Papa Boyle is a Retro Indie artist based out of Dublin, Ireland. From an early age, he was given exposure to a wide range of music that spanned multiple decades and genres which fuelled the fire to become a songwriter and performer.
Taking inspiration from the retro sounds of the ’50s and 60’s Rock n Roll era (ie Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers) with a tinge of modern Indie (ie Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Kings Of Leon, Orville Peck) Papa Boyle croons over an ambient landscape filled with rousing melodies and pondering punchlines.
The resulting hooks transport the listener to diners of old, bars of new, and crossroads that feel familiar yet unknown at the same time. With aspirations of 2024 being a breakout year with releases and gigs across Ireland, Papa Boyle has already seen himself land some great success with his debut release ‘Between Two Fools’ which was released in April 2024. and the follow up single ‘Last Chance Saloon’. He ended 2024 with his mesmerising single ‘Tranquillo’ and kicked off 2025 with his stunning single ‘Falling For A Daydream’ which received over 10,000 streams on Spotify. He has also played venues such as Workmans Cellar and Sofar Sounds Amsterdam.
He has been picked up in various stations and magazines such as Hot Press, RTE Entertainment, Pure Mzine, The Beat, Shannonside FM, Galway Bay FM, RTE 2XM, Prospect Radio, Otherside Reviews, Jace Media Music, Today FM, 98FMand many more as well as supporting Elaphi in the workmans cellar with Singular Artists. Now he’s back with aspirations to build on his momentum and make 2025 an even bigger year with his brand new upcoming single ‘Chasing The Smile’ set for release this summer.
His sound brings something fresh and unique to the music scene, watch this space!
Chasing The Smile is a song that potentially has dual meaning, on one hand it feels personal but ultimately it has themes that a lot of people are trying to navigate through. The song delves into the challenges facing society with trying to take the next step or decision in life, it questions the social norms that we are deemed to follow throughout different stages of our being which is supposed to make us smile.
“I suppose the song poses the question: are we happy to chase these things that seem so illusive and the answer to all our problems.”
“The opening chords is the first part I wrote for Chasing The Smile, initially I thought the song might have more of a George Harrison sound to it with some pretty guitars and sweeping strings but as the song took shape I wanted to keep the verses tight and lean into the synth which gave the song an unexpected but welcome feel. In terms of songwriting its probably the most experimental to date when it comes to instrumentation and style but its possibly the most rewarding so far. It was cool to mix a range of inspirations into this and I think this is quite evident with the contrast between each section throughout the song.”