Month: October 2019

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is very excited to celebrate the release of IYMAs volume 12 today which you can listen to or purchase Here with tracks featured on this album from up and coming musicians from Youth Work Ireland Louth’s representing team, as they are the recipient region of the IYMAs programme for 2019 along with Elana Mulligan from Youth Action Northern Ireland Enniskillen who was selected as the IYMAs Lil Red songwriter award recipient. This release also marks the launch of the IYMAs programme for another year with events planned in IYMAs hubs across the entire island of Ireland starting shortly.

This album was produced during the summer in Sun Studios giving the young musicians the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of artists such as U2, The Coronas and Kanye West who have recorded. The album was then mastered by Richard Dowling in Wav Mastering Limerick Ireland who has worked with David Bowie, The Foo Fighters and Choice Music Winners Soak. 

Speaking today Irish Youth Music Awards Director Barry Lennon said “It’s brilliant to be able to produce and release IYMAs Volume 12 as part of our programme as a testament to the brilliant up and coming creatives and musicians we have across the island of Ireland. We hope everyone can stream or buy a copy before next Thursday the 24th of October so we can try to get the album into the charts and showcase this talent”

Alan Swan, Director of Music RTÉ 2FM said “The Irish Youth Music Awards programme is such an important programme to help develop, support and create a platform for new musicians from across the entire island of Ireland. We are very proud of our partnership with the IYMAs and hope everyone can support the release of IYMAs volume 12. We look forward to further developing this partnership this year.”

To mark the release of the album a special all ages concert is being hosted this Saturday October  19th in the Spirit Store in Dundalk with doors at 2pm full details here.

Available now (Digitally Worldwide), CD available exclusively at our all ages launch at the Spirit Store and Golden Discs in Drogheda 

Track listing:

Even For A Day – Apologies
Even For A Day – Talking About Not Talking
Ry – Losing it 
Misplaced Location – Don’t Miss Me
Naoise Duffy – Ach Ní Fheicimid Aon Fáth
Elana Mulligan – You Want Me Gone

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Today, Sick Love have released their latest single ‘I Want You All Of The Time’.

The release follows up the brilliant reaction to their previous track ‘Gun In Your Pocket’ which received significant UK & Irish radio support and was placed on 6 major Spotify editorial playlists including New Music Friday UK, Hot New Bands, The Rock List and the hugely sought after ‘Walk Like A BadAss’ and has accumulated over 650K streams to date.

Already getting airplay with Dan Hegarty and Tara Stewart on 2fm, ‘I Want You All Of The Time’ is possibly their biggest track yet.

Website – www.sicklovemusic.com
Twitter – @wearesicklove
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Happy Robots are thrilled to release the ‘Girl in a White Dress EP’ by Tiny Magnetic Pets, Dublin’s only exponents of uplifting Germanic synthpop.

An electrifying year for Tiny Magnetic Pets has seen the band playing festival dates and headline shows as well as recording their third studio album – and there are no signs of slowing down! As well as this new EP they have two high profile European tours this autumn, supporting both Midge Ure and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

In the meantime, the glorious ‘Girl In A White Dress EP’ is set for release on 15/11 on Happy Robots.

Lead track, the sumptuous ‘Girl In A White Dress’, is a song about re-connecting with your former carefree self – the person you were before becoming tied down with the realities of modern life. A fan favourite from their debut album, it was compared to St. Etienne & Stereolab. The band have taken the track’s driving motorik beat & mellotron strings and re-worked it in way in keeping with their punchy and invigorating live sound.

With its rolling melodic basslines ‘Kicked Off In Ikea’ displays the band’s New Order influence. In a rare Jarvis Cocker-esque lyrical turn, this track is inspired by an event when a Black Friday sale went horribly wrong, ending in a near riot. It is a sly dig at modern out-of-control consumerism: “Come for the sale but keep your soul…”

The second half of the EP takes a more reflective turn. ‘All The Mad Things’ is serene, ambient and quirky – layered vocal loops, spoken-word lyrics and trumpet show the band’s more experimental side. It’s no wonder an astute Boy George described them as “Laurie Anderson-meets-the Velvet Underground-meets-Kraftwerk.”  The mellotron-drenched instrumental ‘Above & Overture’ closes the EP in style. Using only vintage ’70s instrumentation including TR77 drum machine and Stylophone, this could be a lost soundtrack to an Antonioni film re-imagined for the 21st century.

In the last few years the band have accrued strong support for their blend of electronic European pop. Founder of the Blitz club, Rusty Egan, has been an enthusiastic champion and remixed their track ‘Control Me’. As well as being reviewed and featured in Electronic Sound Magazine, The Irish Times, MOJO and more they have supported Dave Keuning (The Killers) Michael Rother (NEU!) and Wolfgang Flür of Kraftwerk (who collaborated on their album for Happy Robots, Deluxe / Debris) as well as completing a 20 date UK tour with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark in 2017.

Tiny Magnetic Pets will be on tour in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Denmark & Holland in October-December as special guests of Midge Ure (1980 Vienna/Visage Tour) and over the same months will be back on the road with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark for their Souvenir 40th Anniversary Tour.

GIGS​

Saturday 12th October, Tramline, Dublin ***

Wednesday 23 October, Ulster Hall Belfast, N Ireland **

Thursday 24 October, Olympia Theatre Dublin, Ireland **

Friday 25 October Albert Hall Manchester, UK *

Saturday 26 October, Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, UK *

Monday 28 October, Ulster Hall, Belfast, N Ireland *

Tuesday 29 October, Olympia Theatre Dublin, Ireland *

Monday 25 November, Stadthalle Rostock, Germany **

Tuesday 26 November, Kulturpalast Dresden, Germany **

Thursday 28 November, Haus Auensee Leipzig, Germany **

Friday 29 November, Tempodrom Berlin, Germany **

Saturday 30 November, Große Freiheit 36 Hamburg, Germany **

Monday 2 December, Tempodrom Berlin, Germany **

Tuesday 3 December, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Germany **

Thursday 5 December, Mitsubishi Electric Halle Düsseldorf, Germany **

Friday 6 December, Ruhr Congress Bochum, Germany *

Saturday 7 December, Rosenpl 23, Osnabrück, Germany *

Sunday 8 December, Columbia Theater, Berlin, Germany *

Monday 9 December, Gruenspan, Hamburg, Germany *

Wednesday 11 December, Konzerthaus, Ravensburg, Germany *

Thursday 12 December, Technikum München, Germany *

Friday 13 December, Congress Palais Stadthalle, Kassel-Wahlershausen, Germany *

Saturday 14 December, Stahlwork, Dusseldorf, Germany *

Tueday 17 December, Aarhus C, Denmark *

Wednesday 18 December, Kobenhavn, Denmark *

Thursday 19 December, Paard Van Troje Den Haag, Netherlands *​

*With Midge Ure **With Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark ***Headline Show

Having just released their second album ‘Suspended’ earlier this year to critical acclaim, Gypsies On The Autobahn are now releasing their third single from it, ‘Rubicon’, along with a thought provoking video written and directed by front man James Smith. About the song and video the band say; 

“In the lead up to writing ‘Rubicon’ Niall and James had come to blows and were not speaking to each other. Eventually Niall came in with this bass line, which was what broke the silence between them. Working in close proximity with each other for so long there is ultimately going to be conflict; luckily this conflict gave us ‘Rubicon’.

The video is about two people who can’t talk, moving between Reality and the Otherside; a dark and surreal look at relationships and conflict. Written and Directed by frontman, James Smith, shot and edited by Oliver Kelly and Alex Lynch and starring Laura Brady and Tadhg O’Rourke.”

The band are also headlining their biggest show to date in The Button Factory on Nov 15th. Tickets can be bought here: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/gypsies-on-the-autobahn-dublin-15-11-2019/event/1800570FA9C51FAA

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Klara McDonnell a singer/songwriter, an actress, and she’s got her fingers in as many creative pies as she can find – some of which enrich her bank account, and some that simply enrich her creative soul. Over the last decade, she has been one of Ireland’s busiest life drawing models, posing for artists throughout the country. This month Irish comedy feature film SPA Weekend directed by Maureen O’ Connell, which Klara acted in, will be screened at The Richard Harris International Film Festival In Limerick.

Her new single ‘Dusty Glitter’ is a shuffling country romp with production from frequent collaborators Beardfire Music Production Studio. 

The song appears to take itself less seriously than 2019’s previous singles the more sombre ‘Sinking Unknowing’ and ‘Wasted’, both of which gained her a new support network at independent radio in Ireland and further afield – as well as stellar reviews. 

While the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek and the delivery is playful, there’s a certain vulnerability and sadness beneath the bubbly banjo backdrop. 

Klara explains, “Lyrics like I’m not inclined to shine, like the gems you’re used to, refer to people setting certain standards and putting conditions on who they would start a relationship with. The protagonist of the song is a wild woman who thinks she is leading a man whom she thinks is too good for her astray.“

“I’ll take your plans, and tear them all apart,” she sings in the song’s chorus – and you get the feeling that this sentence could be Klara’s mission statement, applicable to anyone who thinks they’re in the driver seat when it comes to her career. 

‘Dusty Glitter’ is released worldwide on 18th October.

Klara plays The Day of The Dead Fest 2019 at The Cobblestone, Dublin, on October 31.

Website         klaramcdonnell.ie
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Grit-pop duo Thanks Brother release their much anticipated debut EP on November 15th. ‘EP 1.’ is preceded by brand new single ‘Call It Love’. Produced by Grammy Winner Ruadhri Cushnan(Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, Hozier)the five track EP coincides with a nationwide tour. 

Thanks Brother is comprised of Róisín O, who has enjoyed great success as a solo act since her debut album ‘The Secret Life of Blue’, and John Broe, formerly the writer and singer with Irish band Miracle Bell. They began writing songs together in 2014, originally for a Róisín O solo album however realising that there was an undeniable creative chemistry, they embarked on the collaborative project Thanks Brother at the beginning of 2018.

Since their inception the duo has been busy. Their first Irish tour in March boasted five sold-out shows and ended with support slots for The Coronas and singer-songwriter Gavin James, in addition to gigs abroad in France, the UK and the USA. They also co-wrote The Coronas’ single ‘Find the Water’, and directed and produced the accompanying video. In fact video production is something of a sideline for the band, having produced and directed videos for Declan O’Rourke and Glen Hansard too.

Thanks Brother has also been praised by the press, with Hot Press calling ‘F*ck My Life (FML)’ “…an uplifting slice of indie-pop with a chant-along chorus juxtaposed against downbeat lyrics.” Hype Magazine also lauded single ‘We Are Different’, calling it “…an anthem for the turbulent times in which we live that takes up the mantle of the disenfranchised and marginalized and celebrates being different in any possible way.“

The long awaited EP includes the band’s first three singles; ‘We Are Different’, ‘We Caught It’ and ‘F*ck My Life’ along with brand new track ‘Call This Love’ and previously unheard bonus material. Limited run physical copies will only be available at shows.

Irish Tour Dates 2019 

8th November      Kasbah Social Club, Limerick
15th November    Winthrop Avenue, Cork
16th November    Whelan’s, Dublin
21st November     Mike The Pie’s, Listowel
22nd November   De Barra’s, Clonakilty
29th November    Spirit Store, Dundalk (Ham Sandwich Special Guest)
5th December      Róisín Dubh, Galway 
29th December    INEC, Killarney (The Coronas Support)

The Darkling Air is Rachel McCarthy and Michael Keeney. They are based in Bangor, County Down on the southern edge of Belfast Lough. The music involves voice, piano and guitar and is often wreathed in string arrangements featuring Arco String Quartet.  Their work is a channel for melody, song, classical and traditional forms plus a questing, modern aspect.  

On the 8th November 2019 the band will release ‘Ancestor,’ the second album. It is a significant development on the 2016 debut, ‘Untamed and Beloved’. As before Rachel’s voice is a singular, resonant force as she explores memory, melancholia and bliss. The songs alternate between quiet, intimate moments and searing emotion. “We’re trying to maintain the spirit of adventure,” says Michael. “That means something to us.” 

They had signed off their first chapter with a concert in Bangor Castle on April 20, 2017. Rachel had been heavily pregnant and every breath had been an effort but still it was a great, swirling adieu. Songs like ‘Storyline’ had impacted on the public and on radio playlists. They had been discovered by the BBC, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and on a memorable evening in December 2016 they had performed in the modest confines of No Alibis Bookshop, Belfast, before Van Morrison and Jimmy Page.  After the gig Jimmy walked away with a few copies of ‘Untamed & Beloved’ in his pocket.

Ancestor came together gradually.  Music had a recuperative effect as they returned to Michael’s studio. “I had to get back in and do this,” says Rachel. “With new motherhood, you can quickly lose some of your identity. It took me a while to know what to say. I was worried it was going to sound forced. So we took our time.”

The title track is an observation from the nearby graveyard at Bangor Abbey. Rachel had noticed the visitors from all over the globe, searching out the headstones of their relatives. She heard the stories and thought about the survival of bloodlines. In her dual role as a musician and a visual artist she was also working on a historical project called Bangor’s Ghost, and so this found expression with The Darkling Air also. 

Another new song, ‘Octogenarian Mermaid’ came out of swimming in the Lough. Rachel would often immerse herself in the sea before a recording session and was “buzzing” from the healing waters and open conversations with the kindred souls she’d meet bobbing about between the waves. “It’s an incredibly effective therapy.”  It became a life goal – to do this always. 

So the record became a holistic search and a fitting return. It has elegance and dark tones, an undimmed love song plus the signature mark of Arco String Quartet. “We tried not to stop ourselves from moving past the first record,” Michael reckons. “You don’t ask, does that sound like The Darkling Air? ‘You have to ask, what does The Darkling Air want to sound like?”

Rachel is an illustrator and she creates arts events. She’s ensuring that the new live shows will include bespoke visuals and film projections. Michael is a composer/orchestral arranger and music producer who has worked with the likes of Foy Vance, Duke Special, and Luke Sital-Singh. 

The duo had met when Michael arranged for Rachel’s previous band, Farriers. And so The Darkling Air became the project that has compelled and inspired them both. “It became the most natural songwriting partnership I’d ever had,” says Rachel. Her cohort agrees. “You have to have a bit of faith that what you do, people will have some interest in, but most importantly, that we have some interest in. These songs come from the truth of the heart and will one day be a little musical heirloom in the bloodline. I was happy to get back to this – the moment when we became invested again.”

 

ELKIN close 2019 with punchy alt-pop banger ‘DIY’. The duo have gone from strength to strength in their collaboration with producer Daniel McIntyre (lullahush /  Æ MAK) in a year which saw them truly making their mark on the Irish music scene.

Ellen and Carla were writing and singing together from the age of 15 before taking their music to a new level as ELKIN. Following the release of debut single ‘Paro’, ELKIN were named as one of State.ie‘s Faces of 2018.  

Fronted by Ellen and Carla, ELKIN draw influence from the R’n’B, pop, indie and folk worlds. With bassist Peter and guitarist Conor of Hatchlings, plus drummer Rob, “the band display an eclectic mix of R&B, pop and hip-hop beats, bolstered by alternating female vocals and smooth guitars.” Stephen Porzio, Hot Press

In February 2019, ELKIN released single ‘Green Eyes’, their first collaboration with lullahush – “a sweet-sad pop banger infused with plenty of soul” (Nialler9). This was followed up by ‘Cut My Tongue’ in June, which was premiered by Tara Stewart on RTÉ 2FM. September saw the release haunting ballad ‘Fall So Easy’, a collaboration with producer 1000 Beasts.

With gigs such as Whelan’s Ones To Watch 2019, Nialler9’s Music Cork Showcase and Ireland Music Week under their belt, the duo take on their own sold out, MCD-promoted headline show at Whelan’s (October 19^th). To finish off an exciting year, ELKIN present new single ‘DIY’ for release October 2019.

LIVE

October 19th – Headline Show, Whelan’s

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Ireland’s SLOW RIOT have announced that their farewell / debut album ‘G.A.D’ will be released on November 15th via Straight Lines Are Fine. The news comes after a lengthy silence and has been received by fans with fervent excitement on social media. The title track ‘G.A.D’ is released today and is the first new music from the band since May 2018’s ‘Betrayed’ single.

Pre-dating the recent post-punk explosion…Shame, Fontaines DC, and The Murder Capital, SLOW RIOT built a reputation for razor-sharp, compelling songs framed by angular poetic lyrics; songs mixing darkness, shade and light; songs full of despair and hope. Through four short years, a series of singles and EP’s including 2016’s ‘Trophy Wife’ and 2018’s ‘Burn In The City’, propelled the band into festival appearances and onto radio playlists: KEXP, RadioX, 6Music, Today FM, etc. 

SLOW RIOT proceeded to record a full length album, completed in 2018 at Savage Sound Studios, Hastings, with longtime collaborator Kevin Vanbergen (The Pixies, The Maccabees, Dinosaur Pile-Up, The La’s and Biffy Clyro) inbetween tour dates with Preoccupations, whenyoung, The Twilight Sad, Mission Of Burma, Slow Readers Club and others. Unfortunately, after a sell out show at London’s The Victoria in June 2018, the band disbanded and the album was shelved until now. 

The 12-track set opens with the fan-favourite, white-hot ‘Trophy Wife’ before the melodic ‘A Lighthouse’ showcases the band’s knack for penning radio-friendly choruses. Title track ‘G.A.D’ and ‘Unkind’ delve into ethereal darkness, their subject matter informing the pervading tone of the album: hyper-anxiety, implicit and explicit violence, troubled and obsessive human relationships all set in a dystopian urban setting. ‘Heaven’s Daughter’ and ‘Search The Streets’ deliver the trademark urgency SLOW RIOT songs became recognised for, before the final trilogy of bombast; ‘Pink December’, ‘Hexes’ and the grandeur of ‘Mr Inconsistent’, replete with strings, bring the record to its ultimate conclusion. As an album statement, ’G.A.D’ reminds us that sometimes the best art is created once, and once only – and it often comes from a very dark place. 

The band collaborated with up and coming Irish artist Darragh Dempsey for the ‘G.A.D’ sleeve art. Recognised by the art world as a rising talent, Dempsey’s original oil on canvas ‘Táthar ag súil le saol nua’ (which translates from Gaelic as ‘A new life is expected’) adorns the cover signifying a ritual cleansing before a new beginning. And so, while the band may be no more, the very welcome release of ‘G.A.D’ signals a new beginning for all the members of SLOW RIOT.   

G.A.D Tracklisting:

Trophy Wife
A Lighthouse
Betrayed
G.A.D
Heaven’s Daughter
Burn In The City
Search The Streets
Unkind
Voyeur
Pink December
Hexes
Mr Inconsistent

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THUMPER blow up airwaves across the UK and Ireland with their infectious pop grunge single, ‘(You’re Bring Me) Down’. 

 “Down’ infuses the best of pop and grunge, with a throwback to the glory days of 90s noise-rock. At the center of manic beats and pounding rhythms are skillfully crafted lyrics that reveal the beauty behind the chaos.” – HotPress

‘‘Down’ is a love song. It takes place in the afterglow of an argument. The tension in the song mounts as the narrator struggles to remember which side of the argument he’s on. As the guitars rise the words become more ambiguous to the point of incoherence.’’ – Oisin, Lead Vocals + Guitar

THUMPER return to London later this month following the success of their UK tour. Their next Dublin headline show is almost SOLD OUT after stirring things up at Dublin’s Extinction Rebellion earlier this month. 

THUMPER are the future rock and roll icons we’ve been waiting for. Four guitarists stage front and 2 drummers, they create “a sonic thrust impossible to ignore.”- Tony Clayton Lea, The Irish Times. 

They are the band we’re obsessing over with a reputation for raucous and frenzied live shows, the rock-pop sextet are “most viscerally thrilling both on stage and on vinyl” – HotPress magazine. Championed by Louise McSharry, Ed Smith, Kate Brennan Harding, and Dan Hegarty in Ireland and with mainstream support across UK radio from Steve Lamaq at BBC Radio 6, BBC Introducing Across the Line, Kerrang! Radio and Amazing Radio, it’s no wonder THUMPER are constantly  topping the “Ones To Watch” lists and selling out shows constantly.

2019 has been insane for THUMPER, with prime slots across massive festivals all summer long including Barcelona’s Primavera, Body & Soul,  Kaleidoscope, and Electrictric Picnic followed by a sold out UK tour. They are preparing for their headline show in The Grand Social, Dublin and loads more international dates secured across the UK and Europe. 

From being the highlight of Ireland Music Week with their mosh pit showcase in The Workmans Club, to shooting a documentary for RTE on sustainability these eco friendly rockers set the perfect tone at Dublin’s Extinction Rebellion this month. 

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Tour Dates

31 Oct Notting Hill Arts Club, London, UK
15 Nov The Grand Social, Dublin, IRE
18 Jan Molotov, Hamburg, Germany
24 Feb, Hug and Pint, Glasgow, UK
25 Feb, Think Tank Underground, Newcastle, UK
26 Feb, Oporto, Leeds, UK
27 Feb, Night People, Manchester, UK
4 March, The Crofters Rights, Bristol, UK
5 March, Sebright Arms, London, UK
6 March, Hope and Ruin, Brighton