During the last couple of years spent back home in his native Sligo, Moon Looks On (Stephen Gormley) has been working away quietly on an album of true to the bone folk and roots music which is directly inspired by his time spent in the OX mountains in the NW of Ireland“
A regular on the Irish gig circuit, Stephen is a full-time musician who swapped his decks for a guitar 10 years ago. He says: “I grew up surrounded by books and music and was a DJ for several years before I picked up a guitar, but from the moment I learned my first chords, a thirst for language in the form of song engulfed me.” Stephen met his band mates when he moved to Dublin to study music. He describes them as “incredibly creative people who share an appreciation of life, laughter, banter and friendship.” After the independent release of their debut EP, simply titled ‘Moon Looks On’, the band were invited to play at St. James’ Church at Other Voices, as part of the IMRO Other Room special that was broadcast on RTE 2fm. Describing their sound, Tony Rea (Other Voices) said: “The easy outline for Moon Looks On is a bit of Van Morrison mixed with a bit of The Waterboys.” Two more self-released singles followed – ‘Pray for the Rain’ and ‘Summertime in Bloom’. Stephen White of The Last Mixed Tape described ‘Pray for the Rain’ as having “a warm folk sound, interwoven musicality and heartfelt vocals.” Moon Looks On continued to receive steady attention from fans and media alike, with radio play in Ireland and the UK. Producer Mike Hedges (The Cure/Manic Street Preachers/Travis) described Stephen’s compositions as “words and songs from the head and heart”.
