“There is so much in this world that is out of our control”, says Robert O’Connor (22), a singer/songwriter born in Dublin, “that I believe everything in our control should be taken advantage of”. O’Connor, despite recently signing a distribution deal with Universal Music, is essentially an independent artist. He has made all of the choices in his music career thus far. He made the decision in summer 2005 to record and release his debut single “Ten Years Time”, produced by Billy Farrell (The Corrs). Complications within his original recording contract would mean the track wouldn’t see the light of day until November 2006, when it became a double A-side release with “Spend The Night”, an original composition written and co-produced by O’Connor together with Steve Hogan. Hotpress magazine named O’Connor a “top honours singer/songwriter” upon the single’s release. O’Connor spent the first half of 2007 writing and recording tracks for his debut album in Dublin and Amsterdam, working with established Irish musicians Shane Fitzsimons, Fionan de Barra, Brian Grace and Cian Boylan to name just a few. The album spans a number of genres, though O’Connor had initially intended on creating a concept album. “My time in Amsterdam working with Mourad Bouchiba changed my vision for the album”, says the singer. “He taught me that I could be eclectic and focused all at once”. Whilst in Amsterdam, O’Connor recorded one of his all-time favourite tracks: “Killing Kind”, a track he had performed at his first professional gig at Sugar Club in Dublin during 2006. The track, written by American country singer Shelby Lynne, was turned into a duet with Moroccan singer/songwriter, Aziza el Messaoudi. Four further tracks from the Amsterdam sessions have made the final cut of O’Connor’s debut, entitled Distance. “Destination Anywhere”, written together with Robert’s long-time friend Emma O’Donnell, takes a darker approach, lyrically and musically, with a haunting piano riff throughout, whilst “I’ll Be The King” is as tongue-and-cheek as it comes: “I tell you openly that I don’t see a future/your shoes don’t match my point of view, what’s wrong with this picture?” Instead of releasing his work during the Christmas rush, O’Connor took to the stage, performing at venues in Dublin such as Whelan's, The Village and Crawdaddy, playing unplugged versions of key tracks from his debut album. 2008 has arrived, and Robert O‘Connor is ready. He will release Distance, an album Robert describes as “35-minutes of questions about life and love”, on April 14 through Universal Music/Matchbox Recordings. The album’s lead single, “How Many Times (Can We Say Goodbye?)”, will be released digitally on the same day.