Irish alt-folk and electronica alchemist Seamus Fogarty releases The Curious Hand on Domino. Originally from County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland, Fogarty now resides in London, and the capital provides the canvas for The Curious Hand. It also showcases Seamus’ natural inclination to take his songs and “screw them up,” by applying synthesiser drones and circuit burps, found sounds and spoken-word audio samples that give all of his records such wonderful atmosphere, as if they’re haunted by rogue half-tuned signals from another world. Fogarty’s method of lifting sounds wholesale from his environment and tucking them into the folds of his songs like keepsakes, renders himself at once, artist and archivist as well as twisting the notion of the folk singer’s role as collector and custodian of stories, traditions and cultural curio. The Curious Hand was produced by Seamus and Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Wild Beasts) who also plays on the album. Other notable players include Emma Smith on a plethora of instruments (violin, clarinet, bass to name a few), Rozi Plain (backing vocals), Aram Zarikian (drums) and Seamus’ brother John Fogarty (accordion
