Enda makes waves with a trio of talent
Enda Gallery, who has just re-released his debut album, is helping shape the careers of some of the best emerging talents in the country, including Tolü Makay.
His latest single, ‘Super Raw’, is the lead track from his forthcoming Summer EP. It’s a superb single which combines soulful electronica with lyrics that describe an “all-consuming love that devours you and all your peace in the flames of passion”. It’s an epic track that’s almost cinematic really, and the artistic vision of Enda Gallery has extended into his music videos too.
‘Don’t let me win’ was the first single from his album and it was shot under water with Mathilde Irrmann by Greg Blakey. It’s a really powerful video and song that was recently followed by another superb artistic statement with the ‘Guess we got a Problem’ video, which was shot down in West Cork at the former Mercy Heights School in Skibbereen. Local girls, producer and production designer Grainne Dwyer, and costume designer Alica Halliday, attended the school themselves and they were part of an amazing video crafted by Ignas Laugalis and a team which also includes dancer Taylor Graham and a bunch of other brilliant great talent from here.
Enda recently decided to kill his former stage name Delush, and he has returned to his born name Enda Gallery in what’s almost like a new beginning for him as an artist and producer. He is currently working in County Clare with some of Ireland’s very best artists. Previously having collaborated with international artists such as Kid Simius, Dead Rabbit and Nobody’s Face, he has been crafting powerful music for the likes of Tolü Makay, Willzee and Strange Boy, three of Ireland’s very best talents.
These three artists are all very unique too and complement the material he is creating under his own name for himself.
Tolü is no stranger to this column’s readers, and I’ve written about her on numerous occasions here, describing her as a “national treasure”. She really is special, and her recent single, ‘Used to be’, originally written by Enda many years ago, is one of the best tracks of the year.
Artists such as Tolü and Enda have all of the raw materials and music and personality to be huge stars here, and it sometimes frustrates me slightly that they aren’t getting more mainstream attention. Things may change though, and Tolü has recently scored a huge number 2 chart hit with her cover of ‘N17’ with the RTÉ Orchestra, and she was also involved in the highly successful Women in Harmony project last year. An appearance on the Tommy Tiernan show recently followed, where she and FeliSpeaks stole the show, and hopefully this will all lead to more openings for her own solo material, which is really strong and should not be limited to arts shows or specialist ones.
Enda is also working with the amazing young Limerick rapper Strange Boy, whose recent single ‘The Pope’ successfully illustrates their aims to blend ancient Irish heritage and culture with something new and exciting.
Enda’s “Welcome to the New World” is also home to another exciting voice that is deserving of an audience, Willzee, who is one of a number of young rappers from the Traveller community who are now making their way in the music scene here. Willzee has powerful stories to tell, and like Strange Boy and Tolü, he is a unique artist with a strong vision.
Enda Gallery has chosen these three carefully and is helping create a really powerful body of work that crosses from spoken word and rap into soul, r&b, pop, gospel and indie. Tolü told me recently that she is determined not to be put in a box as an artist, and I’m really excited to imagine the possibilities for herself as an artist who has started work on her own debut album with Enda. These are all great artists on the rise, as is Enda himself, and it’s gonna be fantastic watching them develop in 2021 and beyond!
