Interview: Catching Up With Songwriter & Composer Brian Byrne + Stream Goldenhair

Originally hailing from Ireland, Golden Globe-nominated composer and songwriter Brian Byrne has worked with a number of musical luminaries since moving to Los Angeles in 2003. Byrne has co-written songs for artists including Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Sinead O’Connor, Barbra Streisand and has arranged strings for Katy Perry, Pink and Bono.

It’s his most recent project, however, that brought Byrne back to his roots in composing Goldenhair, a sweeping, expansive and emotional experience centered around the works of James Joyce. The album, released earlier this Summer, hit the top of Billboard’s World Music Album Chart in Ireland with Bryne now readying for more spotlight performances of Goldenhair this Fall.

To get the full picture on this unique project, GroundSounds recently interviewed Byrne. Check it all out while streaming Goldenhair below and order your copy here.

Hi, Brian! Congrats on your new album, Goldenhair! Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got into making music?

I’m an Irish composer, jazz pianist, arranger, producer and conductor. I studied classical music, film scoring, and jazz in the UK. I come from a musical family in Ireland and was always surrounded by music as a kid.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Tom Waits, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Robert Burns – as well as old traditional Irish songs, The American song book- Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Great Standards.

I like to write at the piano with pencil and paper if I can, or if in a hurry – straight into Sibelius or Logic. I love to write melodies first, but am happy to compose to existing poems or lyrics, if that’s the way it happens. I have a short memory, so my songs tend to be very quickly written down at first. I revisit when I demo them and try to pull the most out of the song. I always find that something more natural happens when I work with a singer, or even roughly sing the demos myself.

How did you first strike upon the idea of setting pre-existing text to your own orchestrations? How did you approach and work with your collaborators?

I had just finished a movie in 2010 and was anxious to compose something that was in song form. After every movie, most composers get anxious that they’ll never work again.

I found James Joyce’s book called Chamber Music online and was instantly intrigued with the title and poems. I heard Kurt Elling in my head for the first few that I wrote, but then I got busy with film scores and shelved (the project) for a year or so. But I was always dreaming of having someone like Kurt to validate the project.

I demoed two tracks with a friend that sounds like Kurt Elling and sent them to Kurt. Kurt ended up recording one of the tracks, “Where Love Is,” on his own album Passion World. His manager literally sent me the recording they had just cut and asked if it could be on his album. I had no idea he’d been singing it live for a year!

You’ve been working on Goldenhair for quite some time, after initially discovering James Joyce’s Chamber Music in 2010. How has your relationship with James Joyce’s work evolved over the years?

Before working on Goldenhair (which is based on Chamber Music) I had never read any of Joyce’s works. A literary friend of mine told me to start with Dubliners then move to Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man and work my way up through to Ulysses. I am still trying to get through Ulysses. I have tremendous respect for Joyce’s use of language and it is evident that throughout all of his writing that he is hearing music or referencing music. He was himself an amateur tenor and his love of music can be heard all through his writing.

I have worked with a few great writers that all are music encyclopedias and love music more than a lot of people I know.

Are there any particular poems from Chamber Music you regularly revisit?

I wrote twenty-one songs in total. Some that stick out are “Goldenhair,” “Play On,” “Where Love Is,” and “The Year Is Gathering.” These are just beautiful texts. But they are all so different that it just depends on mood.

You’ve composed film songs for Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban and Barbra Streisand among other musical luminaries. Do you feel your film composing experience relates to the cross-genre choices of this album

I have always been involved in different genres of music – from jazz to classical, traditional Irish to pop, soul, and film scoring. But I always try to study the history of all genres I work in.

I also spent many years arranging for many different artists like Bono, Sinéad O’Connor, and Alanis Morissette, and in many styles like orchestral, big band, pop and Irish.

So I feel I have sponged up a lot of songs, sounds and song forms by working with singers as an accompanist, arranger or producer. I just love good music that’s authentic and well-played. I think maybe all of that has informed how I compose for film or for song. When I write, I try to imagine the song being in the ether and just grabbing it as the muse comes. In other words, it’s like you’re slowly playing something that exists, but really you are creating something new at that moment. It’s just finding the freedom and space to capture those moments or nuggets of inspiration.

Goldenhair reached #1 on Billboard’s World Music Album Chart in Ireland. Can you walk us through how you found out the news and your initial reaction?

I had no idea. A friend sent me a still shot of Goldenhair on the No.1 spot, but to be honest, that may not mean a lot in sales nowadays, but it felt great for the day or so!

How did you spend Bloomsday this June 16th – which served not only as the annual celebration of James Joyce, but as your chosen album release date?

I performed Goldenhair live in my hometown of Navan on June 16th. I was in Ireland working on a Lance Daly-directed movie called Black 47. It was a wonderful show and the audience loved it. It was a tremendous feeling knowing they enjoyed hearing brand new songs set to old words, but they connected as if it were contemporary and new. And I loved that the singers (performing) enjoyed singing the songs. When you write something new, sometimes there’s a risk that people may not get it on first listen, but people seemed to really respond which was delightful.

What do you hope listeners will take away from this project?

I hope they hear something that moves them or makes them stop for even a minute to hear the beauty in the words of Joyce’s words. This was James Joyce as a very young man, writing in a very different style that he became famous for, so if it were to open the door to James Joyce’s works, like it did for me, then that would be nice.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

I’m in-between scoring two movies before November, here are some live dates:

-Oct 18th Goldenhair selections, as part of Ireland Week in Los Angeles

-Oct 26 at The Sugar Club in Dublin, where I’m trying out something completely different. An album of funk and soul inspired songs and tunes, with my band Brian Byrne and The Pop Funk Boom Booms! Using the performance to try the songs out on a live audience and funk band.

-Oct 27th I’ll be conducting The RTÉ Concert Orchestra In Ireland.

-Oct 28th Goldenhair Live in Limerick, Ireland.

-Nov 3,4,5 Hollywood Hits show with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Mix of classical film scores and my film songs.

-South Florida Symphony in December 2017 for an orchestra pops show.

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

I’ve spent the last 15 years working hard on film scores in Los Angeles and Ireland. It’s so lovely to be out again, performing my own songs live and playing the piano. I forgot how much I love to just play.