Ratoath songwriter has sights set on a Grammy but first stop is a Eurovision shot... with Latvia

A RATOATH songwriter who has co-written and produced the Latvian entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest has told of his ambitions to one day win a Grammy.

Liam Geddes is one of the writers behind ‘Hollow’ which has been chosen as the Latvian entry for the iconic music competition that takes place in Malmö, Sweden in May.

The track is performed by well-known Latvian artist and fellow co-writer Dons, who Liam met at a songwriting camp in Las Negras, Spain in 2022.

Liam was invited to participate in the prestigious camp by organisers and publisher of ‘Hollow’, DWB Music. Dons competed against other top Latvian artists to win the Grand Final of “Supernova” which was broadcast by the Latvian National Broadcaster, LTV and was crowned the winner in the Grand Final which took place on February 10th.

Liam will travel to Malmö with the Latvian crew in early May for the competition where they will compete against the Irish act, Bambie Thug.

“Having a song in Eurovision has been a goal of mine for a while,” said the songwriter.

“With Ireland having such a strong legacy in Eurovision it definitely makes me want to bring back a win for Ireland even if it is for another country. Flying the Irish flag, even if it is in a different kind of way, is an absolute privilege.

“I always watched Eurovision with my family growing up and never dreamed that I would have a song in it. It’s a bit surreal.

“I have done various projects to try and have a song in Eurovision and failed so to have this be a song that represents Latvia is really cool because it happened organically. The universe was doing some stuff!”

In a tale of one door closing and another opening, Ballina-native Liam found success writing for other people having relinquished his own ambitions as an artist.

His 'big break' came after co-writing and producing the title track for Michael Bay’s 2020 blockbuster movie “Songbird”. Liam also co-wrote and produced “No Parachute” for Korean artist Onew. The song was a big hit and featured on Onew’s record “Circle” which went on to sell well over 200 thousand copies in Japan and resulted in a Gold Record and a Number 2 Billboard Album.

“I was an artist for a really long time trying to make my way through the music industry in Ireland. That didn't pan out the way I had hoped and when Covid happened I stopped releasing music and I started focusing on writing for other projects with people I had met throughout my career.

“Through that process I ended up getting my first big release at the end of my first year writing for projects outside of my own. I ended up getting an end title track to a Michael Bay movie and once that happened it opened up a bunch of other doors and allowed me to travel around and meet new people.

“It just sort of snowballed from there.”

Songwriting camps are where music creatives gather to collaborate on various projects as Liam explains:

“If there is an artist in the room we will write for that artist, if there's not we would have briefs from record labels. So, for example, if Katy Perry is looking for a new single, they might send out a brief to all of the publishers, writers and producers that they know and try to get them to write that single. “

There is no sure fire recipe when it comes to the songwriting process according to the talented Ratoath producer.

“I have pages and pages of lyric ideas and sentences and random words in my Apple notes and voice notes on my phone of little melodies that pop into my head during the day. Other times I am with an artist or another writer and they have an idea or say something in casual conversation and I might think that's a great lyric. There are so many way to come at it.”

Liam says he is often asked for advice by younger artists on how to make it in the cut throat world of music. But doesn't pull any punches with his answer.

“This isn't a situation of I want a good solid career that's going to make me loads of money, it's not that, it's never going to be that and it wasn't that for me. It's only in the last couple of years that I am starting to see fruits of my labour.

“It is something that just stems from loving it and being absolutely obsessed with it and not being able to consider any other option. It's a complete labour of love. As a young artist you need to come to grips that the next few years are going to be a little bit of a challenge in terms of stability.”

The Eurovision songwriter is hoping to continue his run of success when he takes up residence in Nashville later this year.

“We are moving to Nashville semi-permanently so we will be back and forth between Nashville and Ratoath from the end of the year.

“Nashville is ultimately the country music capital of the world but has really evolved into the new LA for music in general. All of the labels and publishers are based out there too so it makes sense for me to grab the opportunity with both hands.”

The music creative also credits his adopted home town of Ratoath for inspiring his song writing.

“It is such a gorgeous place to live, it really feels like home. It feels like the right place to be to be creative.”

Liam's vision doesn't end there and has his sights set on dreaming big.

“I'd love to win Grammys and have number one songs in the charts across the world,” he said.

“I'd love to work with Coldplay and Dua Lipa.”