Month: April 2021

Fears have released her third single ‘Fabric’ ahead of her highly anticipated new album ‘Oíche’, due for release 7th May 2021. ‘Fabric’ is out now.

Fears writes about ‘Fabric’: “’Fabric’ is about trying to escape someone or something that will not give you room to breathe. I tried to capture the feeling of desperately trying to rebuild yourself and your life, while something will not let you go. It’s a song about feeling exhausted and trapped, but still determined to succeed.”

TULLE presents ‘Oíche’ by Fears live from Music Town’s YouTube channel, 17th April 2021. A night of connection, collaboration, and intimacy. In this 45-minute show, Fears will perform her debut album, ‘Oíche’, in its entirety, guiding the audience through four stages of night-time – dusk, midnight, 3am, and sunrise. Filmed in Protein Studios, London, Fears will be joined by two musical guests, in custom handmade costumes, bringing the world of ‘Oíche’ to life. Working with Irish visual and textile artist Niamh Mannion on set design, a stark studio space will be transformed into place for reflection, exploration, and resolution.

Fears did a spectacular performance on Rough Trade Transmission series on 15th April which was broadcasted on Rough Trade’s Instagram.

Fears have received an overwhelming response from her two previous tracks ‘tonnta’ and ‘vines’ from the media in Ireland, UK and Internationally. Support at radio came from RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2FM, Newstalk, Cork 96FM, Flirt FM, 8 Radio, RTE TnaG, Raidió na Life, RTÉ 2XM, Midlands, 98FM, KCLR 96FM, Near FM, RTE Pulse, West Limerick, BBC Ulster, BBC6, Slack City Radio, RadioReverb, Riverside Radio and BBC Radio Foyle.

The tracks were also added to i-D Magazine’s Best New Music playlist, Nialler9’s Best New Irish Music playlist, New Music Friday Colombia, XL Recordings playlist and Get In Her Ears Spotify playlists.

‘Fabric’ is out now.

Connect with Fears Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

Local Boy is the alter-ego of Dublin musician, producer, singer, and Burner Records co-founder Jake Hurley. His new single ‘Thoughts’ is out on all digital platforms now (Friday 16^th April).

Following on from the success of last month’s single ‘Al Bundy’ (video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNuxhY8lb3I ), ‘Thoughts’ is a fast-paced indie rock track about the frustration of trying to improve one’s mental health using self-help resources that are more often about a business making profit than genuinely improving the lives of their audience.

The song is a favourite with fans having been performed on the widely viewed “Ireland Music Week” livestream and the studio version promises to make waves in Ireland and beyond.

The forthcoming EP follows Local Boy’s 2019 EP ‘Local Boy Ruins Everything’. Jake wrote, produced, and mixed the entirety of the five-track project, which tells indie infused tales of everyday mundanity and dreams of rock ‘n’ roll stardom.

Local Boy has recently been featured on some high-profile Spotify playlists such as “Lo-Fi Indie” and has subsequently amassed millions of plays on the platform between his own songs and collaborations with artists such as Tebi Rex.

Having spent the pandemic working on music, Local Boy is gearing up for the summer 2021 release of his sophomore EP.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7hAM5pq6zihYWzInwN1EPw?si=KMM59zn8S52WoD0r290OSg

Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/jakehurleyproduction/thoughts/s-MnINsHFzGv3

The release of ‘Thoughts’ coincides with Local Boy’s highly anticipated live performance on the Hot Press Lockdown Sessions’ Y&E Series – going live at 7.30pm today, April 16, on the Hot Press Instagram.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LocalBoy3000/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/localboy3000 / @localboy3000

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/local_boy3000/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/34Ze0nb54KG3gietZGFZIj?si=8-o0SwDiRka99CQCMDVBqw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/local-boy/18474169

GRAMMY-nominated artist RuthAnne has just released her next single, the adoring and heartfelt, ‘F.L.Y.’,  accompanied by a stunning music video.

In May of last year RuthAnne signed with AntiFragile Music and in October 2020, her single ‘Remember This’ became her first release for her new label. RuthAnne has been back in the studio working on exciting new music and is over the moon to be sharing ‘F.L.Y.’ with her fans.

The single acts as a love letter from RuthAnne, a true romantic at heart. On writing the track she says; ‘There’s only a certain amount of ways you can say ‘I love you’ and this way felt the most passionate, the most honest and the most Irish lol! It’s really a declaration of the kind of love that comes around once in a lifetime’  

RuthAnne’s outstanding career started back when she was just 17-years-old, penning music for huge pop artists, including JoJo’s ‘Too Little Too Late,’ for which RuthAnne achieved the ASCAP Songwriters Best Pop Song award. From then she wrote a string of massive records including Britney Spears’ RIAA platinum-certified ‘Work Bitch,’ One Direction’s ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go,’ Pentatonix’s ‘Misbehavin’ and Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha’s ‘In The Name Of Love.’ In 2017 she co-wrote 5 songs on Niall Horan’s debut solo album ‘Flicker,’ including US #1 hit ‘Slow Hands,’ for which she received a BMI award. As a songwriter her songs have been streamed over 4 billion times. She also co-wrote Horan’s latest single ‘Nice To Meet Ya’.

RuthAnne’s stunning solo single ‘The Vow’ took her own music to great heights. The track was played during ITV 2’s Love Island 2019 Final – it was Shazamed 15 thousand times within the hour and reached #1 in the main Irish iTunes chart. RuthAnne’s material has now amassed over thirty million streams so far.

Her most recent project has been back home with supergroup, Irish Women In Harmony. In early 2020, RuthAnne brought together almost 40 of Ireland’s greatest female artists to remotely record a cover of ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries. All funds raised go to Safe Ireland, working to end domestic violence and coercive control in Ireland. RuthAnne produced the track and came out with a song that captured the heart of the nation and made Irish music history.

In its first week, the single hit #1 in the Official Homegrown Chart, the first female act ever to do so. It was also the highest new entry in the official charts at #15, making Irish Women In Harmony the first female Irish act to break the Top 20 in over 10 years. ‘Dreams’ was also #2 in the Irish airplay chart and #1 in the Breaking Tunes chart. The track has surpassed 5 million streams on Spotify and Irish Women In Harmony have now raise over a quarter of a million Euro for Safe Ireland.

Later that year, RuthAnne began writing and producing the original festive single ‘Together At Christmas’ in support of ISPCC Childline. The song became an instant favourite in households across the country and raised much needed support for children in dangerous situations, heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Watch their stunning performance on The Late Late Show here.

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https://thisisruthanne.com

‘Pressure’ is the second release from Ra Gerra – the Irish electronica / hip-hop duo consisting of electronic musician and producer Kobina and rapper and singer MuRli.

Despite being separated by about 2,000 kilometres, the Amsterdam-based Kobina and Limerick-based MuRli have forged a partnership to produce melodic, shifting music with emotive clarity and immediacy.

‘Pressure’ is a surging, energetic track, capturing the disarray we experience – and courage we find – in dealing with our self-imposed expectations and the demands of the world at large.

MuRli (A.K.A. Mawuli Boevi) is a rapper, producer and songwriter, who is well known for his evocative lyrics, incredible technique, and is widely sought after for both his pen and production. His first two solo EPs, ‘Surface Tension’ and ‘Till The Wheels Fall Off’, have been lauded by critics both at home and abroad for being both catchy and flawlessly capturing the heart of moments and movements.

MuRli says of the track: “It’s often said that pressure produces diamond, and while that may be true, the crushing is still painful and ultimately there’s little guarantee that the outcome would indeed be a precious stone. It takes courage, endurance and vision. This is a little reflection as we draw our own blueprint out of the pressure.”

Kobina is Dublin-born, Amsterdam-based musician and producer Seán Arthur. His work pulls together diverse and often disparate strands of music to create textured, rich and emotive sounds. After three well received E.Ps, the latest being 2019’s ‘Four Poems’, in 2020 Kobina released the charity compilation album ‘For Nora’ featuring collaborations with a number of his musical peers, as well as original material.

Kobina says: “The music for ‘Pressure’ came together at a pretty low point for me, personally. The world felt particularly chaotic and I wrote it with the intention of reflecting that. Although musically it’s made of pretty disparate components, I wanted there to be a sense of momentum and drive, to reflect the feeling of how sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and get through another day. Later in the song some new elements appear, manifesting a crack of light, an undercurrent of optimism.” 

Bandcamp: https://ragerramusic.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/09iZZroko68P8Vjw8Cqxhk?si=iogit-u1SV2rL5RLF-NxEg
IG: https://www.instagram.com/ragerramusic/
TW: https://twitter.com/ragerra2

Haitian-American singer-songwriter Malou Beauvoir seeks spiritual healing in a divided world with her Creole lyric version of the beloved Brendan Graham and Rolf Løvland composed hit “’You Raise Me Up’.

‘Kenbem’ reimagines the soul-stirring classic previously released by Secret Garden, Josh Groban and Westlife, to unite believers in Vaudou and Christianity.

“When I was a child my Mom would take me to Church every Sunday. Her kindness, integrity and tolerance have been my beacon all my life. My Dad, would tell us colourful “Vodou tales” full of fiery spirits, funny songs and the memories he had left behind with his childhood in Haiti.  Our frequent visits to his side of the family were my introduction to Vodou​. Colourful candles and candies for the spirits adorned the altars in Brooklyn and Haiti.

Prayers were said to the Saints and the spirits indiscriminately and I never thought that there was a choice to be made between my Vodou culture and my mother’s faith, I still don’t.

My Creole lyrics speak to God, our Ancestors and our Spirits, thanking them all for their for support and love.” – Malou Beauvoir

‘You​ Raise Me Up’ was originally released in 2002 by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret​ Garden, written by the band’s Rolf​ Løvland with lyrics by the Irish​ author and songwriter Brendan​ Graham. A year later, Josh​ Groban’s version climbed to the #1 spot on the Billboard adult contemporary chart followed by Westlife​’s UK No.1 and Record of the Year cementing the song’s status as a modern classic. It’s since become a hit many times over around the world, covered by more than a 1,500 hundred artists in over 40 languages.

Beauvoir heard something new and personal in the song, however. In her interpretation of Graham’s lyrics, she found parallels to the schism between Vodou practitioners and the Christian church in Haiti, the country of her roots. The divide is deep-seated, dating back to the Haitian Revolution at the turn of the 19th century.

When Beauvoir reached out to Graham for permission to rewrite his lyrics in Creole and with this new interpretation, she was surprised to find that he had written the song with similar ancient antipathies in mind. “I told Brendan that I’d stayed fairly close to his original version, but instead of the open-ended spiritual force that he talks about, I wanted to make the first verse about those who believe in the Christian God and the second one about those who believe in the spirits and the ancestors.  He responded, ‘I’m going to tell you something really strange, Malou. I’m Irish, and when I wrote this song I was thinking about our ancient beliefs.’”

Graham appreciated the heartfelt interpretation, saying, “A song like ‘You Raise Me Up’ thankfully garners many recordings and translations into various languages. Now and again a version comes along that makes me sit up and pay attention. Such a version is Malou Beauvoir’s recording and translation into her native Haitian Creole. Not alone is it her sensual and soulful vocal expression of the song but she has also done something quite unique. Her translation takes the ambiguous ‘you’ of the song and imbues it with meaning from her own heritage and Vodou culture, in a way that mirrors my own understanding of the ‘you’ and its relation to a pre-Christian, Celtic culture.”

Singer-songwriter Annmarie Cullen has landed back on Irish shores, after enjoying a hugely successful songwriting career in LA with Disney and Warner Chappel, working on Nickelodeon shows like iCarly and Drake And Josh, CBS drama Blue Bloods and as a performer in her own right with band Saucy Monky. When a move to Barcelona, where she worked for a time outside the music industry, ended in a marriage breakup, Annmarie returned to her native country to reignite her passion for music.

Annmarie’s new single, the pared-back yet searingly powerful ‘What I Once Meant To You’ beautifully balances delicate vocals with silky smooth piano and symphonious strings as she bares her soul and reflects on a heart-breaking chapter in her life. This lovelorn offering, accompanied by a self-directed video, is the first of three singles Annmarie plans to release this year, with an album and live shows also in the pipeline.

With the allure of music and adventure calling to her, Annmarie left her native Dublin and moved to Los Angeles in the 90s, casting all her fear of the unknown aside. After an obligatory spell waitressing, she secured staff writing gigs with Disney and Warner Chappell. It kicked off a high-flying music career for Annmarie as she went on to help soundtrack some of the most popular TV shows in the last two decades, such as light-hearted Nickelodeon shows like iCarly and Drake And Josh and the high-octane, Tom Selleck led crime series Blue Bloods, as well as cult lesbian film and comedy-drama And Then Came Lola.

As exciting as that was, Annmarie truly felt at home performing on stage, which she first did under her stage name “Annmarie Montade” and then alongside New Yorker Cynthia Catania touring with their band, naughties indie darlings Saucy Monky, across America, the Czech Republic and Ireland. Along the way, there were encounters with Katy Perry and Sara Bareilles – and Annmarie has many other LA stories she’ll tell you about over a drink!

Annmarie moved to Barcelona in 2016 with her then-wife as her working-life took a new direction, with the offer of a tech role. Their marriage ended in late 2019 and fast-forward to 2021, Annmarie is back in Dublin and “making some of the most emotionally charged music you will hear this year”. As was the case for many musicians, Covid-19 posed certain challenges for Annmarie, but she was undeterred as she pledged to return to the thing that always served her most since a young age: music.

Annmarie has worked on her new material remotely, collaborating online with a host of musical friends including drummer Adam Marcello (Katy Perry), guitarist Meg Toohey (Sara Bareilles) and TV and film composer Gabriel Mann (Modern Family). This resulted in the emotive and expressive new track ‘What I Once Meant To You’ available for download and to stream everywhere now.

‘Ogham Scars’ is the new single from Dublin-based group Sun Collective, featuring contributions from Harpist Gemma Doherty, part of duo Saint Sister.

Produced by Ross Turner (Lisa Hannigan, Villagers), and recorded by Ber Quinn (John Grant, Divine Comedy), ‘Ogham Scars’ features artwork from visual artist and Aosdána member John Noel Smith, and a live video performance of the song from Other Voices Festival in December. Watch here: https://youtu.be/qTMKIYclzP0

Speaking about the song, the band’s front man Caimin Gilmore says:

“I robbed the title (& possibly the entire meaning) of ‘Ogham Scars’ from the work of painter, John Noel Smith. A number of his series use Ogham iconography, which simultaneously recalls and disassembles the early medieval Irish alphabet, re-purposing the linguistic symbols into motifs that are both aesthetically traditional and contemporary. His re-imagining and dismantling of this imagery, for me, asks questions of how people use old & contemporary iconography to communicate ideas, language and identity. It was only recently I realised that I wrote ‘Ogham Scars’ mirroring the ideas I formulated about the meaning of his work.

It features the beautiful playing of Gemma Doherty from Saint Sister. There’s a sense of mysticism that the harp in unison with the guitars lends & obviously suits the song title. I recorded on a few tracks off Saint Sisters upcoming second album & I’m writing a piece for Gemma and cellist Kate Ellis (Crash Ensemble) at the moment, so it just made sense to ask her to lend a hand to the work.“

‘Ogham Scars’ is the final of three singles shared in the run-up to, and in conjunction with, the groups’ appearance on award-winning and internationally acclaimed Irish music series, Other Voices, TONIGHT April  15^th on RTÉ 2 television, RTÉ Player worldwide & subsequently on Other Voices YouTube.

Website :: https://www.suncollective.ie

Facebook :: https://www.facebook.com/suncollectiveensemble/

Twitter :: https://twitter.com/suncollective_

Instagram :: https://www.instagram.com/suncollectiveband/

Renowned country star Johnny Brady and well known singer-songwriter and TV Judge Caitríona O’ Sullivan (Glór Tíre ar TG4) have teamed up to co-write and duet on their new single ‘This Country Girl’, a radio friendly crossover Country Pop style ballad. With both intimate and powerful vocals, catchy hooks and a feel good melody, it tells a story about chasing dreams and romance blossoming. A hint of Nashville in both song writing style and vocal performances from the native Antrim & Kerry songwriters.

Johnny and Caitríona met on the set of Glór Tíre where Johnny has performed and been a mentor to some amazing contestants on the programme over the years. Caitríona has been a judge on the show since it began 16 years ago alongside fellow judges -broadcasters John Creedon and Jo Ní Chéide. Brought together by their mutual love of song-writing and performing, Johnny and Caitriona wrote many songs together over the past year with the fruits of their labour evidenced in their new single ‘This Country Girl’. The accompanying video to ‘This Country Girl’ was shot in the beautiful town of Dingle and on the beautiful cliff tops of west Kerry Gaeltacht Dun Chaoin, where Caitríona began her journey learning the Irish language. ‘This Country Girl’ will be available for digital download on all platforms on Friday April 16th.

Caitríona hails from ‘The Munster Bar’ in Tralee Co. Kerry where she grew up listening to and performing a wide variety of music in her parents’ bar. Classically trained in voice and piano, she studied music at the Kerry School of Music and went on to study opera with renowned voice coach Dr.Veronica Dunne in the Royal Irish Academy of Music and holds a first class honours degree and masters in music and Irish. Johnny and Caitríona are both thrilled with the result from their first duet recording session recently and already their social media platforms are on fire with eager fans awaiting their new single!

Johnny Brady has one of the most distinctive voices in the modern country music. Known for his powerful vocals, energetic performances and charismatic personality, Johnny has a unique sound and it is no surprise that he is a multi-award winning artist. A prolific singer songwriter, he has recorded four albums to date which showcase his passion for songwriting and his ability to resurrect classic country songs and make them his own scoring big hits in recent years with songs like ‘Chicken Fried’ and ‘Hillbilly Rock’. Drawing on his many Rock and Pop influences, Johnny has been a man in demand on the festival circuit, regularly features on national television shows and has a busy touring and recording schedule. Scoring a publishing deal with ‘Bardis Music’ some years ago, he has made numerous trips to Nashville to write and record and many of his songs have been pitched to some of the world’s biggest country stars!

Johnny is delighted to see Caitríona back once again recording. Her cover of the duet ‘Summer Wine’ in summer 2020 was met with great enthusiasm and was played extensively on both national and regional radio stations nationwide. She had a very successful album of her original songs with the album ‘Fallen Angel’ a few years back, topping many radio and chart positions in both Ireland and the U.K with singles such as ‘I’ll Be There’ and ‘Let Yourself Go’ playlisted on 2FM, Radio One and regional stations nationwide. She also had much success as author of the Irish language lyrics when collaborating with John Walsh of Symphonic on his production of the Scots Gaelic tune ‘Fionnghuala’ which featured on the ‘Eir’ advert and was performed on ‘The Late Late Show. This tune reached no.1 in the iTunes World Music charts and many well renowned DJs including Vini Vici have since sampled and remixed the chart topping tune.

https://www.facebook.com/johnnybradymusic

https://www.instagram.com/johnnybrady_music/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/caitrionaosullivanmusic

Drawing heavy influence from 90s grunge combined with a bass heavy trap-esque beat and unapologetic lyrics, ‘Dangerous’ marks the biggest shift to date in DAY_S sound toward a moodier, punk meets rap world. It tells a story of giving in to socially driven ideals of living a life of perfection. With an attitude of no remorse, DAY_S is telling us that he is what he is, virtues and flaws, and he will live his life as he wants to.

DAY_S is a Dublin based solo artist who straddles the lines between rock, punk & hip-hop. Having discovered the craft of songwriting at an early age, DAY_S enjoyed a phenomenal start to his career with just under 1.5 million streams on his debut release ‘Last Night’, and fast established himself as an exciting rising star on the Irish scene. He followed up with a slew of equally successful singles including ‘Elbows’, ‘Honest’, ‘F*#king With My Friends’, each marking an organic evolution and maturing of his unique sound.

The music video for ‘Dangerous’ filmed by Lost Film studios is scheduled for release April 21st.

Cat Dowling makes her highly anticipated return with a brand new track, ‘Trouble’. This will be her first release taken from her upcoming album due out in 2021, Supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. Trouble is due for release, 23rd April 2021.

Speaking about ‘Trouble’, Cat explains “Trouble is a song with a big swagger about finding a voice. It’s a song of freedom and redemption. I write songs with no plan. I like the words and the song to land on me first. ‘Trouble’ is a song with a big swagger about refusing to apologise for oneself anymore. It’s about finding a voice. It’s a song of freedom and redemption.”

The voice of Cat Dowling has always been lauded as one of the most wonderful and evocative in Irish contemporary music.

Her beautifully dark pop songs and those husky and achingly intimate vocals will draw you in and grip you from the outset.

Dowling has fronted numerous music projects, the last of which was babelfish which quickly morphed into the more successful electro/dream-pop band, Alphastates.

As the front woman and main songwriter with Alphastates, she gained many admirers for her energy on the live stage and for her hushed and raw deliveries. Comparisons to Liz Frazer, Beth Gibbons, Karen O, Amanda Palmer, Feist and Kristen Hersh have regularly appeared.

In 2013, her debut solo album ‘The Believer’ was released to critical acclaim and featured in many ‘Best of 2013’ polls including The Sunday Times amongst others. The opening track ‘The Believer’ featured as a closing track on the groundbreaking second series of Banshee produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty, True Blood). It also appeared on the TV Series “Witches of East End” featuring Julia Ormond.

‘Somebody Else’ was featured in the highly received ‘My name is Emily’ alongside Lisa Hannigan, Jake Bugg and James Vincent McMorrow.

Cat has lent her vocals on many collaborative projects, the most recent of which, was selected for a closing track on ABC’s How to get away with Murder with Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis.

Following a sell-out headline show at The Irish Arts Centre NYC and a very successful East Coast US Tour in April 2017 Dowling completed her follow-up album in the interim.

Her new album is both simultaneously stark and lush with an innate authenticity and rawness at its heart. The beautiful ambient and eclectic soundscapes shine throughout however it’s always her compelling and arresting vocals that truly and consistently resonate.

Her first single ‘Trouble’ will be released on 23 April 2021, taken from her upcoming album due out in 2021.

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