Crafting music mired deep within esoteric spiritual and philosophical concepts and evocative imagery is not usually the stuff of pop music, but for Irish multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter OUTSIDER (real name Seán Ó Corcoráin), this is what moves him… and aptly what makes his music nom de plume of ‘Outsider’ even more accurate. In a world where ‘simpler’ and ‘basic’ are the standard backbone for most pop music, Seán’s music is deeply entrenched in Eastern mysticism, Western philosophy and a pure love of vibrant new wave that is the backbone of his debut album KARMA OF YOUTH is released via Ok! Good Records.
“Karma of Youth is a phase used to describe the astrological phenomena known as ‘Saturn’s Return’, an understanding of your own personal intentions, motives, desires, and the emotional drive that we have as human beings occupied from the moment of birth,” explains Seán about the album’s title. “This documents the years leading up to my ‘spiritual awakening.’ Although I was not aware of what was happening to me, this album is a rare expression of a songwriter experiencing Kundalini.”
A textured and rhythmic excursion into the darker reaches of alternative rock and pop often inhabited by the likes of Interpol and The Mary Onettes, Karma of Youth was in fact inspired more by The Cure, Bauhaus, The Smiths, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Depeche Mode and The Talking Heads. Outsider’s “Saviour,” the first single off of Karma of Youth,traipses across the aforementioned bands and sets a different musical course. Anchored by a tribal backbeat, the song opens up to an expansive and epic soaring chorus turning it into a post-punk anthem. “Míol Mór Mara” percolates with an anticipated urgency that bottles a propulsive forward beat that reads like Springsteen as fed through an Arcade Fire grinder. The undeniably catchy “Revelation Night Drive” pops with New Wave giddiness and a nervous build that recalls the great radio hits of the early 80s but with a decidedly ’20s spin. It’s this masterful combination of head and heart… and dance shoes… that propels Outsider far beyond mindless pop without thumbing its nose at it.
Mastered by GRAMMY® award-winning Greg Calbi (The National, War On Drugs, Arcade Fire), Karma of Youth is a metaphysical roadmap for a lost soul. Documenting the experience of his rare spiritual “Kundalini Awakening”, it aligns itself to the same values that Buddhism, Hinduism, Freemasonry, Hermeticisim, and most ancient cultures hold. It is a deep purification process in which one emerges stronger and more level-headed than ever before, reaching the highest state of nirvana
“I thought I knew what my songs were about for a long time, but it is only recently that they all make complete sense and thus create a metaphysical roadmap,” he divulges. “I was misdiagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), but it turned out this was not the case. In fact, it was just a rebranding of a psycho spiritual experience that modern psychology is still too Freudian to understand and only Karl Jung truly explored.”
Taking his name from an early childhood experience (he would not speak a word to anyone at school for the first year) and from Colin Wilson’s 1956 bookThe Outsider (which examines the psyche of great artists and their place in society), Outsider is an apt moniker for his brand of metaphysical musical exploration. While the background of his music may seem intellectually out of reach to some, his music has proven its universal appeal. His breakthrough EP ‘Míol Mór Mara’ yielded over two million streams. His profile exploded even more when his music was used for FIFA 2018 (the first time the Irish language has ever been featured in mainstream gaming) and Match of the Day.
Now, OUTSIDER strikes out with an even stronger follow-up in the shape of his debut album Karma Of Youth. Out now via OK! Good Records.
