Lisa Hannigan
Encyclopedia
Lisa Margaret Hannigan is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. For several years she was a member of Damien Rice
's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. She has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA. Hannigan has performed and been associated with Cathy Davey
, Mic Christopher
, Mick Flannery
, David Kitt
and members of Snow Patrol
, The Frames
and Bell X1. She has performed at the Glastonbury Festival
both as a solo artist and with Damien Rice.
, County Meath
, Ireland. She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa in Kilcloon and secondary school
at The King's Hospital
in Palmerstown
. At the age of eighteen, she enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin
, where she studied French. Hannigan enjoyed theater and auditioned for musical
s as a teenager and was cast as Second Urchin in her school's production of My Fair Lady
.
" and performed at the Electric Picnic
music festival in Stradbally, County Laois
. As a member of Rice's live performance band, she contributed vocals and on occasion electric guitar, bass and drums.
In 2007, Hannigan left the Damien Rice band to pursue a solo career.
“It was upsetting, but worse things have happened. For everybody it was coming to the end of its cycle.” Hannigan returned to Dublin and began her solo career. The singer later said of the split: "I suppose it was coming for a long time. I had become pretty outspoken about my frustrations at the direction the band was going in, and I'm sure he was starting to find me a pain." Rice said that their incompatible song writing styles were to blame for the inadequacies in his song "Unplayed Piano
". She was comforted by members of The Magic Numbers
and has not spoken to Rice since the split.
, "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone
(from the 1965 album Pastel Blues
), "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin
and "Love Hurts" by Roy Orbison
. Hannigan also performed live with her own band, called The Daisy Okell Quartet and contributed guest vocals to the recordings of Mic Christopher
, The Frames
and Herbie Hancock
.
Lisa Hannigan's debut solo album, titled Sea Sew
, was rehearsed in a barn in Thomastown
and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland in September 2008. The lead single, "Lille", was made available as a free Internet download and other tracks were available for preview on her Myspace page. The sleeve
featured needle-work
by Hannigan. Some music critics called the recording one of the best Irish albums of the year.
Sea Sew was played on the American radio station KCRW
and received favorable reviews in the Los Angeles Times
and The New York Times
. The single "Lille", released in August 2008 on Irish and American radio stations. Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2008
. Hannigan supported singer-songwriter Jason Mraz
on a 42-date U.S. tour in 2008.
Also in 2008, she appeared on the charity album Even Better Than the Disco Thing
and performed a duet of Mick Flannery
's new song "Christmas Past" with Flannery on Tony Fenton
's Christmas Special on Today FM
. In December 2008, she made her UK solo debut at St Johns Church in London. Hannigan signed with ATO Records
in the U.S., where her album was released in February 2009.
Sea Sew was nominated for the Choice Music Prize
and Best Irish Album at the Meteor Music Awards
in January 2009.
That same year, Hannigan appeared on the American television shows Jay Leno
, The Colbert Report and was well received by their respective hosts. In 2009, Hannigan also appeared on the BBC
's Later... with Jools Holland, performing her song "I Don't Know". Sea Sew rose in the UK charts following this appearance and she performed at Glastonbury 2009 music festival and went on tour later in the year. She performed at the nomination ceremony and she was greeted by confused journalists wondering "Lisa who?".
Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2009
and Le Chéile. Later in 2009, she toured the United States with David Gray
and performed solo shows in New York, Los Angeles and London. She then began a tour of Ireland to finish the year. Hannigan's song "Ocean and Rock" was used in a 2009 Irish video supporting same-sex marriage entitled "Sinéad's Hand".
In 2010, a broadcast of Other Voices was planned.
Hannigan recorded her second album, titled Passenger
, at Bryn Derwen Studios in North Wales
with producer Joe Henry
and engineer Ryan Freeland. The album was released in the US and Canada on 20 September 2011, and on 7 October in Ireland and the UK.
spawned the single "Lille
", a Choice Music Prize
nomination, two Meteor Music Awards
nominations and a Mercury Prize
nomination. There has also been praise from fellow musicians and, in recent times, Jools Holland
of the United Kingdom and US television hosts Jay Leno
and Stephen Colbert
.
Hannigan performs using "broken-down, wheezy old instruments", assisting her band members in the transportation of this equipment. Her blog
posts are noted for containing recipes for baking cakes. Herbie Hancock said of her vocals, "there's so much jazz in the notes and phrases that she picks. She was singing the ninths, the elevenths of the chords...I mean some of the things sound like choices that Miles would have made." Possibilities DVD.
To date, Sea Sew has sold 45,000 copies worldwide – with 15,000 of those copies sold in Ireland.
's Make Trade Fair
, Hannigan was drenched in melted chocolate and she participated in the Irish musical collective The Cake Sale
with lead vocal on the track Some Surprise
, which was played on the US television series Grey's Anatomy
.
Hannigan also contributed to the 2009 charity album, Sparks n' Mind, released in aid of Aware.
Readers' Poll awards. She won Best Debut Album, Best Irish Album, Best Irish Track and Best Female in 2009.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
|| Best Debut Album ||
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
|| Best Irish Album ||
|-
| 2009 || — || Best Irish Track ||
|-
| 2009 || Lisa Hannigan || Best Female ||
|-
in January 2009. The award was won by Jape
for the album Ritual
on 4 March 2009.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
|| Irish Album of the Year 2008 ||
|-
in 2009. She was the only solo artist nominated in more than one category at the awards. She lost to Imelda May
and The Script
's self-titled album
respectively.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
|| Best Irish Album ||
|-
| 2009 || Lisa Hannigan || Best Irish Female ||
|-
on 21 July 2009. It was Hannigan's first nomination.
Hannigan was referred to as 2009's "token folk nominee" in the UK, with the NME
calling her a "token folkie". One British journalist even claimed she was "truly obscure" and part of the "moribund sensitive singer-songwriter genre". Ed Power, writing in the Irish Independent
, criticised such claims, wondering if Jape
(whose album Ritual
beat Hannigan to the Choice Music Prize) had come close to receiving a Mercury nomination—"Or, for that matter, how many of the judges had even heard of him".
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew || Best Album ||
|-
Damien Rice
Damien Rice is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion....
's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. She has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA. Hannigan has performed and been associated with Cathy Davey
Cathy Davey
Cathy Davey is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" , and three albums, Something Ilk , Tales of Silversleeve and The Nameless...
, Mic Christopher
Mic Christopher
Mic Christopher was an Irish singer-songwriter, best known for his posthumously-released debut album Skylarkin.-Early life:...
, Mick Flannery
Mick Flannery
Mick Flannery is an Irish singer-songwriter from Blarney, County Cork.His debut album Evening Train resulted from his time spent studying music and management at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork...
, David Kitt
David Kitt
David Kitt is an Irish musician. He is the son of Irish politician Tom Kitt.He has released six studio albums to date: Small Moments, The Big Romance, Square 1, The Black and Red Notebook, Not Fade Away and The Nightsaver.-History:Kitt grew up surrounded by music, as his father and uncles formed a...
and members of Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
, The Frames
The Frames
The Frames are an Irish band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six albums...
and Bell X1. She has performed at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
both as a solo artist and with Damien Rice.
Early life and education
Hannigan was born in Dublin but grew up in KilcloonKilcloon
Kilcloon is a parish situated in the south-east of County Meath in Ireland. The parish is composed of the six medieval parishes of Moyglare, Kilclone, Balfeighan, Rodanstown, Ballymaglassan an Rathregan. The medieval parish of Kilclone was in turn made up of the townlands of Kilclone, Pagestown,...
, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland. She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa in Kilcloon and secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
at The King's Hospital
The King's Hospital
The King's Hospital is a Church of Ireland co-educational fee-paying boarding and day school situated in Palmerstown, Dublin, Ireland.Founded in 1669, it is one of the oldest schools in Ireland and was also known as the Blue Coat School....
in Palmerstown
Palmerstown
Palmerstown , occasionally referred to as Palmerston, is a suburb of Dublin,Ireland. It is located about 8km west of the city centre, in the administrative county of South Dublin. The area is bordered to the north by the River Liffey, to the west by Lucan, to the south by Ballyfermot and to theeast...
. At the age of eighteen, she enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where she studied French. Hannigan enjoyed theater and auditioned for musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s as a teenager and was cast as Second Urchin in her school's production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
.
2001-2007
Hannigan began her six year collaboration with Damien Rice at a concert in the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin in early 2001. She sang on most of the tracks for Rice's 2002 album O. In 2006, she sang the lead vocal on Rice's song "9 Crimes9 Crimes
"9 Crimes" is the first single from the album 9 by Damien Rice. This song features additional vocals from Lisa Hannigan as does the whole album. The 7" single is pressed on clear-colored vinyl and comes with a fold-out poster.-Music video:...
" and performed at the Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic
The 2005 festival took place on Saturday 3 September and Sunday 4 September. It is best remembered for Arcade Fire's performance which came before their subsequent mainstream success...
music festival in Stradbally, County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
. As a member of Rice's live performance band, she contributed vocals and on occasion electric guitar, bass and drums.
In 2007, Hannigan left the Damien Rice band to pursue a solo career.
“It was upsetting, but worse things have happened. For everybody it was coming to the end of its cycle.” Hannigan returned to Dublin and began her solo career. The singer later said of the split: "I suppose it was coming for a long time. I had become pretty outspoken about my frustrations at the direction the band was going in, and I'm sure he was starting to find me a pain." Rice said that their incompatible song writing styles were to blame for the inadequacies in his song "Unplayed Piano
Unplayed Piano
"Unplayed Piano" is a 2005 single by the Irish singer-songwriter duo Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan. It was released in June 2005 and appeared in a total of six charts, spending a total of twenty-five weeks there. It spent twelve weeks in the Irish Singles Chart after entering on 23 June 2005,...
". She was comforted by members of The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
and has not spoken to Rice since the split.
2008-present
Some of Hannigan's live recordings were made available through trading networks radio shows. These recordings included: "Willy" by Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
(from the 1965 album Pastel Blues
Pastel Blues
Pastel Blues is a studio album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone . It was recorded in 1964 and 1965 in New York City and released in 1965 by Philips Records...
), "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
and "Love Hurts" by Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
. Hannigan also performed live with her own band, called The Daisy Okell Quartet and contributed guest vocals to the recordings of Mic Christopher
Mic Christopher
Mic Christopher was an Irish singer-songwriter, best known for his posthumously-released debut album Skylarkin.-Early life:...
, The Frames
The Frames
The Frames are an Irish band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six albums...
and Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
.
Lisa Hannigan's debut solo album, titled Sea Sew
Sea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
, was rehearsed in a barn in Thomastown
Thomastown
-Landmarks:Kilfane Glen is a restored historic 1790s garden of romantic era with waterfall, woodland walks and cottage orne. The garden is listed as an Irish Heritage garden and was awarded assistance in 1993 by the European Union Cultural Commission...
and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland in September 2008. The lead single, "Lille", was made available as a free Internet download and other tracks were available for preview on her Myspace page. The sleeve
Record sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
featured needle-work
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
by Hannigan. Some music critics called the recording one of the best Irish albums of the year.
Sea Sew was played on the American radio station KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
and received favorable reviews in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The single "Lille", released in August 2008 on Irish and American radio stations. Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2008
Electric Picnic 2008
Electric Picnic 2008 was the fifth Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday–Sunday, 29–31 August at Stradbally in County Laois, Ireland...
. Hannigan supported singer-songwriter Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
on a 42-date U.S. tour in 2008.
Also in 2008, she appeared on the charity album Even Better Than the Disco Thing
Even Better Than the Disco Thing
Even Better Than the Disco Thing is an Irish charity album released by the commercial FM radio station, Today FM, for the Christmas market on 21 November 2008. The album features covers of well-known disco songs by a selection of Irish musicians. Disc one features sixteen tracks, whilst disc two is...
and performed a duet of Mick Flannery
Mick Flannery
Mick Flannery is an Irish singer-songwriter from Blarney, County Cork.His debut album Evening Train resulted from his time spent studying music and management at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork...
's new song "Christmas Past" with Flannery on Tony Fenton
Tony fenton
Anthony James Fagan , known professionally as Tony Fenton, is an Irish radio presenter and DJ, currently working with Today FM. He has been with Today FM since 2004, having previously presented a show on RTÉ 2fm, which he left in 2003. Fenton is "one of Ireland's favourite pop DJs". Louis Walsh has...
's Christmas Special on Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...
. In December 2008, she made her UK solo debut at St Johns Church in London. Hannigan signed with ATO Records
ATO Records
According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records...
in the U.S., where her album was released in February 2009.
Sea Sew was nominated for the Choice Music Prize
Choice Music Prize
-Establishment:It was established by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid in 2005. as an alternative to the industry-dominated Meteor Music Awards. The Choice Music Prize is modelled after the Mercury Prize which is awarded each year to the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland...
and Best Irish Album at the Meteor Music Awards
Meteor Music Awards
The Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland...
in January 2009.
That same year, Hannigan appeared on the American television shows Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, The Colbert Report and was well received by their respective hosts. In 2009, Hannigan also appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Later... with Jools Holland, performing her song "I Don't Know". Sea Sew rose in the UK charts following this appearance and she performed at Glastonbury 2009 music festival and went on tour later in the year. She performed at the nomination ceremony and she was greeted by confused journalists wondering "Lisa who?".
Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2009
Electric Picnic 2009
Electric Picnic 2009 was the sixth edition of the Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday September 4, Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 6 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland...
and Le Chéile. Later in 2009, she toured the United States with David Gray
David Gray (musician)
David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
and performed solo shows in New York, Los Angeles and London. She then began a tour of Ireland to finish the year. Hannigan's song "Ocean and Rock" was used in a 2009 Irish video supporting same-sex marriage entitled "Sinéad's Hand".
In 2010, a broadcast of Other Voices was planned.
Hannigan recorded her second album, titled Passenger
Passenger (Lisa Hannigan album)
Passenger is the second LP from Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan. The album was released in the US and Canada on 20 September 2011 and in the Republic of Ireland on 7 October 2011 . The LP features 11 new tracks.The album will be self-released in Ireland and UK through her label Hoop Records...
, at Bryn Derwen Studios in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
with producer Joe Henry
Joe Henry
Joseph Lee "Joe" Henry is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Henry's musical style spans several genres, including alt. country, rock, jazz and folk.- Early years :...
and engineer Ryan Freeland. The album was released in the US and Canada on 20 September 2011, and on 7 October in Ireland and the UK.
Reception
Her music has received critical praise, airplay and award nominations both in her native Ireland and the United States. In 2008, her debut album Sea SewSea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
spawned the single "Lille
Lille (song)
"Lille" is the debut solo single by Lisa Hannigan, taken from her award-nominated debut album Sea Sew. It received its world premiere on Tony Fenton's Today FM show on 31 July 2008, demoed on lisahannigan.com and was later released as a free download in Ireland on 25 August 2008.Lille became an...
", a Choice Music Prize
Choice Music Prize
-Establishment:It was established by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid in 2005. as an alternative to the industry-dominated Meteor Music Awards. The Choice Music Prize is modelled after the Mercury Prize which is awarded each year to the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland...
nomination, two Meteor Music Awards
Meteor Music Awards
The Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland...
nominations and a Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
nomination. There has also been praise from fellow musicians and, in recent times, Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
of the United Kingdom and US television hosts Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
and Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
.
Hannigan performs using "broken-down, wheezy old instruments", assisting her band members in the transportation of this equipment. Her blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
posts are noted for containing recipes for baking cakes. Herbie Hancock said of her vocals, "there's so much jazz in the notes and phrases that she picks. She was singing the ninths, the elevenths of the chords...I mean some of the things sound like choices that Miles would have made." Possibilities DVD.
To date, Sea Sew has sold 45,000 copies worldwide – with 15,000 of those copies sold in Ireland.
Personal life
As part of an advertisement campaign for OxfamOxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
's Make Trade Fair
Make Trade Fair
Make Trade Fair is a campaign organized by Oxfam International to promote trade justice and fair trade among governments, institutions, and multinational corporations.-Objectives:The campaign has focused on the elimination of several trade practices:...
, Hannigan was drenched in melted chocolate and she participated in the Irish musical collective The Cake Sale
The Cake Sale
The Cake Sale are a collective of mostly Irish musical artists including Swedish singer/songwriter Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Australian musician Nick Seymour of Crowded House....
with lead vocal on the track Some Surprise
Some Surprise
"Some Surprise" is a song which features on the charity album The Cake Sale released in 2006 by The Cake Sale. It is a duet between former Damien Rice collaborator Lisa Hannigan and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, written by Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan. The song was performed live by the duo...
, which was played on the US television series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
.
Hannigan also contributed to the 2009 charity album, Sparks n' Mind, released in aid of Aware.
Discography
- Sea SewSea Sew-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
(2008) - PassengerPassenger (Lisa Hannigan album)Passenger is the second LP from Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan. The album was released in the US and Canada on 20 September 2011 and in the Republic of Ireland on 7 October 2011 . The LP features 11 new tracks.The album will be self-released in Ireland and UK through her label Hoop Records...
(2011)
Hot Press Readers' Poll
Hannigan has four Hot PressHot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
Readers' Poll awards. She won Best Debut Album, Best Irish Album, Best Irish Track and Best Female in 2009.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
Sea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
|| Best Debut Album ||
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
Sea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
|| Best Irish Album ||
|-
| 2009 || — || Best Irish Track ||
|-
| 2009 || Lisa Hannigan || Best Female ||
|-
Choice Music Prize
Hannigan's debut album, Sea Sew, was nominated for the Choice Music PrizeChoice Music Prize
-Establishment:It was established by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid in 2005. as an alternative to the industry-dominated Meteor Music Awards. The Choice Music Prize is modelled after the Mercury Prize which is awarded each year to the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland...
in January 2009. The award was won by Jape
Jape (band)
Jape are an Irish electronic–rock band from Dublin. Formed as a side project by Richie Egan whilst part of The Redneck Manifesto, they have released four albums to date; Cosmosphere , The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me , Ritual and Ocean of Frequency...
for the album Ritual
Ritual (Jape album)
Ritual is the third studio album from electronic rock band Jape, released on Co-op Records in 2008. It won the Choice Music Prize for the 2008 Irish Album of the Year in March 2009....
on 4 March 2009.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
Sea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
|| Irish Album of the Year 2008 ||
|-
Meteor Music Awards
Hannigan and her work was nominated in the Best Irish Female and Best Irish Album categories at the Meteor Music AwardsMeteor Music Awards
The Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland...
in 2009. She was the only solo artist nominated in more than one category at the awards. She lost to Imelda May
Imelda May
Imelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
and The Script
The Script (band)
The Script are an Irish alternative rock band from Dublin. Based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic, the band released their eponymous debut album in August 2008...
's self-titled album
The Script (Album)
The Script is the Choice Music Prize-nominated self-titled debut album from Irish band The Script, which was released in the Republic of Ireland on 8 August 2008 and was released in the UK on 11 August 2008 by Phonogenic Records. Following success in the Republic of Ireland the album was released...
respectively.
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew
Sea Sew
-Recording and production:The album was recorded in a cold barn in the Irish countryside and produced in the studio of one of Hannigan's friends over the course of a fortnight. Jason Boshoff produced, recorded and mixed the whole album....
|| Best Irish Album ||
|-
| 2009 || Lisa Hannigan || Best Irish Female ||
|-
Mercury Prize
Sea Sew was nominated for the Mercury PrizeMercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
on 21 July 2009. It was Hannigan's first nomination.
Hannigan was referred to as 2009's "token folk nominee" in the UK, with the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
calling her a "token folkie". One British journalist even claimed she was "truly obscure" and part of the "moribund sensitive singer-songwriter genre". Ed Power, writing in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, criticised such claims, wondering if Jape
Jape (band)
Jape are an Irish electronic–rock band from Dublin. Formed as a side project by Richie Egan whilst part of The Redneck Manifesto, they have released four albums to date; Cosmosphere , The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me , Ritual and Ocean of Frequency...
(whose album Ritual
Ritual (Jape album)
Ritual is the third studio album from electronic rock band Jape, released on Co-op Records in 2008. It won the Choice Music Prize for the 2008 Irish Album of the Year in March 2009....
beat Hannigan to the Choice Music Prize) had come close to receiving a Mercury nomination—"Or, for that matter, how many of the judges had even heard of him".
|-
| 2009 || Sea Sew || Best Album ||
|-
External links
- Official site
- Official biography
- Lisa Hannigan Refined an unofficial website
- Lisa Hannigan on Other Voices
- Lisa Hannigan interview on LAistGothamistGothamist LLC is the operator of eleven city-centric blogs worldwide that focus on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage.-History:...
- Lisa Hannigan at Eskimo Friends, a Damien RiceDamien RiceDamien Rice is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion....
site - Lisa Hannigan Review Fazer.ca March 2009
- Mercury nomination photos at the Irish IndependentIrish IndependentThe Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...