The Bell X1 singer appears in Westport and Sligo next month
Glacier narrates the sad story of British composer Clive Wearing, who suffered massive memory loss following an infection, rendering him incapable of experiential memory, but still retaining emotional memory and his skill as a musician.
Bell X1’s Paul Noonan, who plays at Westival next month, released his latest song last week.
Glacier was recorded between Dublin and New York with producer Thomas Bartlett.
The video is directed by Locky and shot in Bray, Co Wicklow.
The composer and musician Clive Wearing suffered massive memory loss after a brain infection, to the point that he sometimes couldn’t remember what he’d being doing seconds ago.
“As if each blink was revealing a new scene,” said the award-winning music video director, Locky.
“His ability to perform learned tasks like speaking and walking remained intact, but experiential memory was gone.
“Emotional memory remained intact too – he knew he loved and was loved by his wife Deborah, and he would greet her enthusiastically anew if she left the room and came back, or if she wasn’t in his field of vision for a while.
“Paul approached me a few months ago with the track and I knew straight away it was something I wanted to collaborate on. I’ve been a huge fan of Paul’s since I was a kid so it was a bit of a no-brainer. Glacier came from a really honest place and I think when you get a song that’s as truthful as this it makes it so much easier to craft a meaningful story.
“Paul wrote the song based on the lives of Clive and Deborah Wearing. Clive contracted anterograde and retrograde amnesia from a herpes simplex and essentially lost his ability to retain memories.
“However, his emotional memory remained intact. He knew he loved his wife and kids and remembered who they were for the most part. He also could play music from memory but when asked what he was doing he would instantly forget.
“It’s a really fascinating story and one I was really eager to bring to life.”
Actors Derbhle Crotty and Donncha Crowley take the lead roles in the video for Glacier.
Paul Noonan’s last single Beautiful Phones was released earlier on 2019. Toward the end of last year Paul released Moth To Your Flame and before that the Side 4 Collective released The Flood, a song penned by Paul.
Also last year, he teamed up with Daithi on the atmospheric Jesus, Take The Wheel”.
One of Ireland’s most respected songwriters, Paul has also released music under the Printer Clips handle as well as co-curating shows such as Starboard Home and the Imagining Ireland series at the NCH.
He appears at Westival and Sligo Live over the October Holiday Weekend.
