bÚkl releases music video for “Bubble”

Coming out of Cork in Ireland, bÚkl is the musical identity of Shane Healy, an artist whose sonic journey blends elements of literature, language and lived experience. With a background in both the Irish and English tongues, mirrored in the project’s name, a stylised take on the Irish word ‘buachaill,’ bÚkl inhabits a uniquely hybrid space, where storytelling depth and musical experimentation collide.

Originally conceived in the pages of his 2022 young adult novel Once Upon a Human Sky, bÚkl first appeared as a fictional rebel musician, spinning vinyl under a starlit campfire in the imagined world of Aunn Teer. That literary context now extends into the real world, with bÚkl’s music forming a bridge between fiction and reality and while the novel subtly played with a blended language and cultural identity, so too does the music, drawing from a vast fabric of personal history and creative influence.

Mental health struggles held back bÚkl’s musical output for years, but thanks to the encouragement of supportive colleagues and the grassroots community of Cork’s beloved Music Zone record store, Shane found the space to begin creating again. In October 2023, bÚkl debuted with the EP Songs from Aunn Teer, the first taste of what would become a full-length exploration of emotion and imagination.

Released in March this year, bÚkl’s debut full-length album Blue Ghost in the Memory-Machine is a decade-spanning mosaic; some tracks first written over ten years ago, finally brought to life. Drawing influence from the whimsical unpredictability of Ween, the psychedelic stylings of Syd Barrett and the alternative country aesthetic of Meat Puppets, the album moves between lo-fi psych, acoustic folk, dream pop and experimental tape loops. It’s a sonic diary, rich in mood and texture that distils the honesty of an artist finally ready to be heard.

Praise from people who have listened to the album comes from a diverse audience with Product Designer and Photographer David Hall sharing, “Listened to the album. I have to say I really liked it. I thought inmyhead is genius and I love So gratifying and Bubble. Lots of great songs here. Well done. I must amend my stylistic analogy to: Car Seat Headrest channeling Bob Mould who’s been jamming with Steven Wilson.”

With Mick Monk, an Archaeologist commenting, “I really like the way that you have blended a number genres without losing the essence of the music. I can hear country/ rock, 60s psychedelic (Arthur Lee/Love, Spirit ete), Floyd space rock, progressive, grunge (Pearl Jam etc), indie rock, heavy and blues rock (Led Zep, Sabbath etc), folk, singer songwriter confessional. The mixed music genres work because you have crafted them well within tracks and track to track. They are blended in to support the feel and melody of each song.”

The third single titled “Bubble,” captures the album’s ethos perfectly, an alternative psych folk piece that opens with the lyric “I woke up on the Tuesday, figured out that we were halfway through the year.” Wrapped in fuzzed out lo-fi vibes, as the song unfolds, it paints an intimate scene of lost love and longing with apple cores, scattered love letters and the fragile memory of someone now absent.

The visuals for “Bubble” began modestly as an idea to film sunlight dancing on soap bubbles but as with much of bÚkl’s work, the concept grew into something more theatrical and off-beat, ultimately featuring Shane himself performing inside a bubble. Shot through colourful filters and dashed with effects, it’s an engaging and delightfully surreal visual pairing for the song, perfectly reflecting the quirky sound of the arrangement.

In live settings, bÚkl is a duo with Shane joined by Young Adam, who together made their first appearance via an intimate live instore video on Music Zone’s YouTube channel. While still at the start of their public journey, there’s an eagerness to build momentum, perform more, and reach new ears with each release. Ultimately, bÚkl is an outlet of restoration and reawakening. From the quietude of internal battles to the vivid imagination of fictional worlds, the project is built on dualities, light and dark, real and imagined, Irish and English and we can’t wait to see what comes next from this fiercely original project.

Watch the music video for Bubble below

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