Author: Lisa Hafey

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat. Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

Sun & Flesh – ‘Bored’

June 5, 2020

There’s a lot of aggression involved in living in Brooklyn. You all live on top of each other, and it creates a lot of hate: drivers hate pedestrians, who hate cyclists – who in turn complete the circle by hating the drivers…Sun & Flesh know that anger all too well, but they have also chosen to not let it twist them, and instead, have taken the energy from all that aggression, and risen above it, making fast and furious music, anthems of disenchantment, as it were, providing a voice for everyone. Their latest song, ‘Bored’, is the perfect example of this.

Eileen Gogan And The Instructions: ‘Under Moving Skies’ Calls To Mind Other Irish Artists But That’s Not A Bad Thing

June 5, 2020

When you hear the lyrics of ‘More Time’, the first track on Eileen Gogan And The Instructions new album, ‘Under Moving Skies’, you know it’s by an Irish artist. Sure, you might argue, Eileen Gogan’s very name is a bit of a give away, but I think it goes further than that. There’s a certain melancholy to Irish music; you’ll hear it in The Cranberries, The Corrs, U2 – even more recent Irish artists such as Inhaler, Jedward, Columbia Mills, and Robert O’Connor have it. Kodaline has it. And Eileen Gogan has it in spades.

The Smiling Sessions Brings Virtual Joy To Care Homes During COVID-19 Crisis

June 4, 2020

Under normal circumstances, The Smiling Sessions, Shapeshifter Productions’ popular participatory singing project, go into care homes and community centres for the elderly across deprived areas of London, and host sing-a-longs for the residents and members. The aim of the group is to end loneliness and social exclusion for elderly people, through encouraging them to become more active, achieve improved health, well-being, confidence, and interpersonal relationships, as well as in-house volunteering and leadership, through participation in singing their favourite songs.