How I Became A Wave arrives quietly. The shapeshifting orchestral folk project fronted by Pat Carey brings together some of Ireland’s most respected musicians, who take their places on stage around a small orchestra of guitar, cello, violin, pedal steel, keyboard, saxophone and percussion. For anyone seeing them for the first time, it’s hard to guess what’s coming.In Ireland, How I Became A Wave shows have become known as places where something happens that can’t quite be repeated. Songs metamorphose mid-performance; a quiet lullaby ripples outward and swells into soaring orchestral harmony – and no two nights sound the same. Carey’s voice anchors it all, vulnerable and powerful in the same breath. Audiences at their sold-out shows describe the songs taking on a life of their own, enveloping the room in an incorporeal beauty that is felt long after the last note has been played.How I Became A Wave’s self-titled debut album, released in March 2026, was met with instant critical acclaim — praised as “flawless” by The Irish Times, “deeply compelling” by Hot Press, and an album that
“begs to be listened to” by RTÉ, among many others.Though still a young project, How I Became A Wave is Carey’s most ambitious undertaking to date, and one that extends well beyond music. At its core is a deep, multidisciplinary collaborative approach: Carey has drawn a wide circle of respected artists into the HIBAW world, spanning visual art, film, poetry and literature, alongside music.That circle includes Cormac McCarthy (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Iarla Ó Lionáird), who arranged strings and keys for the album; David Murphy, whose latest record has drawn praise from Uncut to The Guardian; Carey’s former Hard Ground bandmates Davie Ryan and Hugh Dillon; and his regular touring band — Kealan Kenny, Dylan Howe, Julieanne Quirke, Maria Ryan, Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz and more.Over the past 18 months, How I Became A Wave has opened for Lisa O’Neill, Villagers, Gemma Hayes, Lisa Hannigan, Joan Shelley, Ailbhe Reddy, Niamh Regan and John Spillane, and played festivals including Sounds From A Safe Harbour, Quiet Lights, Beyond The Pale, Galway Folk Festival, Forest Fest and Your Roots Are Showing. Their album launch shows at Dublin’s Unitarian Church and Cork’s Coughlan’s both sold out to rave reviews.The album draws as much from poetry, literature and landscape as it does from music. Echoes of Max Porter, Eavan Boland, Sylvia Plath, Sara Baume and Claire Keegan run through it alongside the influence of Paul Buchanan, Big Thief, Anaïs Mitchell, Bon Iver and Nils Frahm, resulting in music that carries incredible strength in its vulnerability.How I Became A Wave are currently in the studio working on new material. “Songs that ebb and flow have rarely sounded so flawless.”? ? – The Irish Times“Deeply compelling.”– Hot Press (8/10)“This album begs to be listened to.”– RTÉ Arena“A richly arranged album wrought with vulnerable and delicate deliberate songwriting.” – Nialler9“Pat Carey is a singer/songwriter from County Cork who worked with the folk-rock crew The Hard Ground. Here, he’s making quieter music, equally powerful, with strings and pedal steel.”– Will Hermes (Rolling Stone / Pitchfork / New York Times)“I haven’t heard orchestration this beautiful since Damien Rice brought out ‘O’.”— Jon Richards (Galway Bay FM)“For fans of Bon Iver, you might like what’s next… I was blown away.”— John Kerr (BBC Radio Ulster)
