Members of Wicklow band Wyvern Lingo say they've chosen to move to Germany as it's so hard to survive as an artist in Ireland.
Wyvern Lingo - consisting of Bray natives Caoimhe Barry, Karen Cowley and Saoirse Duane - have just released their second album Awake You Lie.
Like many musicians, the band had made a living off touring.
That came to a sudden halt last year when the pandemic hit.
On Lunchtime Live, Karen Cowley said the band was 'very lucky' as they already had much of the work on their new album done when lockdown started a year ago.
She explained: "We had recorded the bones of this album in Berlin just three months before COVID actually hit. We’d all just moved there together when COVID hit last March.
"We had flown home for a gig, and then got stuck in Ireland… but we were able to continue working on the album and finish it in lockdown."
They returned to Berlin last summer for several months, but came back to Ireland late last year.
With strict travel restrictions in place since the New Year, they've spent the third lockdown at home.
However, Karen said she has just paid rent for her Berlin apartment.
She's hoping they'll be able to go back there in April-May or whenever travel is able to resume safely.
'Working in the arts is such a viable option there'
Why Germany in particular?
Karen said it's down to the different attitudes there.
She observed: "There’s a lot more people, and it’s hugely diverse. The way they consume music there is just different - people are committed to seeking out new music.
"The fact that we’re women just doesn’t seem to be an issue over there at all… there’s far more women in the arts. Working in the arts is such a viable option there - it’s not taken for granted."
Karen does believe the pandemic has changed people's attitudes in Ireland when it comes to understanding the vital role of the arts, and her band is extremely grateful of all the support they've received from Irish fans.
However, she said "it hasn't been easy being a band in Ireland".
She pointed to research carried out last year which showed no songs by Irish female artists - or even bands with female members - appeared in the Irish top 10 single charts.
Karen told Andrea: “I don’t think a lot of women get a fair shot at radio in Ireland, and I also think a lot of alternative acts don’t get a fair shot. I hope that conservatism changes, and I think it is changing. We’ve been very lucky ourselves.
“A country like Germany is so much bigger… it’s a differently developed market for sure. It’s hard to compare.
“It’s just I feel like there’s a lot of artists like ourselves that are just driven out, because we can’t survive here a lot of the time."
Those concerns aside, Karen believes the arts scene in Ireland is 'incredible' despite its small size.
She said her band has also been lucky enough to receive support from some 'really excellent' arts funding schemes here.
While they are hoping to return to Germany 'as soon as flights come back', Karen said there's 'no doubt' they'll be back to perform in Ireland when live events resume.
She said they've also received the good news this week that Awake You Lie has reached number two in the Irish album charts.
