Ballyshannon Danny's new album launch a mixture of ‘Wisdom & Graft’

Ballyshannon man Danny O’Connor, who has plied his musical trade in Berlin for over a decade, has just launched his new album which is available to purchase in the popular 'Novel Idea' shop in Ballyshannon this week.

The official album launch will be on November 19 in Berlin, and a German tour will follow.

The new Album ‘Wisdom & Graft’ was released worldwide on September 30.

Danny is hugely popular in his adopted Berlin

He told the Democrat:

“It's a 12 track album of original songs, some were written before Covid and some during.You may be able to hear the ones written during Covid by the emotion in my voice on the songs.

“It was an extremely tough time for musicians. Living in Berlin there is no such thing as weekly payments, the Germans would never even consider such a thing, probably one of the reasons why the economy is very stable here.

“I struggled big time financially, but it was the little things that got me through. Being a Daddy is a beautiful job in itself and I like to try and be the best I can be, something my father instilled in me from a very early age.

A summer trip back to Donegal was the perfect tonic after Covid and lockdown

He said that the new album happened by chance really in April 2020.

“I was invited to the famous ‘Rockin Chair Studios’ owned by Moe Jaksch in Müggelheim Berlin.

“I sat down with Moe and he said, ‘Do you have any songs?’ I said yes of course I do, he said play one. So I played it and he recorded me. In about six hours that day we had a very roadworthy demo of ‘Closed Doors’, one of the tracks from the album.

“For me it was a Eureka moment, and it became an obsession that lasted almost two and a half years.”

Danny was also in his native Ballyshannon over the summer.

“I hadn't been home with my new wife and daughter for four years so it was long overdue. We came over to receive an Irish blessing in Finner Camp as we had already been married in Berlin in April. The weather was amazing and we had a lovely day. It was so nice to see all my family and friends again.

“It's the simple things you miss when you're away.”

Reflecting on his Berlin destination not Ballyshannon he explained:

“The possibilities and scope is wider here. The grass is greener. Being an Irish man playing with my band ‘Murphy’s Law’ over here is a bigger catch than doing it in Dublin where it’s full of the same thing every night.

Northern Lights was a single from the new album that was released back in June

“I lived in Dublin for four years and every time I went to the shop to get groceries I felt like I was being robbed. I've figured out a way to make what I do a unique experience and in return get paid pretty well for it. Your money simply goes further here in Germany. I'd rather live happy and content than sad and poor and that meant sacrificing the beautiful wild Atlantic and the overpriced areas of Dublin for a reasonable standard of living in Berlin.”

As to whether he would approach things differently today he concluded:

“I am not sure I would approach it any different. Music is interpretation, so one song could mean something to you and mean a whole different thing to me.