Black Pope’s ‘sweaty love letter’ to his inspirations

THE artist behind a new EP, with goth and comedy-horror overtones, has described his four-track compilation as “a sweaty love letter to the girls who made me want to write songs”. 

Music for Girls Vol. 1 is the debut EP from Ennis-born John Hennessy, whose stage persona is the enigmatic Black Pope. Now based between Berlin, Cork and his home town, John is fast making his name in music. Credited by none other than Mojo magazine with developing a “neo rock ’n’ roll” style, Black Pope blends darkly beautiful lyrics with impeccably smooth guitar riffs and a flavour of fizzling glam rock.

Music for Girls Vol. 1 has been described as a dark rock’n’roll soundtrack to a movie that never existed. The lyrics find the sweet spot between small-town angst and monster movies. The track ‘Werewolf, Man’ even includes a clip recorded by Twin Peaks star, Sherilyn Fenn. 

On the title of the EP, John explained that: “It’s my invitation to shake up the rock’n’roll demographic, while also delivering a sweaty love letter to the girls that made me want to write songs. It’s a teenage mix-tape, curated by Black Pope and addressed to the world.”

The EP was recorded with Grammy-winning producer Cian Riordan (St Vincent, Sleator Kinney) in Monique Studios. This is the first collection of tracks from the artist’s debut album which is set for release next year.

Black Pope’s sound defies easy comparisons. A multi-instrumentalist and song writer, John is modest about the waves he has been making since bursting onto the music scene.

Like several young musicians of his generation, John has formally studied music and the music industry. He went to Coláiste Stiofáin Naomha in Cork for three years and studies a syllabus covering everything from song-writing, composition and sound, to the business end of the music industry. After that, he spent a year studying in London.

As an act, Black Pope originated in Cork. It was originally a college project, and launched into the world almost a decade ago. Back then, at the age of 18, John’s writing reflected big life changes and a sense of coming of age.

“I was interested in themes around growing up and exploring all of those strong emotions you have when you’re learning how to be self sufficient,” he told The Champion.

“I have also always been attracted to darker themes. I don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s the fact that Ennis is so nice, maybe I was somehow a bit bored with that when I was growing up. The thing is there is always something dark going on if you look under the cracks.

“I want to explore that in my songs, but in a positive way. I think we can have a dance and a joke around darker themes, depending on how they’re presented.”

More details are available on Blackpopemusic.com.