It’s great to see that there is always some good news around during what are turbulent times for many. This welcome slice of hopefulness comes in the shape of ‘Happy Endings Only’, the new album from Mayo’s William Reape.
Originally from Knockmore, near Ballina, William is a hip-hop music artist and piano player with a talent for clever lyrics. He honed his skills from a very young age when he began to write poems and stories while still a child.
William’s third-level journey was meant to take him into the study of music and sound engineering but, as he admits himself, he didn’t get to take that course. Instead, the young man is now studying for a BA in Writing and Literature, although music-making is omnipresent for this talented artist.
His new album – out on March 16 next – is very much a coming of age collection of tracks about a period where things are messy, uncertain and only half-formed.
“It’s the second album in what I’m referring to as ’The LicensePlate Trilogy’ and a lot of it is about college life, missed opportunities, bad decisions, late night texts and small wins that feel big in hindsight,” said William.
“A lot of the album is drawing on my college experiences, such as PTS-FTA, and there’s a song that’s made using the bus called 458, the route I take from Ballina to Sligo. Even the cover is using the same format as my previous album, with the same licence plate style”. William, seemingly not one for abandoning college-life cliches, clarifies that PTS-FTA is an acronym for his ATU Sligo pub quiz team, meaning Part Time Students-Full Time Alcoholics!
Thematically, his new album is mostly about college life, romantic situations and going the long way around to get what you want.
While William’s last album ‘PianoMan’ was more rooted in the orchestra feel, with piano and lots of strings and synth, ‘Happy Endings Only’ brings more summery-sounding guitars and a pop sound. Nevertheless, some piano-driven songs still prevail, such as in ‘Never Thought’ and ‘No Mountain’.
He says: ‘PianoMan’ felt like a graduation moment – it was grand, cinematic and just as much of everything as I could, but ‘Happy Endings Only’ pulls it back in. It’s smaller, warmer and more conversational”.
‘Happy Endings Only’ will be released on all streaming platforms.
