Month: July 2020

‘Can I Speak To A Manager ?’ is the brilliant new single, released 14th August on Creation 23, from Galway’s finest, The Clockworks. Following the much loved, ‘The Future Is Not What It Was’, it’s further proof that the band are one of the bands to watch now and for the future.

Taking the intensity and energy of the previous single and moving it forward into an anthem for 2020. Finger bleeding guitars mix with the tight knit rhythm section to create a tune to leave you breathless.

Previous single was much lauded and played by Annie Mac, John Kennedy, Steve Lamacq, Dan Hegarty and A-listed on Amazing Radio. 

The Clockworks on: FACEBOOK  | TWITTER

Fia Moon has had a stellar 2020 so far and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The Irish singer-songwriter has entered the Official Irish Homegrown Charts with her latest single ‘better days’, where she’s in good company with the likes of Niall Horan and Denise Chaila. 

Fia is also a part of the Irish Women in Harmony collective, who are 40 female Irish artists and musicians using their voices to help raise awareness and funds to protect women and children from domestic abuse which has risen by 25% in Ireland since the lockdown. Their cover of ‘Dreams ‘ by The Cranberries went to No.1 in the Official Irish Homegrown Charts (the first female act to ever do this) and has raised an incredible €215,000 for Safe Ireland so far. 

This week, Fia and RuthAnne joined forces to perform a cover of Dermot Kennedy’s track ‘Outnumbered’ on a live broadcast with 2FM.

Spotify
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Soundcloud

Dublin-based trap-pop singer/songwriter/ producer Mac Rose releases passionate new single, ‘I Need This’ on Friday 17th July. With pristine production, thoughtful lyrics, and a stuck-in-your-head hook, Mac Rose tells the story of being vulnerable in love. 

Rock- influenced guitar sounds, quick hi-hats and deep bass create a pulsating beat below intricately layered vocals. Mac Rose’s strong, emotive vocals quickly transition between wistful and fierce. 

He says, “Hill Kidd sent me the bones of a sombre, hopeful beat. I remember listening to it and replying to him saying “I need this!” and right away started writing lyrics. The song is about relying on someone, needing someone. Even though there’s shit involved and things aren’t always good, you still need everything they give you. At the end of the day it’s worth it, and you would do anything for the other person.”

The beat was made by Hill Kidd, with further production, vocal recording, mixing, and mastering by Mac Rose. 

Mac Rose has released several successful singles, and his music has been compared to that of Khalid, Post Malone, and XXXTENTACION. Mac Rose is influenced by the modern wave of grunge/pop/trap that’s sweeping charts around the world.  This mix of genres is audible in ‘I Need This’. 

Born in England and raised in Ireland, Mac Rose spent his teen years listening to grunge, rock, and learning to play a variety of instruments. He studied mathematics for two years in Maynooth, as well as two years of songwriting at BIMM Dublin, while being a part of several different bands and projects in various genres. His musical interests ventured into rap and trap, and he started producing. He says, “Digging into production let me fully take control of the songwriting process and express my ideas more authentically.” His releases have amassed over 65k streams on Spotify, and he has a growing and loyal social media fan base. 

Listen to Mac Rose on: Spotify           Apple Music

Follow Mac Rose on: Instagram         Facebook          Twitter 

‘Gaslight’ is the new single from Dublin grunge-rock trio, Bitch Falcon out Thursday July 16^th on Small Pond Records. It premiered on BBC Radio 1 last Sunday and is the bands debut release of 2020 and their first since signing to Brighton’s Small Pond Records.

An atmospheric introduction begins to glitch before Lizzie’s raw, haunting vocals ghost over textured layers of thunderous percussion and gritty riffs. “I wanted to describe the feeling of what you see is not necessarily what you get.” Fitzpatrick declares. ‘Gaslight’ channels the band’s incredible energy to deliver a blistering statement of intent for 2020.

“’Gaslight’ is a song that came together quite fast. Barry started playing his riff and I played along messing rhythmically, just making noise. It sounded so weird and intense so quickly. I remember us all looking at each other and saying this is the one. I think this song was a change in our writing together. We knew we wanted a heavy sound with melodic intricacies. 

I recorded the vocal layering at home, building up chords with my voice. When we recorded it in studio, I wasn’t able to sustain my voice for the whole section, so me and Rían (Trench) decided to record it in a wave, one note resting while the other picks up, so it sounds like a living, breathing thing.

I wanted to describe the feeling of what you see is not necessarily what you get. The holy grail of public display, and worth to others. Expressing yourself puts you in a vulnerable position, and I think a lot of people embellish the truth. In that way, an unachievable status is shoved down our throats, and we play into the game every day.” – Lead vocalist and guitarist Lizzie Fitzpatrick on ‘Gaslight’

 ‘Gaslight’ lays down a marker for the big year ahead for Bitch Falcon and Is available everywhere now! 

Bitch Falcon; a name you won’t forget and a band who won’t let you forget them. This trio from the vibrant, much-hyped music scene of Dublin was formed by front-woman Lizzie Fitzpatrick with her friends in a small kitchen in the city in 2014. Since these freshman days, the lineup has galvanised around the rhythm section of Barry O’Sullivan on Bass and Nigel Kenny on Drums. In their home country, they are mainstays of the festival circuit but to date they have performed several headline and support tours around the UK along with frequent visits to the Benelux countries and North America. From the early days of their first single, ‘Wolfstooth’ to their most recent release ‘Damp Breath’, an evolution in sound can be heard as the group perfect and refine their raw, fuzz-laced offerings over six singles and one EP. In these tunes you’ll hear the influences of St Vincent, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Bjork and on the other end of the frequency spectrum Deftones, Killing Joke and The Pixies.

There is nothing conventional about Bitch Falcon and rather than replicate the music they love, they have managed to effortlessly create something that is truly their own from these diverse influences. Their recorded history however, is only a small part of their story. The band quickly developed a buzz in Dublin, selling out their own gigs without having released any recorded music. Their live show must be seen to get a true appreciation for what this band can do. From the high pitched wails and infinite feedback of Lizzie’s guitar and soaring vocals from the front to the back, to the interplay between the glass-shattering bass and thunderous drums, there is very little of the stage left untouched and still bolted down once they are finished.

As a result of their live reputation, the band has been asked to play with some familiar names such as Girl Band, Fontaines DC, Le Butcherettes, The ZZZ’s,Torche, Black Peaks, Fucked Up and Pussy Riot.

We all know the past few months have been hard on musicians and artists alike, but out of the darkest times the most creativity grows. During this lockdown season, Kenan Flannery kept his brain active and busy by recording a 5 song bedroom demo EP called ‘Bedroom Sessions Lockdown Demo EP’.

The five songs on the EP were written and recorded during this lockdown. He’s already released the tracks week by week on his social media and they went down great with one of the tracks getting over 600 views on Facebook in the first few days. He’s decided to bring the collection together and release it all on Spotify at the end of the month (31st of July) so people can save it to their playlist and listen to it easier.

The story behind the EP was to fill in a need in everyone’s life with music. Kenan was working on a studio recorded EP to be released this summer and had a headline show planned. He also had a big show coming up in the Button Factory and a festival booking in Montana, USA. All of these plans have been postponed but instead of accepting the fact that the music industry has taken a hit, he decided to sit down and write a demo EP to spread some creativity back into the world.

‘Fool For Gold’ is a nod to the influence Passenger had over Kenan’s writing and playing style.

There is somber picking guitar mixed in with a soft and saddened vocals, telling the story of chasing a love that you will never catch. Like a pirate chasing treasure, the protagonist is a ‘Fool for Gold’.

‘Glory Days’ is Kenan’s attempt to pay homage to the late great Honky Tonk country stars of the past. He said that he wrote the song after listening to lots of Kitty Wells and Hank Williams, two country star tycoons. It tells a story of a person fumbling through life searching for the ‘Glory Days’. ‘Glory Days’ has many meanings and fans of the song have said it’s about finding a happy place in yourself, while others believe it’s a nod to an afterlife of sorts.

‘Rolling Stone’ is the only track on the EP that wasn’t recorded fully live, as the slide guitar, bass and harmonica were added after the acoustic guitar and vocals were recorded. Kenan began writing this song about 2 years ago and after writing a part of the verse he wasn’t happy and left it. Two years later he found the crumbled up scrap of paper with the lines

“A gust of wind could move me along, and it won’t be long til I’m long gone” and thought, ‘I can make something out of this.’

The song tells the story of how everyone is a rolling stone once in their life and they are rolling around looking and searching for where they belong. Sometimes you have to leave a lover to find yourself, and the end of the song speaks to the fear of realizing that you made the wrong choice but you must live with it because your old lover has gone and found another.

The song takes a lot of country influence and that can be heard clearly with the slide guitar and the head-bobbing bass line.

‘Our Love’ is one of the first songs written during lockdown and it is about the flame of love that keeps going on and off for two people. “Our love goes on, then it stops. And it comes back again.”

Kenan wrote this song from a personal experience and believes that a lot of people will relate to this story of unloveable love.

The last track is ‘I’ll Love You Anyway’ and it’s a personal favourite of Kenan’s. The recording of this song was requested by a few of Kenan’s supporters because they really liked the message it was telling. It tells a similar story to ‘Fool for Gold’ and ‘Our Love’ but from a different point in time. The song is about seeing the cracks grow in a relationship but holding on for dear life even though both people involved know the end is near. The protagonist asks his lover “If you could go anywhere, with lots of money and no care, Would you still go with me?”

No matter what changes and what life throws at them, together or apart, he still says “I’ll still love you anyway” and hopes that she will feel the same.

Kenan Flannery is a 21 year old award-winning songwriter from inner city Dublin. He began playing guitar from the young age of 5 years old and from the beginning fell in and out of love with music but in 2016 he began to really commit himself to the artform and by years end he was awarded the Songwriter award at the Irish Youth Music Awards in the Aviva Stadium.

He went on to release two successful singles and play in some of the biggest venues across Dublin including Croke Park, Aviva Stadium, Smock Alley Theatre, The Helix Theatre, Workman’s Club and The Sound House, just to name a few.

His musical influences are very folk and country driven, including the likes of Johnny Cash, Passenger, Townes Van Zandt and our very own homegrown David Keenan.

Kenan’s music has been described as poetic and the embodiment of an Old Soul in a young heart.  It’s been said that Kenan’s vocals “hits you with the intensity of a hundred Irish poets and musicians that came before this man.” (Noely- Dublin’s Near FM radio), and  that he has “authenticity and texture in his voice and guitar playing that draws you in.” (Covert Music Club)

Four piece electronic indie-pop group Pyro Villas are releasing their highly anticipated debut single, ‘Nova Scotia Pipelines’. Being hailed as an alternative to Tame Impala, MGMT and The 1975, the band are already climbing the ladder having secured testimonials from leading Irish tastemakers including Sarina Bellissimo, Graham O’Toole and Nathan O’Reilly at Spin1038.

The band consists of Andy Gleeson and Killian Dowling, who have been writing and producing music together for the last 7 years, as well as talented musicians, Cian Guinee and Aidan O’Leary, who altogether form Pyro Villas. The mantra of the quartet is to “create something with the potential to move a listener both physically and emotionally“. Their debut, ‘Nova Scotia Pipelines’, is a song that contains all the ingredients of a dance hit, whilst keeping its psychedelic indie-pop feel throughout.

The song was written and arranged by Andy Gleeson and Killian Dowling, mixed by Aidan O’Leary and mastered by Fergal Davis (Muse, Republic of Loose, Sinead O’Connor). The band reflected on their favourite element of the song and chimed in that “Our favourite thing about the track is the contrast between each of the core elements. Within seconds it takes you from a euphoric electronic drop to a bass groove that catches you from the first beat, all wrapped up with a spacey and psychedelic finish.”

A music video will be released on July 3rd, bringing the concept of ‘Nova Scotia Pipelines’ to life. It epitomises a longing for better times, something we can all relate to these days. It loops back time and time again to emphasise a theme of enjoying the moment and being grateful for what we have, which is extremely relevant right now.

The strong chemistry of Gleeson and Dowling’s songwriting partnership, and the addition of Guinee and O’Leary’s musicianship, means that the band are primed to release another two more singles after ‘Nova Scotia Pipelines’. To keep up to date with their latest releases make sure to follow them on Spotify here.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2fkYQuahe0T6DGvn8To9xA
https://www.facebook.com/pyrovillasmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/pyrovillasmusic/?hl=en

After 3 extremely successful single launches, Finnian is now announcing his debut album ‘Under The Influence’ will be released everywhere July 24th. 

In a musical landscape of instant but short fleeting rewards, Finnian’s ascension in the Irish musical landscape is a welcome return to the more authentic evolution of an artist. Growing up in Dundalk, Ireland, Finnian has carefully nurtured his songwriting to the point where he is now being lauded by his peers as one of the most exciting talents in the country. His music is honest, concise and textured in a way which few have achieved with such conviction.

His forthcoming album is an introduction to the wider world, to an artist that many have already latched on to. Under the Influence is the culmination of 2 years of work which has been honed into one of the most anticipated releases of the year. Already praised for his lyrics, ‘Under The Influence’ marries this lyrical prowess with a musicality that few in the genre can claim to possess. His beginnings as a folk based songwriter have now truly evolved into a fresh interpretation of the genre but also Finnian’s established standing within it.

The recording of ‘Under The Influence’ was a typically ambitious project. Not content with the honesty of his message, ‘Under The Influence’ was recorded directly to tape in Black Mountain studios under the guidance of Producer Peter Baldwin and Grammy Award Winning engineer Ben Kane (D’Angelo, The Roots, Nora Jones, Emily King). It also sees him collaborate with some of Ireland’s finest talent including Jess Kav of Barq and Booka Brass to name a few. While the process mirrors the validity of the forgotten vulnerable approach of creativity it also rejects any of the short cuts now accepted within modern music. Each of its nine tracks crafted to express a stand alone expression of real human emotion and carved from his own experience. ‘Under The Influence’ knows that live performance is the real way in which music should be consumed. It is a work that effortlessly displays the vitality of his critically acclaimed live performances this year with David Keenan and many others. 

Pre order the album on vinyl here https://finnianmusic.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.finnian.ie/
https://www.facebook.com/Finnianmusic/
https://twitter.com/finnianmusic
https://www.instagram.com/finnianmusic/

In recent times musicians have increasingly turned to crowdfunding sites to make up for lost opportunities during lockdown.

In this webinar, you will gain a firm insight into the basics of running a crowdfunding campaign from start to finish. We will demystify the world of crowdfunding to enable you to get a better understanding of how crowdfunding can be used as an alternative way to fund your next music project.

Specific focus will be given to understanding the key ingredients of a campaign, from crafting your pitch, to setting your goal and creating rewards that are compelling and realistic.

It is important that your pitch is shaped and formulated intelligently in order to maximise your chances of being successfully funded. For this webinar we will be joined by leading songwriters John Spillane and Luan Parle, both of whom have recently successfully completed Fund it campaigns.

Date: Wednesday 29th July
Time: 7:00pm – 8.00pm
Bookings: FREE Online Seminar | Booking Essential | Email: events@nullimro.ie to reserve your place.

Panel

John Spillane
John Spillane is a musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, storyteller, poet and dreamer. Rooted in people, place and story, his music transports the listener and his live performances captivate audiences around the world. As an artist his music appeals to listeners across many genres and generations. His vocal style has a unique almost sean-nós like quality and his performances shimmer with the magic realism that permeates many of his songs as he effortlessly flits between beautiful poetry tinged with melancholy to roguish, irreverent humour. John has the ability to charm, mesmerise and entertain in equal measure. A native of Cork, the county he lovingly describes as “the centre of the universe” and a source of huge creative influence throughout his career. John’s music is inspired by and encapsulates Irish traditional music in its contemporary form – a reflection of Ireland today. A two-time Meteor Award winner for Best Folk/Trad act John is one of the most accomplished songwriters in Ireland. With an extensive back catalogue beginning with the 1997 album The Wells of the World, his songs have been covered by Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon, Sean Keane and many others. Twelve albums later, John is set to release his first independent album in 20 years, 100 Snow White Horses. Recorded in London with Pauline Scanlon and produced by John Reynolds the album is inspired by John’s travels around Ireland. The decision to release the album independently allowed for a greater sense of creative freedom and these new songs are full of poetry, Irish mythology and wonder. 100 Snow White Horses will be released at the end of 2020.

Luan Parle
Meteor & Tatler Award winner Luan Parle has had numerous hits & accolades including Meteor Award for Best Irish Female. Her top 10 hit single ‘Ghost’ spent three months in the Irish Charts and was the most played Irish single of that year featuring on numerous number 1 compilation albums. Parle signed her first record deal at just 12 years of age before later signing with Sony Music & Elton John’s management company Twenty First Artists. Luan has written and recorded with some of the world’s most successful songwriters & producers including Grammy award winning Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Michael Jackson, Prince, Traveling Wilburys, Elton John) & Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Roy Orbison, Cyndi Lauper, The Pretenders, Whitney Houston, The Bangles, Celine Dion). After spending the past few years touring extensively in Germany, USA, UK, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia & Ireland, Luan released her fourth studio album “Never Say Goodbye” on February 7th 2020. The album features 10 original tracks including two co-writes with Dire Straits guitarist Hal Lindes. Luan is also a Director of IASCA ((Irish Association of Songwriters, Composers & Authors).

Michelle Reid, Arts Programme Manager at Fundit.ie & Business to Arts
Michelle is Project Manager of Fundit.ie, the all-Ireland crowdfunding platform for creative projects. As well as driving the platform’s strategy, she moderates, guides and supports 100s of project creators throughout their crowdfunding campaigns every year. With one of the highest success rates of all reward-based crowdfunding websites (71%), Fundit.ie not only provides a platform to raise money, but also gives everybody the power to make good ideas happen. To date over 1,600 projects have been launched on the platform. Music is one of Fundit.ie’s most successful categories with a 74% success rate. Michelle and the Fundit.ie team are all local experts in fundraising and the cultural and creative industries who work with project creators to make projects ready for go-live. Michelle is also responsible for developing, managing and delivering Business to Arts’ Arts Affiliate Programme which supports over 150 cultural organisations and artists.

Hosted in association with