Dara’s music has been described more than once as beyond strict categorisation. And this holds to be true. With a broad range of musical interests and talents (writer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestral arranger/composer, lyricist, producer), Dara believes that conforming too strictly to the rules of a particular genre is – for him at least – anti-creative and limits possibilities.
Since his late-teens Dara has played throughout Europe and America with various different artists, and also with his own band. He has also opened for numerous acts and appeared at festivals worldwide, (U2, Counting Crows, Bryan Adams, Ocean Colour Scene, the V festival, T in The Park, Slane, etc.) His critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Eye Of The Clock’ earned him a nomination for ‘best new act’ at the 2001 Meteor Awards and yielded several hit singles. The album brought all Dara’s talents together to create a dramatic wall of sound that is truly unique, and earned him a reputation for remarkably original and instantly memorable melodies.
Not wanting to repeat himself, Dara set out with a very different agenda for his second album ‘Dog-Eared Memories’. The intention was to scale down the sound, somewhat, and make a more raw, reflective album than it’s predecessor. ‘Dog-Eared…’ still contains moments of intensity and grandeur, but the emphasis is primarily on capturing the sound of a band jamming in a room. The album was released in late 2005 to universal critical acclaim.
Outside of his own music Dara has worked with a number of different acts as an arranger, producer and musician. Among his credits are ‘The Sweetest Thing’ & ‘The Hands That Built America’ for U2 (credited as Daragh O’Toole). He was also invited to perform with the band when they received the Freedom Of The City (Dublin) in 2000, joining them onstage to play keyboards on ‘One’ & ‘The Sweetest Thing’.
Dara has recently been producing albums for a number of acts, and has just signed up to write the soundtrack for a feature-film ‘Porcelain’ which is due out next year. As soon as that’s finished he will be returning to the studio to begin work on his third album.
