Month: March 2019

ALL TVVINS tease us with yet another track from their, soon to be released, second album, ‘Just To Exist’.

‘I Heard You’ is the follow up the recent ‘Build A Bridge’ single, and is the fourth track to be taken from the album. ‘Just To Exist’ is released on April 12th.

In addition to their latest tracks, ALL TVVINS have also been building up their live plot for 2019, and they play their biggest headline show to date at Dublin’s National Stadium, which will be the first time in years that the venue has included a standing area for a gig. The show features special guest Sorcha Richardson, who contributes vocals to their forthcoming album track ‘No One Is Any Fun’.

They’re also confirmed for a headline European tour in May, huge sold-out outdoor show at the Irish Independent Park with The Coronas and Sigrid, as well as the Indiependence Festival which will be headlined by Biffy Clyro and Bastille.

Their tour dates are:

APRIL

13th – Dublin, Ireland, National Stadium (Headline)

MAY EU HEADLINE TOUR

16^th – London, UK, Oslo
17^th – Manchester, UK, Deaf Institute
18^th – Glasgow, UK, King Tuts
19^th – Leeds, UK, Hyde Park Book Club
22^nd – Hamburg, Germany, Nochtwache
24^th – Wil, Switzerland, Gare de Lion
25^th – Munich, Germany, Zehner
26^th – Vienna, Austria, Chelsea
27^th – Heidelberg, Germany, Karlstorbahnhof K-Klub
28^th – Cologne, Germany, Blue Shell
29^th – Amsterdam, NL, Paradiso Club

JUNE

22nd – Cork, Irish Independent Park (with The Coronas and Sigrid)

AUGUST

2nd – 4th – Cork, Indie 19 (headlined by Biffy Clyro and Bastille)

All Tvvins enjoyed a phenomenal start to their career. Their debut album ‘IIVV’ shot into the Irish charts at #2, earned a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish Album of the Year and smashed the 15 million streams landmark. Meanwhile, gigs in the UK and Ireland included a life-affirming sold-out show at Dublin’s historic Olympia Theatre as well as a tour as guests to Metric.

Stay tuned for more ALL TVVINS news soon, including further details on the album ‘Just To Exist’.

Galway-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gráinne Cotter releases her new single ‘Shadows’ in March 2019. ‘Shadows’ is a meditation on disconnection, on what it means to be alone, on the beauty of nature and in particular the sea. Gráinne’s ethereal vocals, at times reminiscent of Florence Welch and Natasha Khan, are interspersed with jazz flute, harpsichord, and soaring strings. This creates an unmistakably original and idiosyncratic sound, a singular fusion of jazz and folk which Gráinne has been refining for years.

The video for ‘Shadows’ was filmed in a private forest in Connemara and art-directed by Leon Butler. It is notable for featuring the spacesuit used in David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ video, a major coup for the video production team. In fact, Gráinne is still slightly in shock at having an item from one of music’s biggest icons in her debut video!

This time the spacesuit is worn by actor Sean T. O’ Meallaigh, who plays an astronaut waking up in a forest. Leon Butler explains the idea for the video: “I was struck in my conversations with Gráinne by the themes of togetherness and separation. The emotional distance between two people even in close physical proximity to one another.” From this grew the idea of an astronaut falling to earth and seeing a girl as a mirage in the distance that was driving him forward.

Gráinne Cotter is originally from Co. Clare and grew up in a musical family where she was encouraged to play the violin. She discovered a love of jazz and singing in college and was given the opportunity to study in Berklee College Boston for a summer. This combined with some time spent living in Paris greatly influenced Gráinne and set her on the road to finding and honing her own individual sound. 

Gráinne moved to the cultural hub of Galway where she assembled some collaborators who worked with her on her debut album ‘Tides’, released in 2018. ‘Tides’ was well received by Irish media and lead to slots at Electric Picnic, Other Voices and Féile na Bealtaine, as well as several of her tracks being added to RTÉ 1’s playlist.

To celebrate the release of ‘Shadows’ Gráinne is embarking on an Irish tour and hopes to play further dates in Europe this summer.

Upcoming live shows

Sunday 21 April           The Sunflower Bar, Belfast
Saturday 4 May           Mulllarkey’s, Clifden, Co. Gawlay
Thursday 9 May          Spailpín Fánach, Cork
Wednesday 15 May    Roisin Dubh, Galway 
Thursday 16 May        The Commercial, Limerick
Wednesday 22 May    The Grand Social, Dublin 

www.grainnecottermusic.com / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Breaking Tunes /Spotify 

Following on from his sold-out show in Whelans last week, A.Smyth and Aiken Promotions announce two special-guest shows. Firstly, opening for White Lies in Galway in March and then with Maisie Peters in May as part of the new Eastbound festival.

A.Smyth began this year with the release of his new single ‘Fever’, which was produced by Darragh Nolan (Asta Kalapa).

Smyth explains “’Fever’ is a song about never giving up on someone you hold dear, or something you believe in. What I believe in is hope, and the human spirit. They’re things that can never be destroyed. In today’s weird and uncertain times, thinking of that is a huge source of comfort for me.

This song is a guide for our darkest moments, a song that says even if the world feels like it’s closing in and the odds seem stacked against us – we’ll persevere. And the light will always break-through”.

2018 saw the release of four singles and many festival appearances with highlights including Hard Working Class Heroes and Other Voices. His 2018 single ‘Coming Back To You’ was featured in the TV show Made In Chelsea also last year.

‘Second Moon’, the breakthrough single from last year, is currently climbing over 200k Spotfiy streams after being added to one of their bigger playlists in September.

Live

March 28^th – special guest to White Lies – Roisin Dubh, Galway
May 7^th – special guest to Maisie Peters – Button Factory, Dublin [Eastbound festival]

www.instagram.com/asmythmusic
www.facebook.com/asmythofficial

www.twitter.com/asmythmusic

Aiken Proudly proudly presents Beoga live at Whelans, 20^th May 2019. Tickets €22.50 inclusive of booking fee, on sale Friday 22^nd March at 9AM.

Most bands would have plateaued after fifteen years in the game, but Beoga isn’t most bands. Describing themselves as “new wave trad,” the past couple years saw Beoga tick off an enviable list of accomplishments from their shared bucket list.

The turning point came when Beoga collaborated on two songs on Ed Sheeran’s global hit album ‘÷’. After the album shot to the top of the charts all over the globe, those two tracks – ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Nancy Mulligan’ – accumulated over 687 million streams on Spotify. Suddenly Beoga landed their first chart-topping hit in Ireland with ‘Galway Girl’, a guest slot during Sheeran’s Glastonbury headline set, and a debut appearance on Top of the Pops.

After five albums as Beoga, their work with Ed Sheeran, and writing with Foy Vance and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, the quintet have refined their focus to finding the precise intersection between trad music and contemporary pop. Beoga recently signed to Columbia Records and are working on new music that does just that.

Beoga, which is Irish for lively, is comprised of bodhrán player and unofficial spokesman Eamon Murray, Séan Óg Graham (guitar / accordion), Damian McKee (accordion), Liam Bradley (piano / keys), and Niamh Dunne (vocals / fiddles).

Seanie Vaughan is set to release new single ‘I Can And I Will’ in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland on World Down Syndrome Day March 21st 2019.

Seanie Vaughan has released two albums to date – ‘Altered Vision’ in 2011 and ‘Redemption’ in 2015. Both independent releases featured in the top 10 of the Irish Indie Album charts (No. 5 and No. 7 Respectively). ‘Redemption’, in particular, met with critical acclaim:

“Beatles-esque. Reminiscent of the fab-fours white album era.” HotPress Magazine

“Vaughan is en-route to becoming an integral part of Irish rock. infectious. unmissable,” Pure M Magazine

“Seanie Vaughan’s new album proves he is a class act,” Irish Independent

The new single is an up-beat, pop-rock, alt-folk song that describes a parents journey through dealing with a diagnosis of Down Syndrome for their child. The single brings to the fore the triumph of overcoming the diagnosis and the realisation of all the positives that are involved. The subject matter is serious but the overall tone of the song is positive and uplifting. All proceeds from the song and three upcoming gigs go to Down Syndrome Ireland: 

– March 21^st – The Cobblestone Dublin
– March 22^nd – Odd Mollies Drogheda
– March 23^rd – The Black Gate Galway. 

Tickets are priced at €10.85 (including booking fee) and are available through Eventbrite and Seanie Vaughan Music Facebook Page.

www.seanievaughanmusic.com
www.facebook.com/seanievaughanmusic

Anna Mullarkey has just released her latest single ‘Sometimes’.

Exploring themes of personal growth, confusion, and uncertainty, Mullarkey uses analogue synthesisers and samples in this modern, minimalist new track. The probing beat and escalating electronic chimes are combined with an enchanting, ethereal voice, which draws the listener in. It is ominous and disquieting, but also suggests the potential for self-acceptance.   

Anna Mullarkey is a multi-instrumentalist composer, performer and producer. Specializing in piano, synth and vocals. Her compositions vary in style from folk, jazz to electronica. She has composed for multiple documentaries, many of which have toured internationally and won awards, including best short doc at Cork Film Festival and Galway Film Fleadh. She is co-founder of, and co-writer for the band My Fellow Sponges who have released two albums and an E.P and receive regular airplay on Irish radio. Anna is currently working on her new solo electronic project weaving her voice with analogue synthesisers to create atmospheric electronica. 

Available from all your preferred digital outlets.

https://www.strangebrew.ie/annamullarkey

On Friday, 5th April, In Their Thousands release ‘Sit And Breathe’, the second single from their upcoming second album, ‘Acrasia’.

The album was written in sheds in the countryside in the depths of winter before being recorded and produced by Tommy McLoughlin (Villagers, SOAK, Lisa O’Neill).

In Their Thousands are Declan McClafferty, Aidan McClafferty, Ruairí Friel and Marty Smyth – two brothers, their first cousin and a lifelong friend from the north-west Atlantic coast of Donegal, Ireland. The four-piece making deep, epic alt-rock, drawing influence from contemporary acts like Frightened Rabbit, Foals, and The National as well as from their home and traditional Irish music heritage.

‘Sit And Breathe’ songwriter Declan McClafferty says: “I’m fascinated with the way the world is transitioning from being an analogue existence to a digital experience – and how the gap between rural and urban, older and young is broadening. The lyrics of ‘Sit and Breathe‘ are about the simple pleasures of relaxing and enjoying the experience of simply being in the right now.”

Hailing from a desperately beautiful, rural place with dramatic landscapes and a history of emigration, In Their Thousands’ sound is deeply influenced by the their surroundings, blending imagery from the natural world with modern Americana sounds and a pounding rhythm section.  Acoustic instruments, stadium electric guitars, alt-country influenced pedal steel mix with spacey synths and spiritual, trippy, raw lyrics that search for meaning and an emotional, honest take on everyday experiences.

WEBSITE

WOB!, a Serbian/Irish drummer, electronic music producer and DJ shares laser powered visuals for ‘Syncopate’ and announces his live show dates.

‘Syncopate’ is an energetic track about disturbance of the regular flow of life, it forces the listener to slow down, acknowledge and enjoy the small details in between.

WOB! used the art of syncopation in creating this infectious dance track to provide the listener with a sense of enjoying a beat within a beat, all while blending house, D&B and oriental motifs.

Always committed to artistic collaboration, WOB! teamed up with artists from Poland to create the visuals for ‘Syncopate’. Directed by Okime Emiko, the video’s weird and wonderful vibe was created using analogue effects, reminiscent of WOB!’s concept of using live drums and performing electronic music with a 4pc band.

‘Syncopate’ is out on all major streaming platforms from 15^th of March.

WOB! will be performing live with his 4pc band on:

16^th of March in Sin É Dublin – Syncopate single launch
12^th of April in Brewery Corner, Kilkenny
2^nd of June – Vantastival 2019

Tickets on sale at: https://wobdublin.com

‘Hot Blooded’ is the 3rd release from Cua’s critically acclaimed 2017 album, ‘Songs of the Hollow’. The album has seen the trio play a string of shows across Ireland and Europe culminating in two sold out shows at this year’s Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow at the National Piping Centre and the Drygate Brewery festival club.

The members, John Davidson, Shane Booth & Ros O’Meara bring together dynamic and contrasting instrumentation and vocal arrangements. The group have an expansive acoustic soundtrack blending guitars, fiddle, bouzouki, percussion and 3 part harmony arrangements to create a unique world music folk style.

Cua truly pride themselves on their diversity, with subtle nods to many genres, whilst keeping a folk, world, roots and traditional line throughout. All members are multi-instrumentalists and are inspired by many aspects of the musical spectrum including roots, blues, gospel, jazz fusion, traditional, neo-classical, bluegrass and more. Their approach to music is inspired by the history, landscape and peoples of the Atlantic areas.

The trio have been recognised on a European and national level following their first two successful studio releases and their latest 15 track album, ‘Songs of the Hollow’, truly captures their distinctive sound and energy and is currently receiving critical acclaim. The trio are receiving national and local radio airplay in Scotland, England, Ireland, America, France, Holland, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and the US. The group are also recipients of a Creative Ireland grant and have shared the bill with Andy Irvine, The Fureys, Hazel O’Connor and The 4 Of Us to name but a few.

Cua plan for a new album release in 2019 with a UK wide tour scheduled for November and December. You can catch the group live at The Academy this Friday 15th March playing support to Pogueology and see www.cuamusic.com for further details.