Every month we hand over a virtual blank tape to an invited guest and ask them to curate their own unique mixtape. This month our guest is Irish born singer songwriter Sorcha Richardson.

Dublin lass Sorcha Richardson moved to New York to study when she was 18. and set up home in Brooklyn.  She started her first band when she was only 10 and has been making music ever since.  She writes songs about her friends, places they go and the the things they say and things they don’t.  In 2012 she recorded her debut EP, Sleep Will Set Me Free.  In 2016 she released a trilogy of sincere and direct singles that are also some time confessional conversations of ideas and emotions.

Fast forward to 2017 and she has returned to Dublin, she is off on tour supporting Imelda May and has just released her new single ‘Waking Life’ which you can listen to below.

Discover more about Sorcha Richardson on Facebook  and on her website www.sorcharichardson.com

Click on the player below to listen to Sorcha’s playlist and read about her selections in her very own words.

Press play and let it run.

1. James Vincent McMorrow – Rising Water
I wanted to make sure I put some Irish music on here. I’m a big fan of James Vincent McMorrow and love that he changes up his sound with each album. I think the production on this one is as far away as he’s gone from his first one but he hasn’t lost the song in the process.
2. LIV – Wings of Love
I’ve been a huge Lykke Li fan since I saw her play in a tent at a festival in Spain about 7 years ago. I think Andrew Wyatt is a genius so this supergroup is pretty exciting. This song feels like its dripping in California sun and is classic but not outdated.
3. Sorcha Richardson – Ruin Your Night
I recorded this in LA with Alex Casnoff at the start of the summer. It’s a story a relationship that started when I stole a bottle of rum at a house party in Dublin a few years ago.
4. Dessert – Back Around
I can’t stop listening to this song . It’s probably the one on this list that people are least likely to have heard before. It’s a little weird and very beautiful and I think whistled melody sounds like a daydream from the wizard of Oz.
5. Hoodlem – Kitsungi
This is my friends’ band from Melbourne based in Toronto. We met at a music festival that we were both playing in Toronto a couple years ago. I’ve seen them play a couple times and have always been blown away. This is off their latest EP.
6. Mura Masa – What If I Go (feat Bonzai)
Mura Masa is a super talented producer. I think Bonzai is one of the most exciting Irish artists at the moment. This is a match made in heaven.
7. Christine & The Queens – No Harm is Done
My favourite song from one of my favourite records last year. I’ve been listening to this on repeat for months and it hasn’t lost its charm. It just sounds so confident from the production to the way she sings.
8. Francis & The Lights – See Her Out
Farewell Starlite is another album that makes me wanna go write music when I hear it.. The sounds used in this are beautiful. The arrangement is so sparse but it really every sound have its space.
9. Mo – New Years Eve
There is a special place in my heart for people who make really good pop music. Charli XCX, Lorde, Sia and Mo all fit the bill for me. This song by Mo is one of those that I wish I wrote. I always feel there’s something so strange about New Years. There’s this great build up and countdown and then midnight comes and goes. The aftermath is so quiet. This song captures that perfectly.
10.Charlotte Day Wilson – Work
This is the perfect reminder that songs don’t have to be complicated to be really good.

This article was originally published on 25th November 2016.

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