FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Stanford meets Bjork”
SAILING HOME BY EMMA O’REILLY:
CONTEMPORARY FOLK EP 

O’REILLY’S NEW EP, FOUR TRACKS OF FOLK-INFLUENCED EXPERIMENTATION, IS OUT NOW AND IRISH TOUR IS UNDERWAY
CONTACT:
info@emmaoreilly.ie | +447858610540

Sailing Home – Four tracks of folk-oriented, experimental exploration, alternating the rough and the smooth, the ethereal and the earthed.

Emma O’Reilly’s first EP since FRACTURES (2016), Sailing Home, is a communing with contemporary folk music, experimental song forms and  acoustic soundscapes. Written between 2018 and 2021, partially during a residency at Visby’s International Centre for Composers, and partially as her offering of new demos to Patrons, It was recorded by Harry Smith of Anglia Sounds (Pheobe Troup, Takeda, Murmurations) in Norwich during Covid Lockdowns in 2021, with additional recording by Jason Wick at Goat Pen Studios (Little Red Kings, Ginny Dix), and Les Keye at Arad Studios in Dublin (Squarehead, Inni-k, Judith Ring). Les also mixed the EP, with mastering by Liam Grant and Lavar Bullard (Olivia Rodrigo, Enter Shakari, Jorja Smith, Glok). Wide ranging influences are clear – nods to Bon Iver’s for Emma, Forever ago, World Gospel music like Discovery Gospel Choir, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics, informed by folklore from storyteller and psychologist Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, even entering into the mystic: astrology and tarot, all grounded by acoustic instrumentation and natural imagery.

In the first image the lighting is dim, with Emma looking up an to the left of the image. The background is dark blue, Emma's hair is in a low ponytail that sits on her shoulder. She is in a denim shirt, and she wears an earring in the shape of a crescent moon. Yellow light from the right of the image casts a shadow of the earring onto Emma's neck. She is framed by a logo containing the four letters of her name, with her surname overlayed around her shoulders, and the title of the EP just below it
Photography: Andi Sapey

The Irish Tour: Emma and The Céadaoin Collective

The release of is marked by a tour of Ireland, O’Reilly’s first in over 10 years. O’Reilly wanted to set the music into its context, and dig deeper into its connection to traditional Irish music, and so she has joined forces with Robert Harvey, a champion Flautist and Irish Traditional music royalty, Carmel Whelan, a highly sought-after vocalist, composer, and choral director, Andrew Kin Yip Yau, an accomplished performer and orchestral musician across a range of instruments, and Niall Mannion, a widely respected Violinist and Pianist, forming the Céadaoin Collective. With dates in Moate, Ballinasloe, Galway, Sligo and Dublin, this intimate tour will has arrangements of the EP exclusive to the group that open up the shared space between contemporary, traditional, and classical styles. Further details of the tour are below. 

Please see below for track downloads, credits, tour dates, high-resolution images, and more.

Listen

Downloads

Music

Sailing Home MP3 | Sailing Home WAV

PDF

Release one-sheet

Emma’s Long Bio

Sailing Home Lyrics

Available  

on Bandcamp

CONTACT:
info@emmaoreilly.ie | +447858610540

Credits

SAILING HOME (21:18)

1. Only Love (5:06)*
2. River (5:18)*
3. Aedh (5:26)*
4. Getting in the Way (5:28)+

Written, performed, produced by Emma O’Reilly
Recorded by Harry Smith (Anglia Sound)
Additional recording on track 1& 4 by Les Keye (Arad Studios)
Brass trio recorded by Jason Wick (Goat Pen Studios)
Mixed by Les Keye
*Mastered by Liam Grant
+Mastered by Lavar Bullard

Emma O’Reilly (vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, synth),
Matt Munford (Bass),
Rich Nolan (Drums),
Richard Poynton (Additional Guitar on tracks 1 and 2),
Harry Smith (Percussion on track 2, Guitar on track 4)
Simon Wilkie (percussion on track 2)
Brass trio on track 2: Nigel Flack (Trumpet), John Flack (Trombone), Marie Young (Alto Sax)

Discography

SAILING HOME (2026)

MARIS, STELLA (2025) (single)

FRACTURES (2017)

PURGE (2014)

iCEBERG (2012) (exclusively available through Patreon)

TOUR EP (2007) (exclusively available through Patreon)

Non featured recordings include Loah, Stu Daly and the dram, Discovery Gospel Choir, La Gracia,  the Irish Youth Chamber Choir, ONE (Grammy nominated) with Roger Montejano, Modcat, Millie Manders and the Shut Up (which reached the top 5 in the UK charts). 

PRESS SHOTS

Click on an image below to download a high-res version.

Sailing Home EP Cover

In the first image the lighting is dim, with Emma looking up an to the left of the image. The background is dark blue, Emma's hair is in a low ponytail that sits on her shoulder. She is in a denim shirt, and she wears an earring in the shape of a crescent moon. Yellow light from the right of the image casts a shadow of the earring onto Emma's neck. She is framed by a logo containing the four letters of her name, with her surname overlayed around her shoulders, and the title of the EP just below it

Sailing home: River. Image by Andi Sapey.

In this image Emma holds her hands up to the sky, clasped in a sort of prayer position. You can see her face through the triangle created by her upraised arms. Water trickles down from above. Emma is in a blue swimsuit against a wooden panelled fence. Emma's logo, the four letters of her name in a square shape, are imposed ontop of the image.

Sailing Home:Aedh. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma leans over a vase of clear water, looking into it, her face illuminated by turquoise light. Her hair rests on her back, she wears a white vest. Her right hand reaches as though to grip the vase, and it is reflected in many versions through the shape of the vase, and also through another, hard to see object that distorts her outline. Her logo - the four letters of her name in a square formation - are imposed over the image in black.

Sailing Home: Getting in the Way. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma looks out to the left of the image from underneath a veil of black silk chiffon. Her left arm reaches across herself to touch her own neck, her eyes look somewhat glassy underneath the fabric. The colour of her pale skin comes trough the fabric, but the tone of the image is mostly blacks and greys. Emma's logo - the four letters of her name arranged in a square - are superimposed over the image.

Sailing Home EP Cover

In the first image the lighting is dim, with Emma looking up an to the left of the image. The background is dark blue, Emma's hair is in a low ponytail that sits on her shoulder. She is in a denim shirt, and she wears an earring in the shape of a crescent moon. Yellow light from the right of the image casts a shadow of the earring onto Emma's neck. She is framed by a logo containing the four letters of her name, with her surname overlayed around her shoulders, and the title of the EP just below it

Sailing home: River. Image by Andi Sapey.

In this image Emma holds her hands up to the sky, clasped in a sort of prayer position. You can see her face through the triangle created by her upraised arms. Water trickles down from above. Emma is in a blue swimsuit against a wooden panelled fence. Emma's logo, the four letters of her name in a square shape, are imposed ontop of the image.

Sailing Home:Aedh. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma leans over a vase of clear water, looking into it, her face illuminated by turquoise light. Her hair rests on her back, she wears a white vest. Her right hand reaches as though to grip the vase, and it is reflected in many versions through the shape of the vase, and also through another, hard to see object that distorts her outline. Her logo - the four letters of her name in a square formation - are imposed over the image in black.

Sailing Home: Getting in the Way. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma looks out to the left of the image from underneath a veil of black silk chiffon. Her left arm reaches across herself to touch her own neck, her eyes look somewhat glassy underneath the fabric. The colour of her pale skin comes trough the fabric, but the tone of the image is mostly blacks and greys. Emma's logo - the four letters of her name arranged in a square - are superimposed over the image.

Sailing Home EP Cover

In the first image the lighting is dim, with Emma looking up an to the left of the image. The background is dark blue, Emma's hair is in a low ponytail that sits on her shoulder. She is in a denim shirt, and she wears an earring in the shape of a crescent moon. Yellow light from the right of the image casts a shadow of the earring onto Emma's neck. She is framed by a logo containing the four letters of her name, with her surname overlayed around her shoulders, and the title of the EP just below it

Sailing home: River. Image by Andi Sapey.

In this image Emma holds her hands up to the sky, clasped in a sort of prayer position. You can see her face through the triangle created by her upraised arms. Water trickles down from above. Emma is in a blue swimsuit against a wooden panelled fence. Emma's logo, the four letters of her name in a square shape, are imposed ontop of the image.

Sailing Home:Aedh. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma leans over a vase of clear water, looking into it, her face illuminated by turquoise light. Her hair rests on her back, she wears a white vest. Her right hand reaches as though to grip the vase, and it is reflected in many versions through the shape of the vase, and also through another, hard to see object that distorts her outline. Her logo - the four letters of her name in a square formation - are imposed over the image in black.

Sailing Home: Getting in the Way. Image by Andi Sapey.

Emma looks out to the left of the image from underneath a veil of black silk chiffon. Her left arm reaches across herself to touch her own neck, her eyes look somewhat glassy underneath the fabric. The colour of her pale skin comes trough the fabric, but the tone of the image is mostly blacks and greys. Emma's logo - the four letters of her name arranged in a square - are superimposed over the image.

PRESS

“Fractures is an impressive EP…Emma O’ Reilly is undeniably talented.”
Liz Hunt, Indie Disco, 92.5 Phoenix FM

“Songwriting masterclass would seem to be O’Reilly’s specialty… nothing short of genius.”
Julie Bell, Pure M Magazine

 “Mind-blown.”
Remy Connolly, Remy’s Film and Music Blog

“A seriously talented songwriter and musician.”
Ian Martin, Goldenplec

RADIO AIRPLAY

IRELAND/EU

98FM, Dublin City FM, Flirt FM, KCLR FM, Lyric FM, Near FM, Pheonix FM, Raidió na Lífe, Raidió na Gaeltachta, Radio Northern Europe International, Red FM, RTÉ Radio 1 (Arena, and The Late Date), BBC Radio Ulster (Across the Line), The Rua Room

UK

BBC Radio Suffolk (Album of the week), Future Radio UK (with live appearances), Reach OnAir, Wandsworth Radio, BBC Radio Norfolk with live appearances on BBC Introducing and The Stephen Bumfrey Show

US

RLC(Piscataway, NJ), KCSB (Santa Barbara, CA), KSYM (San Antonio, TX), WCSF (Joliet, IL), WGMU (Fairfax, VA), WIDB (Carbondale, IL), WPRK (Orlando, FL), WSOU’s Campus Buzz (South Orange, NJ), WSUM (Madison, WI), WUML (Lowell, MA), WVMO (Monona, WI), WXOU (Rochester, MI)

Fractures EP charted #30 at WCXS (Orland Park, IL), and #24 at WMUC (College Park, MD). 

Upcoming Shows

BIOGRAPHY

Emmas figure in side profile looks to the left of the squre image, and hugs close to the left of the framing. It is hazy and blurry, with dim yellows and blues across the background and Emma herself. Her hair is in a low ponytail over her shoulder, she wears a denim shirt, with a crescent moon earring, who's shadow can be seen across her neck.

From Ballinasloe in Co. Galway, Ireland, Emma O’Reilly delivers a fusion of alternative pop and indie folk that’s emblematic of the rich creativity of the modern Irish music scene. Emma has toured in Ireland, the UK, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, and Canada, garnering comparisons with Kate Bush, Aldous Harding and Phoebe Bridgers. She is a multi-instrumentalists with powerful vocals, authentic songwriting and connected stage presence.

Since the release of last year’s suite of works, Maris, Stella, Emma has been preparing for the release of Sailing Home as an independent artist, co-ordinating and organising every aspect of the release and of her tour with the Céadaoin Collective. During this time she has been teasing material to her patrons on Patreon, and livestreaming weekly on Twitch.  Her recent performance highlights include Biird in Rotterdam, Norwich Summer Sessions, Maui Waui and Bearded Theory. Her current tour of Ireland will be her first in 10 years. 

Download Emma’s Long Bio here

Social Media Links
(and more)

CONTACT DETAILS:

info@emmaoreilly.ie | +447858610540

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