biography
Erin O'Hara's musical career began as lead singer with the Albany-based band Mambo-X where she fused her love for dance and singing with the polyrhythmic beats of western African music. The band gained a loyal following and toured the East Coast club and college circuit in support of three singles and two studio albums, Mambo-X and Whirled. Mambo-X opened for many talented artists including Billy Bragg, They Might Be Giants, 10,000 Maniacs, Soul Asylum, Michelle Shocked, and Tom Tom club. Buzz Magazine wrote of Erin's work "beautifully crazy, a dark, pure Irish singer."
Erin was then signed to Arista Records, but left the label over creative differences after her first record was cut (never released). She then formed the Irish-gospel hybrid band EO that included Eileen Ivers (Riverdance) on electric fiddle and Gary Posner (Tom Tom Club) on keyboards. EO also toured the northeast with a 5 song EP, High. The Irish Echo wrote, "with her captivating good looks and theatrical performance, O'Hara brings to mind a young Kate Bush."
Erin was then invited to write music for a short narrative film, which lead to an award-winning score. As a composer for film and television, Erin's credits include original scores for a long list of short narrative films and for the feature documentaries Roe vs. Roe for Cinemax Real Life, Outside Looking In and BoomTown for PBS; documentary shorts for National Geographic Television (Street Dogs and The Crows), HBO (America Undercover), PBS (I'll Fly Away) and the award-winning The Sunshine in addition to corporate clients. Her unique version of Down in the Valley (produced by David Kahne) was the featured single on the soundtrack for MGM's Two Days in the Valley (dir: John Hershfeld). Billboard Magazine wrote of Erin's recording, "intelligent... striking first impression...a much needed breath of fresh air in a field of pop sameness."
Most recently, Erin released her first full length solo CD, Indestructible Joy, an intimate hybrid of folk simplicity and rock energy featuring innovative guitarist Tom Gavin.
Erin is also involved in cultivating the voices of the next generation of women in music. In August 2001 Erin led the vocal workshops at the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon. She is also a performing member of Indiegrrl and a member of New York Women in Film and Television.