Month: May 2020

Having spent 2019 piecing together his debut album, Irish singer-songwriter Honas sets his sights on an eventful 2020, with a steady pour of releases planned.

Following on from Honas’ debut release ‘Wicker Blanket’ which landed on Spotify’s Fresh Finds, and amassed reviews from blogs both nationally and internationally, May 29th will see the release of ‘Control’. ‘Control’ is a collaboration between Honas and Berlin-based artist/producer LO. The song was written and recorded in 3 hours on March 13th, just a day after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic.

“All of a sudden I was experiencing this new, unique feeling. It was this overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. The realisation had just dawned that this wasn’t going to go away any time soon, and there was pretty much nothing anyone could do about it. All you can do to ease that sense of doom is to put faith in people. Know that somehow, humans will move past it. So the lyrics kind of move between those two states of emotion.” – Honas

Sonically, ‘Control’ is a step to the side from Honas’ debut single, ‘Wicker Blanket’. LO’s chill-house style of production combined with Honas’ whispery, intimate vocal brings the song into a world where it would be equally as acceptable to dance, as it would be to close your eyes and get lost in the chilling eeriness.

Having written, recorded and toured with indie-outfit Orchid Collective, Honas is no stranger to Ireland’s music scene. With them he has played every major festival in the country and received considerable radio play nationwide. The intention was always to release his own music, but until now, the timing was never right. After several years of collaborating with other writers and artists, exploring different sounds, writing and ditching countless songs, something eventually clicked after starting to work with producer Adam Redmond (Search Party Animal). This collaboration saw Honas’ songs taking on a new and exciting shape, and suddenly it was time to let the world hear them.

Having just released their soaring new single ‘Falling In’, Dublin quartet Inhaler share its accompanying video. The band worked with renowned filmmaker and former Jesus & Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart (Paul Weller, The Horrors, My Bloody Valentine) and Antony Genn on the vibrant, psychedelic clip, which was shot entirely over Zoom with each member in isolation during the worldwide lockdown. “’Falling In’ is a song about the battles that we all have with our own ego,” frontman Elijah Hewson revealed on launch. The track is taken from Inhaler’s forthcoming debut album, which they are currently working on.

Four friends who formed the band while they were still at school, Hewson, Robert Keating, Ryan McMahon and Josh Jenkinson bonded over a love of similar groups, taking in The Stone Roses, Joy Division, The Strokes, The Cure, Interpol, Depeche Mode and more. They have amassed a diehard fanbase and their tracks have been streamed over 25 million times globally. These songs about finding your way as a young person in the world are connecting on a universal scale. On a UK and European tour at the start of the year, they sold over 10,000 tickets and played to ecstatic, sold-out crowds.

‘Falling In’ documents how their lives have changed over the past year, a reflection on the pitfalls of success. “I think being a young band on tour,” says Hewson, “and seeing our music connect with audiences from different parts of the world has opened our eyes to the excitement and exhilaration of life, and being up on stage and feeling wanted and loved can be a very powerful drug. We are just beginning to encounter our own egos and becoming aware that allowing it to be in charge of who you are can be your downfall. You can cut yourself on its sharp edges and bleed to death if you’re not careful. We want to meet our egos head on, shake their hands and give them a hug. We are not afraid of them… we know we need each other. Your ego can be your friend, but you need your mates to make sure it doesn’t boss you around.”

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Dublin’s Soda Blonde release the ‘isolation – content’ EP today. A four track collection of glorious alt-pop that follows their debut EP, ‘Terrible Hands’ which was released at the end of last year. In support of this, the group performed a series of sold out shows in their hometown, toured across Ireland and played 2 UK shows in Manchester and London, leading to them being asked to support Sinead O’Connor at her Iveagh Gardens show (now postponed to the Summer of 2021). The ‘isolation-content’ EP is also available now for fans to purchase on Bandcamp here: https://sodablonde.bandcamp.com/

If the staggering vocals on the EP sound familiar, it’s because they are. Soda Blonde was formed last year by four members of the critically acclaimed Little Green Cars, whose debut album (produced by Marcus Dravs) hit the Number One spot in Ireland and saw them gain a coveted spot on the BBC Sound Of poll. Now producing the music themselves, whilst also creating all the artwork and visuals, Faye O’Rourke, Adam O’Regan, Dylan Lynch, Donagh Seaver O’Leary’s new project finds them operating as fully fledged polymaths.

Born out of a need to keep making music whilst in lockdown, the group found a process of working that enabled them to put together the ‘isolation – content’. Initially trying to work more loosely and expecting to be forced to pay less attention to detail than they would in a normal situation, they soon found the process became something different entirely, as Faye elaborates; “The alchemy of this project is simple: after the initial sample is taken from me, it’s then sent off to the lab where Adam can dissect and analyse what the fuck is going on. He makes a few suggestions about structure and then lays down the foundational ‘vibe’ for the track. It’s then sent off to the rhythm section for further critical analysis and expansion before making its way back to me to hear the first draft of the song. Not long into early stages of the project the brief abruptly changed. It shifted from the previous pursuit of sanity and time consumption into something immensely more important. Our usual work ethic of meticulousness and devotion to every detail was reinstated. “

Now with two immaculate EPs under their belt, a new sound and newfound approach to their craft, plus their debut album almost finished, Soda Blonde are firmly marking themselves out as one to watch.

https://www.sodablonde.com/
www.facebook.com/sodablonde
www.instagram.com/sodablonde
www.twitter.com/sodablone

After returning earlier this month to deliver the new video for her second single ‘Believe It’, which was premiered on the Official Charts, Irish pop starlet KEHLI is back to unveil her latest hit-in-the-making ‘Hypnotized’.

Following on from the release of ‘Believe It’ and ‘One Last Kiss’ in previewing her highly-anticipated new EP, ‘Hypnotized’ sees her adopt a more electro-pop aesthetic. With her own crystalline vocals taking centre stage, this new offering is driven by a rich beat and gutsy electronic texture, reminiscent of the dynamic pop sound of the 80s.

Speaking about her new release, she said, “I recorded ‘Hypnotized’ last summer in London and I’m excited to finally release it! People experience love at one point or another and this is one interpretation of that feeling. The song has such an upbeat, uplifting energy to it and I hope people enjoy it as much as I loved making it.

Mostly though, I hope it brings a little fun and happiness to everyone’s quarantine situation as the world goes through such a dark time at the moment with the pandemic. As we go into the summer months and need to remain in quarantine, people are going to need something to uplift them and I hope this helps even in a small way to give an element of fun and positivity to anyone that hears it while listening at home!’’

Recorded at SARM Studios (Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Stormzy, Raye, Lewis Capaldi), the track was produced by buzzing pop production team Kid Eternal and Angelssön (Glowie, Iggy Azalea, Icona Pop), mixed by Eli Marrett-Hitch (Dua Lipa ‘Don’t Start Now’, Justin Bieber ‘Yummy’, Troye Sivan, Ariana Grande, Julia Michaels, Jonas Blue) and mastered by Stuart Hawkes (Mabel, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Anne-Marie, JHus, Mura Masa, Rudimental).

Icona Pop & Afrojack producer from the Netherlands, Buzz Low heard the track and will now be releasing the official remix, which is set to arrive in early June.

Since the release of her sophomore single ‘Believe It’ last September, a lot has changed for the emerging singer. As well as the enormous response it received from Irish radio, with nearly 10 million radio impacts across stations such as iRadio, RTE 2FM, Spin 103.8, FM104, both BBC Radio 1 and KISS FM were also regular supporters of the release, and was featured in countless publications including Official Charts ‘One To Watch’, Earmilk, 1883 magazine, The Irish Times, Music Week, Record of the Day, The Digital Fix, Vents Magazine, Record of the Day and Chill Sounds Good.

By the end of 2019, she had collected nearly half a million streams across her Spotify alone. In addition to being invited to perform the infamous studio 8 sessions for RTE 2 fm, KEHLI was also named one of Top 5 emerging female acts to watch in 2020. Famed French HipHop DJ/Producer ProleteR heard the track and loved it so much he put his remix to it, which will be released next month.

Her previous offering ‘One Last Kiss’ reached top 5 positions in three key UK club charts including contemporary pop (#4), urban (#3) and club urban (#3). Watch the video for ‘One Last Kiss’ HERE

Hailing from Dublin, 19-year old KEHLI is a vocalist and performer with a soulful, passionate and unique interpretation of contemporary pop music.  She spent her early years at stage school, where from age 5, she studied music and professional dance including contemporary, hip-hop and ballet. 

Her evolving passion for music and performance encouraged a 14 year old KEHLI to try her hands on a couple of TV music shows (usual suspects The Voice/X Factor etc.) which at such a tender age, provided invaluable experience and gained her a small cult online following. 

Rehearsal footage of KEHLI singing Jorja Smith’s ‘Let me down’ made its way onto Instagram and was met by an extremely positive response with over 22K views in its first 48hrs.  This encouraged KEHLI to continue to pursue her passion for music.

It was this experience that led to an intro to producer/songwriter MSRD – now New York/London based, who’s worked closely with KEHLI to help hone her sound.  Other collaborators include the likes of London based Cameron Gower-Poole (Anne-Marie, Raye, RAY BLK) who has worked closely on KEHLI’s forthcoming debut, a soulful, edgy, pop infused EP also featuring mixes by Josh Gudwin (Julia Michaels, Post Malone, Halsey).

2020 is on track to be an exciting one for this young Irish talent and her music.

www.kehliofficial.com 
http://bit.ly/KEHLI-Instagram

Irish soprano Eimear Quinn makes a return to recording with the epic Celtic Classical Crossover album ‘ÉRIU’ recorded with the RTE Concert Orchestra.

The esteemed Irish singer and Eurovision winner (The Voice 1996) has crafted a collection of orchestral songs, all Irish in origin, to include a brand new setting of Patrick Cassidy’s ‘Vide Cor Meum’. Retitled ‘Love Endless’ with a lyric in English by the renowned lyricist Brendan Graham (You Raise me Up) the much-loved aria is reimagined as a duet for voice and cello (Gerald Peregrine)

Quinn also collaborated with Graham to write ‘The Watchman’ an anthem for hope and solidarity for our times, this popular single with more than 20,000 streams in it’s first month of release.

More original compositions include ‘Jasmine Flower’ with the legendary fiddle player John Sheahan (The Dubliners) a song of yearning for home.

Other compositions include a song co-written with award-winning British composer Sarah Class, a rhythmic and powerful ode to Ireland called ‘Hibernia’ (the album’s next single with video to follow)

Eimear’s work with Belfast composer and musician Neil Martin also features with a striking setting of ‘Silent O Moyle’ for voice and cello (as featured in the Royal Albert Hall during President Higgin’s state visit to Britain). Martin also orchestrates ‘Crucán na bPáiste’ to include the stunning accordion playing of Máirtín O’Connor.

Other Irish language music includes an orchestral setting by Eimear of ‘An Raibh tu ar an gCarraig’.

Eimear’s collaboration with Brendan Graham continues with ‘Butterfly’ and the collection reaches a cadence with the first fully orchestrated recorded of ‘The Voice’.

The title ‘Ériu’ is the eponymous mother-goddess of Ireland, who gave her name to Éire (Ireland in Gaeilge). Eimear feels a deep spiritual connection with her motherland, and draws strength from standing on the shoulders of the powerful women gone before her.

“This collection of songs comes from my heart, with immense joy and gratitude, tracing the musical landscape that I have had the great fortune to gradually inhabit over my career so far. Crossing happily between folk and classical settings, I have found that both genres have organically combined in this space where I find myself the most genuine; singing Irish music in an orchestral setting.” – Eimear Quinn

www.eimearquinn.com

Track 1 ‘Pacific’ by Nobodys Face & Enda Gallery:

You may have recently heard of Enda Gallery who recently released his debut album under the name delush. Enda, originally from Leixlip who is now based in Berlin, is a consistent collaborator with some of Berlin’s top artists in the electronic and hip-hop genres. 

‘Pacific’ is a song uniquely suited for this time. It’s a duet between Enda and a computer generated voice, a day-dream of heading to the Pacific with a loved one and acting on your feelings, you know, the simple things. The collaboration with Nobodys Face is the latest in a long and fruitful relationship. Nobodys Face was a co-producer of delush’s ‘It’s Alright’ featuring Strange Boy, and also added additional production on ‘Master of Both Worlds’ from the album. Enda has featured on four of Nobodys’ tracks and this one is the final single before his new album comes. The track is out now, 29th of May, on Four/Sony Music. 

Buy/Stream ‘Pacific’ by Nobodys Face and Enda Gallery:

https://nobodysface.lnk.to/Pacific

Track 2 ‘Temporary Illusion’ by Niconé feat. Enda Gallery

The story goes that Enda Gallery wrote and performed the vocals in Marrakech after 10 days in silent meditation in a Moroccan ashram. German electronic producer Niconé took these vocals and built the track around them. 

The EP comprises the original ‘Temporary Illusion’ in two versions, Running and Clomping, with vibrant melodies, hypnotic arpeggios and catchy, resonating vocal hooks. It also features an electric Davide Squillace remix. A sublime reinterpretation, with nods to old school sounds, and lost nights on the dance floor.

The track is released via the label and thinktank This And That Lab. They welcome back Niconé whose consistent sound has made him a regular on labels such as Bar 25 Music, Dantze and Katermukke. His music cannot be defined simply by a genre, but rather a feeling. Enda’s prominent voice has quickly gained attention, with various releases and collaborations on Bar 25, Einmusika and others. The track was premiered on Mr. Afterparty. 

‘Temporary Illusion’ is a deep electronic track which contemplates this existence and it’s polarities – the desires and fear that arise when we are not totally accepting of the present moment. It expresses a final desire to escape falling into the traps of temporary illusions and discovering our true nature, which may be the great task for humanity.

Singer, songwriter and actor Ryan O’Shaughnessy has led an incredibly successful and diverse creative life for a relatively young artist. But his most recent experience, a year of travel (that began in South America and ended in Los Angeles), has added a new chapter to his musical career, resulting in a lot of new musical collaborations and a new single, ‘Lucky One’, set for release on Friday, May 29, 2020 on O’Shaughnessy’s own Bayview Records.

‘Lucky One’ was co-written by O’Shaughnessy and Hustle Standard, produced by Hustle Standard and recorded near the Los Angeles International Airport just before the California “Stay At Home” order was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The accompanying video is comprised of footage from O’Shaughnessy’s recent trip to South America, chronicling his experience through photos and videos. 

“This song reflects on my time spent traveling in South America last year, learning more about people and therefore more about myself,” says O’Shaughnessy. “The importance of acknowledging each experience that life puts in front of you and remembering to be grateful for the good and accepting of the bad.”

O’ Shaughnessy began his career in television, initially known as the character Mark in the Irish soap opera television series Fair City, a role that he began at the age of 8 and ended almost a decade later. Spending his teen years on Irish screens, O’Shaughnessy decided it was time to turn his focus from acting to music and began studying at BIMM Dublin. There, he penned his first collection of songs and appeared on the finals of both The Voice and Britain’s Got Talent, performing his song ‘No Name’, which has garnered over 54 million views on YouTube. As a result of his phenomenal success, he was scooped up and signed to Sony RCA in the UK, releasing his debut EP (which was #1 in Ireland for 2 consecutive months) and toured throughout the UK and Ireland.

Soon after, he took part in the Irish songwriting competition ‘The Hit’ and released the song ‘Who Do You Love’ (that entered the Irish charts at #3), before representing Ireland at Eurovision in May, 2018. There, O’Shaughnessy performed his track ‘Together’, a song about same sex relationships whose slogan ‘Love Is Love’ caused a controversial reception in Europe. Nevertheless, O’Shaughnessy was Ireland’s most successful Eurovision entry in over 6 years.

On releasing his new single ‘Lucky One’, Ryan O’Shaughnessy comments: “This is my first single in over two years so I’m excited to share my thoughts and experiences via the music and video. Looking back at my time in South America I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to travel and meet so many wonderful people along the way, this hits home even more so now during these unprecedented times.” 

‘Lucky One’ will be available on all digital outlets today, May 29, 2020.

Social media –
Insta/TikTok/Twitter : @Ryan_Acoustic
Youtube/Facebook : Ryan O’Shaughnessy

The popular DeBarra’s Sitting Room to Sitting Room Sessions continue bringing you a little bit of comfort and consistency in a world of uncertainty. Tune in every night at 9.30pm, and Sundays at 8pm to enjoy live streamed shows from some of the finest Irish music and spoken word talent, with some guests popping in from overseas along the way too. The next wave of guests includes: MuRli, Swimmers Jackson, Elly O’Keefe, Ger Wolfe, Tina Pisco and many more.

Ray Blackwell from DeBarras said: “As lockdown continues, so do the livestreams…music connects us and connection is more important now than ever. I don’t know about you but I’ll take it any way I can get it, and these livestreams have certainly offered connection to me. They’ve made me feel a little better, they’ve given me a little bit more space to breath, and they’ve reminded me that no matter what happens we’re all tethered together. Thanks to all the musicians and to all the music lovers. I hope to see you all in the flesh in DeBarras at some stage in the future.”

MAY:

Caoilin Sherlock – Thurs 28^th May
Roisin Kilgannon – Fri 29^th
Leo Di-Santo (Lancaster, US) – Sat 30^th
Céilí Allstars – Sun 31^st

JUNE:

Trad Session – Mon 1^st
Lauren Guillery – Tues 2^nd
Spoken Word w/ Stan Notte – Weds 3^rd
John Spillane – Thurs 4^th
Swimmers Jackson – Friday 5^th
Jinx Lennon – Sat 6^th
John & Tina Pisco – Sun 7^th
Trad session with Mairtin De Cogain – San Diego, US – Mon 8^th
Elly O’Keefe – Tues 9^th
Lau Noah (NYC) – NYC, US – Weds 10^th
Ger Wolfe – Thurs 11^th
MuRli – 9:30pm – Fri 12^th
Deccy McCarthy – Sat 13^th

All shows take place on DeBarras Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DeBarrasClon/

‘Hello’ is the latest release by Irish singer Micah. Her previous release ‘Forever’ has achieved great success with over 46K streams, rave reviews and features on prestigious platforms such as RTE’s Entertainment site. Her previous releases with Leo Dynamic1 ‘Baby Baby’ and ‘Run and Hide’ have racked up over 250k views on YouTube so far. All tracks have received radio play in the U.S.A, Europe such as KISS FM, Australia and back home in Ireland (Spin southwest).  With RTE 2XM listed her as one of the best breakout artists from 2019, Micah is an act worth keeping an eye on.

‘Forever’ charted in Dutch Dance Top 40 at no.3 and charting in the top ten on the Miami Heat, The Tastemakers, Sexplaylist and PlayIrish to mention but a few. With superstar acts like John Gibbons featuring her tracks on his Power show you know this up and coming artist is one to watch.

Micah trained at BIMM Dublin, an accomplished singer-songwriter, who is a seasoned live performer and recording artist. Releases such as ‘White Lies’ is her second with Producer/songwriter Hadl and fifth with Leo Dynamic 1 which gained airplay on Irish radio stations along with building her fan base. Throughout this time, Micah has continued to cultivate her stage craft singing with Big Bands such as Route 66 at various theatres and festivals throughout Ireland. Met with standing ovations at the end of each performance be it in a theatre, bar or festival. She has also performed on the Dome stage for the Rose of Tralee in 2017 and 2019.

This track is produced by the much sought-after Leo Dynamic 1, who has signed a global deal with Kobalt\AWAL Music group. Hadl is a signed producer/songwriter with releases through Sony, Universal, Warner, EMI and many more labels spending more than 100 weeks in top 30 positions.

https://www.instagram.com/micahmc1/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/MicahMusicIRL/
https://twitter.com/miriamrouges?lang=en

Jordan Run releases new electronic single ‘Deep,’ out on all platforms today.

‘Deep’ is the first single off Jordan Runs ‘Lockdown Tapes,’ EP out on July 10th.

Producer and writer Aaron says, “I feel like I was at a standstill with inspiration and song-writing, so I decided to go a different direction with these new tracks. This track is Downtempo/Electronica- with heavy synthesized pads, strings and heavy layered pop vocals. The production is big and exciting.“

Effortlessly blending earthy electronic folk influences and anthemic heartland rock, is Jordan Run; an exciting Irish indie collective fronted by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Aaron O’Sullivan. With the release of four singles in 2019, it’s clear that Aaron is a songwriter of complete sincerity. The lushness of the verses in ‘Olivia’ give way to soulful, reflective choruses (‘She gives me peace of mind’); while the poignant  vocal of ‘Change Your Mind’ (Take a second chance if you need it, I loved you from the start) showcase a dynamic singer at his most expressive. In short, Jordan Run’s music is sophisticated while remaining relatable; catchy, while keeping its cool.  

This quiet intensity is a unique element of the band’s live shows, which have included an appearance at the Ruby Sessions Dublin, packing out their debut Coughlan’s show in Cork, support slots for Ariel Posen, Cory Wong (Vulfpeck) and James Arthur, and appearances at a number of major festivals (Electric Picnic, All Together Now, and Indiependence.

Jordan Run just released ‘In This Atmosphere,’ EP, which had features on Spotify’s official playlist ‘Friday Cratediggers.’ Tracks have been played on Corks Red FM and saved by many loyal Jordan Run fans across the world.

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jordanrun_official/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jordanrunofficial/  
Bandcamp – https://jordanrun.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/77n5FV29Cq5bbukhovCofj?si=wC2F22CNQIup6XbDzXtLvA
www.jordanrun.com