David Keenan is no stranger to the music industry. Yet, after a series of albums, including his striking debut “A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery,” and tours throughout Europe and North America, the Dundalk singer and songwriter found himself estranged from the studio. Two years later, Keenan returns to the guitar with his documentary “Words on Canvas,” a 500-day look into his journey from creative dissonance to vocal rediscovery. Just in time for the film’s New York premiere at this week’s CraicFest on Saturday, I chatted with Keenan about his Irish-rooted inspirations, the mechanics of filmmaking alongside songwriting, and the “divilment” that arises from crafting a documentary.
“I went to an Irish primary school, a gaelscoil. Growing up in Ireland, [Gaeilge] in school is not taught to be relevant unless you’re in a Gaeltacht. You lose touch with it,” Keenan said about his decision to speak Irish in the film. “The fact that it’s as Gaeilge [in Irish] was a big part of me grounding in my identity as an Irish storyteller.
“A lot of the Irish in it is ‘Connemara Irish’ — my Irish would be mongrel Gaeilge, taking bits and pieces from different dialects.” For Keenan, a crucial part of documenting his musical journey was injecting his upbringing into the veins of the film and ensuring his true self flowed through every aspect of the project. Using the language of his surroundings was paramount. In today’s Ireland, Irish has never been more than a second language, yet Keenan is optimistic for a new wave of linguists. “I think young people are losing this embarrassment and shame of using the amount that we have,” he said. “If you’re not fluent, more and more people are using what they have.”
Keenan includes himself in this mix, mongrel and all, stressing the importance of digging into his roots.
“I got to really learn again,” he admitted. “Look at ‘Kneecap’ and how that has resonated. I don’t think the language in recent times has ever been more alive.”
While the film also includes English dialogue, the inclusion of Irish was integral in getting Keenan back in touch with his musicality and following the trend of the Irish language rebirth.
Keenan’s Irish influences didn’t end with the language, as he took great inspiration from mythology also. “We go into the mythology of Oriel, which is the area around Louth, and we go into myth in the documentary,” he said. Ala is a prominent figure of the changeling in mythology, and the shapeshifting natures of filmmaking and songwriting alike are not lost on Keenan.
“We touch on storytelling as this kind of craft that is changing. It’s a technology in a way, storytelling. It’s being made new all the time,” he said. Beyond language and myth, Keenan expects audiences to get a great deal of insight into songwriting itself.
“If a song is three minutes, it doesn’t take three minutes to write,” he said. “I think people just want to know the inner workings of how a song is born.”
Keenan has a lot to say about the process of songwriting and recording over the 500-day journey.
“I started touring when I was 19 and 20. So I spent a lot of time on the road. To go back to the place of origin was very healing,” he said in the interview. “My uncle is in it, we go back to the childhood home, we talk about why anybody picks up the guitar. Sometimes it’s just out of curiosity or sometimes it’s out of necessity. You’ve got a lot to get off your chest.”
The filmmaking and the songwriting, hand in hand, were also a healing process for Keenan. “What happened in the world, losing a bandmate during the first album as well, and just life happening, man,” he continued, “I personally got a lot of healing out of [the film] because I got to go back to my roots and build it up from there.”
In Keenan’s experience, fame came with demons and the documentary has been his means of exorcism.
“I talk about the self-sabotage in it throughout and learn to deal with that. I think I break the egg shell,” he said. “Going forward, whatever music I put out or write, it’s a totally blank canvas.”
Keenan credits his County Louth upbringing for leading him to music as an escape.
“Growing up in Dundalk was really a place where you needed an edge to survive. The guitar was the magic wand and the passport to get to these places inside myself and outside of myself as well,” he remembered.
Now, with a film painting a portrait of his return to form, reaching back to his roots to help grow the path ahead, Keenan is ready for audiences to know him inside and out — and have a bit of fun along the way. “I think the word is ‘divilment’,” he said of the levity stitched into the film. “There’s loads of divilment because there has to be in any kind of story and how we deal with it through humor.”
“There’s no Instagram filter on this documentary. It’s not sickly positive. It’s just real. I think people will take that away from the film,” Keenan said. “They might pick up a few words of Gaeilge as well, which would be good!”
“Words on Canvas” gets its New York premiere this Saturday, March 8, at Village East by Angelika, as part of CraicFest, and will be followed by a live performance by David Keenan. See thecraicfest.com for more details.
