Behind the music - Sean Carey

In 2025, Cork’s biennial arts festival Sounds from a Safe Harbour (SFSH) presented a unique live event that has now been immortalized on vinyl. The SFSH25 MIXTAPE album captures performances recorded at Cork Opera House, showcasing a diverse lineup of musicians reinterpreting their own work with orchestral and choral accompaniment.

Among the artists featured on the album is Sean Carey, an American musician best known as the singer-songwriter and drummer for the indie folk band Bon Iver. His contribution is part of a broader collaborative effort that also includes notable performers such as Jon Hopkins, The Staves, Amanda Bergman, Sam Amidon, and Angie McMahon. These artists performed alongside the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra and the SFSH Choir, under the festival’s multidisciplinary artistic vision which integrates music, language, visual art, and ritualistic elements.

The SFSH25 MIXTAPE represents the festival’s inaugural venture into vinyl releases. This collection distills highlights from the MIXTAPE orchestral concert, a sold-out event that encouraged participating musicians to reimagine selections from their existing catalogues. The resulting album offers listeners an opportunity to experience the unique ambiance and artistic synergy of that memorable evening, recorded live in one of Cork’s premier cultural venues.

Mary Hickson, the director of Sounds from a Safe Harbour, revealed that the album’s existence is the outcome of an archival rediscovery rather than a planned release. After the festival, the recorded material was stored digitally, as is common practice, often remaining untouched. It was through the initiative of Ber Quinn, who revisited and mixed certain recordings, that the project took shape. One such mix, Leif Vollebekk’s "Sunset Boulevard Expedition," served as a catalyst for releasing the full album, enabling the festival to preserve and share an experience previously thought ephemeral.

Sean Carey’s involvement illustrates his continuing evolution beyond his work with Bon Iver. Known for his capacity to meld emotional depth with subtle instrumental textures, Carey contributed to the album with a performance that aligns with the festival’s ethos of authenticity and layered minimalism. His artistic identity, informed by influences ranging from jazz legends like Art Blakey to contemporary acts such as Big Thief, resonates within the orchestral reinterpretations featured on the record.

Carey’s personal reflections shared in relation to the project highlight his affinity for quietness and natural honesty in music, traits that complement the festival’s atmospheric and contemplative programming. His musical tastes span a broad spectrum, including seminal figures like Joni Mitchell, whose orchestral rendition of "Both Sides Now" he identifies as a lifelong favorite. This eclecticism informs his approach to performance and collaboration, enriching the live recordings captured for SFSH25 MIXTAPE.

The Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival has garnered a reputation for fostering innovative cross-disciplinary artistic encounters in Cork, a city with a vibrant cultural scene. By integrating local orchestral talent and choral ensembles with international musicians, SFSH creates immersive experiences that transcend conventional concert formats. The SFSH25 MIXTAPE album now stands as a tangible artifact of this creative ambition.

Available exclusively on vinyl through Anthem Vinyl, the album offers fans and collectors a chance to revisit the 2025 festival’s highlights. For those interested in Sean Carey’s broader body of work, his solo projects and collaborations remain accessible across streaming platforms and physical record outlets, while further information can be found on his official website.

Though the festival and its recorded legacy celebrate a moment of live artistic communion, details regarding the full scope of the album’s tracklist and the specific arrangements performed remain limited in public disclosures. Nevertheless, the release underscores the importance of archival initiative in preserving live music’s transient magic and making it accessible beyond the immediacy of performance.