POST-BURNOUT
In recent years, the Irish musician David O’Farrel-McGeary has enjoyed success in the local music scene through playing with bands, working as a session musician, and producing tracks for various acts, but what really signified his work was his solo indie dreampop project, David ofmg.
But with the release of his latest single, “Grey days,” at the end of September, David took his solo project, redesigned it with a darker and more gothic veneer, and redubbed it as haunted images.
“The main catalyst was the music was changing,” David tells Post-Burnout of the metamorphosis. “The music became more of what I wanted to do. It was a little bit heavier, more band-oriented, as well. More live instruments. So, I wanted to reflect that, because I have a bunch of new songs and an album that I want to release under this new name, so I wanted it to really be a new lease, like a fresh start.
“Also, unfortunately, no one could spell my last name, which was very…[Laughs] I even got ‘Dave omgf’ and all sorts, and I felt bad for anyone who’s dyslexic, as well. [Laughs] […] I spent the last year trying to think of a cool reason for the name, as well. I was like, ‘Is it an anagram for something? Is it all of my previous lovers or something?’, but I couldn’t think of anything cool enough to justify it.”
Explaining the new name, David says it’s about “the image that’s underneath what you actually see and the context of everything.” He elaborates, “Music can create haunted images for you. So, if you listen to a piece of music and it brings you back somewhere – either to a place or a certain time – that becomes a haunted image because it kind of stays with you. It’s not just a visual recall; it’s an emotional recall.
“So, it was kind of that. I was thinking of a name for ages and I couldn’t think of anything for a while. I had studied Film before doing music, and I was doing a master’s and I had this book by Libby Saxton which was called The Haunted Images, and it was about the ethical implications of beautiful imagery in Holocaust films. [Laughs] Light reading!
“So, I thought, ‘Yeah, Haunted Images is a great name for that book,’ but then I thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of how I view certain music,’ you know? Like, whenever I listen to ‘Grey days,’ it’ll take me back to that certain place that I go back to every time I sing it, and that’s a hunted image for me.
“And, also, the way I write music, with the use of ambience and lots of overdubbing and layers, there’s hidden sounds and hidden notes between every song. I kind of craft it in a way where every listen, you might hear something new, you know what I mean? There’s a little detail that you might’ve missed the first go-around and you can hear it the second time, and things like that, that are hidden, lurking in the background.”
Courtesy of David O’Farrell-McGeary
When we asked David if there was consideration for starting haunted images as a different solo venture whilst maintaining the David ofmg project, he responded, “I think everything that I’ve done before can be put under ‘haunted images,’ because I feel like it’s a flexible brand, a flexible name.
“Like, if I want to turn it into a band, I can, if I really want to. If I want to turn it into a duo project, I can, or if I want to keep it solo. It also removes the self from the songs, so it doesn’t come across as ‘This is my point-of-view.’
“Like, if someone comes across one of the older songs and it has ‘haunted images’ instead of ‘David ofmg,’ they’re not thinking, ‘Oh, this is from the mind of David;’ they start to put their own little experiences onto it, which is something I’ve always loved about music, in general.
“But I think the EP I released under David ofmg is quite different musically, as well, so I think people will, naturally, consider that to be the ‘ofmg era’ and this, these new releases, as the ‘haunted images era.’”
Before even listening to ‘Grey days,’ the single’s cover art, depicting a shadowed Celtic cross and trees below a darkened seafoam green sky, perfectly sets the tone of what to expect. While, for this writer, it invoked the poster to Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, David expands on further influences, ranging from Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre, the original 1922 version of Nosferatu, and the greenish tints of old horror and German expressionist cinema, specifically The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
On choosing “Grey days” as the first introduction to the haunted images rebrand, David says, “It’s a very old song. It’s been a song that I’ve played live a lot for the last year, and it’s a song that everyone has been annoying me to release since. [Laughs] Even my parents are like, ‘When are you releasing that fucking song, like?!’ [Laughs]
“But I wanted it to be perfect before I released it because it was a very hard song to get right. Writing it was grand, actually. Writing it was the easiest part. It was recording and mixing it that was a nightmare. It just wouldn’t get there, you know? It wouldn’t get to the point where it was ready. But, finally, I’m so glad it is, now.
“I’ve realised sometime last week that it had been two years since I wrote it first. So, it’s been quite a long journey, but I’m glad that it’s been a cult favourite of live shows; like, everyone wants to see it live, and performing it live is very fun. Everyone really enjoys it live, so I’m just glad it’s out there.
“And it’s also a great introduction to the new era because it has the darker element to it – the lyrics are a lot darker and the music itself is quite melancholic – but there are still poppy elements to it, too. So, it is still quite grabby. There are still big moments in it. I feel like that and ‘If you want,’ the single I released in May, were the real starting points, where I was like, ‘OK, this is the new direction. This is what you’re going to expect. Expect more of this kind of thing.’”
As David alluded to earlier in the article, “Grey days” is the first indicator of his debut album. “I’m very excited to release it,” David says of the album. “The next single is called ‘Sometimes,’ and it’s going to come out on the 8th of November, if I remember. The 8th of November. I’m really looking forward to getting that out; it’s one of my favourite songs.
“And then, I’m going to have another single in February, and then I’m hoping for the album either to be February, March, [or] April. Around that block. Fingers crossed for February, but you never know what happens.
“I’ve been working away at it. All the songs are labours of love. I’ve been mixing it and producing it for pretty much the last year, so I’m really just excited to get it out there and get a few shows with it, as well.
“I’m going to be playing a show in Drogheda on the 16th of November, as well, supporting friends of mine, Idle Discourse, and then hopefully do a few more shows in February, as well. But, yeah, 8th of November is the next single, ‘Sometimes.’”
Haunted images’ latest single, “Grey days,” is available on all streaming platforms now. Tickets for haunted images’ Drogheda show at The Crescent Concert Hall with Idle Discourse can be purchased here. You can keep up with haunted images’ music, live dates and social media accounts here.
Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… tonight at 21:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full where we go into further detail about everything discussed, as well as David’s dislike of writing lyrics, why he finds his first EP unfocused, working as a producer, and much more. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.
Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.