Although based in Traverse City, Michigan, singer and songwriter Angela Josephine has deep connections and familial ties to Ireland, where she filmed her beautiful songs, “40 Days” and “Go Easy.” These singles are featured on her recent album, Daylight, where both songs were directed by Belfast-based, Helen Rollins, and were filmed in Northern Ireland. The choreography was provided by award-winning Irish choreographer, Maureen Butler, and both songs feature the creative relationship between Josephine and her producer, Chris Bathgate.
Both singles feature Josephine’s versatility of her artistry, and the video for “Go Easy,” features Riddel’s Warehouse, which is a historic building in Belfast associated with the cast iron trade. Irish actor, Phil Dixon, also provides vocals with Josephine in the video. For “40 Days,” the cliffs of Northern Ulster are featured, with the Irish Sea beneath Josephine.
We had a lengthy discussion with Angela Josephine about her Irish influences and ancestry, her latest album, Daylight, and working with her producer, Chris Bathgate, and filming the videos for “Go Easy” and “40 Days.”
I love that you infuse Irish and Celtic influences in your music. Can you tell me what draws you specifically to this particular culture? Do you think you’d be as drawn to it if you didn’t have familial ties to Irish ancestors?
Angela Josephine: First of all, thanks for the opportunity to talk about my art and music. It means a lot!
The knowledge of any Irish heritage is very recent and growing up the youngest of 6 in an Italian Catholic family (mother’s side) might seem an unlikely point of connection. However, we lived in a small town and my stomping grounds were the hills that surrounded a beautiful bay on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s a remote area known for the cliffs of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. To survive there, you must be resourceful and resilient. In this way, my upbringing gave me a natural affinity to rugged landscapes and a connection to the people who inhabit them.