LISCANNOR songwriter Aoife Doyle will release Strength To Be Strong, the first single from her upcoming album, this Friday.
The song is a groovy, soulful mix of gospel, jazz and roots, with stomping brass arrangements.
“Strength To Be Strong is about having to dig deep to find the strength to stay strong in the face of ongoing adversity.
To release this song as the first single off the album felt like an appropriate choice, given the world events of the last 18 months, she explains.
Aoife, originally from Bray, County Wicklow, has been living in Liscannor since 2014. She grew up in a house steeped in traditional and folk music, and completed a BA in jazz performance at the prestigious Newpark Music Centre, and an MA in Songwriting at the World Academy of Music and Dance in UL in 2018/2019. 


She cites a wide and varied range of musical influences including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Alison Krauss and Eva Cassidy, as well as Marvin Gaye, Tammy Tyrell, Joni Mitchell, Beyoncé, Declan O’Rourke, Ger Wolfe and Bjork, and echoes of this mix come through to various extents on different tracks on the album.
“When it came to writing this album, I was trying to push myself creatively. The writing itself is quite instinctive, so there wasn’t an overall plan to step away from jazz, it just sort of came out that way.
“My first two albums have elements of folk, soul and blues so I guess a step further in that direction isn’t all that surprising.”
Strength To Be Strong was produced by the highly-regarded musician, arranger and producer Michael Buckley, as was the album, “one of my best musical decisions”. Doyle is joined by a stellar band on the track, featuring some of Ireland’s most in-demand musicians including pianist Johnny Taylor, guitarist/singer Jack Maher, trumpet player Ronan Dooney, vocalist Margot Daly, saxophonist Michael Buckley, bassist Andrew Csibi and drummer Dominic Mullan.
Strength To Be Strong has received airplay on BBC Radio, RTÉ Radio 1, Radio Sligo, RTE Lyric FM and LCCR.
The single will be released on September 3, and will be available on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and on Aoife’s website www.aoifedoyle.com. The single was recorded at House of Horns Studio in Dublin.