and it immediately brings me back to basics.
Run - Snow Patrol
This song is definitely responsible for my love of a chorus that just belts out emotion. My idea of the perfect song is more delicate, creative verses that set the scene and big powerful (vocal) choruses, and I really think this song captures that!
Like Everybody Else – Lennon Stella
Even though this is one of my more recent inspirations, Lennon Stella is one of my favourite current artists and I love her mix of groovy pop songs followed by a song that’s just so organic and pure like this one. Her voice is also so angelic but has a harshness to it that I love and I think is quite similar to my vocal style.
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room – John Mayer
A classic really, from the guitar riffs, his insane vocals and the most gorgeous imagery - this has always been the song I wish I wrote.
Hotel California – Eagles
Eagles was the first CD I ever owned and I think I treasure the slow burning, storytelling verses a lot. This song in particular gave me the understanding of using metaphors and similes in writing. I remember watching an interview with Don Henley where he explained the song was actually a dissection of the decaying “American Dream”, in particular the ‘high life of LA’. I really was mind blown.
Holocene – Bon Iver
This song kinda speaks for itself, it’s just SO gorgeous. The vocals and melodies are both so haunting and so beautiful. It also really made me want to experiment with different sounds and textures, and lead me to writing slightly unexpected melodies and harmonies.
Stop And Stare –One Republic
We were a homemade CD kinda family growing up and my brother and I used to spend our pocket money on iTunes and then listen to the same 10 songs on repeat for half a year, and this was one of them. There’s something in the mix of music and lyrics in this song that just takes me back to staring out the car window and dreaming of being a musician. There’s so much power behind the lyrics of the song too, even though they convey a lot of doubt and insecurity - it oddly reminds me that I’m doing exactly what I dreamed of when I was a kid.
Believe - Cher
Yes this song is known to be belted out at 3am in a packed pub but I think the chorus of this is actually epic. “Do you believe in life after love?” - I just love that this is a catchy pop song centred around the most weighted, heartbreaking lyric - and a lot (too many) of my songs rely on heartbreak. It’s such a universal topic so it can become boring and overdone easily. I think it's actually a real skill to paint heartbreak in a not-cliché way.
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
This song shaped my melody writing a lot. I’m harmony obsessed and I think a lot of that had to do with this band. Harmonies can add so much texture, emotion and power to a song, I don’t think I’ll ever record a song without ten different tracks of backing vocals. My newest single ‘Nothing like you’ which comes out on April 30th is actually one of my favourites when it comes to harmonies, backing vocals definitely don’t get enough credit in the music world - they’re golden.
