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Month: February 2020

Yenkee Shares Latest Single

Following a triumphant 2019 that saw sold out shows across Ireland, Yenkee, aka Graham Cooney, is back with ‘Lucy’. Recorded and produced in his home, the song finds him perfecting a mix of dream funk and carefully crafted pop music.

Of the song, Cooney says “’Lucy’ is a letter from a father to his future daughter, whom he may never meet. It addresses certain anxieties present in modern society about the environment and the future of our world. I wanted to write something that was unashamedly romantic and honest. I was inspired by early 90’s Hip-Hop records by groups like A Tribe Called Quest, Bell Biv DeVoe and Salt-N-Pepa. There’s something baggy and laconic about those records that was always interesting to me.”

Yenkee plays his first show of 2020 in Dublin’s Grand Social on February 15th. Seeing as his last 3 shows sold out, it would be wise to get some in advance. Available from the Grand Social website, they are on sale now. Yenkee also plays Sebright Arms, London, on April 2nd.

Website         Spotify          YouTube       Facebook    

Birdwoman Announces Multidiscipline Show in Smock Alley

There is something happening right now with poetry and music.  A multi-disciplinary wave has crashed across the scene. It feels like the zeitgeist of the early 70s when Patti Smith reinvented what a “Gig” was and became the high priestess of punk. Birdwoman walks in the footprints of such giants. After a brief divergence from music, she became the current Leinster Slam Poetry Champ in November 2019. She returns with a brand new stage show in tow comprised of all the elements of her various artistic disciplines. It’s called “The Lightwave Residual” and the world Premiere is Sunday 16th February, in Smock Alley, Main Space, at 12pm.

How do we heal from the human condition? Birdwoman has been asking this question through her art for years. And who is Birdwoman? She is the current Leinster slam poetry champ, an acclaimed musician, artist and spiritual physicist. She believes that real and profound change must begin on the energetic level first. In a society continuously distracted and consumed by out of control mass media consumption, as text messages, online dating and automation replace real and necessary human interaction, we stand on the front line of a serious mental health crisis and wonder how we got here. Isolation, loneliness, anxiety, burnout and depression are a plague on the modern lives of human beings. The “Lightwave Residual” wants to hold the space for humanity to witness itself at its most vulnerable and powerful. It is a multidisciplinary theatrical experience that wants to entertain, inform and empower. It is a radical act of hope; a wrecking ball to to the limitations we place on ourselves as human beings. 

Stolen City Unveil ‘The Tower’ Video

Dublin three piece Stolen City have just released the video for their new single ‘The Tower’. The single was released last week and reached number 1 on the iTunes Chart, over taking Lewis Capaldi and The Weeknd. The heartfelt video is the perfect visual to this beautiful song. 

Comprising of lead singer Sean McGrath, guitarist David McCabe and drummer Ian Bailey, Stolen City pride themselves on their fun and energetic live performances.This release comes off the back of a whirlwind 2019 that not only saw the band sell out 3 nights at Academy 2, Drop Dead Twice and Upstairs in Whelans, but also saw lead singer Sean, at the end of his birthday night out, share the stage with Lewis Capaldi in The Olympia to sing the Scot’s hit Bruises together!

The new single, ‘The Tower’, was written as a letter by lead singer Sean to his girlfriend Amy to explain that no matter what she has, or will go through in life, that he will be there to help her through it. With addiction and violence occurring in the home when she was a child, it has had a knock on affect in her later life leading to PTSD and depression. Sean wrote the song to show Amy that he would help her through anything that she came up against in her life, whether it was something in her past, present or future. Stolen City hope that this song shows people that no matter what’s going on in their lives or the lives of others close to them that there is always a reason to carry on and someone there to help you through those hard times.

www.facebook.com/OfficalStolenCity/

www.instagram.com/stolen_city

www.twitter.com/stolen_City

State Lights Announce Double A-Side

State Lights announce the release of their new double A side single ‘Let You Go’ / ‘Tinseltown in the Rain’ on Friday February 7th ahead of the Dublin based four piece’s next headline show at Dublin’s Button Factory on Saturday April 25th.

The Double-A single, the band’s first of 2020 comes on the back of the band’s sold out Whelan’s show last October, and the four piece’ debut London headline in November. ‘Let You Go’ is written by Shobsy, Joe, Noel and Paul (State Lights) while ‘Tinseltown In Rain’, is one of the band’s favourite songs and an inspired choice for this double A-side. The sublime Blue Nile, Glasgow three-piece of Paul Buchanon, Robert Bell and Paul (PJ) Moore originally recorded this charming beauty of syth, electronic pop for its 1984 album ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’. Oh and those vocals, there is no way we could forget, mercifully beautiful! 

‘Tinseltown In Rain’ also sits high on the sound track to some of our childhoods! Shobsy and the boys has taken the task to hand and quite frankly the outcome is exactly what we have come to expect from State Lights, fabulous.

Showcasing a sound ready made for arenas ‘Let You Go’ is a slab of melodic pop / rock that will bring the band to new audiences. ‘Tinseltown in the Rain’ is a modern day reworking of this classic Blue Nile song that is sure to appeal to fans young and old.

In recent times the band released ‘Peace Will Come, ‘a single supported by 2FM, featured as the ‘Homegrown Hero’ and ‘Artist of the Week’ on Today FM, led to a performance on ‘The Late Late Show’ (Ireland’s biggest TV show) and tallied substantial airplay and support from KROQ Los Angeles, Radio X (UK) and a host of other International radio stations. This led to a spot at the prestigious Electric Arena Stage at Electric Picnic where they shared the stage with The Kooks, St Vincent and Cigarettes after Sex and followed this up with support slots with The Fratellis and The Academic.

State Lights formed three years ago at BIMM College in Dublin, bonding over a shared interest in classic pop music and a common desire to write big stadium sized songs the guys decided to work on a music project. Band members are singer Shobsy, guitarist Joe Regan, drummer Paul Ridgeway and bassist Noel Perry.

The band recently announced a headline show for The Button Factory on Saturday April 25th and have just completed a busy year of touring activity which included appearances at Electric Picnic, Indiependence and the Kaleidoscope Music Festival.

Find Tickets to Button Factory Show:
https://www.ticketmaster.ie/state-lights-dublin-25-04-2020/event/1800576D9CFF2414

The single is now available to pre-save on Spotfiy and pre-order from iTunes 
http://bit.ly/LetYouGo-SpotifyPreSave
http://bit.ly/LetYouGo-iTunesPreOrder

F. facebook.com/statelightsmusic

T. @StateLights 

Insta.Instagram.com/statelights 

Robert O’Connor Announces Next Release

Irish singer/songwriter Robert O’Connor has announced the release of his new single ‘Older ‘20’ on February 21. 

‘Older ‘20’ sees Robert collaborate with EDM artist Skynem GT for the second time, after the Peruvian producer won a remix contest run by Robert to remix his single ‘Real Good Fight’ last summer.  

Speaking about the collaboration, Robert said, “We connected creatively in a way that we knew there was more to explore beyond one remix. Skynem GT’s EDM sonic palette and my country storytelling lyric and vocal are an unlikely fit, but we’re lucky as artists that right now we live in an era of genre-bending.” 

Robert has never been fearful of musical experimentation, often complimenting his commercial country pop singles with remix packages that rework his tracks into dancefloor fillers.  

He explains, “I grew up in the ‘90s listening to a mix of pure pop and dance, and later in my 20s I came to indie and country – I’ve no doubt my songwriting is a product of that. When I write something new, I never assume it’s genre! I’ll always contemplate what it would sound like as a dance track, or a country record – and sometimes I think, ‘Why not have both’?” 

In the past 18 months, the Dublin-born singer has released a string of singles, each receiving an abundance of critical acclaim. Music blog Pop, Rinse, Repeat called Robert’s work, “Honest songwriting the world needs a whole lot more of,” while Indie Music Digest said, “Robert possesses enough musical talent and songwriting prowess to be extremely dangerous.”

2019 saw Robert assemble a close-knit live band and play regularly on the Dublin scene, receiving praise for their semi-unplugged but wholly satisfying versions of Robert’s back catalogue – from ‘No Second Chances’, a world-class country song described by music blog Caesar Live n Loud as, “A timeless classic,” to the anthemic ‘You Found Me‘, a song that sounds destined to fill stadiums.  

In 2020, Robert says, he has an appetite for more, “More singles, more gigs, more collaborations, more listeners, and most importantly – more risks!

Website: www.iamrobertoconnor.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/robertoconnor
Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamrobertoconnor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamrobertoconnor
YouTube: www.youtube.com/robertoconnormusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3cGgPditxbsHzV6v6jRAXC?si=jUuMwo-GQH2R_WzMX-FA4w
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/robert-oconnor/68165886

IMRO | RTÉ Scoring for Film Programme Seeks Composers & Filmmakers

Following on from the success of previous collaborative film scoring programmes, IMRO and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, in association with Screen Skills Ireland and the Contemporary Music Centre (CMC) will bring together some of the very best emerging Irish filmmakers and composers to work on an exciting collaborative project during 2020.

This initiative will provide emerging filmmakers and composers with an invaluable opportunity to enhance their skills through hands-on experience in a vital aspect of film post-production. It is also a rare opportunity to have a score composed and recorded for full orchestra. Each year, films featured in this initiative have gone on to win awards at various national and international film festivals, clearly signalling the impressive creative output of Irish film composers and filmmakers.

The focus of the project is a one day recording session in RTÉ studios in September 2020 with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra recording original scores for short film submissions selected for the initiative. Programme participants will be further supported through mentoring sessions and workshops with leading industry specialists.

We are now seeking applications from interested filmmakers who would like to participate in this programme. Due to the limited number of places available we have set down a number of qualifying criteria for those wishing to take part.

Composers

  • The ability to score for full orchestra is essential.
  • Previous experience in scoring to picture (short film/advertisements etc.) is desirable.
  • The ability to work to a tight deadline is also essential.

If you meet the above criteria and would like to participate in this program please email an up-to-date CV and samples of your work, outlining your film and TV scoring experience to date to events@nullimro.ie

A total of 4 composers will be selected for inclusion in the project.

Filmmakers

Submitted film projects for the initiative should require original scored music totalling between three and five minutes. Ideally the film should have a maximum duration of 10 – 15 minutes and should be close to or have completed picture lock. Once selected, the filmmakers will work with a composer, who has been selected through the process, who will create a full score for the film to be performed and recorded by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

All categories of film will be considered e.g. live-action drama, animation, documentary, experimental, etc. Ideally, the film projects submitted should be close to completion on editing. The use of temp tracks or “mood music” where score is required is allowed but not required.

Applications

The closing date for submissions for this initiative is 5pm Thursday 30th April 2020.

Our preference is to receive your submission electronically. Please send a link to your music or film submission to events@nullimro.ie or alternatively by post to:

IMRO / RTÉ Scoring For Film Program 2020
c/o Keith Johnson
Director of Marketing & Membership
Irish Music Rights Organisation
Copyright House
Pembroke Row
Lower Baggot Street
Dublin 2

This Ain’t No Disco invited to New York

In 2017 Donal Dineen, original host of RTE’s seminal ‘90s music program No Disco, partnered with filmmaker Myles O’Reilly to build a new platform that would give vital exposure to Ireland’s emerging folk and indie musicians. The result was the web documentary series This Ain’t No Disco.

Episode one of Season II, released over Christmas, saw Donal Dineen travel in the footsteps of the legendary ethnomusicologist and archivist Alan Lomax to a remote stretch of the Cork/Kerry border to meet with the granddaughters of the late Sean-Nós singer Elizabeth Cronin who’s songs Lomax documented in the early 1950’s. It also features live performances from John Francis Flynn, Rosie Carney, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett, Percolator, Natalya O’Flaherty, Myles Manley, and buskers Jordan and The Legs and Acid Granny.

In celebration of Season II, This Ain’t No Disco have been invited to the Irish Arts Centre, New York, to host special screenings of the first two episodes of the second season, followed by a live performance from Junior Brother, RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award double-nominee and the Irish Times’s Best Irish Act of 2019.

Schedule:

8pm, Friday 24 April 2020 | Episode 1 plus performance from Junior Brother

8pm, Saturday 25 April 2020 | Premiere of Episode 2 plus performance from Junior Brother

Tickets available at: https://irishartscenter.org/event/this-aint-no-disco-with-junior-brother

You can watch This Ain’t No Disco Episode 1 Season II online at: https://thisaintnodisco.ie/

Donate This Ain’t No Disco on Patreon from as little as €2 to gain exclusive access to episodes and be the first to find out who the special guests are: https://www.patreon.com/thisaintnodisco

This Ain’t No Disco Season II is made possible by the generous support of our Patreon donators, and partnership with IMRO.

THIS AIN’T NO DISCO

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The Lost Messiahs Release ‘Didn’t Have To Be That Way’

The Lost Messiahs hail from Portlaoise, Ireland and now with some line-up changes head out on tour to promote their new album. The tour will take them to venues all over Ireland before they head to America for a series of dates in in April, 2020, following by a string of festivals in Europe in May and June. 

Having spent the last two years writing and recording The Lost Messiah’s second album ‘Deconstruction of the Mind’, founding member and songwriter Ollie Plunkett is eager to share these new songs with the world. 

His latest creative journey has yielded 10 original songs delivered with a rich palette of atmospheric guitars, dark and brooding synths and driven by a relentless hypnotic rhythm. Meditations on love, loss and a search for life meaning permeate the tracks on this album. 

The deconstruction of the mind, the segue to a place
The silence, the fall, the breaking of the mould
The colours all explode, the wonder of it all
Look at the birds out in the sky, look how they fly, look how they fly
In a heartbeat, in a heartbeat, you and I, you and I’

The Lost Messiahs have already released two singles from ‘Deconstruction of the Mind’ ; with ‘Lights Out’ selected as Song of the Day by Joe.ie and Song of the Day by Dan Hegarty 2FM. 

For this new single ‘Didn’t Have To Be That Way’ they have collaborated with Steve Fallone of Sterling Sound in New Jersey, whose credits include The National, Interpol, War on Drugs. 

The band is made up of experienced musicians who have shared stages in the past with major acts including: Van Morrison, The Waterboys, Bob Geldof and the Vegetarians of Love and always sound like they are hardwired to the creators internal circuitry. They are known for their legendary live performances and last year they took time out of recording their new album to play a string of festivals including Electric Picnic, Sonas Music and Arts Festival, and Body & Soul and are already confirmed for many festivals and TV appearances in 2020.

They head out on an American East Coast Tour in April, playing prestigious venues like The Mercury Lounge, The Bowery Electric and Rockwood Music Hall in New York as well as gigs in Boston, Philadelphia and New Jersey.

The video for ‘Didn’t Have To be That Way’ will be released shortly.

Website: thelostmessiahs.com/
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/thelostmessiahs/

Marty Mone Gears Up To Release ‘Truck & Roll’

Hailing from Castleblayney, Marty Mone made his inaugural debut onto the Irish & UK music scene in 2014 with his single ‘Hit The Diff’, and amassed over 9 million views on YouTube to date. He went on to produce 2 successful full-length albums, and his discography thus far has brought him 22 million YouTube views (and counting).

After a slew of large-scale shows across Ireland & The UK including performances on national TV and radio, Marty resurfaces with his latest effort, a heartfelt yet upbeat country-folk single titled ‘Truck & Roll’. 

This release premieres in the wake of his 2020 Australian & New Zealand tour, and is the first single off his forthcoming album. An Irish Tour is planned for later in 2020 where he will take his show and truck around the country to meet and perform for his fans. 

The track is being released on 10th February 2020, on his own imprint ‘Marty Mone Music’. It will be available across all major streaming and social media platforms.

The track follows Marty’s life on the road, depicting the blood, sweat and tears involved in a rigorous touring schedule as he and his team haul loads from venue to venue via boat from Ireland to the UK and back. It’s a compelling summary of the ups-and-downs of a working-class touring musician, but also a look into the life of what happens in between — going to truck shows and exploring the countryside in his Scania R580.

His self-produced music video is the perfect visual accompaniment, highlighting the memorable moments across his journey in a fun and lighthearted manner. It’s also chock full of references to the folklore contained in ‘Smokey & The Bandit’, a nod to a comedy film that Marty draws inspiration from.

The track is written and recorded by Marty in his home studio ‘The Plot Cottage Studio’. All video work was done by Marty, both camerawork and editing, which is a feat in itself. In order to complete the video, 3000 video clips were shot, 50,000kms were travelled, and 1 year was collectively spent on the road.

Web: www.martymonemusic.com

Danny G & The Major 7ths Announce Bello Bar Date

Join Danny G & The Major 7ths in the Bello Bar for a night of original soul, funk, jazzy sounds and good vibes on 6th March. This will be the first gig of 2020 for the group, and it might be the last one before their album launch. Limited early bird tickets available.

Special guest is the amazing Tolü Makay with her band.

Danny G & The Major 7ths is Irish neo-soul. No, not ‘The Commitments’. This is smooth, laid-back groove music with a positive message. Think harmonies and head-nodding. Imagine if D’Angelo was born in Limerick, grew up in Dublin listening to CSNY and had a Dutch songwriter father. The band is an all-star lineup ranging from 5 to 8 musicians including past or present members of Hozier, Loah, Fehdah, Mary Coughlan, Zaska, Ensemble Eriu, Paj, Selk and LaGracia. Phew!

Debut LP ‘Love Joints‘ was released in late 2014 on Hipdrop Records to positive acclaim. Single ‘Sweet Lies‘ has 400k plays on Spotify to date. Latest single ‘Believing‘ feat. Grainne McCarthy is out now (200k Spotify streams to date). ‘Say When‘ feat. French R’nB singer Osmojam was released in late 2018 – both tracks were added to RTE’s recommended playlist and received considerable national airplay. New EP ‘Live @ D-Light Studios’ is out now (featuring new track ‘When it All Runs Out’). ‘Time the Healer’ feat. Fehdah & Zaska is out now! www.dmajor7ths.com

Tolü Makay is an artist, performer, singer & songwriter. She is currently working on her project EP about personal growth in confidence and stages of self-love set to be released in the summer.

Having worked with Zaska, Delush, JyellowL, and with over 600,000 streams on Spotify, Tolü Makay is one to watch.

Inspired by the likes of Nina Simone, Beyoncé, Amy Winehouse and Asa, she plans to make it as an iconic and influential artist that will forever inspire generations to come.

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