Declan O'Rourke for Gonzo

As part of his current national tour, Declan O'Rourke is set to play at Gonzo Theatre, Cavan with his band on June 24. Let's hear it for the freshly minted independent artist, the ones that have shaken hands with the devil that is the corporate music industry, and then decide to go it alone. Declan O'Rourke is one such independent artist. "Maybe I knew what I wanted too much. I've learned from experience that there are certain things that are very valuable about having a record company. But I felt it was time to start owning my own music. I don't own my first record (Since Kyabram, 2005), and have very little control over that and the second record (Big Bad Beautiful World, 2008) in how they get into the shops, how they're packaged, presented, and so on." Following a couple of years shaping a new batch of songs, Declan returns in April with his third studio album, Mag Pai Zai. Not only is the record yet another intriguing stage in his creative life, it is also a collection of his best songs to date. "If it weren't my own record," he reasons, "I'd say it blows the other two albums out of the water. The second album was a huge learning curve. I listened to it recently, almost by accident, and I kinda liked it. But I feel as if I wandered off the path with it. Whatever the reasons, I found it difficult getting up on stage, with just a guitar, and holding onto an audience's attention. I went for more of a band-oriented sound on the second album, more robust music. I was having fun, for sure, but the songs definitely weren't built as solidly as they were on the first album, and as they are on the new one." The songs on Mag Pai Zai came in a flourish following a bout of writer's block, after an average of one song per month for about ten years, Declan didn't write anything for almost 18 months. It took a while for Declan to climb his way out of that temporary but aggravating situation, but when he did he says he felt completely liberated. "I wrote more songs in 2009 than I ever did in any other year," he beams. "Practically all the songs on Mag Pai Zai came from that burst of songwriting." That Declan O'Rourke is in a new, different and more elevated place as a songwriter is proven by the sheer quality of the material on Mag Pai Zai.