Lisa Hannigan has shared the beautiful video for ‘Fall’, the first single from her forthcoming third album ‘At Swim’ (released on August 19th via Play It Again Sam recordings). Produced by Aaron Dessner, ‘At Swim’ follows the double-platinum, Mercury-nominated debut ‘Sea Sew’, and 2011’s ‘Passenger’ (which charted at number 1 in Ireland, and earned Lisa another Choice Music Prize nomination). An intimate, 16-date European tour in support of ‘At Swim’ is on sale now.
Introducing the video, ‘Fall’ director Harvey Pearson writes: “we wanted to explore the idea of overcoming something, whether that was physical or mental. We decided that a forest was the perfect location to denote this idea of a ‘crowded mind’. Throughout the video we see Lisa’s abstract movements, which is something which we worked hard on with choreographer Supple Nam, to try and further the concept of fighting against your own mind - the idea of her being possessed by something. The whole video is a progression, something moving in, attacking, and then Lisa slowly overcoming it and it retreating. We tried to show that through every aspect of the video - the dance, the cinematography and of course, the edit - it's all about that progression."
‘Fall’ is the second offering from Lisa’s third – and arguably most bewitching – album, ‘At Swim’. After playing in support of ‘Passenger’ for nearly two years, she struggled at first to write new material: a new relationship meant that she was dividing her time between Dublin and London, and so adrift and lost, she threw herself into distraction instead. There was an acting debut as a mermaid in the Oscar-nominated animation ‘Song of the Sea’, soundtrack work on ‘Fargo’ and the Oscar-winning score for ‘Gravity’, all the while founding and co-hosting the acclaimed ‘Soundings’ podcast (which saw Lisa turn interviewer, and speak to guests such as Harry Shearer, Sharon Horgan and David Arnold).
The breakthrough came when Hannigan got an email out of the blue from Aaron Dessner, guitarist with The National and producer for the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Local Natives. Taking up Dessner’s suggestion to work together and rediscovering the collaborative spirit she'd missed in Dublin enabled Lisa to see her time in London in a different light. So while ‘At Swim’ is in part about homesickness and isolation, it's also – profoundly and very movingly – about love.
Having first exchanged ideas over email and iPhones, ‘At Swim’ surfaced when Lisa and Aaron finally met up in Denmark: recording then took place in a church in Hudson, New York, during a furiously-creative seven-day stint. Despite openly being written lost-at-sea, you sense that at this point in her career, Lisa Hannigan is now a strong enough swimmer to go as far out as she wants; to darker depths than before, where the treasure lies, and bring it back to us.
European Tour – On Sale July 1st, 9AM
October 13 | Cardiff | The Tramshed
October 14 | Brighton | The Old Market
October 16 | Oxford | 02 Academy
October 17 | Bristol | Thekla
October 19 | Glasgow | Oran Mor
October 20 | Salford | St Philip’s Church
October 21 | Liverpool | Arts Club
October 22 | Leeds | Brudenell Social Club
October 24 | London | Islington Assembly Hall
October 25 | Birmingham | Glee Club
October 26 | Leicester | 02 Academy
October 28 | Leuven | Hot Depot
October 29 | Zurich | Plaza
October 30 | Milan | Fabrique Milano
November 1 | Berlin | Admiralspalast
November 2 | Cologne | Studio 672
November 3 | Paris | Le Flow
November 4 | Netherlands | Den Haag
