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Photo – Daniel Boud

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Jessica’s recent album, Rise Up was launched in November to critical acclaim:

“What starts like a Floydian synth drone in ‘Awakening’ quickly turns into one of the most enrapturing vocal albums of the year, with Jessica’s otherworldly voice both merging with the layered synth and string backdrops as well as shining on top of it elsewhere…Let yourself be carried away with these spellbinding sounds. Absolutely breathtaking.” Dario, ProgSpace

“Rise Up is an ambitious and deeply rewarding listen. Each track is part of the jigsaw of what is an emotive and grand music odyssey….Rise Up is a journey of epic proportions both musically and in the subject matter it explores. It’s art and dramatic pop at its very best featuring Jessica’s thrilling vocals that soar over a bed of intricate vocal harmonies, rich string textures, tribal drums, cinematic synths and warm brassy tones with French horns and tubas.” – Bruce Baker, AU Review

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Lullay my Heart is a special and very personal song. It arrived in the most unusual way, in the wake of losing her father, popular Australian musician Rory O’Donoghue, to suicide after a long time suffering with serious mental illness…”

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Jessica O’Donoghue is one of Australia’s most distinctive, provocative and versatile vocalists. Awarded top performance in the 2021 APRA/AMCOS AMC Art Music Awards, and the recipient of an Australian Institute of Music Fellowship in 2018 for “outstanding contributions” to the nation’s music industry. Harnessing a prestigious classical training, including Sydney University, Victorian College of the Arts and London’s Covent Garden, Jessica’s extensive and eclectic musical career spans opera, medieval music, pop, jazz and cabaret.

Off the back of a critically acclaimed album launch Rise Up, Jessica continues to challenge audiences with engaging, genre-defying art. Defining her unique sound, she has adopted the term “Post-Baroque Dramatic Pop” – going some of the way to capture the larger-than-life nature of operatic experience transferred to pop context.

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Jessica
on Writing
Lullay My Heart

“About 4 years ago, in the wake of losing Dad, I was seeking out some precious studio time trying to write my album. With my son still a baby, time was precious, and for the whole day, sitting at the piano, I was completely empty. Absolutely nothing came…

The next week, I tried again. At the piano, alone in the studio, a song came to me all at once. Complete – chords, lyrics, melody. I thought I was writing about my own experiences and struggles, but listening back to that first rough recording, I realised this song had been gifted to me by Dad. ‘Lullay My Heart’ is Dad’s song and receiving this from him has been one of the most profound experiences I have ever had.

Dad’s message is seeking forgiveness and understanding – every time I play it, his presence is so strong. What a beautiful gift he gave me, for his loved ones, and now for us all. It is an extreme privilege to share this moving, and very important song.”

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Follow JESSICA O’DONOGHUE
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Spotify

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Photo – Daniel Boud

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About Lullay My Heart

Lullay my Heart is a special and very personal song. It arrived in the most unusual way and it was one of the most profound creative experiences I’ve ever had. In the wake of losing my Dad to suicide 2 years earlier after a long time suffering with serious mental illness, I sat down alone in a studio to write my new album. My first attempt at writing was a huge failure, I sat there completely empty, nothing came, no lyrics, no chords, no music, nothing. Then the next week I gave it another try, sitting alone in the same studio. I sat at the piano and out came this song – all at once.

The song was complete, it came with chords, lyrics, melody, everything, it came to me all at once in that moment. I recorded the song on my phone and listened back to it on the bus on my way home, and it was then when it hit me so clearly. This song had been given to me by Dad. He had delivered it to me in that moment. It was his song that he was expressing through me. This realisation was so profound as I thought in the studio that I was sitting down to write about my own story and experience of being misunderstood in this world as I battled with my own inner demons. But when listening back on the bus, I saw it completely differently. I heard Dad’s song and his message so clearly, which was one of seeking forgiveness and understanding. It was such an overwhelmingly beautiful thing, and every time I play this song, his presence is so strong. What a beautiful gift he gave me for his loved ones and now for all, as I have the extreme privilege to share this beautiful and moving song.

It features my brother, Ben O’Donoghue, on bass guitar and the wonderful Inner West Voices Choir in place of the original piano part, and is produced by Alyx Dennison and David Trumpmanis, two amazing and dear friends with whom I could entrust the task of helping to bring this very special track to life as you now hear it. The overarching message in this song is to show us that we need to educate ourselves more around serious mental illness, eradicate taboo and shame associated with these experiences and to create open channels for communication for those suffering and their loved ones to seek the help and support they need.

 About Jessica O’Donoghue

An award winning performer, including a fellowship from Australian Institute for Music for ‘Outstanding Achievements and Services to the Australian Music and Performing Arts Industry’, Jessica O’Donoghue is one of Australia’s most distinctive, provocative and versatile vocalists. Harnessing a prestigious classical training (Sydney University, VCA, Opera Queensland, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London), Jessica has worked with world-leading repetiteurs,conductors and composers. Her eclectic and extensive 30+ year career spans jazz, opera, early/medieval music, contemporary/new music, pop and cabaret/musical theatre, making Jessica a unique asset, well known for her musical excellence across a range of genres. She has written, recorded and released two solo albums to critical acclaim, praised as ‘A mercurial talent, .. songs with real depth…’ – Ashleigh Wilson (The Australian). Her album debut ‘Rise Up’ (2022) was described as ‘One of the most enrapturing vocal albums of the year. Absolutely breathtaking’ – Dario (The Progspace), and “art and dramatic pop at its very best,” AU Review.

Jessica currently appears frequently as Principal Artist with elite new music group Sydney Chamber Opera Company and specialist vocal ensemble The Song Company (also sitting on its Artistic Advisory Committee). She has premiered several operatic works with Sydney Chamber Opera Company including operas written specifically for her to debut. Jessica is passionate about championing the female voice in music, as well as supporting and raising awareness for mental health within the arts. Always seeking opportunities to create engaging events that challenge audiences to connect to the deeper emotion and narrative in her and other’s art, Jessica leads/initiates large scale artistic collaborations with funding from Australia Council of the Arts, Create NSW, City of Sydney, and Inner West Council, including a sold-out pop-up venue performance series featuring 6 outstanding women in music over 3 nights, as part of Vivid Sydney Music program. Jessica’s original and unique sound has been coined “Post-Baroque Dramatic Pop” – going some of the way towards capturing the larger-than-life nature of operatic experience transferred to pop context.

 About Rory O’Donoghue

Rory O’Donoghue (13 May 1949 – 13 December 2017) was an Australian actor, composer and musician, best known for playing “Thin Arthur” in the 1970s ABC iconic television sketch comedy series The Aunty Jack Show. Other notable performances included lead guitar solo on Kevin Johnson’s 1974 single Rock ‘N’ Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life), and playing the apostle Peter in the original Australian stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar (1972).

Rory was singer and co-composer (with Aunty Jack co-star Graeme Bond) of the Aunty Jack Show closing theme, Farewell Aunty Jack, released as Australia’s first picture-disc in 1974 and rocking to a No. 1 hit for three weeks. He and Bond also formed an award-winning advertising partnership for which they jointly composed many successful jingles. In 1980 he and Bond collaborated on the score for the Australian movie Fatty Finn, directed by their former ABC colleague Maurice Murphy, and for which Rory won the AFI Award for best music. In the late 1980s Rory composed and performed the theme and incidental music for the popular ABC-TV series Bush Tucker Man.

On 15 December 2017, Rory’s daughter Jessica announced on Facebook that he had died on December 13. In a follow-up post the next day, she stated that he had been undergoing treatment for depression and mental illness, and had taken his own life in hospital. Rory’s long-time collaborator and co-star of The Aunty Jack Show, Grahame Bond, said none of the cast members knew about his illness for over 30 years.

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Rory O’Donoghue, Jessica O’Donoghue, Ben O’Donoghue

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AMNPLIFY – DB