How I Became A Wave has released new single ‘05:00’ (pronounced “five A.M.”) – a beautifully delicate winter track inspired by the Eavan Boland poetry collection, Night Feed – Today,
Led by Cork songwriter Pat Carey, and comprising a collective of Ireland’s finest musicians, How I Became A Wave is one of the most compelling musical projects emerging from Ireland right now.
‘05:00’ sees How I Became A Wave explore more minimal textures, featuring luminous piano at its heart – composed by frequent RTÉ Concert Orchestra conductor Cormac McCarthy and performed by Rory McCarthy – alongside a delicate yet bold string accompaniment by cellist Laura McFadden that perfectly complements Kealan Kenny’s pedal steel. The song’s fragility is echoed in Carey’s vocal performance, which — as listeners of his previous single ‘Fading Out’ will know — reveals remarkable range. Here, he allows himself the space to be both vulnerable and understated.
Of ‘05:00’, Carey says:
“This song was originally inspired by Eavan Boland’s poetry collection ‘Night Feed’. I’ve always been interested in exploring how small, seemingly meaningless moments, can be interpreted as being a kind of portal to something greater, something universal. The mundane can be transformed into the timeless when the moment is given the respect that it demands. That time of the night / morning lends itself to being a liminal space, a period of magic – a kind of thinning of the veil – where beauty can dwell in the most ordinary of spaces.”
‘05:00’ is the follow-up to previous singles ‘Fading Out’ and ‘Cycles’, both of which have seen strong support from radio, press, with coverage from the likes of RTÉ (Radio 1 Recommends list); BBC (“Now for fans of Bon Iver, you might like what’s next… I was blown away by ‘Fading Out’.” – John Kerr), Galway Bay FM (playlist add), Nialler9, Genuine Irish, Hot Press, Golden Plec and more. Streaming performance has been impressive and growing steadily too – for an independent artist to achieve over 10,000 YouTube streams on their video within a few weeks, earn some 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and be added to an impressive number of editorial, algorithmic and third party playlist is no mean feat. Particularly in light of the delicate nature of IBAW’s music in such a competitive, fast-paced environment, this is testament to the music’s quality and resonance.
‘05:00’ captures the heart of How I Became A Wave: a project defined by its tenderness, emotion and quiet strength, with a collective approach to live shows that mirrors its ethos of connection and care.
Artwork DESIGN CREDIT: MEGAN CLANCY | ORIGINAL IMAGE CREDIT: DECLAN CAREY