Caoilian Sherlock’s second single this year, ‘Don’t Let Me Forget About Her’ is an existential ballad and a psychedelic pop song. Dwelling on the faux-spiritualistic tendencies of modern consumerism the song lands definitively questions the meaning of life and then lands where most good pop songs do; Love.
Recorded with Brendan Fennessy (formerly of O Emperor) and mixed by Daniel Fox (Girl Band), ‘Don’t Let Me Forget About Her’ is a slow but groovy piano tune that incorporates Sherlock’s deft lyricism, tongue in cheek delivery, and a romantic frame of reference.
Caoilian released his debut EP ‘The Faraway’ under the
moniker Saint Caoilian in 2017. With the release of new music and a full length
album to follow, he has revoked his own sainthood and made the brave decision
to re-enter the world as a mere mortal. During live performances he is backed
with an electric guitar, a sense of entitlement, a degree of casual sombreness,
mixed with a joyous approach to playing music alongside a dynamic backing band.
Caoilian says: “’Don’t Let Me Forget About You’ was a quick song to write because I’m constantly anxious and worried about death or a lack of meaning to life, who isn’t, but I’m also very positive about the power of love – so this is a song that acknowledges the finality of life but the longevity of love, also the band was cooking when we recorded it.”
Irish alternative-folk act FIELDS have returned with a new track called ‘To Reconcile’ which is out today, Friday, November 15th.
The release comes ahead of the band’s
intimate show at Dublin’s The Workman’s Club on Friday, November 29th.
“‘To Reconcile’ is written about finding a way to accept a situation but discovering purpose even when the outcome is not what you’ve been looking for.
It was recorded between a few different locations, namely Glencolumbkille in Co. Donegal, then Hellfire Studio in the Dublin mountains. The sounds in the track are very much inspired by these locations. We wanted to channel the darkness with the brightness, to create a soundscape that feels somewhat desolate but homely and comforting at the same time.”
‘To Reconcile’ is the third release taken from the band’s upcoming debut album, which is due out in early 2020, and will also feature previously released singles ‘Border Boys’ and ‘Get Worse.’
The song was recorded at Dublin’s Hellfire Studio and co-produced by FIELDS and Joe McGrath.
FIELDS is an Irish band, based out of Dublin,
with roots spanning neighbouring counties Monaghan, Cavan and Longford. Their
sound is innately inspired by the character of the Irish heartland – a sleepy
and often maligned region, which is wide awake with spirit and charm, bursting
at its borders with plots of parochial divide, understated romanticism and
quiet malaise.
Combining powerful synth-driven melodies,
carefully-entwined harmonies and captivating guitars, the band bring energy and
ambience together to make for a compelling journey.
Tickets to FIELDS live at the Workman’s Club
are available via Eventbrite for €5 (plus booking fee): bit.ly/2qyWweP
Following their sensational return to music, Westlife have
released their highly anticipated new album ‘Spectrum’, today, Friday 15
November.
The 11 track album, featuring original new music, sees the
band on their finest form, showcasing their stunning vocals with a collection
of fresh pop anthems and soul-stirring ballads. It includes the uptempo first
comeback single ‘Hello My Love’ as well as the recently released ‘My Blood’.
The album co-written and produced by Westlife, superstar
hitmakers Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac. The album follows a remarkable comeback
year for the pop music treasures, which has seen the nation fall in love with
them all over again.
Recorded in Dublin, LA and London, ‘Spectrum’ is released as
Shane, Nicky, Mark and Kian make pop music history as they are officially
confirmed as the biggest selling Irish band in the UK in the 21st century.
“We have all driven by trying to create the best album of our careers. We wanted to make something current, something that feels fresh.
The huge success of our comeback single ‘Hello My Love’ gave us the confidence that our fans and the public were completely up for a new album of original songs.
We’ve probably had more input into this album than any other in our careers.
‘Spectrum’ has everything we love in music and includes a mixture of great uptempo’s such as ‘Hello My Love’ as well as heartfelt ballads like ‘Better Man’ and ‘My Blood’. We’re excited for everyone to hear it,” say the band.
Speaking about their collaboration with Ed Sheeran and reunion with iconic music-maker Steve Mac, who has written some of Westlife’s biggest hits, Westlife adds:
“The album has been a huge team effort and it has been fantastic to collaborate with our long term friend Steve Mac, James Bay and Ed Sheeran. There’s no doubt that they’ve helped us make this album the best it can be.”
Westlife announced their return to music in October 2018
when they signed a new deal with Virgin EMI.
Their comeback included the stunning success of this summer’s
‘Twenty Tour’ which sold a record 600,000 tickets across 27 cities and 13
countries.
The band have also announced a stadium tour for 2020 which culminates at
their first ever Wembley Stadium show next August, and their first
ever shows at Cork’s Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
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.
‘Spectrum’ is available now.
Tickets for Westlife’s Pairc Ui Chaoimh show in Cork
next August are available at www.ticketmaster.ie
Conor Adams wanted to work on a solo project ever since he first picked up a guitar. Inspired to play by his love of Smashing Pumpkins, he also used to borrow his father’s acoustic to write songs in the singer-songwriter and folk traditions too. And that’s something he’s done ever since, while fronting The Cast of Cheers and then by earning a global-facing audience with All Tvvins.
The problem, he laughs, was that, “When a band ended or if we had some time between albums, I’d always plan to do a solo project but I never got around to it. So this time I had to do it – it’s now or never!”
In the summer of 2018 he glanced through the self-written sixty-strong songbook that he had collected on his laptop over the course of three years. While that was the prompt to commit to the project, he had little idea that few of those songs would survive as part of the project.
By August, Conor went into the studio with producer and Cormac Butler to start working on some of that material. But almost immediately, Conor hit a fresh rush of creativity and the songs kept flowing. By the time the duo reconvened in the New Year, the emphasis was on the new rather than the old. After recording a wealth of material throughout January and February, they dropped the pace. Working together once or twice a week (“Or not at all some weeks”), the songs evolved at their own pace.
“The songs definitely aren’t rushed,” smiles Conor. “It has given me the time to dip in and out of it and to give the songs space to breath.”
Now it’s time for Conor to launch the first of these songs with the lead track ‘What You Do’. The topline is immediately him but it’s a world away from anything that he’s put his name to before, and unlike previous All Tvvins which convey emotions in a whirlpool of metaphors, ‘What You Do’ is self-explanatory.
“I wanted to be more straightforward with a lot of these songs,” Conor says. “With All Tvvins, the music is more bombastic so it’s hard to fit a smaller story into the songs. Because the BPM is slower it gives more of a storyteller vibe, and I can be clearer without it sounding too obvious.”
The songs are unified by a simple phrase: “I admired your grace at the end of the world.” It’s a guiding star that lends itself to so many stories, both real and fictional, in the future and in the here-and-now. “It could be a million years after the world and these songs are looking back at every story. You can see a tonne of grace in the world, even in the bad things.”
Vital to the sound is Cormac’s ability to interpret Conor’s often abstract suggestions. The rich swathes of vocals (inspired by his childhood love of Queen) are ever present, but they’re surrounded by traits found in modernist pop: heavy basslines, dramatic synths and punchy 808 kicks. They were mostly written on piano before multi-instrumentalist Conor reinvented them in the studio. He relished having the freedom to craft weird chord progressions on synths that he couldn’t do on guitar.
They’re songs which Conor is eager to perform live, albeit sporadically in the short term giving the coexisting schedule of All Tvvins. The idea is a pure solo show: looping vocals, acoustic, electric guitar and piano in a one-man wall of sound.
Going it alone has been a learning curve. “If you have a tough day in a band, you can share the problem and bounce back, but you’re more vulnerable on your own. The positive is that I’m far more creative than I’ve ever been – I’m far more prolific and I’m writing songs every day.”
It’s taken half a lifetime, but this new project will be a big part of Conor Adams’ future.
‘My Mandalay’ is the brand new single release from Monaghan singer songwriter Jim McHugh. This song is about a night of fleeting romance and questions was it really love or were the couple caught up in the delirium of passion. ‘My Mandalay’ is the name used to associate the exotic affection towards the partner.
This single is from Jim’s album ‘My Nuclear Radio’ released in September 2019. It was recorded, produced and mastered in Ben Reel’s studio in Armagh. ‘My Mandalay’ features Jim on Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Mandolin/Bodhran and John McCullough on Piano.
Single artwork by Eimhin Farrell.
‘My Mandalay’ is available on all digital formats for streaming/download.
Upcoming live dates:
Nov 28th, Spirit Store, Dundalk Dec 7th, Iontas Theatre, Castleblayney
‘Roots’ is the new single out now from Dublin-based group Sun Collective, produced and recorded by Ross Turner (Lisa Hannigan, Villagers, I am the Cosmos), with accompanying film by Myles O’Reilly (Arbutus Yarns, This Ain’t no Disco), and contributions from composer and saxophonist Nick Roth (Yurodny, Diatribe Records).
The song deals with personal trauma and the new lease
of life in it’s aftermath. Musically, it sees the band referencing 70’s
minimalism, utilising vintage synthesisers and celebrates a new simplicity in
their song writing.
Sun Collective’s
densely orchestrated chamber-folk draws on pop, folk and contemporary
classical music. The five piece include Caimin Gilmore (Lisa Hannigan), Patrick
O’Laoghaire (I Have a Tribe), Kevin Corcoran (Villagers), Dominic Mullan (Mary
Coughlan) and Oisín Peelo Walsh (Hudson Taylor).
They made their
debut at the Woodford Folk Festival in January 2019, followed by a 6 date
Australian tour. In February, they performed alongside I Have a Tribe on an
intimate Homebeat tour throughout Ireland and
subsequently performed at Carlow and Kilkenny Arts Festivals and Another Love
Story. In 2018, they
performed and collaborated at the P-E-O-P-L-E Festival, alongside
Stargaze, Lisa Hannigan, Big Red Machine, Adam Cohen, Greg Saunier of Deerhoof
and Beirut.
They released
their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2017. (Stream HERE)
They are releasing the single ‘Roots’ in conjunction with a performance at Quiet Lights Festival, Friday 22 November, in Sirius Arts Centre, Cork. Support on the night comes from I Have a Tribe. Tickets €15 are available via www.quietlights.net
As part of the exciting programme of events taking place at Temple Bar TradFest 2020 IMRO will host a series of music showcases and industry events over the course of the festival.
Music groups or artists interested in putting themselves forward to perform at one of these showcases should email an audio and/or website link to events@nullimro.ie before Friday 15th November 2019. (please include Temple Bar TradFest in the subject matter of your email)
TradFest has grown over the past ten years to become a firm fixture on the Irish festival calendar. Year-on-year it has seen a huge increase in international visitors from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, Spain and Germany. The festival has presented some of the biggest names in Irish music alongside many exciting new performers and musicians. Families will not be disappointed either, with outdoor stages carrying an emphasis on young Irish music and dance talent; street entertainment and a children’s club being just some of the many free events taking place during the festival.
Sean and Conor Price are excited to announce the release of their EP ‘What’s On My Mind’on November 22th 2019. ‘Whats On My Mind’ is a collection of new songs that shows Sean and Conor’s growth as artists over the last year. From catchy pop rock tune ‘On My Mind’, piano ballad ‘Everybody Wants’ to pop R&B tune ‘Runaway’, this EP shows a side to Sean and Conor that we haven’t seen before. It was produced by Cormac Butler who works with The Academic, The Coronas and True Tides.
‘Run Away’ is being released as a single from the EP on November 22nd .
2019 has been a great year for Sean and Conor. They have just completed their 2nd headline tour of Ireland playing 14 venues including a sold out show at The Olympia Theatre. They plan to finish 2019 with a headline show at The Academy Dublin on Dec 29th. They are also excited to announce that they have signed a music deal with London based label Frtyfve. This deal includes the release of new music with Frtyfve. Exciting times.
The Galway Music Residency continues its 2019 autumn series of Music & Musings in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre. This series of concerts features ConTempo Quartet with emerging and established composers from Ireland exploring new music. The series allows the composers to share their insights and inspiration with the audience in an intimate setting, offering opportunities for all to understand today’s musical creations. These are rare and special encounters with our current composers working in Ireland today, played with passion by ConTempo Quartet.
The second concert of Music & Musings on Thursday 14th November will feature celebrated Irish composer Marian Ingoldsby with her work ‘Struck by a raindrop’, first premiered in 1999 by the Jupiter String Quartet.
Her piece will be complemented by additional works played by the Quartet, with excerpts from Britten’s ‘String Quartet no. 3’.
Both performances will be punctuated by discussion between composers, artists
and listeners who are more than welcome to interact with questions about the
music.
The evening will be chaired by John Caulfield, NUI Galway.
Marian Ingoldsby was born
in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. She studied composition with Gerald Barry at
University College, Cork, graduating with an MA in Composition and winning the
Fleischmann Prize in 1995. She is currently a lecturer in the music department
of Waterford Institute of Technology.
Tickets
for these unique events cost €10/€5 and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.ie or at the door subject to availability.
Musing and Musings is a unique opportunity to engage with modern Irish composers. The Journal of Music said of September’s session with Seán Doherty, that The Devil’s Dream was a vibrant piece with a clever use of fiddle triplets, foot stamping and session feel- ‘Don’t be afraid of using elements of your heritage.’
Upcoming in Music and Musing on Thursday 5th December is the world premiere of Ed Bennett’s new composition which forms a special commission from Contemporary Music Centre, Galway Music Residency and Galway City Arts Office. Watch out for further details!
This series
is kindly supported by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), an entity
focused, among other programmes, on developing cultural initiatives to promote
music creation, culture and cultural diversity. The Galway Music Residency is also
supported by NUI Galway, the Arts Council, Galway City and County Councils and
GMIT. For further information, visit www.thegalwaymusicresidency.ie
or call 091586706.
Following on from the success of The Gloaming, the National Concert Hall is delighted to present the debut concerts by Martin Hayes, one of the world’s most celebrated fiddle players and a key figure in Irish traditional music, and his new band the Common Ground Ensemble, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March 2020 8pm. Although rooted in Irish traditional music the ensemble possesses a wealth of talent spanning improvisation, arrangement, jazz, avant-garde and cutting edge contemporary classical.
“Even though there’ll be plenty of space for people to develop their own parts, the larger picture will be driven by my vision for the music. We’ll be seeing what the tune wants to say and seeing how the band can support that. With years of performing I have a sense of what brings me the deepest joy and what gets to the heart of the music” says Hayes.
Hayes aimed to create an ensemble of musicians from different backgrounds who also have connections to Irish music. The line-up emerged to encompass Cormac McCarthy (piano, ‘Cottage Evolution’), Kate Ellis (cello, Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble), Kyle Sanna (guitar, a collaborator with Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile) and Brian Donnellan (bouzouki / harmonium / concertina, and, like Hayes, an alumnus of The Tulla Céilí Band).
The Common Ground Ensemble was also designed to operate as a platform to highlight the talents of various guest performing artists. Joining them at their debut concerts will be special guests David Power playing uilleann pipes (“one of Ireland’s finest uilleann pipers”) and the incredible Sean Nós singer/harpist Síle Denver. The sets promise to be a mixture of everything you’d hope from such a line-up: core elements of the tradition combined with new composition, improvisation and an opportunity for each musician’s remarkable talents to shine. Or as Hayes summarises, “I want this to be the most fun I can have while I’m on stage.”
Finding what’s new, challenging and progressive in the tradition has been a hallmark of Hayes’ career even though the foundations of his music remain firmly rooted in the music of East Co Clare. By his late teens, Hayes had been named the All-Ireland Fiddle Champion seven times and by his early twenties had relocated to Chicago. His credits soon racked up. Solo projects, albums with Dennis Cahill (with whom he has performed in the White House), the Martin Hayes Quartet and of course The Gloaming who have sold out shows around the world in venues such as London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican. In addition, their self-titled debut album won the Meteor Choice Music Prize for Best Irish Album.
The Common Ground Ensemble is the latest stage in Martin Hayes’ life-long musical journey – one that will continue to evolve for years to come. “You have to accept that absolute perfection may elude you forever,” he signs off, for now. “But that’s ok because music isn’t about perfection. For me it’s about heart, feeling, trust, freedom, communication and true aliveness in the moment.”
Tickets €36, €32.50 & €27.50 On Sale Friday 15 November 2019 at 10am www.nch.ie or 01 417 0000
This concert is part of Perspectives at the NCH, sponsored by Davy as Innovation Partner.
