Glen Hansard: 2019

Always a citizen of the world, Irish songwriter Glen Hansard finds inspiration wherever he hangs his guitar case. For his latest album, This Wild Willing, the place was Paris and the scene was simplicity: a single bed, a writing desk, a lamp, and a window.

The process eventually was far from solitary though, as Hansard met musicians, made friends, and invited them into the making of the album. It was a collaborative and spontaneous experiment, and very different from any other Glen Hansard project.

In addition to longtime collaborators like Joe Doyle of the Frames, electronic musicians Dunk Murphy and Deasy added touches of atmosphere, and the Iranian-born Khoshravesh Brothers brought traditional Middle Eastern sounds that really transformed the songs.

For our session, it's a Glen Hansard trio performance (Glen, Joe Doyle and Romy), but with all the epic intensity of the songs and how they were formed.

[Recorded: 3/27/19; Engineer: Jim O'Hara; Producer: Sarah Wardrop]