New Music: For Those I Love: Dublin Artist Navigates Adult Grind in "No Scheme"
- dailyentertainment95
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
For Those I Love is the critically acclaimed musical project of David Andrew Balfe, a multi-instrumentalist, producer, visual artist, and songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. Active since 2020, Balfe is renowned for his emotionally potent and deeply personal electronic music blended with spoken-word vocals and elements of alternative rap and hip-hop. His heavily accented delivery and rich Dublin cadences firmly root his narratives in his hometown.
Balfe's work is profoundly influenced by his life experiences, including a restless childhood and young adulthood in working-class Dublin, as well as the profound grief following the loss of his close friend, spoken-word artist Paul Curran, to whom his critically acclaimed 2021 self-titled debut album was dedicated. This debut album earned him the prestigious 2021 Choice Music Prize. For Those I Love is celebrated for its ability to weave intricate narratives of love, loss, resilience, and social commentary over evocative sonic landscapes that range from loping hip-hop beats to club rhythms, delicate piano riffs, and soaring strings.
"No Scheme" is the latest single from For Those I Love, released on June 30, 2025. It serves as the lead single from his highly anticipated second album, "Carving The Stone," which is set to be released on August 8, 2025, via September Recordings.
"No Scheme" is described as the spiritual successor to "Top Scheme" from his debut album, directly linking to his previous work while evolving its emotional tone. Lyrically, the song tackles the mundane and often draining nature of adult working life, contrasting it with the "aliveness, hedonism, and self-destructiveness" of his teenage years. It's a candid reflection on the exhaustion of the daily grind and the quest for meaning in a confusing contemporary world. The track blends introspection with external commentary, addressing themes of hypocrisy, complacency, and culpability in modern Irish capitalism.
Musically, "No Scheme" is expected to maintain Balfe's signature style: spoken-word delivery over intricate electronic production, potentially incorporating sharp guitar lines, "loudest drums he's ever made," and "pretty clubland-synth swells," as he expands his sonic palette for the new album. The accompanying video for "No Scheme" features Balfe jogging while delivering his words, visually encapsulating the theme of navigating the continuous, often tiring, adult existence.
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