A SINGER-songwriter from Dungloe has just released her debut single and is getting ready to embark on an exciting move to Belfast to further her music career.
Speaking to the Donegal News this week Lára O’Donnell said she only started writing her own music last year.
The 20-year-old has just graduated from Ulster University where she studied music and saw this as the perfect time to release her music.
Lára was a member of a three-part harmony girl group called ‘Evergreen’ which appeared on the 2020 series of the Voice UK. During this experience, on Team Will.I.Am, the girls got the opportunity to work closely alongside professional vocal coaches, choreographers and directors from ITV. During her time with ‘Evergreen’ the band supported acts such as Moya Brennan and Clannad, Daniel O’Donnell, Sean and Conor Price and Duke Special.
“Because of Covid we couldn’t get together to practice and I decided to do my own thing and write my own music,” said Lára.
Last summer she was involved in the 21 Artists for the 21st Century programme in Belfast. It was here where she wrote her new single ‘Back Down’ under the mentorship of music producer Declan Legge and singer songwriter Naomi Hamilton.
Lára said she learned a lot from the programme and is moving to Belfast in July as she made a lot of connections in the music industry during her time there.
“The dream is to try and get as many gigs as I can, make a name for myself and make a career out of singing,” she said.
Although still very young Lára has managed to achieve a lot and even sang in 10 Downing Street last year with a group of young, up and coming singer-songwriters from across the north of Ireland.
She describes her music as having a pop/folk vibe and some of her influences include singer Maggie Rodgers and Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit.
“I was waiting for the right time to release the song and get college over me because there is a lot of work involved,” added Lára.
‘Back Down’, which went live on all major streaming platforms on Friday, tells the story of someone feeling isolated from the world around them. Lára will release her full EP at a later date.
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