‘Stranger’ is the latest release by Irish singer Micah, (due to be released 28th January 2022) marking a change in her sound.
It is a song inspired by dating app Tinder. The idea of trying to find ‘your’ person. However, when you begin dating you have some idea of what you are seeking in a partner or perhaps lover, and this is what the track tries to achieve with a pulsing beat and authentic storytelling.
Lyrics and melody are by Micah and produced by LA based Killian Cruiser and mastered by Sony, Universal, Warner, EMI producer Christoph ‘Hadi’ Hassel.
Riding high on the success of her 2021 releases ‘Invisible Fire’ and ‘Take Me Away’, with national and international radio play and with her national TV appearance on RTE’S ‘Last Singer Standing’, along with write-ups in icon magazines such as HotPress, the Tipperary born singer- songwriter is going from strength to strength.
Spotify streams over 30k times and airplay on national radio stations such as 2FM, SPIN 1038, RED FM and many more, Micah is gaining more and more awareness.
Micah trained at BIMM Dublin, an accomplished singer-songwriter, who is a seasoned live performer and recording artist. She has been compared to Sia, Robyn and Lady Gaga in terms of vocal ability and song-writing that is fresh and authentic.
The new single ‘Stranger’ is a new chapter in Micah’s musical journey so keep your eyes and ears open!
“Good career move” said the film Director, Peter Bogdanovich quoting some nameless Hollywood insider on the death of Elvis Presley.
And indeed Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, James Dean, Amy Winehouse and many others have found the same. The difficulty being of course that you don’t actually get to enjoy the benefits. Fame is indeed a fickle, faithless and often cruel companion and most who were hugely famous in their day but chose not to make the “good career move” live long enough either to disappoint their fan base or to be forgotten completely.
Mary Louise Brooks was the most famous and iconic actress of the age of silent movies but failed to make the ultimate (see what I did there) career move. This song is her story.
Pete and Tom On Song are Pete Nugent and Tom O’Brien, two gentlemen of a certain age, who have returned to music after a long absence.Since 2019 they have released eight singles. Aided and abetted by Aingeala D Búrca(ex In Tua Nua) on violin. They record at Floodplain Studios in Clontarf with Graham Watson engineering, co-producing and mastering.
Sweet Salvation is the second official single release for identical twins and singer-songwriter duo The Davies Brothers. It is their first full band studio recording, produced by Christian Best at Monique Studios, Co.Cork in 2019. An intriguing folk track with striking almost harsh vocals, rebellious lyrics and a message of revolution, all tied together with silky sweet harmony and soft but lively instrumentation.
The upcoming year promises to be an exciting one for The Davies Brothers, whose creativity flows easily at home in North West Clare, inspiring music and lyrics conveying experience beyond their years.
Over the past couple of years, they have enjoyed performing original sets in pioneering music venues across the country, including Kenny’s bar Co. Clare, Coughlan’s, Co. Cork, The Roisin Dubh, Co. Galway and Mike the pies, Co. Kerry, as well as supporting well known Irish acts such as Mick Flannery and Hudson Taylor and The Walls. They also played as headliners on the main stage of the IMRO short-listed Doolin Folk Festival back in 2019.
The brothers are currently recording their demo debut album at home while spending time recording singles in different studio settings to ultimately prepare for the production of their much anticipated and long overdue debut studio album.
A debut E.P. is expected by the end of the year with the album soon after, no doubt you will be hearing a lot more from this versatile avid songwriting duo.
“Every now and then I hear something really special, that moves me with the raw honesty of it. I love when songs and singers give me a sense of lives being truly lived. The Davies Brothers give that.” (Luka Bloom)
Eoin and Brian Davies are identical twin singer-songwriters from County Clare, Ireland. Writing and performing as ‘The Davies Brothers’, their raw, honest songs, natural harmonic blends and intuitive on-stage chemistry will captivate any audience.
Hailing from a small corner of the country that boasts a large, thriving music scene, The Davies Brothers have been majorly influenced by many artists that have close connections to the North West Clare area, such as Luka Bloom, Mick Flannery, The Walls, SON (Susan O’Neill), Steo Wall, SAL (Sara Ryan), The O’Connell Brothers and many more.
Their creativity flows easily, inspired by a somewhat rough and wild way of rural living, a difficult upbringing, relationships, loss and a unique perspective on life garnered from their time living, writing and performing music in Cork City while also studying a BA in popular music (Vocals and Bass) at Cork School of music.
“We’ve Got Time”, the new single from Tommy Keyes, is out now and already picking up significant airplay in Ireland and internationally.
It’s the sixth single to be taken from the acclaimed album “Radio Days” and features a guest appearance on co-lead vocals by blues-jazz singer Dara MacGabhann of the Monaghan band The Two Five Ones.
Her sublime vocal enhances the vintage feel of the arrangement, with Dick Farrelly’s guitar, Richie Buckley’s sax and the string arrangement by Rob Molumby harking back to the classic era of songwriting.
“Reader, I married him”. From Jane Eyre, to social media and now Cork’s Jazz Festival what we look for in love has always been trending.
The Art Crimes Band open 2022 with sultry, funk and soul infused single ‘Guy Like You’, out February 4.
Written by Grace McMahon, the origin story of this tale goes back to when the singer was on Tinder busily swiping left. While pondering all things a guy has to be before she will go on a date with them, she eventually decided against listing all the materialistic reasons people usually consider and decided to focus on finding a really great person in general.
“Delightful, mindful, no doubt insightful, makes my heart beat”. When debuting the new song during the groups successful run at 2021’s Cork Jazz Festival Grace told crowds “I used to obsess over all the millions of things a guy has to be, then when I stopped obsessing about it, I found him… and I married him”.
The Art Crimes Band’s first album Radio on the SUGO Music record label in 2015 reflected a group still searching for their groove. Following on from last year’s ‘In The Dark Of The evening’ and with a fresh studio album in the works they have solidified a firm foundation in the R&B/Soul sound under which they are right at home.
Band members include Gary Baus (Alto Saxophone), Stephen Kirby (Guitars), Niall Dennehy (Drums & Percussion), Grace McMahon (Vocals), Tim O’Leary (Bass) and introducing new member Katie O’Donnell (Piano & Keyboards).
With engineering and mixing duties once again at the hands of drummer Niall Dennehy ‘Guy Like You’ attempts to channel some of the bands 90s RnB & Soul influences such as Laruen Hill, En Vogue and Erykah Badu mixed with the familiar retro warm sound closely associated with the band. As Llewelyn Screen of The A&R Factory writes: “The Art Crimes Band make the type of music that hugs you close and doesn’t let go”.
‘Guy Like You’ is released worldwide on the Sugo Music Record label February 4, 2022 and a three track special edition will also be available featuring the single plus bonus tracks the same day via The Arts Crimes Band bandcamp.
CMAT today shares new single Lonely, taken from her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, set for release via AWAL Recordings on March 4th 2022.
Lyrically, the pretty-but-plaintive country-tinged Lonely strikes a more sombre tone compared with previous singles – focusing on mental health struggles, isolation and alienation. But as ever with CMAT, everything is imbued with her unique comic sensibility.
The song is accompanied by another visual masterpiece – shot and produced, once again, by Tiny Ark, the video finds the Dublin pop queen showcasing (with a little help from her friends) yet another one of her hidden talents: roller skating.
Few artists manage to blend bountiful hooks with such humour and wit; the 12 songs that make up this idiosyncratic, captivating and rather extraordinary debut album reveal an artist brimming with confidence and verve.
2021 was quite a year for Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, one of the year’s breakout stars, earning critical recognition as well as a legion of new fans.
Of ‘Lonely’, CMAT says; “I started writing the song ‘Lonely’ in the Arndale food hall in Manchester when I was on my break from work. Anyone who has been there will know that it is as aesthetically unpleasant as it is bustling, at all hours of the day. There was something that always drew me to it though – people. I was very isolated during this period of my life and longed for a day when I could be sitting at a table of friends that I did not have. Instead, I found myself regularly sitting alone and watching strange families and friend groups, peering out from underneath a Taco Bell crunch wrap, for a false sense of comfort.
“It took me years to finish this song because I couldn’t figure out the point of it. Then the pandemic happened, and suddenly I realised that everybody was in the boat that I had been long accustomed to (my sea legs are beefy in this regard). I realised that the point of isolation is maybe to learn to cherish people more, and to not be so scared of them, or scared of how you are perceived by them.
“Ultimately though, I wrote this song to try and get Robbie Williams to notice me.”
You’d be forgiven for finding it confusing that Ciara’s disparate tastes — an encyclopaedic knowledge of modern pop, a passion for British post-punk outfits like Orange Juice and Television, a desire and strong belief that Robbie Williams is her real dad — can come together and somehow all make sense in CMAT’s music, but it all makes sense to Ciara, and it makes even more sense when you hear her debut album. Which is probably why Ciara’s a popstar and the rest of us aren’t.
“All the former versions of myself have Play-Doh-balled themselves into one big lump,” is her way of describing her sound. The golden thread in all this is Ciara’s voice, which sits her somewhere between Kate Bush and, most importantly, country turns like Dolly Parton. “I learned how to sing through country music: it’s the number one influence on how I sing,” she explains. “So while I’m not a country musician, I do think I’m a country singer. It’s glam. It’s tacky. It’s beautiful. It’s fun. It’s vibrant. Lyrically those artists like to have fun.”
The invention of CMAT came about after Ciara strong-armed her way into a private songwriting masterclass hosted by Charli XCX, who played unreleased music to assembled hopefuls. Ciara was the only attendee to offer a critique of the demos; afterwards Charli sought her out, heard her story and advised Ciara to “blow my entire life up”. She knocked Manchester on the head and went back to Dublin. 2019 was spent on YouTube, where she set herself the challenge of writing a song a week for six months, posting new songs each Friday from the only venue she could afford to book: a yoga studio.
At the heart of all this, beneath what CMAT describes as “the singing and the being witty and all the ‘whatever’ that comes with the smoke and mirrors of being a musician”, is a belief in the power of songwriting. “Other stuff needswork,” she declares. “I can’t do production, I can barely play guitar, and I should probably do more to look after my voice. But I’m really, really good at writing songs.”
Live, CMAT’s been confirmed for a number of 2022 festivals, including SXSW, Primavera, Deer Sheds, All Together Now amongst others. Her debut headline tour – her first with a full band! – takes place in March/April 2022, with dates in Dublin’s Academy and London (Omeara, Colours) already sold out.
Mar 09: Cyprus Avenue, Cork
Mar 10: Dolan’s, Limerick
Mar 11: The Academy, Dublin (sold out)
Mar 12: Limelight 2, Belfast
Mar 13 – 20: SXSW
Mar 21: The Peppermint Lounge, Los Angeles
Mar 23: The Basement, Nashville
Mar 24: Union Pool, Brooklyn
Mar 31: King Tut’s, Glasgow
Apr 01: Cluny 2, Newcastle
Apr 02: Deaf Institute, Manchester
Apr 04: Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
Apr 05: Hare and Hounds 2, Birmingham
Apr 06: Louisiana, Bristol (sold out)
Apr 08: Omeara, London (sold out)
Apr 09: Colours, London (sold out)
Apr 10: Hope and Ruin, Brighton
Jun 10: Primavera, Barcelona
Aug 30: Deer Sheds, Leeds
Aug 31: All Together Now, Ireland
Niall Brennan is a singer songwriter/musician who has been gigging and working in music from his hometown of Dublin City, Ireland for over twenty-five years.
Niall has a unique vocal style that is earthy, raw, and soulful. His songwriting encompasses a wide variety of influences ranging from Bob Dylan to Mike Scott to Frank Ocean.
He was formerly the frontman and principal songwriter with The Prescriptions who made two albums and an E.P. A ‘best of’ compilation of this work will be released this year.
After The Prescriptions folded Niall remained an active working musician playing solo gigs and continuing to write songs but it wasn’t until he reconnected with old friend Gavin Ralston at a gig that the Something Glorious E.P. was born.
Gavin and Niall had both played music growing up together in their earliest bands The Close and Silverwood Blues Band. The E.P. was almost finished when Gavin tragically passed away after a long battle with cancer.
This music is dedicated to him and stands as a testimony to his brilliance.
Another long- time friend and solo star in his own right Brendan Tallon subsequently stepped in and helped Niall finish the E.P.
Other musicians who play on the songs are Aonghus Ralston, John Boyle, Frank McGing (Woodtown Sound) and a special guest appearance on The Other End Of Your Dreams by Steve Wickham of The Waterboys.
The full E.P.will be available on all streaming platforms from 23rd of January, and available for download from Niall’s Bandcamp page.
Ergodos is proud to announce the release of The Magma Chamber, the debut record from sfiiinx, an avant-pop ensemble performing the music of Irish composer-vocalist Síobhra Quinlan.
The sonic world of The Magma Chamber is by turns delicate, shimmering, propulsive, and combustible. Quinlan’s vocals soar above and weave within the intricately scored ensemble textures, offering rich lyrical imagery infused with mythological motifs.
Whilst perhaps relatable to both the chamber pop tradition of Joanna Newsom, and the post-Impressionism of Toru Takemitsu, The Magma Chamber is, above all, a song cycle of striking singularity and charisma.
The Magma Chamber was recorded intermittently throughout the pandemic with an ensemble of luminaries drawn from the worlds of classical, improvised, and indie music.
Working in various studios in both Ireland and Iceland, Quinlan produced The Magma Chamber in collaboration with producer and sound engineer Adrian Hart (IRL, Crash Ensemble, I Draw Slow, Nava), and sound engineer Albert Finnbogason (ISL, Grísalappalísa, Sóley, Damien Rice, Gyða Valtýsdóttir).
Quinlan likens each song in the cycle to excavated artefacts: “These seven songs pull on various threads that were tangled together throughout my twenties. In unearthing and unravelling these threads, each song revealed itself as a little piece of archaeology, small gems of mental excavation.”
She continues: “I offer up this collection of work as an intimate, honest, vulnerable and visceral encapsulation of my inner-world, bookending the past decade. It was a true privilege to collaborate with such a cracker of a team in bringing these compositions to life, and I’m thrilled that my debut record has found its musical home in Ergodos.”
The music is accompanied by equally vivid visual components: a selection of still images created in Iceland in collaboration with Reykjavik-based artists Juliette Rowland (photographer) and Darren Mark (fashion designer), and an extended music video (visual album) by filmmaker Laura Sheeran, shot on location at Middleton Park House, Westmeath, Ireland.
The creation of the music on this record was supported by a Music Bursary from The Arts Council / An Chomairle Ealaíon.
Jack O’Rourke opens 2022 with a fans’ favourite from his acclaimed album Wild Place.
Wild Place found a place on many reviewers ‘Best of 2021’ polls and the Cork songwriter finished the year with a series of sold out shows, TV and radio appearances.
‘Coffee Song’ is the latest single from Wild Place, following some much-loved forerunners in ‘Opera on the Top Floor’, ‘Patsy Cline’ (nominated for Best Original Song at RTE Folk Awards) and ‘Sea Swimming’. O’Rourke’s insightful weaving of the observational into lyrical tales is a hallmark of the tracks on Wild Place, and this latest release invites the listener into a private, while also unconcealed moment that has resonated with many.
“Coffee Song is a celebration of everyday rituals that can become magic,” says O’Rourke. “Written at a time (during Covid) when my interactions were rare – I found something beautiful in the morning ritual of a small piece of art in the foam of a morning coffee. It gave my day a curious purpose. The extraordinary in the ordinary.”
The lyrics lent themselves to a tale set in New York; a punk rock barista, Warhol and Kandinsky, Patti Smith with echoes of a Broadway ballad.
“I sat at the piano and this story of these characters was developed – the idea of a conversation of broken people with cautious hopes and dreams. Initially it could have been a duet, but now it’s a story like many of the songs on Wild Place. Cormac McCarthy’s arrangement elevated this song to a soundtrack for me, his notes and counter melodies adding just a little movie sparkle.”
‘Coffee Song’ is a reminder to appreciate the smaller things . . . the little things that almost slip by, within which gentle stories can be told.
‘Coffee Song’ is released Friday January 28th.
LIVE:
Dolans, Limerick – Saturday January 22, 5.30pm
Cyprus Avenue, Cork – Saturday January 29, 5pm
Unitarian Church, Dublin – Saturday February 12 (Sold Out)
SomeRiseSomeFall is an independent community of Irish songwriters, musicians and creatives whose second album “No Simple Highway” was released In February 2021 this year to widespread critical acclaim .
The final single from the album “I Remember You” ft John Blek will be released exclusively on Bandcamp on 14th January 2022.
John’s reimagining of Eilen Jewell’s classic tale of kinship amidst life challenges is beautiful and we were delighted that America’s “Queen of The Manor Key” responded so positively to the song and the project writing “ It’s amazing! I love that it’s a unique version that’s faithful to what I did but not an exact replica. You really did the song justice, you’re doing the world some justice, and I’m honored to be associated with your project. The whole album has such a nice sound. I love the tasteful production, the overall vibe, the solid playing…really great”.
The single was originally scheduled for release in April 2021 but was held back to accommodate John’s burgeoning solo career which saw him release 2 albums last year: “Digressions #2 Grounded” and the stunning “On Ether & Air” the final instalment of his 4 part “Catharsis” project.
It was also felt that the themes kinship, trauma, mental health challenges, homelessness and compassion covered in the song and the accompanying video would be best highlighted with a New Year release away from the sentimentality of Christmas as the harsh realities of life for the marginalised become even more apparent.
SomeRiseSomeFall see that trauma, mental illness, homelessness and addiction are inextricably linked and need to be focused on as a long-term basis. This is why we are happy to support organisations like the Cork Simon Community whose work is informed by the lifelong impact of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) on mental health and life outcomes for vulnerable people https://www.corksimon.ie/trauma-informed-care
ALL proceeds from the single will be made to the Cork Simon Community (this means that SomeRiseSomeFall will absorb all costs of recording, production, marketing and all Bandcamp charges) so that 100% of the purchase price/donation will be passed to the Cork Simon Community along with a top-up donation from SomeRiseSomeFall.
