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Month: February 2020

Kevin Neary Announces Release of ‘Take Me Anywhere’

Kevin Neary, energetic troubadour from Galway, now based in Dublin, has just announced his new single ‘Take Me Anywhere’ out on Feb 28th 2020. Writing from the heart with lyrics that often tell a story when you dare to read between the lines, Kevin Neary writes and performs an eclectic mix of acoustic-based songs that will appeal to those with a taste for Soul, Folk and Acoustic Rock.

In his music, Kevin varies from using his strong, ferociously emotive voice all the way down to the softest lyrics, threading carefully into a beautiful tapestry of a fusion of genres that all lie within the elements of the mainstream.

A multi-instrumentalist; playing guitar, piano, drums, saxophone and more, Kevin has honed his versatility to create a unique live show. Having played in venues in Dublin and Galway such as Whelan’s, The Workman’s Club, The Button Factory, Sin É, The Róisín Dubh, Monroes, etc. as well as Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club Upstairs (London), The Bedford (London), etc. He is just hot off his sold-out Whelan’s show in November with his 8-Piece band, and is looking to further make his mark upon the Irish live music scene.

Coming from solo acoustic and humble busking roots, Kevin has grown from the streets of Galway and has found an explosive sound in a full band setting. He recently was spotted in Dublin by legendary Broadway actress and The Greatest Showman’s iconic singer Keala Settle (winner of Golden Globe for best original song), and a live performance of his song ‘Man Of Faith’ appeared on her instagram, where she commended his singing ability and performance.

Kevin recently recorded his most popular songs with established producer Michael Heffernan (who has worked with the likes of Gavin Friday, Gavin James, The Coronas, Dermot Kennedy, The Script, Il Divo, Swedish House Mafia etc.) and will be releasing his first single ‘Take Me Anywhere’ on February 28th, and will follow up in May with his second single ‘Man Of Faith’.

https://www.facebook.com/KevinNearyMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/kevinnearymusic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/KevinNearyMusic

Peco Announces Next Single

‘Some Folk’, released 20th March, is the new single from Indie-Folk artist, Peco. It’s a charming and unassuming little earworm of a song. If you’re looking for a glimpse of sunshine amidst the never ending rain of the last month, then look no further!

Complete with hand claps, Beach Boy-esque falsettos and a bass line that you’ll be humming long after listening, it’s easy to see why ‘Some Folk’ has proved such a live favourite for Peco. The lyrics, as usual with Peco, delve a little bit deeper and are concerned with the modern tendency to focus on the self and look inward rather than outward to the community around us. ‘Some Folk’ is Indie-Folk-Pop with something to say. 

www.pecomusic.com www.liveloudmusic.com 

God Knows ‘Who’s Asking?’ EP Out Now

Competing on the world stage is nothing new for Zimbabwean-Irish MC, God Knows. He’s showcased at SXSW, made music at the famous People Festival in Berlin and won the Choice Music Prize (Ireland’s equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize) with his Rusangano Family bandmates.

Yet, his brand of arresting, conscious hip-hop is still labeled by many as “Irish hip-hop”. But with major international media like The New York Times, Vice and The Guardian all taking note, “Irish hip-hop”, is creating a groundswell and God Knows is at the helm.

On Friday 28th February, God Knows releases ‘Who’s Asking? EP’ – a four-track EP that will see the title track, produced by Fly High Society founder SertOne, first up for release.

A remix of ‘Who’s Asking’ features some of the most exciting MCs working in Ireland at the moment – all of whom just happen to hail from the west coast. ‘Who’s Asking Remix’ features Denise Chaila, Hazey Haze, Citrus Fresh, Gavin DaVinci and Strange Boy Nature. In addition, the EP includes ‘Kettle On’ (prod. by The Line) and ‘VHS 3:16’ (prod. by Naive Ted).

Using his music to break down cultural, racial and geographical barriers is nothing new to God Knows, but this project sees him push those boundaries even further.

He says: “’Who’s Asking?’ is a direct answer to the questions I’m asked all the time about Irish rap. I believe in my county; I believe in my country. Irish music has always punched above its weight on the world’s stage and put its own stamp on popular music – why should rap and hip-hop be any different?

This EP is just the first volume and it’s being released on my brother SertOne’s label, Fly High Society. He has always been supportive and we share the same beliefs. Look out for more work by us.”

In an article on Fly High Society, Vice said, “Borders and genres mean nothing to this DIY label who are set on uncovering the freshest beat talents across the world, putting on incredible collaborative events, producing and pressing sell-out records and tapes, and releasing their hugely popular Fly High Radio podcast on Mixcloud.”

SertOne says: “I first met Naive Ted (producer on ‘VHS 3:16’) back in 2012 – he was booking me for shows in Galway and Limerick. Through him I met MyNameisJohn and this led to me meeting the Rusangano boys. John, MuRli and God Knows came over to Liverpool and we spent a few days in the studio working on a project exploring themes of immigration experience and delving into the Liverpool-Irish connection. We’ve have had a pretty steady exchange of beats and vocals making their way back and forth across the Irish Sea over the years, and this latest project came around pretty naturally. This time however it felt right to widen the collaboration to include an array of really exciting upcoming and established artists. 

While we never set out to make ‘Irish hip-hop’, we know our musical influences are somewhere between America and England, and geographically and musically, whether it’s hip-hop or whatever, it’s Irish, and this is what Ireland sounds like – enthusiastic, unafraid and individual.”

Bandcamp: https://flyhighsociety.bandcamp.com/album/whos-asking-ep

New Single from Emma Langford

As a taster of what’s to come on her upcoming second album, Irish singer-songwriter Emma Langford has released the title track, ‘Sowing Acorns’ – a new single in collaboration with Belfast born and based poet Vanessa Ifediora. The indie-pop sensibilities that shine through the Limerick artist’s latest offering once again showcase her versatility as a writer and composer. 

Emma worked closely with Grammy-nominated duo Chris O’Brien and Graham Murphy of The Production Suite, Dublin, in transforming a simple lullaby into an epic hands-in-the-air style anthem.

The track started out small – I wrote it to try and calm myself, I was feeling trapped and exhausted and like I was mentally spiralling because I couldn’t sleep, and when I did it was restless and disturbed by fever dreams” she says of the song’s origins, “but when I brought it to studio, I knew I wanted it to be less understated, and to have a sense of drama.”

The track opens with finger-picked guitar and the soothing speaking voice of Vanessa Ifediora reading the words of her poem ‘Off-White Sheets’. The listener is lulled deep into a false sense of security by the singer’s familiar lilt on the opening verses, until the song builds to a powerful chorus, supported by layered vocals and drums, creating the artist’s biggest sound yet. The energy of the track ebbs and flows like the tide; it is mesmerising.

Emma wrote ‘Sowing Acorns’ in 2017 while finishing her MA in Community Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in Limerick. The Academy building boasts a dazzling mosaic illustrating Irish myths such as ‘the hazelnuts of wisdom’, which Emma says inspired the concept for the lyrics:

It’s not a direct reference, but the imagery of the hazelnuts of wisdom got me thinking about how ‘from little seeds great things grow’ – the lyric in the chorus is ‘I’ve been sowing acorns in my densely woven mind’; everything I’ve done in my life has been a seed, planted in my mind, that grew into something bigger, and those experiences and decisions form how we think, what we dream. Those moments of decision-making and growth are important.” 

Vanessa’s poem, sampled in the track, draws on her experiences of a condition called Maladaptive Daydreaming, and was published in March 2019 in her first book “Off-White Sheets”, a collection of images and poems detailing her anxieties surrounding recovery from depression. 

‘Sowing Acorns’ the new single from Emma Langford is available across online stores on the 28th February. Keep an eye out for the official music video, and a remix by Belfast-based Electronic/ambient artist Arvo Party coming soon.

Emma will release her second album, ‘Sowing Acorns’, on Friday 18th September 2020.

Buy/Listen here: https://song.link/h3nkgw47pvmgj

www.emmalangfordmusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/emmalangfordmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/elangfordmusic
Instagram: instagram.com/emmalangfordmusic

Sophie Doyle Ryder Shares ‘Enough’

Rising Irish singer and song writer is delighted to release her second single and music video ‘Enough’. Described as a self-empowering non apologetic break up song, Sophie’s sound continues to express her independence as a young songwriter.

Sophie Doyle Ryder, 17, is Irish, born in Dublin. She is a pop singer and a songwriter. Sophie has sang her entire life, with inspiration from artists like Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. She grew up listening to a lot of artists such as Coldplay, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Queen.

Malahide gal Sophie Doyle Ryder released her debut single ‘Mood’ in 2019 This single ‘Mood’ was a glimpse into her ultimate independence as a female artist. Sophie wants to thank all 80,000 people who have streamed Mood so far.

Her next single “Enough’ is out today and she can’t wait for people to see how she has evolved in only a few short months.

Sophie is very excited for her first headline show with MCD in Whelans on 9th May. It will feature some unreleased music and some epic covers with a world class band.

Sophie’s song writing is always personal, always about a real situation whether it’s her own personal story or a friends’. She finds that song writing is a form of therapy. She’s been writing ever since she was 10.

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/sophiedoyleryder/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophdoyleryder
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophiedoyleryder 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QCok3NH6vAlK12mUElHeZ
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2VqP17d

Mount Alaska Share Double A-Side Ahead of Headline Date

Ahead of their show at Dublin’s Pepper Canister Church on March 15th, Dublin based electronic duo Mount Alaska today release a double A-sided single, a new track ‘Slopes’ and ‘The Subterranean Heart’ taken from their acclaimed album ‘Wave Atlas: Season One’. 

Mount Alaska is a music project from Dublin production duo, Stephen Shannon and Cillian Mc Donnell. Seasoned stalwarts of the Irish music industry, the former members of Halfset returned in 2017 with their debut single. After Halfset, Stephen and Cillan started working together in 2012, spending time in isolated places to help them focus on a completely new sound. The pair followed up their debut single with a string of critically acclaimed releases in 2018 on their own independent label, Language Recordings. Following a number of live shows and festival appearances at All Together Now, Another Love Story, Metropolis and Forbidden Fruit, the band signed with 251 Records (a partner label of Faction Records and home to Martin Hayes Quartet), to release their debut album, ‘Wave Atlas: Season One’, in November 2019. The album was written, recorded and produced by Shannon & McDonnell, in Shannon’s Dublin studio, Experimental Audio. The concept for ‘Wave Atlas: Season One’ came from a desire to create a soundtrack for a TV show that doesn’t actually exist, and it is also an ode to some of their favourite composers: Max Richer, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Delia Derbyshire, Rival Consoles and Wendy Carlos.

Listen to Wave Atlas: Season One https://251records.lnk.to/MountAlaskaWaveAtlasS1

MOUNT ALASKA
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SLOW MOVING CLOUDS
PEPPER CANISTER CHURCH, DUBLIN
SUNDAY 15TH MARCH 2020 – 8:00PM SHARP

A LIMITED number of tickets remain for Mount Alaska & Slow Moving Clouds cost €15.00 and are ON SALE NOW from www.selectivememory.ie and http://bit.ly/MountAlaska15

Sharpson Shares Homage Video to Kate Bush

‘Kate Bush’ is the new music video from DJ and producer ‘Sharpson’. It stars Irish comedian Hannah Mamalis of the comedy troupe Dream Gun,  and was directed by Niall Cutler, known for his work on the comedy sketch group Chaps Eye and Glick Bate and also was the main star of Sharpson’s last video ‘Why Don’t You Come On Out?’

The music video is a love letter to Kate Bush’s trippy music videos throughout her career. Cutler takes up the ‘tripiness’ to the next level with the edit, and Mamalis’s hilarious performance definitely leaves an impression.

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Screaming Orphans Release ‘Guardian Angels’ on 6 March

For Donegal band Screaming Orphans, music is not just a career, it is their life. Constantly in demand as a live act and following their performance at Tradfest 2020 in the Olympia Theatre Dublin alongside the Hothouse Flowers, Jon Boden and The Remnant Kings they are now releasing the fourth single ‘Guardian Angels’ off their 2019 chart topping album ‘Life In A Carniva’l on Friday 6th March.

‘Guardian Angels’ shows a more melancholy side of a band that has been described as “when honey and gravel collide”. ‘Guardian Angels’ is a song inspired by the passing of a friend or loved one. Suddenly and unexpectedly they are gone and you realise how much they meant to you.

You don’t know how much you impact the people around you and vice versa, until (as in this case) they are suddenly gone. It’s a song about how we are all in this life together, good and bad and an observation of how sad it is that sometimes you don’t realise that fact in a truly fundamental way until there is a catastrophic change. Then you realise that once you have really reached someone they will always be with you, as guardian angels …….

Screaming Orphans, a genre-breaking, chart topping all sister band from Ireland, are known worldwide for their award-winning sound, combining their original pop songs with a unique take on traditional Irish music. The band have toured globally and recorded with the likes of Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel, The Chieftains, Joni Mitchell and World music star Baaba Maal. Screaming Orphans have released 14 albums and have topped Billboard, iTunes Pop and World Music charts.

Screaming Orphans are a band that defies an easy musical style pigeonhole and their high-energy masterful fusion of pop and folk will take you on an exhilarating musical journey.

www.screamingorphans.com
https://twitter.com/screamingorphan
https://www.facebook.com/screamingorphans
https://www.instagram.com/screamingorphans/

The Pale Release ‘Krakatoa’

Irish music luminaries The Pale will celebrate 30 years in the music industry this year, and they will be undertaking a special 30th anniversary Irish tour to commemorate this achievement before the summer. This tour will see the band returning to some of Ireland’s legendary venues as part of the celebrations, while performing songs from across their lengthy career.

To tie in with the tour announcement, the band release a new single, ‘Krakatoa’, taken from their recent critically acclaimed album ‘Merciful Hour’.

It’s dizzying to think that The Pale are 30 years together this year, that’s a shocking 10,950 days in existence. In light of this milestone we are going out on tour. Which is clearly the best response, as we love to play live. We will be playing shows over the coming months in Ireland and the U. K. as part of our 30th Anniversary tour. We cannot wait.“-  Matthew Devereux

During this time the band have released 13 albums and performed numerous tours across the world. Playing shows in Russia, Japan, Eastern Europe to name but a few, 2020 will also see the band return to the UK for their first tour there in many years. The band plan to announce some other surprises during this year of celebrations.

The Pale started life in Dublin’s Northside in 1990 but drew their influences from far beyond. the band cut their teeth busking on Dublin’s Grafton street, alongside fellow Irish musicians like Kila, Paddy Casey, Mic Christopher and Glen Hansard.

For some they are best remembered for their hits ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Dogs With No Tails’. but that is only the tip of the iceberg for a band that has steered clear of the beaten track, releasing a string of albums the effortlessly skip between style and genres, all the while retaining a strong lyrical focus.

Flirtations with chart success, forays into alternative circuses, tours way off the beaten path in Russia, Japan, Eastern Europe and beyond are all par for the course for a band that have refused to trade off past glories.

2019 seen them release their 13th studio album to date ‘Merciful Hour’, Followed by shows across Ireland, as well as Electric Picnic and closing the Friday night of Feile 19 in Tipperary. while November 2019 saw their hit single ‘Dogs With No Tails’ being featured in Season 2 of the BBC hit series ‘The Young Offenders’.

30th Anniversary Irish Tour

Portlaoise, Kavanagh’s – 17th April
Dublin, Whelans – 8th May
Mullingar, The Stables – 9th May
Dundalk, Spirit Store – 15th May
Cork, Kino – 16th May
Saltwater Festival, Westport – 30th May
Listowel, Mike the Pie’s – 12th June

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Lavengro Announce Single ‘I Want Your Girl’

Northern Irish Band Lavengro have just announced the release date for their next single ‘I Want Your Girl’. The new record from the five lads from Northern Ireland is out now on most digital streaming platforms.

The track has already been gaining momentum, ‘I Want Your Girl’ has already been chosen by “BBC Across The Line” (Northern Ireland’s BBC introducing Show) to be their “Best Song in the World” with the radio show gave the track an exclusive sneak play on their show. It bodes well for the boys who have also been chosen to represent ATL on their stage at this year’s Output Belfast Music Industry.

The band who write and play all their own music, had an amazing 2019 signing to Paradigm under Sol Parker (Agent for Billie Eilish, Rita Ora and Liam Payne) and supporting Boyzone at Fall’s Park in Belfast. 2020 looks likely to eclipse this with numerous festival appearances already confirmed including Sea Sessions, Indiependence 2020, Camp Bestival & Buncrana Music Festival.

With the upbeat and cheeky vibe of ‘I Want Your Girl’ there is no doubt that the success of the band’s first single ‘Love Me’ will be replicated

‘I Want Your Girl’ is the second single from the EP, ‘Consequences’ and is out now!

www.facebook.com/Lavengro/ 
twitter.com/lavengrofficial 
www.instagram.com/lavengro.official/ 
lavengroband.com/ 
open.spotify.com/artist/2LAVfyhKgkvkHMXfbQXGCq 

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