Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-03-30
Irish songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer Conor Miley returns with a new single and live studio performance video for “Raise Your Red Flag,” arriving March 31, 2026. The track marks Miley’s first new material since his acclaimed 2023 debut album Thousand Yard Stare and signals a shift toward a more direct, energetic sound built around live band performance.
Recorded live in the studio at Monique Studios in Cork, the song captures the tension, interaction and collective energy that emerge when musicians perform together in real time. Rather than relying on layered studio production, Miley intentionally assembled a band and recorded the performance live, allowing the dynamics of the ensemble to shape the final recording.
Written alongside its forthcoming sister track “Peepshow,” the song explores political polarization and the rise of conspiratorial voices within mainstream discourse, asking how empathy and common sense can sometimes disappear beneath rigid political identity.
The session was recorded by Christian Best (Mick Flannery) and filmed by longtime collaborator Michael-David McKernan (Elaine Mai, Daithí). The live studio video emphasizes the physicality and emotional connection of musicians playing together — a deliberate response, Miley says, to the growing presence of AI-generated music.
Miley explains:
“Departing from the painstaking way I usually arrange songs, I wrote ‘Raise Your Red Flag’ to be performed and recorded live with a band. Recording and filming the performance was a deliberate choice — to document the raw, human power of musicians playing together, and to preserve the emotional connection at the heart of live music.”
Miley’s debut album Thousand Yard Stare received widespread praise across Irish and international press. Ciara King of RTÉ Radio 1 called the title track “my favourite Irish song of the year,” while The Sunday Independent highlighted its “rich, intriguing sound.” The record was also praised by outlets including Hot Press, Nialler9, Lost in the Manor, Chordblossom and The Last Mixed Tape for its emotional depth, songwriting ambition and sonic scope.
With “Raise Your Red Flag,” Miley opens a new chapter that retains the compositional strength and emotional weight of his earlier work while embracing the urgency and communal spirit of live performance.
“My favourite Irish song of the year. I am a huge fan.”
— Ciara King, RTÉ Radio 1
“A rich, intriguing sound.”
— The Sunday Independent
“There’s a sense of grandeur to the songwriting.”
— Chordblossom
“Thousand Yard Stare is contemporary folk at its best… fluid masterpieces with unexpected and rewarding sonic destinies.”
— Lost in the Manor
“An eerie dose of indie folk, as if Villagers collaborated with Nick Cave.”
— The Wild Is Calling
