An innovative music-led partnership to promote Ireland’s first official long-distance touring route – The Wild Atlantic Way – saw Tourism Ireland develop and alliance with band Solomon Grey to create a road trip soundtrack and video.
The idea, developed with agency Publicis (London) is that every great road trip deserves its own soundtrack.
So the initiative saw Solomon Grey drive down the West-Coast of Ireland, along the Atlantic coast from Donegal to West Cork, recording the sounds and people they met along the way.
The objective was for the band to compose a score to this inspirational coastline.
The result was Dathanna, an EP whose name means ‘colours’ in Irish, Is effectively Solomon Grey’s translation of their road trip experiences.
Written in Irish, the words develop a poetic beauty in themselves. Indeed, the title and the individual track names were prompted in part by the colours the band encountered on their trip.
Not only was the finished musical piece made available for download via a microsite created to showcase the experience and illustrate their itinerary section-by-section (see http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/wild-atlantic-way/sounds).
The project was also turned into a musical film following the band’s journey.
Comment
The band is a great fit for the initiative – as it has a genuine synergy with the area and an authentic connection.
After all, Solomon Grey’s Tom Kingston and Joe Wilson lived and wrote together on the route at The Crookhaven Lighthouse in Country Cork.
The rugged landscape inspired them to write much of their first album.
The music partnership was part of a wider promotional initiative that included an advertising campaign based around the idea of a ‘road trip of a lifetime’.
The ad executions, led by a TV spot,
which describes Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way as the world’s longest defined coastal touring route and feature the tagline ‘When are you coming to explore?’
Links
Sounds Of The Wild Atlantic Way Website
http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/wild-atlantic-way/sounds
Tourism Ireland YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/discoverireland
Tourism Ireland Website
Tourism Ireland Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverIrelandGB
Tourism Ireland Twitter
https://twitter.com/gotoirelandgb
Solomon Grey Website
http://www.solomongrey.net
Solomon Grey Twitter
http://www.facebook.com/solomongreymusic
