With his distinctive rich voice, steeped in raw emotion, combined with an unorthodox approach to the guitar—Northern Ireland singer/songwriter Prodigal Hal possesses a uniquely fresh quality within his sound.
Although difficult to define, his music embodies a wide array of genres ranging from; Folk, Soul, Indie Rock to Americana. Enchanting melodies and captivating lyrics coalesce with deep resonance to create an effortless sonic blend .
Raised primarily on Metal and Rock music, his propensity to explore music in all its diverse forms was already manifesting itself at an early age, as he would spend hours combing through his Parent's and elder sibling's record collections with such fervour, searching for new sounds he could identify with.
Still a teenager during the 90s grunge explosion, he gravitated strongly towards and found great solace in the highly influential bands of this era; particularly Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. It was the latter who would inspire him at age 13 to pick up the guitar with the urge to start writing his own songs.
Forming his first band with friends whilst still in high school, the group would evolve from their early inception as an alternative rock outfit into a heavy thrash metal quartet...eventually dissolving in 2003.
The process of forming and dissolving bands would become constant throughout his musical journey.
It was following the breakup of his latest band—post-metal outfit 'Third Harvest' in 2011 that he'd finally had enough and needed a break.
Giving up his day job, and now without the restraint of band commitments, he decided to take a year out to go travel the globe. With nothing more than a backpack and his acoustic guitar, in February of 2012—he was on his way.
Possessed with a curious mind and a restless creative nature, it was time well spent. This lifestyle suited him well and turned out to be somewhat of a calling.
The newfound freedom and exotic surroundings would leave a lasting impression, not only musically but also on a much deeper spiritual level. Fueling his creative fire and compelling him to start writing again—new songs started to form. The inspiration and ideas from this pursuit would form the basis of what would then become his ultimate musical endeavour, 'Prodigal Hal'.
Formed in 2013, debut EP 'Reflections' was released a year later, followed by a second EP 'If Time Permits' in 2016, produced and recorded at home in his own makeshift recording studio.
A day trip to Narrow Water Recording Studio in late 2017 would produce a standalone single called 'For All I Care' released in March 2018.
The rest of the year and much of 2019 was spent getting to grips with home recording, recruiting new band members to further develop his sound while working on a fresh new batch of songs. Some of these compositions would then turn up on the next offering.
Released in January 2022 and sounding stronger than ever, Prodigal Hal's debut album 'One Day' has forged a new path in music fusion.
Mixed by Steve Fearnley at Narrow Water Studio and mastered by the legendary Pete Maher (U2, Rolling Stones, Nick Cave), the album features a refreshing new Prodigal Hal line up of multi-talented musicians—all playing a key role in the album's unique sonic beauty.
With each member adding their own individual qualities, the group combines and fuse seamlessly to deliver a magical, engaging and all-round goosebump inducing performance.