25 February 2008
Newsdesk
Glen Hansard – frontman with Ireland’s acclaimed band, The Frames – together with the Czech singer and pianist Marketa Irglova have won an Academy Award for the Best Original Song with their signature duet ‘Falling Slowly’ from the hit movie, ‘Once’.
“Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us,” Hansard declared in his acceptance speech, while Irglova added: “This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists who spend most of their time struggling. This proves no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible”.
‘Once’ is a movie about the friendship between an Irish singer-songwriter performing on the streets of Dublin and a young Czech immigrant. The movie was directed by the ex-Frames bass player, John Carney.
This is the first award for Hansard and Marketa Irglova, whose collaborative album ‘The Swell Season’ is in stores on Anti Records. The album was recorded in Prague and mixed over six days in early December. A number of the songs are also included in the soundtrack for ‘Once’. ’Falling Slowly’ is also featured on The Frames’ sixth studio album ‘The Cost’, which was also released by Anti Records.
