The island of Jersey, from the serenity of St. Brelade, boasts a unique sound that can be likened to a motion picture, with layers and an intimate quality. Michael Donoghue’s upcoming album, Hotel Real, is a far cry from just a musical release; it is regrowth, dare, and flight of fantasy, of the artist himself. The record, which features only eight tracks, is a follow-up to the artist’s personal voyage and revelation through the interwoven aural landscapes and daring creative ideas of the production.
Donoghue drew inspiration from the classic TV show The Twilight Zone, and while creating the album, he only watched the most eerie episodes of the series. The impact of the show on the album is subtle, and it doesn’t attempt to recreate the original; instead, it derives the surreal narrative and audio invention from the source. Consequently, the album finds itself at the intersection of narrative fascination and the artist's most profound inner feelings; thus, it becomes an invitation to the audience to join the journey to a place that is both oddly familiar and strange.
Being a product of his home studio, and thus a creative limitation, Hotel Real is a concept that Donoghue himself celebrates. The recording artist took it upon himself to carry out the entire production through the most proper DIY approach, which included capturing sounds from nature and inventing fresh formats for them. “We had a pretty good time hacking and distorting samples,” is his own explanation, which is a straightforward sentence in contradiction to the album’s multifaceted auditory experience. The creation of every single track is an initiative that has inspired me almost figuratively, as the songs are crafted from real-world elements that have transformed into the realm of the surreal.
The tracks “Cheers” and “Sleeper” are the perfect examples of the music philosophy employed here: immersive, atmospheric, and boldly original. The first of the two moves between nostalgia and euphoria, and the second one sails like a lucid dream, supported by Donoghue’s signature melodic instinct. Every sound in Hotel Real feels intentional, and every silence meaningful. It is the kind of musical work that is both a listening challenge and an opportunity for an eventual reward.
Confidence, however, is what most distinctly characterizes Hotel Real apart from other albums. For Donoghue, this album is a landmark: “This is me growing in confidence. I’d like to think I’ve created something quite unique.” It is not a boast; it is the quiet recognition of an artist fully embracing his voice. The authenticity is not only present in the audio, but it is also the core of the artist’s inner transformation, which is to become more and more like Michael Donoghue. It is not a first album, but a statement that is hopefully clear enough, confident, haunting, and refreshingly human, the work of an artist who is not afraid to delve into the weird parts of his mind. This is what Hotel Real is all about.
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