Album of the Week: GAVIN FOX takes us on a voyage of discovery with new album

It is not very often these days that when we hear an album that has such an impact on us on first listen. Let us be straight here at Finbar Hoban Presents, Gavin Fox’s new album ‘Awakened’ will be at the top of our playlist at the end of the year for contender for Album of the year.


When speaking about his new album Gavin tells us

“I told my wife, ‘I’m completely lost.’” says Fox, “I was 40 years of age, and I had never really identified with my true self. I was known for being a really confident guy, but it was just an image I created for the outside world. It wasn’t until my career took a turn that I realised – I had no idea who I was. I never had.”

 

“I talked with someone. Thankfully. That period of time was really painful, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but…it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I went through a difficult but liberating process of self-discovery. I experienced an awakening. It was then I picked up a guitar for the very first time.”

Gavin Fox is an Irish singer-songwriter whose music empowers and uplifts. In the time and space of the 2020 lockdown, he discovered a hidden talent for storytelling through song.

Gavin Fox has been quietly building up a following as one of the songwriters to watch in Ireland in 2022. ‘If I Could Survive This’ will be his third single from upcoming album, ‘Awakened’ – named after his experience of ‘waking up to himself’, as he describes it.

 

Incredibly, the artist only began writing music two years ago.

 

“I never allowed time for myself to explore things. And when I eventually gave myself permission to, I was drawn to exploring something I always had a love for, music.”

“In April 2020, I decided to try my hand at songwriting. In 20 minutes or so, I wrote my first finished song. The words and music just flowed. I looked at the page and thought ‘What the hell!’.”

 

“I asked my wife Caroline to take a listen. She’s an honest, west-of-Ireland girl. After playing it for her, she just looked at me, and said, ‘Where did that come from?’ She couldn’t believe it either.”

To meet Fox is to experience his excitement for life, and his conviction that the freedom he has experienced in his life is possible for others. That it’s necessary to share it. It’s nothing short of inspiring to meet an artist so genuinely concerned for this.

 

“This musical journey I’m on is not just about me – even though I think my story is incredible. I’m not saying I’m incredible. I’m just saying – what if I never discovered this freedom, this acceptance, this awakening? I could never have found contentment. And I may have never discovered this form of creativity that I had hidden inside me. How many others are out there struggling through life, living up to an image they have created, not really knowing or being their true self? What might they discover if they too looked inside and experienced an awakening? I want to help that person. That’s it. That’s all.”

 

Thankfully however, he is the one to share his message – and he is awfully good at it. His attention to detail, and his dedication and joy in each thing he does, is overwhelmingly evident in every note and beat of his work. His latest offering, the explosive single ‘If I Could Survive This’, sees him deliver a gorgeous vocal performance alongside up-tempo drums and sweetly summery electric guitar riffs.

 

His message is inspiring, and timely. It appears the journey towards literacy around mental health, particularly amongst men in Ireland, is just beginning. But knowing there are people like Gavin Fox, who know that asking for help is a sign of courage, not weakness, is a powerful thing. Time will tell the difference he may yet make on his musical journey. Speaking with Fox, one is reminded that beautiful things are possible. Sometimes, a life truly can be changed in an instant.

 

‘If I Could Survive This’ is the latest piece of evidence leaving one with the distinct impression that you are watching a humble star in the making.

Gavin Fox will be performing at The Workman’s Club on Saturday September 3rd.

 

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