AJ Whelan : “Because I Can” – Local folk artist on finding maturity with his sophomore album
By Cormac McCarthy
UCC Student AJ Whelan’s first album effort was featured here in the UCC Express last year almost to the date. “Unexpected Comradery” was a 45 minute behemoth. It featured 14 tracks of mostly folk-rock tunes staying very much within a set sound and style. While mostly consisting of soft guitar-lead ballads, the few spoken word and instrumental excerpts gave the album a personality and a set style.
A year on from that release, he has now released his second album “Because I Can”. With an album launch on Friday the 7th of October, I managed to get the chance to interview the young singer-songwriter about his goals for the album and how he is constantly learning as a musician.
Following up a well received debut album can certainly put pressure on any young artist. However, AJ is undeterred. In his free time, he has constantly been looking ahead on how to build upon the previous work.
He talks about his eagerness for the next adventure. “As soon as the first album was released I couldn’t not pick up the guitar again. I didn’t know how to do anything but write songs. By the end of May 2022 I had a plethora of songs put together.”
While he has always been musically inclined, it was only during the pandemic that he picked up the guitar. “Some of my earliest memories are messing around on garage band. I liked being experimental with friends and coming up with stuff. I got the guitar in June 2020 and the songs just flowed out of me.”
For AJ, his songwriting process is very much about the music first. “I always start with the guitar in my hand. I could be strumming away, trying to find chords and if I like the sound of the music then the lyrics will follow quickly after.”
Improvement over the previous work is always key to any artist. As John Dewey once said, “Arriving at one goal is the starting point of another.” AJ certainly kept this notion in mind when focusing on the album. “As the year went on, I thought about how it could be better than the last and the ways that I could make it better.”
One particular area where AJ knew he could improve was in the production side. While he had all of the songs written to a level that he was happy with by May, he was determined to ensure that the actual sound of his music was given serious attention. “I knew this album had to be better produced. I am always learning how to get better with it. The sound had to be lot fuller as well.”
While “Unexpected Comradery” was just one instrument; guitar, “Because I Can” includes acoustic and electric guitar, drums and a serious use of midi keyboards. “Over time, I had a better understanding of how I wanted my music to sound and how to get it that way. I spent the entire Summer producing the album and I definitely am proud of how it turned out. I’ve also tried to improve my singing as well, which is one of my weaker areas. ”
The decision to give the final song, “Because I Can,” a space by itself was down to AJ believing that it was the song most important to him. This wasn’t the lead single off the album, but it symbolizes the theme of maturity in the album and how he has grown into himself more as a person. “It is the one I’m most proud of. I think I hit the nail on the head with it.”
The album itself, at a runtime of just over half an hour, is considerably shorter than his previous efforts. He jokes, “If I keep taking 15 minutes off, my fourth album will be under a minute.” This shorter runtime is primarily due to AJ being clearer in his own thoughts and putting that into practice in his lyrics. “I’m definitely finding that knowing what I want to say is coming to me a lot easier. The album is a lot about growing older and “change” being the theme was always there in the songwriting process.”
AJ’s album “Don’t ever Change “ is out now and available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.