With his signature disco-pop sound, Jackson-like vocals and ’80s-nostalgic vibe, Melbourne’s Eamonn Conor is elevated to a new level with his latest installment.
Delivering a refreshing immersion of sun-soaked and shimmering funk, Eamonn Conor’s Table 17 is the kind of insatiable groove that fills our hearts and souls with euphoria, primed to get us moving and shaking in the year 2023.
Released in December 2022 and delightfully reminiscent of Michael Jackson, Eamonn Conor’s newest release follows last year’s vibrant remix of his dreamy debut single Pony Ride and 2020 single release Dig Deeper, further showcasing the budding Melbourne artist’s talents as a singer, songwriter, and performer.
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Disco-pop at its finest, the track begins as smooth as molasses and dripping with heartfelt emotion before launching into funky bass grooves, crisp vocals and swanky infectious melodies that tickle the ears as Conor lifts his song off the ground, singing about the romance and playful nature of love at first sight.
‘So there’s this girl that’s been stuck on my mind, Oh how miss her, just want to rewind. Well, there were lights, shining back on her, as she moved closer, that’s when I knew’.
‘Table 17, like the star up on the silver screen, you’re a sight to be seen.’
Channelling the ecstasy of young love and wedding traditions into a catchy fusion of funk, disco and pop, ‘Table 17’ is the definition of mood music: From the strumming pattern of the guitar and the tasty string lines sweeping in, to the horn ensemble weaving its way through the verse and a nice falsetto blast for good measure, this track encapsulates you with this overwhelmingly good feeling.
The first single lifted from Conor’s forthcoming EP ‘Last Chance Romance’, ‘Table 17’ further boasts a textured atmosphere, danceable beat and incredibly warm, retro production from Simon Moro, drenching the ears and uplifting the soul as Conor re-introduces himself with undeniable passion and alluring energy.
Simply put, music like this makes us feel more alive.
As you’d suspect, Conor lists Michael Jackson and Phil Collins as the main sources of inspiration, adding contemporaries like The Weeknd to his group of inspirations as well.
“The main one is Michael Jackson; I just think that without him I honestly wouldn’t be a singer/songwriter. Phil Collins is also another one for me. I just think his ability to be a multi instrumentalist and not be amazing on stage in terms of his presence but his music is amazing and he just rocks the 9-5 leaving the office work clothes and gets up on stage and kills it.
“I was also heavily influenced by Hall & Oates, Wham! and George Michael and also The Weeknd very recently.”
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Yet for all the influence and external ideas that may have gone into it, the buoyant ‘Table 17’ is its own fluid invention, spawned from fruitful collaborations with those closest to Conor, establishing the artist as an up-and-coming force, as it does to hint at what folks can expect from him in the future.
To bring ‘Table 17’ to life, Conor collaborated with keyboardist Thanh Trinh, who wrote the song and wanted to Conor’s vocals with it.
“We were at his house and he wanted me to have a go at singing it,” Conor shares. “I remembered leaving his place and I couldn’t get the melody out of my head, and just kept humming it for days.
“We performed it as a band for a while before I then wanted to record my second E.P. I asked Thanh if I could use his song on the record and had my own taste to it and my own vibe. It was originally more commercial Pop with a bit of a Jazz vibe to it.”
Enlisting the help of Conor’s guitarist Jimmy Criticos, together they reworked the lyrics and developed a full-bodied, refreshingly upbeat, engaging and impassioned disco, funk track that gives Conor space to flex his vocal talents, while still creating a wondrous instrumental collage and getting Trinh’s original messages of romance and humor across.
“Thanh had originally written the song from a personal experience he had performing at a wedding and he saw this girl he was really into sitting at ‘Table 17. We performed this song for nearly two years before I had even asked him to have the song for my new EP.”
“Thanh had written the song about a girl he saw at a wedding that was sitting on Table 17, but the beautiful thing about music is like any art the interpretation from the viewer or listener can be completely different.
“So for me when I sing and perform and hear this song, I see it as a song that can be interpreted by the listener to how they vision the song. It sounds weird, but I am weird.
Originally from Kyabram, it’s been a steady rise for the now-Melbourne-based artist whose dreams were initially to pursue professional football from a young age.
“My journey into music began when I had an injury in football, and I needed something to do to fill in my time. I always loved singing and wanted to try it so started seeing Lauren Kucera from Blackbird Vocals and she really opened me up in terms of confidence and finding my voice which was not very mature or strong or powerful,” he explains.
“From there we entered some singing competitions and then I was picked up by a producer by the name of Sam Panetta who had an employee who saw a video of me on YouTube. I met with Sam who wanted to record an EP with me, and we recorded my first EP release called Thoughts.”
Featuring four tracks, Thoughts displays a musical versatility throughout all of its tracks, from electronic-inspired pop, to classic R&B and soul elements make it a captivating listen from start to finish. Armed with an EP, Conor began busking on Melbourne’s city streets to which he says “really helped my stage presence and helped me become the performer I am today.”
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With music releases might be few and far between, Conor has wasted no time establishing himself in the local gig scene, earning himself a solid reputation for his electic live show.
“What I love about performing live is when people don’t know who you are, which is more the case for us because we are still in that establishment phase of getting people to hear us. What I truly love is having random people get involved with our upbeat songs and clap and dance because for me, I feed off of the energy from the audience. So I need that and when we get those moments you honestly forget about everything else and that is honestly the only time I ever feel like I am truly living in the moment.
“I have ADHD so I find it very hard to be present at any moment for most of the time and my brain goes 1 million times an hour so it’s an awesome moment and feeling.”
Needless to say, 2023 is shaping up to be a groundbreaking, disruptive, and endlessly exciting year for Eamonn Conor and his fast-growing fan base.
Stream ‘Table 17’ here. Follow Eamonn Conor on Facebook and Instagram.
