Musical project How I Became A Wave mark a stunning new chapter

Music Review | 4th Oct, 2025 Pat Carey

Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Pat Carey, How I Became A Wave is quickly becoming one of the most captivating projects to come out of Ireland in recent years. It’s a collective made up of some of the country’s top session musicians, but what really sets them apart is the emotional honesty at the heart of their sound.

Drawing inspiration from literature, poetry, and the natural world, Carey and company create songs that feel both intimate and expansive, reflections on grief, resilience, and the quiet grace it takes to keep going when life gets heavy.

After the haunting beauty of their May 2025 single Cycles, the band is back with Fading Out. It’s a tender track built on softly strummed guitar and soothing vocals, with strings that weave in gently before opening up into a harmony-rich chorus. It’s the kind of song thats simple at first, then deeply moving the more you listen.

I wrote the song a little while ago, but I find it amazing how songs and work can grow, can change meaning and relevancy, even for the songwriter, over time. While originally inspired by Max Porter's Grief Is A Thing With Feathers, I think the song is an exploration of the boundaries between owning uncomfortable feelings, and being owned by them, and that sense of fluidity in the in-between stage.

In particular, collaborating with Éanna and Bearfoot Productions on the video, and seeing how they interact with and interpret the song has brought a whole new level of meaning to the work for me. - Pat Carey

The band’s upcoming debut album is set for release in early 2026. It features an impressive lineup of Irish talent, including Carey’s former Hard Ground bandmates Davie Ryan and Hugh Dillon, pianist Rory McCarthy, cellists Laura McFadden and Aoife Burke, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Casey. There are also arrangements by Cormac McCarthy, known for his work with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, adding even more depth to the record’s layered, reflective sound.

With their debut on the horizon, How I Became A Wave is poised to become a powerful new voice in Irish music, one that invites us to slow down, listen closely, and find meaning in the stillness between the notes.

How I Became A Wave - Fading Out

The single, Fading Out, is available through all streaming platforms.

Photo Credit: Celeste Burdon

Cover Artwork: Megan Clancy