CAHILL KELLY, FORMER LEAD GUITARIST & KEYBOARDIST FOR GRACE CUMMINGS, READIES SECOND SOLO ALBUM ‘TALKIN’ FRENCH‘ WITH NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “MARGREL”

Having spent three or so of the four-plus years since his first album as lead guitarist & keyboard player for Grace Cummings’ band, Cahill Kelly is finally set to step out again with his second album ‘Talkin’ French’.

While the new album isn’t due until early next year, the first taste of it, the single and video “Margrel” lands today. Featuring guest vocals from Harmony Byrne and powered equally by guitar and keyboards and a punchy rhythm section, it’s a storm-weathered reflection on loss, legacy and the power of the ocean to both take and return which still somehow belies the heaviness of what inspired it; the death at sea of Cahill’s father.

“This was the first song I wrote for the record,” explains Cahill. “It came about after my dad lost his life at sea, and takes the name of the vessel he went missing on. His death was covered by national news and happened amid one of Melbourne’s covid lockdowns. The surreal nature of the events surrounding his death had a profound effect on me, and writing the song was a cathartic release and an attempt at closure.

“Playing the verse over and over again the way the chords rolled into each other really reminded me of waves, so I decided to run with that theme for the rest of the album, consequently there are a lot of water themes throughout the record with the piano emulating the warm shallows or the cold rolling depths. I have a tendency to write all over the place so having a theme like sticking to a piano to write was a welcome limitation.

“The song begun it’s infancy as a slow and dreary ballad but the band not knowing the context of the lyrics heard something completely different and it evolved into a wild, swaggering, gritty rock track which felt like the perfect elegy for a tattoo clad, chrome-riding mad man that grew up on a diet of 70’s Australian rock and roll.”

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Cahill Kelly’s forthcoming new album ‘Talkin’ French’ has been a long time in the making. It was started in 2022, around the same time Cahill was invited to join Grace Cummings’ band, as she was making her second album, Storm Queen. Cahill and his bass player Lain Pocock both contributed to that album before spending the next two years touring internationally with Cummings and then making her third album 2024’s Romona with Californian producer Jonathan Wilson.

Parting ways with Cummings soon after, Cahill and Pocock decided to finish the record they’d started back in 2022. Having recorded his first record Classical and Cool Jazz primarily by himself during lockdown, Cahill was also set on solidifying his band line up for the new record so with Pocock on bass he brought back Andrew Braidner (Redcoats, Ali Barter, Stonefield) on drums and Oskar Herbig (Skyscraper Stan) on guitar. Wanting to explore new ways of writing, Cahill himself moved from guitar to piano, which opened up a spot for another guitarist, which was filled by Danni O’Keefe (Diddirri).

Now named Cahill Kelly & The Encounters, Cahill and his band are clear of other commitments and, with the release of ‘Talkin’ French’ on the horizon, are gearing up to taking their new music out on the road.