‘High Hope’ is the latest single to be released off Glen Hansard’s debut solo album ‘Rhythm And Repose’.
The video was shot in Glen’s hometown of Ballymun and a percentage of iTune sales are being donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer.
Glen plays the Ulster Hall on Sunday December 16 and then Vicar Street on December on 17th & 18th
Rising Irish electro rockers Le Galaxie are set to headline this year’s First Fortnight festival aimed at challenging mental health prejudice and discrimination.
The Dublin four-piece are one of a host of acts that have been announced to play the 10-day music and arts festival which will take place in Dublin city centre over January 2- 12.
Other music acts confirmed on the line-up include This Club, Heathers, Dublin rockers Kopek, Vann, Roisin O, We Cut Corners, The Man Whom, dREA and VerseChorusVerse.
Led by Michael Pope, Le Galaxie have been one of the acts to watch over the past 12 months thanks to the release of their acclaimed Fade 2 Forever EP.
They will headline the First Fortnight closing gig at The Button Factory, Dublin, on January 12 on a bill that includes We Cut Corners, Kopek and Vann.
Three additional nights of music will take place in The Workman’s Club on January 2, 4 and 11 under the banner, The Therapy Sessions.
The inaugural First Fortnight festival was staged last January and featured a mix of live music, spoken-word, theatre, film and visual art to create open discussion and understanding of mental health problems and challenge prejudice and discrimination.
Aside from the music acts, other artists taking part include contemporary British artist Stuart Semple and acclaimed theatre productions Silent, Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend & Box of Frogs.
First Fortnight co-founder and project manager JP Swaine said of the line-up: “We hope people are as thrilled about this year’s line-up of events as we are. We were overwhelmed by the response we received to last January’s festival and believe that the festival helped trigger conversations about mental health problems that might not otherwise have occurred.
“Again, we hope that people come to this year’s events to be entertained, but also to hopefully go into the year ahead touched by a really strong message about reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health.”
The First Fortnight festival is partnered by Amnesty International Ireland, Mental Health Reform and See Change.
The full line-up can be viewed at www.FirstFortnight.ie
Melodic, immediate and unmistakeably reminiscent of Christmases past, the new single from emerging Irish singer-songwriter CIARA SIDINE (Sid-een) showcases her hallmark sound – a blend of old-style influences with a distinctly contemporary lyrical and vocal sensibility.
Dubliner Sidine has been described in Hot Press as ‘one of the most talented singer/songwriters to emerge in Ireland in decades’. Her debut album Shadow Road Shining was released to critical acclaim in 2011, a year that saw her perform on Other Voices and be awarded runner up in the RAAP/RTE Breakthrough competition. Says Ciara: “‘Old Bing’s Dream’ is an original song about Christmas, a time that holds a special place in memory from an early age, and it draws on Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ as a motif. It’s also a song about memory – how it is formed, how it changes over time, and how, while some elements of it fade, others crystallise, imprinting on the mind like pictures on a postcard, fresh as newly fallen snow.” ‘Sleigh bells ringin’, baby singin’/Old Bing’s dream safe and sound.’
www.ciarasidine.com
www.facebook.com/ciarasidine
Praise for Shadow Road Shining: ‘Exquisitely beautiful . . . recommended from the highest heights.’ Hot Press
‘Americana [with] an unmistakeably Celtic feel to its poetic lyrics and confident vocals.’ UNCUT
‘A remarkably assured piece of work.’ Daily Telegraph
‘A finely rounded, richly produced album of Americana . . . vocals and lyrics so distilled they reveal fresh angles with each repeated exposure’ Irish Times
In 2011 the students of Beneavin De La Salle College, Finglas participated in an arts project funded by Creative Engagement. The students wrote and recorded an original piece of music.
They filmed the entire process, its conception, the recording and the making of the music video which they complied onto a 28 minute DVD.
All work has been done by the students and the official album launch is on Friday 7th of December.
The song “Where Do We Go” by the band Fine Line is now available on iTunes.
https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/where-do-we-go-single/id570692907
“This is the voice of Ireland’s youth, It’s about time Ireland started listening”
Santa Claus is Rockin’ (Bradley Gillis) is a charity Christmas single written by Glen Shire, Limerick in aid of Barnardos. It was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin and includes an array of the best musicians in the business who have worked with The Corrs, Andrew Llyod Webber, Imelda May, Chris Rea, Van Morrison, Westlife, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mike and the Mechanics and many more. It was executive produced by Simon Shire and vocals were recorded by Bradley Gillis from New York.
The accompanying music video was shot by director Maurice Linnane who worked on documentaries for the Foo Fighters, U2 and the Cranberries.
It was officially launched at Windmill Lane on Fri 23, November. From preliminary reviews on YouTube and by leading Irish and UK DJs, it is widely anticipated it will become a Christmas standard for many years to come.
It is available to purchase on iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon and will shortly be in Tower Records, Wicklow Street and O’Connell Street, Dublin and Savins Music, O’Connell Street, Limerick.
Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), Neon Trees, Iggy Pop, Ryan Bingham, Eve, Carly Simon, Hunter Hayes, and Many More Round Out Judging Panel
Unsigned Only Music Competition today announced its judging panel for the 2013 competition, which is now accepting entries. The panel of judges consists of the top echelon of recording artists and music journalists, representing the ten categories of popular music covered by the competition.Founders/Directors Candace Avery and Jim Morgan noted, “We are gearing up for another great year of Unsigned Only with even more judges, bigger cash prizes, and another great opportunity to bridge the gap between unsigned artists and the music industry executives who could potentially influence and elevate their careers.”
Designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major label record company, Unsigned Only’s goal is to find an outstanding, talented performing artist: a band, singer, or solo artist…a newcomer or veteran…raw or polished – the “gem” that needs to be discovered. Unsigned Only is looking for the total package. The Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $10,000 in cash (plus additional prizes) and one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. First Place and Second Place winners will also be selected in each category. Entries are being accepted now until March 14, 2013. Categories include: AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Christian Music, Country, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop/Top 40, Teen, and Vocal Performance.
Launched in 2011 by the founders of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), Unsigned Only is a fresh and novel approach to other music competitions. Not only does it offer great prizes, recognition, exposure, and the chance to be heard by a group of judges consisting of high-profile recording artists and industry professionals, but it also takes it a step further and offers the Grand Prize winner the unprecedented opportunity to be mentored by a group of record company presidents, A&R reps, and more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an artist to directly network with the highest level of record company professionals and get guidance, advice, feedback, and networking opportunities.
2012 Grand Prize winner Lara Johnston states, “being the Grand Prize winner of Unsigned Only has been a definite high point of my career thus far. The mentoring opportunities provided by Unsigned Only are nothing short of incredible: I’ve had in-depth conversations and meetings with the uppermost gatekeepers and leaders of the music industry. Since winning Unsigned Only, I’ve garnered invaluable advice from a rich variety of perspectives, and I’ve had the chance to start relationships with people who can truly help me in my career. I’m excited to see where this all takes me and I would urge any aspiring artist to enter this year’s competition – you never know, you might be the next Grand Prize winner!”
The judging panel is comprised of an impressive group of recording artists and top-level music journalists. They include: Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders); Cyndi Lauper; Iggy Pop; Carly Simon; John Oates (Hall & Oates); Eve; 3 Doors Down; Neon Trees; Brandi Carlile; Hunter Hayes; Manchester Orchestra; Black Francis (The Pixies); Ryan Bingham; Faith Evans; David Crowder; Craig Morgan; Robert Smith (The Cure); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Of Monsters and Men; Wynonna; Aaron Shust; Kirko Bangz; G. Love; Jason Gray; Dustin Lynch; The Mountain Goats; Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Vanessa Satten (Editor-In-Chief, XXL Magazine); Christopher Weingarten (Senior Editor, Spin); and Chris Richards (Pop Music Critic, The Washington Post).
The panel of mentors who have signed on to participate is equally impressive. Included are: Monte Lipman (President of Universal Republic Records); Pete Ganbarg (Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); Shawn Holiday (Senior VP of A&R, RCA Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing); Josh Bailey (Sr. VP of A&R, Word Label Group); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Allison B. Jones (VP of A&R, Big Machine Label Group); Lisa Ramsey-Perkins (Senior Director of A&R, Sony Music Nashville); and more to be announced.
All entries must be original music except for the Vocal Performance and Teen categories, which allow original or cover songs.
He produced Declan O’Rourke’s first demo, he gave Wallis Bird her first ever studio experience on his 2003 record “What You Feel, Not What You Drive”, and he also wrote the first version of “Angels” with Robbie Williams, so this shouldn’t be the first time you’ve heard of Ray Heffernan.
Often the catalyst for other artist’s success and for a long time the “Songwriter’s Songwriter”, he’s back with a new record; a strong, well-defined and immaculately produced document of an Irish writer on an International stage.
“New Dress Woven”, a title inspired by the last two lines of Patrick Kavanagh’s “Canal Bank Walk”, is a collection of 11 new songs by the Dublin songwriter, now based on the shores of Lake Orta in Northern Italy. From there, he flies the flag of Irish songcraft high in his new role as the singer, writer and front man of The Grand Canal Band. The 7-strong band itself is composed of some of the finest and best- known musicians in Italy and the album represents the union of their, and of Heffernan’s, wealth of talent and experience. The open-air launch of the album on the night of the summer solstice was attended by a crowd of 1500, and recorded for TV by an independent production company.
Like so many expatriate Irish writers before him, Heffernan’s melodies and lyrics are coloured by his love for his homeland. From “Stardust”, which concerns itself with a love story in the context of the 1981 disaster, to “Gravediggers”, a heart-breakingly beautiful song about the historic Glasnevin pub, and “Amy’s Answer”, a new take on Irish balladry and of story-telling within the song.
The new video for this last song, a modern day re-telling of “Oisin in Tir na nOg”, was directed and produced by Emilio Uberti, who has worked with such Italian legends as Fabrizio di Andrè and Franco Battiato and even previously ventured into imagery for Irish songwriting with the late, and in his own right legendary, Mic Christopher.
The album can be listened to in it’s entirety, downloaded or the special edition, Kilt-covered CD can be purchased from http://www.rayheffernan.net . Though he lives and dedicates himself to a life as a modern bard in a foreign land, Ray Heffernan brings the Grand Canal Band to Ireland in the new year to showcase these new songs to his own tribe.
