Orla Gartland is back with ‘Pretending’ her first new music since her ‘Freckle Season’ EP earlier this year. ‘Pretending’ is accompanied by a video from Rosie Brear, who makes her directorial debut here having previously produced videos for the likes of Joesef, Big Moon and Declan McKenna.

“Conversations with strangers are exhausting when everyone’s playing a part and God knows I’ve been guilty of it,’ explains Gartland. “‘Pretending’ is a song about being done with putting on an act for other people. I worked on the song a lot over lockdown and really valued the time I had to pour into it, though it did feel odd to work on a song about being at a party when parties feel like a distant memory. I wanted the heart of the song to feel like you’ve separated yourself from the group and cut away all the chaos around you, only to be left with your own voice.”

In the so-called “golden age” of Irish music it is strange that the success of Orla Gartland isn’t more widely recognised in Ireland. Having accumulated over 40 million streams on Spotify alone and built-up a huge following on Patreon, Gartland has created a self-sufficient platform for her art which has allowed her to do things her own way; something most artists can only dream of.

Listen to ‘Freckle Season’ below. For more info on Orla Gartland visit here.