How I Became A Wave

"...a textbook lesson in enveloping frayed nerves with gorgeous, textured music."
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The Irish Times

"Pat Carey is a singer/songwriter from County Cork who worked with the folk-rock crew The Hard Ground. Here, he's making quieter music, equally powerful, with strings and pedal steel."
- Will Hermes (Rolling Stone / Pitchfork / NYT)

"I haven't heard orchestration this beautiful since Damien Rice brought out 'O'."
— Jon Richards (Galway Bay FM)

"Now for fans of Bon Iver, you might like what's next… I was blown away."
— John Kerr (BBC Radio Ulster)

How I Became A Wave is the ambitious and far-reaching new project of Cork musician Pat Carey, former singer and guitarist of The Hard Ground, who is joined in the studio and on stage by an ensemble of some of Ireland’s most respected musicians.

Musicians such as Cormac McCarthy (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Iarla O’Lionáird), who arranged strings and keys for the album; David Murphy, who's current album has received rave reviews from everyone from Uncut to The Guardian; Carey's former bandmates Davie Ryan and Hugh Dillon; Kealan Kenny, Dylan Howe, Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz, Julie Marie Quirke and many more.

With a debut album arriving on March 27th, How I Became A Wave have been named Ones to Watch 2026 by The Irish Independent and Plec Pick 2026 by Golden Plec.

How I Became A Wave has been dazzling audiences with a live show comprising guitar, pedal steel, saxophone, harmonium, keys, strings, percussion and a voice that sounds like a reed instrument.

The past 12 months has been spent opening for acts such as Lisa O'Neill, Villagers, Gemma Hayes, Lisa Hannigan, Joan Shelley, Ailbhe Reddy, Niamh Regan and John Spillane - and playing festivals and venues as renowned as Sounds From A Safe Harbour, Quiet Lights, The Ruby Sessions and the National Concert Hall.

How I Became A Wave draws as much inspiration from poetry, literature and the natural landscape as it does from Carey’s musical influences. Echoes of Max Porter, Eavan Boland, Sylvia Plath, Sara Baume and Claire Keegan can be heard interwoven with influences of Paul Buchanan, Big Thief, Anais Mitchell, Bon Iver and Nils Frahm to result in music that has incredible strength in its vulnerability.