Irish Artist For Those I Love Shares Football-Inspired Video For “To Have You”

For Those I Love, the brainchild of Dublin producer and songwriter David Balfe, released his debut, self-titled album to significant public and critical acclaim earlier this year. The stunning collection featured a whirlwind of spoken word and crystallized production, forming a surreal and striking combination.

A recurring theme on the record is that of football, and specifically that of Shelbourne FC, a Dublin based football club who play in the First Division of the League Of Ireland. Shelbourne, affectionately known as the Coolock Reds, provides and has provided real community to David and his friends over the years with the club even appearing on the cover of the album. On that cover a fan holds a flare aloft from the terraces, set alight at 27 minutes to represent the 27 years of age at which they lost Shelbourne fan, and David’s best friend, Paul Curran. The club’s shared stadium, Tolka Park, where David and his friends would go on to scatter Paul’s ashes, is currently under threat.

You can read more about the Save Tolka Park campaign here. David had the following to say about “To Have You” and the new video which poignantly captures the real-life community and sense of life that exists around a football club:

“The trip out to the football can feel like a pilgrimage. Every mix of bliss and pain and glory is felt in the terraces each week, but it’s been lost for us all since the world changed overnight. Being back in the stands as ‘To Have You’ was shot felt like a shower of relief and beauty, and I can’t thank Niall (Trask, director) enough for his vision and understanding of what it all means. The track is very much about survival, reflecting on a world me and mine grew up through and confronting those who question it. I am blessed to be able to hear this in a new light now as it’s mixed with Niall’s art.”

Directed by Niall Trask and produced by Dan Matthews in and around Tolka Park, they said the following about the video’s creation: “When we first started speaking to Dave, it was clear how important Shels were to him. Football has a beautiful way of bringing people together – it’s not about the game itself, or winning or losing, it’s about connection – and that quickly became apparent when we started working with the club and its amazing supporters who feature. The video is about finding community in a time of bleakness and disconnection. While there’s an absurdity to a team playing with no fans in the ground, despite the usual fanfare of flags, celebrations and rituals, the small moments we captured around Drumcondra and Tolka park show a resilient community where life keeps pulsing, and young and old are united by their beloved local team.”

For Those I Love will be making their first visit to the UK in October for six dates here in Glasgow, London, Bristol & Manchester. See dates just past: