Month: August 2019

Cork folk ensemble Blind Poets have released a new live video called ‘Down With Your Guard’, which has garnered a lot of music industry attention for the band.

They are currently finishing their debut album, with a launch date to be announced soon.

Fine song-writing, gorgeous traditional arrangements, skillful musicianship and five exceptional voices characterise Blind Poets. They comprise Niamh Murphy (piano), Karen O’Doherty (violin), Katie O’Neill (vocals), Leo Mullane (guitar) and Tom Jordan (clarinet).

Rooted in folk but unafraid to cross genres, Blind Poets are creating something new in the world of Irish music; picture a cross between Fairport Convention, Fleetwood Mac and The Gloaming.    

Formed in 2018, since then the band have wowed audiences across the country, including prominent slots at All Together Now, Cork’s Folk Festival and Galway’s Fringe. The band’s releases have been popular with listeners to RTE Radio 1, 2FM, Lyric FM, Today FM as well as numerous local stations throughout the country.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/blindpoets/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BlindPoets/

Following Villagers sold out show on 13^th December live at Vicar Street, Villagers add a second show due to phenomenal demand for 14^th December. Tickets are this Friday at 9AM, available from Ticketmaster outlets Nationwide and online at ticketmaster.ie

Villagers released their acclaimed fourth album ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ last year and O’Brien has a string of accolades under his belt including two Ivor Novello Awards, two Mercury Music Prize nominations and is a previous winner of Ireland’s Choice Music Prize.

Additionally, Villagers’ music has featured in both seasons of HBO drama ‘Big Little Lies’ – reaching the Top 60 Shazam charts in the UK and US last month – and their Spotify session of ‘Nothing Arrived’ has hit over 130 million streams.

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Westlife have unveiled the highly anticipated video for their current summer single ‘Dynamite’.

The video was shot using footage from the band’s record-breaking concert at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium last month, when they appeared in front of 160,000 fans. The concert-goers are now captured forever in a music video that will be seen by millions around the world. ‘Dynamite’ features on the band’s upcoming album ‘Spectrum’, due for release on 15^th November.

The dynamic contemporary track, co-written by Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac, has a feel-good summer sound and once again shows the band on the very best form following their sensational return to music.

The single reflects the energy of Westlife’s stellar comeback, incorporating all the colour and excitement of the record-breaking Twenty Tour which has continued in Asia this summer.

Following a huge start to the summer, where the band played to over 160,000 fans at their homecoming Croke Park Stadium shows, Westlife kicked off the Asian leg of their Twenty World Tour in Bangkok, Thailand. They have since played further shows in Macau, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and will be performing in Dubai next week.

‘The Twenty Tour’ is Westlife’s fastest selling tour of all time. The band sold an incredible 400,000 tickets in just 48 hours confirming their position as national pop music treasures.

Westlife have sold over 55 million records worldwide and are the only band to have their first 7 singles enter the UK chart at No.1. They also have the most singles of any artist to debut at No.1 in the UK. Overall the band have had an incredible 14 No.1 singles, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. They have had 33 No.1 albums worldwide and as a live act have sold 5 million concert tickets worldwide and counting.

Ending the summer with sunny melodies and dancefloor ready basslines, PureGrand (Dublin native, Luke Faulkner) releases his new EP ‘Painkiller’. 

Influenced by early dance music and Italo disco, the EP evokes being in a sweaty gay nightclub in places such as The Castro or in New York’s Danceteria Club at the turn of the 1980s. This combined with contemporary lyrics on sexuality and heartbreak create a record that looks to the past with a lyrical eye on the modern queer male experience.

‘Painkiller’ follows ‘Swallow Your Doubt’ a more new wave inspired EP released last year to positive reviews. ‘Painkiller’ was written and produced entirely by Faulkner, a visual artist by trade who also designed its album artwork. It includes a feature from indie pop musician GMG (Niamh Goucher) who lends spice to her verse on the second track ‘Crush’.

Faulkner spent last year improving his musical skills as well as spending time creating colourful music videos for his last EP and creating visuals for fellow Irish queer artist, Jack Rua. He has also started gigging and has performed across Dublin (Workmans, Sin E) as well as at  some of Irelands best homegrown queer nights such as Glitterhole and Avoca’s Queer Cabaret.

Now on his third EP, Faulkner is hopping to continue to make PureGrand a DIY audio visual experience, with music videos planned to accompany ‘Painkiller’ and hopes to continue to be a queer pop musician not afraid to be outspoken, uncompromising in his vision and willing to offer something original and unashamedly camp.

Website: www.puregrand.org

Robert O’Connor has premiered the music video for his new single ‘Real Good Fight’ (Skynem GT Remix).

The clip is Robert’s second collaboration with Irish director David Duggan and was shot in Dublin. O’Connor says he wanted to convey “a sense of liberation and freedom” with the video. 

The tropical pop track is the result of a recent contest run by Robert on social media calling out to underground producers, with Peru-based Skynem GT, real name Jordan Arteaga, becoming the eventual winner.

The remix, released August 23 via Amuse, will also feature on the “Real Good Fight” Remix EP alongside remixes by Aiyi, Crucethus, Michele Pezone and a chlllout collaboration between L.E.G.I.O.N x LFLN, set for release on August 30.

KILNAMANA are calling it a day, and leaving on a series of high notes with their four track EP ‘Bye Bye’.

Taking inspiration for their name from the area of Tallaght, Dublin, where the two musicians realised they had a common connection, KILNAMANA are electronic Irish-Spanish duo Enda Gallery and Miguel Garcia Soler, currently based in Berlin. KILNAMANA was always based on creating naturally and not pretending, staying true to themselves.

The working title of the first album was as in the song ‘Not To Pretend’. Having celebrated 1 million streams, at the end of a very expressive tour supporting Kid Simius across Germany, Austria, and Poland last December, the pair felt that it the time to begin the end of the project and did not want to continue on simply because things were going smoothly.

Gallery says: “It was always about feeling right for us, it always did, and now it doesn’t. Now it feels like time to say goodbye with four final songs, so that the positive feeling around it will be preserved for eternity, we’re going out with four bangers.

We want to thank all the people who gave us a shot, an opportunity, and gave us their time and their love, those who shed a light on us, wrote to us, played us and playlisted us, booked us and came to our shows, and listened to our music. You are all the ones who keep art alive, giving resonance to messages you intuitively feel are honest and true. Thank you deeply and eternally for that.” 

The EP features two new tracks, ‘Song from 1954’, and ‘WHEN YOU KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER BUT YOU CAN’T CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL’.

www.kilnamana.com

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Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kilnamana
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Twitter: www.twitter.com/kilnamana

Limerick’s alternative rock quintet, Fox Jaw, release their latest single ‘Let It Run’, a staccato, rock and roll floor filler with a fondness of experimenting with time signatures.

Lyrically, the song speaks of letting go and embracing the chaos of what life brings. Fox Jaw frontman, Ronan Mitchell explains; “Life is what happens when you’re busy worrying about what’s going to happen. Whatever you decide to do with it; Own it. Make it yours. Let it run.”

Recorded at Even Audio with producer Mike Gavin of Windings and Mastered by Richard Dowling at Wav Mastering (David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Interpol).

Once described as ‘a modern band with an old soul’, Fox Jaw have a swaggering trend-shaking growl, that always keeps things sweet and melodic with an honest collection of dark pop songs. With hundreds of shows under their belts, 10 Singles, 5 Vinyl Releases, 2 Studio Albums, 2 EPs, 1 Live Album, countless festival appearances, TV appearances and only one flat tyre.

2014 saw the release of their 2nd studio album ‘Ghost’s Parade’, with an impressive amount of airplay, raising many eyebrows in the music industry. An album in full sonic Technicolor, verifying the bands ability & love for a plethora of genres, above and beyond the pigeonholes many set for them. 

In 2016, following the success of the release of their singles ‘Do You Want It All?‘ & ‘Hit It Off’, the band released their 3rd EP ‘Black Light Vignette’ with airplay both at home and overseas, getting picked up by over 30 college stations in the USA.

Fox Jaw have played such festivals as: Electric Picnic, Indie Week (Canada & Ireland), Castlepalooza, Knockanstockan, Indiependence, Sea Sessions, AranMojo, Hard Working Class Heroes, Glasgowbury, Vantastival, Arthur’s Day & more.

They’ve shared the stage with such acts as: Against Me!, Stereogram, And So I Watch You From Afar, Alabama 3, The Redneck Manifesto, Jape, Hayseed Dixie & many more. 

Autumn 2019 Tour:

Sept 7^th  – Dreams Festival, Bruff

Sept 12^th – Workmans Club, Dublin Tickets

Oct 4^th – De Barras, Clonakilty

Oct 5^th – Kasbah Social Club, Limerick Tickets

Oct 12^th – Crane Lane Theatre, Cork

Nov 15^th – Ulster Sports Club, Belfast * Tickets

Nov 16^th – Whelans, Dublin * Tickets

* support to The Wood Burning Savages