Mayo musician Brian Duffy has come together with Glen Brady of Def Nettle to release a song which pummels the anti-immigrant sentiment that is becoming more prevalent in Ireland.
The lyrics of The Narrowback tap into Glen Brady’s early childhood in New York as part of the Irish community there, the son of emigrants from Ireland in the 1980s.
The title The Narrowback is a reimagining of a sarcastic and insulting phrase used to describe an Irish-American stereotype, and reminds listeners of the hypocrisy at the core of the anti-immigrant backlash here in Ireland.
Bernard Share in his book Slanguage – A Dictionary of Irish Slang defines ‘narrowback’ as an American born of Irish parentage, ‘especially one who returns to Ireland to live’.
Earlier this summer, Westport-born Brian Duffy played a sold-out show in his hometown with The Mayo Concert Orchestra, where he performed many of the songs he has written and recorded over the years, including those from his most recent album Something in a Melody.
Def Nettle is the brainchild of multi-genre musical veteran Glen Brady. The native Dubliner, by way of New York, Berlin and San Francisco, has worked at the top of his field in every aspect of music production, performance and DJ’ing for almost three decades, making music with the likes of R.E.M., Dominique Keegan (The Glass, Plant Records) and the California State Symphony. He has toured as a member of DARK with Andy Rourke (The Smiths) and with his friend, the late Dolores O’Riordan.
Glen’s experience as an immigrant in a foreign country was set against the backdrop of the birth of hip hop and punk rock in New York, and despite feeling immersed in the art of those cultures, he also lived outside of them.
With anti-immigrant discrimination absorbing Irish media’s attention, Brady wanted to get back in touch with that old feeling of being an outsider in order to remind himself and the listener of the historical importance of the Irish immigrant experience.
Brian’s traditional Irish vocals and instrumentation combine with Glen’s punk-funk drum patterns, words and music to produce a thought-provoking song.
The spoken intro to The Narrowback is by Dermot Doran, well known as the owner of 1990s Dublin music venue Eamon Doran’s in Temple Bar, and as the manager of Republic of Loose.
The Narrowback featuring Brian Duffy is now available on Bandcamp.
