“There’s a synergy between how you live and what you write…it’s inevitable. No Fall of Rome was born out of a conversation I’ve had with friends, juxtaposed with the idea of Rome as a metaphor for one’s life. Freud referred to the mind as being like Rome holding a long, rich past. I’ve had a fascination with people’s journeys and the fortitude and support needed to make it through. It all begins in the mind, how you manage it and your inner-talk. I’d seen people in different life-stages entertaining giving up on themselves a bit – letting their earlier hopes and dreams slip. So, I just liked the metaphor of Rome as life, having all the attributes of a city and hypothesizing that there ain’t no fall of Rome gonna happen on my watch.” – Keelan X

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No Fall of Rome

No Fall Of Rome

The Sound: “My sound has evolved since my first single, No Fall of Rome. I’m delving into early snyth and keyboard sounds more right now…especially your Junos, Jupiter-8s etc., and I’ve incorporated them much more into my sound. I find them so lush and great to write with rather than just a guitar. ‘These Days’ is very intentionally a nod to 1980s production, complete with some 80s snyths, chorus-rich guitar and the use of drum machine sounds from that era. In a way it’s my little homage this era. But rather than being a 1980s pastiche, my intention was to somewhat contrast the innocence, colour and creativity of the music in that era but lyrically reflecting on how things are today, socially etc.”

The Lyrics: "These Days is part tongue-in-cheek, part social commentary. It’s a playful song on the surface with themes that I see as ubiquitous nowadays - disconnection, relationship ambiguity and, oh yeah,  global warming for good measure! We have become more socially distant and ever more isolated despite the advancements of modern technology seemingly bringing the world closer together….and good luck trying to form a new relationship with someone given the paradox of choice with all the dating apps out there”

These Days

“Sonically, I was after a sensual, smouldering sound to capture the feeling of desire in Fever. I also wanted the song to have some low-key disco danceability and a bit of oomph in the chorus. In my head I saw it as the kind of song a DJ would play in a club where you’d want to get up and dance to it, either by yourself in, your own little world, or perhaps with someone.

I wrote the song to capture that smouldering, feverish feeling of being totally into someone and at the same convey some of the uncertainty and hope that exists in these circumstances. Love and desire evoke a powerful cascade of mixed emotions in us; rapture, risk and uncertainty co-exist in this universal feeling we’ve all had at some point in our lives." - Keelan

Fever

Keelan X - Fever

Over the years, Keelan Cunningham has had a conflicting relationship with his one true love: music. A former member of up-and-coming Irish band The Marigolds, the dissolution of the band had a profound effect on Keelan as he quickly fell out of love with the industry. With more than ten years passing without music in his life, the world-wide pandemic revitalised Keelan's creativity. Strapping on his Fender Telecaster and switching on an old Roland keyboard he began the process of writing and producing songs once again. The results were immediate and quickly culminated in the formation of his new project, Keelan X.  
Cherry picking approaches and styles of song craftmanship he had developed whilst playing in an array of bands over the years, the multi-instrumentalist set about writing a varied collection of songs. Keelan’s distinctive sound is borne out of his eclectic taste in music, taking influence from contemporary artists such as The War On Drugs, The Weekend, Sam Fender, The Academic and melding this wit

Keelan X - Fever

KeelanX

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