Atlanta-based artist Brianna McGeehan has released her new single, Mother Maiden. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
The song is the second step in Brianna's attempt to retrace her ancestral roots in Ireland as she channels her great-grandfather's stories that have been passed through the generations and shapes them into a one of her own.
Born into an Irish American family, Brianna grew up hearing stories of resilience from County Tyrone, where her great-great-grandparents once lived.
Speaking about Mother Maiden, she says, "It's a song that I’d wanted to write for a long time - a letter to my younger self and all young women facing the darkest parts of life," she says.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I grew up Irish American in a family of story tellers and believed a few fantastical myths as a child because of this. I thought that Roger Casement was a relative (possibly a great uncle, it was always vague) and I was told that I was "Black Irish" by my Irish American grandmother who would lie to random people we would meet and say that I was both fully Irish (I am part French Canadian) and that I was Black Irish.
I have been a musician for almost my entire life. My musician Dad was getting his degree in composition when I was in utero and music was a big deal in my house growing up.
I grew up in a very haunted house. My mom was planting strawberries just after we moved in, when the neighbours came over and informed her that in the 60s a teenage kid murdered his family and killed himself in the house. It was indeed terribly haunted.
How would you describe your music?
I think of my current sound as art pop or anti-Americana. I spent about a decade making Americana records with Pretend Sweethearts and Heart Hunters - immersed in that genre. You might say I’m a bit tired of it, lol. But my musical DNA is really diverse and I like the freedom that I find in calling my new stuff art pop.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Lauryn Hill came out with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill when she was only 23, and I think it is just the most brilliant album musically and so culturally significant. She really was ahead of her time speaking about systemic racism in mainstream culture. I love brave art. Allison Russell is another artist that I feel super inspired by who is making bold, brave art.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
A NOFX show. I thought I was so punk rock as a teenager. My parents would drop me off at music venues having no clue I was launching myself from the stage, crowd surfing. It was the 90s. I remember being pulled from a mosh pit by a very large man and him scolding me about how unsafe that was. In retrospect he was so right.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles. I remember I was around eight years old and all of my friends were into the Spice Girls and I was super into The Beatles and they all thought it was super weird I was blasting I am the Walrus instead of Wannabe or another pop song of the times.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Ibeyi - Away Away. Actually, I discovered Ibeyi recently and have been driving my family crazy by listening to their albums over and over again.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"The moth don't care if the flame is real, 'Cause flame and moth got a sweetheart deal" - Aimee Mann.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. Now to be clear if I couldn’t sing or play then I would pick another song. BUT if I am still able to sing and play any song I want, then in terms of songs I would listen to but not sing and play, I would choose this one.
Where can people find your music/more information?
My website. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.
Alan Corr
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