Bio
You could call it the beautiful meanderings of an impassioned Piscean… or a sneak-peak into the transient headspace of a restless musician… or you could just call it the music of Hannah O’Reilly. All would be somewhat correct.
Hannah O’Reilly has been amid the sweat and catharsis that is song-writing for 11 years now. Creating everything from acapella blues to prostitute-killing murder ballads, from love and hate songs to contemptuous ramblings, and everything in between – all with the necessary amount of self-deprecation to pull it off without seeming like a tw*t.
With some of Edinburgh’s most murderously fabulous vocals, Hannah can make even the most treacherous of topics sound as sweet as apple pie. Hannah digs mind games, y’see.
Hannah’s band – Augustalia (pronounced: aw-guhst-ahl-yuh) was born in July 2009 out of rage at the sheer lack of big gigs available to solo performers. Members are: Adrian Michalski (lead guitar), Gary Anderson (bass), and Steve ‘Quincy’ Galbraith (drums). Hannah writes the songs and these blokes give her rhythm… and do her bidding. Grins.
Hannah firmly believes that being aware of the darkness doesn’t mean you have to be a miserable old c*nt all the time. There is room for joy, even amongst the darkest of days. If you disagree with her on this, she welcomes you to come to one of her gigs where she will make you laugh and cry and maybe even snort a little. And if her songs don’t work, five minutes of her inane grin or a cheeky ‘motorboat’ should do the trick.
“I have cigarettes, paper bills, and a desire to feel” – Hannah O’Reilly 2009.
Hannah released two CDs in 2009 –
‘Stiletto’ – the result of the February Album Writing Month, 14 songs in 28 days; all written, produced and performed by Hannah O’Reilly. Release date – 6 May 2009.
‘Of a Lesser God’ – the cheeky EP – Hannah’s most debauched tunes all bundled up into a juicy wee album for you to salivate and/or c*m all over. Release date – 6 August 2009.
Hannah / Augustalia have two albums in production for release in 2010 –
‘It’s never too late to ask for your knickers back’ – shiny band studio album, with everything from humour to heartbreak, slapping to salvation. Release date 18 November 2010.
‘The Avant-guardian – solo acoustic album – ‘this album is the scraps, the rags, the love… it is my bones, and my heartbeat.’ Predicted release date – Dec 2010/Jan 2011
“What a stunning voice… really unique and hits you between the eyes” - Eddie Raynor (Split Enz)
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’let me stick with just the facts…’
to quote a dead poet i know. i realised after i’d updated my press-kit biog to be so goddamned ambiguous (albeit amusing), that even i didn’t know who i was, i thought i had better give you some facts too. y’know, if you’re into that sorta thing…?!
The best way to deal with this sort of info - sub-categorize and bullet point - huzzah!
Life -
- Born in Kingston Upon Thames, England, 1980 (yes, I’m old, i know!)
- Grew up in Wellington, New Zealand
- Studied design and photography at uni
- Started publicity & photography company PRCHICK.COM in 2001, pr chick to the band Monkey Puzzle 2001-2003
- Moved to Scotland in 2003 (not, as some might have you believe, because of a music-hating rabbit infestation… but because of a broken heart. the rabbit thing is more interesting though, right?)
- Family live on Canada’s Eastern sea board (no, they don’t say ‘what’s it all aboot?’… but they do have funny accents now. miss them loads)
- Now too in debt to leave the UK (but why would I want to? these bleak winters are swell!)
Music -
- Choir-trained from age 13
- Picked up a guitar at 18 and taught myself all the mysterious chords i play
- Recorded first EP in 2002 - sold all 20 copies in 2 days (my friends and family rock)
- Released first album ‘Out of the Ten’ in September 2003 - the sale of these paid for my airfare to Scotland
- Released ‘The Eve Sessions I’ EP in June 2004
- Won Edinburgh’s Acoustic Idol title in 2004, played the Ross Bandstand during the Fringe Festival as a prize
- Toured NZ to rave reviews in 2005
- Jointly won Edinburgh’s Acoustic Idol competition in 2005, with the outstandingly talented Dave McGruer
- Released ‘Stand & See’ EP in August 2006
- Played first Canadian gig in 2006
- Went on hiatus for much of 07/08 - moved to London, got married, moved back to Edinburgh, got divorced (wow, that sure is a long story short!)
- Released album ‘Stiletto’ in May 2009 - self-recorded and produced.
- Released ‘of a lesser god’ EP in August 2009 (special limited release)
Useless facts -
- Favourite music - Hawksley Workman; Nina Simone; Amanda Palmer; Blind Willie McTell; Sigur Ross; Bach; Bitter Ruin
- Favourite films - Amélie; Princess Bride; Casablanca; Dream for an Insomniac
- Stuff I like - a proper dutch Jenever (gin); walking my dog ‘Moose’; hosting Absinthe nights and dinner parties; playing piano at dawn in my window seat; reading; writing crap poetry; wearing corsets; my rats ‘Baudelaire’ & ‘Flow’; and recording impromptu songs on my iPhone…
- Favourite alcohols (good to know, if you wish to bribe me) - Trenét Absinthe; Hendricks gin; Jack Daniels; Finlandia Grapefruit vodka; Crown Royal Canadian rye whisky; Sangria.
- Stuff I dislike - irrational fear of midgets; hate beer; loathe crowded buses; pity the stupid; hey, who am i kidding - i’m a misanthrope - i don’t much like humans in general.