Author: Breffni Banks

Walking out of the mists of a forgotten year, Jack O’Rourke has reimagined his place in the Irish music landscape with the release of singles ‘Opera on the Top Floor’, ‘Patsy Cline’, and ‘Sea Swimming’.

Jack has approached this new collection of songs with a sense of abandon, opening himself in some of his most emotionally raw songwriting to date. Focusing on the links between literature and nature, Jack writes about inspiration, the wildness of love, and healing from grief.

Wild Place is Jack’s first release since 2019’s Ivory Towers and first full album release since his acclaimed debut, Dreamcatcher, which entered the Irish Top 5. In the intervening years Jack has established himself as one of Ireland’s finest songsmiths and a live favourite. For the recording of Wild Place, Jack and his band based themselves in Triskel Christchurch in Cork and used the wonderful acoustics and Triskel’s grand piano to great effect. The results are probably Jack’s most endearing work to date – the songs emanating from a soulful and folk-inspired place.

Jack first came to prominence with his ode to misunderstood youth and growing up gay, ‘Silence’, became a torch song for the Irish Marriage Equality Referendum and won the Nashville Songwriting Competition (judges included Tom Waits and Bill Withers). Chosen as a 2019 headliner for Other Voices, Jack was featured prominently in the television series (most recently part of the Home special in December, featuring himself. Loah, Villagers and Denise Chaila) and his collaboration, ‘New Day’ with electronic artist, Kormac has nearly 500,000 views for its award winning music video.

“Wild Place has songs of love and loss, beautiful misfits, nature and wilderness,” says Jack. “There’s freedom and rage in there too, alongside questions on race, friendship, a still-Covid world, my dreams and sea swimming. The piano and vocal are centre, but there are elements of folk, roots, blues, Americana and chamber music.” There’s also a song, ‘Strange Bird’ written about the last year and a half – a drone recording a town during lockdown and all we’ve lost and gained. It’s influenced hugely by John Prine – “When John Prine died during Covid, it was a Bowie or Cohen or Prince moment – I was heartbroken without knowing him personally – his lyrics and his style meant so much, and his songwriting always floored me. There’s a Steinbeck or Mark Twain quality – he says so much without being flowery.”

Jack teamed up with members of Crash Ensemble, Clare Sands, Hugh Dillon and Aisling Fitzpatrick to record Wild Place, with a live quality brought to the songs by Ber Quinn’s mixing. Jack’s long-standing drummer, David Ryan, produced the album, despite not using drums on any of the tracks and it was mastered in Canada by Philip Shaw (Feist and Bob Iver).

The first three singles from Wild Place have all received extensive airplay on the country’s airwaves and Jack is set to take to the road with the new album over the comings weeks. A captivating live performer, Jack will bring the music of Wild Place to life doing what he loves best – seated at a piano and sharing some of his moving and sublime songs with his audience.

The new album from Jack O’Rourke Wild Place is out November 5, 2021.

Tour Dates

October 16 – Spirit Store – Dundalk

October 28 – The Royal Theatre, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

November 5 – Glengarra Mountain Lodge, Co. Tipperary

November 12 – Dolans Limerick

November 13 – The Courthouse Arts Theatre , Co Wicklow

November 27 – Triskel Christchurch, Cork

Twitter: @JackORourkes // Facebook: @JackORourkeMusic // Instagram: @jackorourkemusic // Website: https://www.jackorourkesongs.com/

Singular Artists proudly presents NewDad live at Whelans, 7th April 2022.

Tickets are available from www.singulartists.ie from Friday, 29th October at 10 am.

The announcement coincides with the release of their single ‘Ladybird’. via Fair Youth Records. The track has been produced by John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, Phoebe Bridgers). ‘Ladybird’ is taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Banshee’, coming early next year.

‘Ladybird’ marks a big step forward in NewDad’s songwriting. It’s bolder and more confident, with layers of guitars creating a mesmerising pop song. It is perfectly balanced, managing to be both intimate and expansive. The track was inspired by the film of the same name, as Julie explains:

“I wrote the song after watching the film ‘Ladybird’, the chord progression reminded me of Dave Matthew’s song that’s played throughout the film so I initially named it after that, so ‘Ladybird’ was just a working title. I then wrote the lyrics about the difficult part of relationships and the struggle we sometimes face when we’re away from someone and the fears and anxieties we have about what they’re doing or if they’re okay, I realised this coincided with the relationship between the mother and daughter in the film so the title ended up being pretty fitting. It’s about the give and takes in any relationship really and about the struggles of being away from someone you care about.”

NewDad played a short sold-out headline tour of Ireland in September, their first tour, as well as supporting Fontaines DC in Belfast and playing at Green Man Festival. Next up, the band head to the UK for their first tour here, including two nights at The Lexington. They’ll also head to Paris for the Pitchfork Festival.

Over the past eighteen months, NewDad has emerged with a string of great singles and released their debut EP “Waves” to critical and commercial acclaim. They’ve been featured by NME, The Sunday Times, DIY, Dork, So Young, Clash, The Forty-Five, Rodeo, Dummy, Nialler 9, District, Hot Press, Pigeons & Planes, and more, as well as being on the A list at BBC 6 Music with 3 consecutive singles “Blue”, “I Don’t Recognise You” and “Slowly”. They have been supported by Annie Mac and Jack Saunders on Radio 1 and Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music

CMAT today announces her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, set for release via AWAL Recordings on February 25th 2022.

She has also shared an instantly glorious new single, ‘No More Virgos’. On the pulsing ‘No More Virgos’ the Dublin cowgirl again showcases her songwriting prowess and lyrical ingenuity – marrying, as she puts it, “my love of 80’s Italo disco with my hatred of Virgos.”

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. It has been 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 ‘No More Virgos’, CMAT says; “I’m the kind of girl who dates the same person over and over again. Specifically, every single one of my partners have been Virgos. I wanted to write a song that pokes fun at this aspect of my personality, and try to be a voice for all of my long-suffering friends. Musically, I really wanted to try and marry my love of 80’s Italo disco with my hatred of Virgos. I just can’t help myself from making terrible decisions sometimes! Sorry!”

You’d be forgiven for finding it confusing that Ciara’s disparate tastes — an encyclopedic 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 song-writing 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. By 2020 her DIY ethic was bearing fruit with a run of self-released singles such as ‘Another Day (KFC)’, ‘Rodney’, ‘I Don’t Really Care For You’ and ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’, scoring coverage in the UK from Wonderland, Clash, Sunday Times, The Guardian, Dork, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, The Fader and more, plus radio support from BBC Radio 1 & BBC 6Music.

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 needs work,” 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 biggest shows to date for next year – The Academy, Dublin on March 11, and Omeara, London on April 8 – sold out in three days. Today, she announces a 13-date Ireland and UK run (including a second London date, at Colours on April 09) and her first US solo shows. Tickets for these dates go on sale on November 05 at 10am. After recently supporting Declan McKenna on his UK run, her Covid-rescheduled debut solo headliner dates in Dublin and London will (finally!) take place in November. She’ll be bringing her full band to Eurosonic and Primavera 2022.

Pre order – https://awal.ffm.to/cmat-imwnibd

CMAT Tour Dates

2021

Nov 05: Whelan’s, Dublin (sold out)
Nov 06: Crossing Borders, Den Haag
Nov 07: Mutations, Brighton
Nov 09: The Troubadour, London (sold out)
Nov 10: The Troubadour, London (sold out)

2022

Jan 21: Eurosonic, Groningen
Mar 09: Cyprus Avenue, Cork *
Mar 10: Dolan’s, Limerick *
Mar 11: The Academy, Dublin (sold out)
Mar 12: Limelight 2, Belfast *
Mar 21: The Peppermint Club,  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 Hounds 2, Birmingham *
Apr 06: Louisiana, Bristol *
Apr 08: Omeara, London (sold out)
Apr 09: Colours, London *
Apr 10: Hope and Ruin, Brighton *
Jun 10: Primavera, Barcelona

* On sale Friday Nov 05

Dave Thomas O’Gorman’s dreamy style of indie folk continues to attract an avid international following of thousands.

His profile has been boosted thanks to some of his own musical heroes. James Taylor recently endorsed Dave’s version of ‘You Can Close Your Eyes’ on social media. Feist invited Dave to showcase his music at her concert in the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. A cover of St. Vincent’s ‘Slow Disco’ has been watched over 1 million times on social media receiving over 35 thousand reactions and shares.

As well as performing at the Longitude Festival, Dave has had the privilege of headlining the esteemed Ruby Sessions , and performing in leading Irish venues such as NCH, Whelan’s and The Sugar Club.

His previous release from this year, ‘With No Control’ has been described in media as “a beautiful gem”, “an absolute piece of magic” and “classic songwriting”.

Dave’s music has featured on radio both nationally and internationally on stations such as RTÉ Radio 1, BBC Radio Ulster, Newstalk FM, Radio Nova, Midlands 103, FM 104, Dublin City FM, KCLR 96FM, Shannonside FM, RTE 2XM, Galway Bay FM, Carlow FM, Flirt FM and PLAYIRISH RADIO.

A former winner of the all-Ireland Slógadh music competition and holder of a Master’s Degree in Music & Media Technologies from Trinity College, Dave’s musical journey continues with the release of new single, ‘The Sweetest Blood’.

‘The Sweetest Blood’ is out 28th October 2021.

https://www.davethomasog.com

https://www.facebook.com/davethomasogorman/

https://www.instagram.com/davethomasogorman

https://www.youtube.com/c/DaveThomasOGorman

HamsandwicH are delighted to announce the release of their brand new single “Electro~Wave,” a delicious slice of electro-pop with a cheeky hint of 80s attitude and bravado! It is the band’s first new music since “Reactions” (2018) and “Bodies” (2017) and is the first single to be released from their upcoming new as-of-yet untitled album which will be out in the Spring 2022.

Niamh: “We are so excited for people to hear what we have been working on! “Electro~Wave” is our first single from our upcoming new album and we can’t wait to get it into people ears! We have definitely moved a bit more towards a dancing disco vibe with this one and hope people love it as much as we do!”

Podge: “Our main objective with Electro~Wave is to really explore unfamiliar territory vocally for us making our regular sound almost robotic in its delivery. Another was to try out out a punchier approach to our writing which we felt really suited us live with our previous single “Bodies”. Electrowave is also one of the only HamsandwicH songs we have released that does not have a breakdown as such so it keeps ticking along from start to finish. I cannot wait to see how it will be received in a live setting; hopefully, it becomes a monster!”

Darcy: “We have been exploring new sounds along with different approaches to writing music during the past year and it has proved to be an interesting and exciting time for us! We cannot wait for people to hear what we have been hammering away at and really can’t wait to play these new songs live!”

One of Ireland’s most enthralling live acts in recent times, HamsandwicH have announced a nationwide tour which is set to take place across Ireland from November 2021 to January 2022. Tickets via www.tegmjr-eire.ie, Ticketmaster.ie (IRE) and individual venues.

HamsandwicH ::: LIVE ::: Upcoming Irish Shows

12 November 2021: Set Theatre, Kilkenny

13 November 2021: Kavanaghs, Portlaoise

19 November 2021: Spirit Store, Dundalk

20 November 2021: Andersons, Sligo

03 December 2021: Monroes, Galway

04 December 2021: Dolans, Limerick

18 December 2021: Opium, Dublin

19 December 2021: Opium, Dublin

07 January 2022: Mike The Pies, Listowel

08 January 2022: Cyprus Avenue, Cork

15 January 2022: Crown Live, Wexford

HamsandwicH have been one of Ireland’s most steady indie bands over the years as many music acts as well as trends have come and gone. Not only has HamsandwicH survived but have thrived as the band prepares to release their fourth album.

Over the years HamsandwicH have sold out Dublin’s prestigious Olympia Theatre three times, supported Arcade Fire and The Pixies, played on the main stages at the Electric Picnic, Longitude Festival, and IndiePendence Festival, performed at the legendary Slane Castle with Bon Jovi, been personally invited by Mumford & Sons to support them in Phoenix Park, sold out their legendary acoustic show Dublin’s Christchurch Cathedral on the day tickets went on-sale – alongside being presented with the Hope for 2008 Meteor Award as voted for by the listeners of RTE 2FM as well as their third album “Stories From The Surface” debuting straight into the Number 1 spot on Ireland’s official album chart, the first time an independent and unsigned Irish act accomplished this feat.

HamsandwicH continue to thrive having established themselves in the upper echelon of must-see acts on the road today with their regularly sold-out tours throughout the country. The Kells, Co. Meath band are well known for their incendiary live performances which has established HamsandwicH as one of the top touring acts in the country. Featuring their signature calling card of Niamh Farrell’s powerful yet sweet vocal, Podge McNamee’s juxtaposing baritone, and Darcy’s soaring guitar riffs, if ever there was a band to feed off their audience it is HamsandwicH; melodic, hook-laden, and heart-warmingly charming.

For More Information:

http://www.hamsandwichmusic.com

https://www.instagram.com/hamsandwichband

https://www.facebook.com/hamsandwichmusic

https://twitter.com/Ham_Sandwich

Movment will release a new single ‘Leave Me Alone’ on Distort The Scene on 29 October 2021.

The 2 tracks were recorded in End of Light Studios, Mullingar, Ireland & mixed at Miloco, London and mastered by Jerome Schmitt at The Airlab. Artwork is by UVRay.

This eerie creepy tune befits the time of year, as we close in on Halloween, and the dead and the ghostly shadows enter our subconscious, as life and the beyond are close at hand, and evil and the supernatural are all around us, in our dreams, and disturbingly, in our nightmares;

“Leave Me Alone, I am Dangerous, Leave Me Alone, I am Vicious, Leave Me Alone”

Movment are a post-punk alternative indie rock band. They produce raw, intense, engaging, and real alternative rock music with guitars, electronics, bass, drums and experiments with sound. Movment use technology & instruments to produce their sound and make observations on life and living.

Movment’s first album Broken Down is a mix of Electro Rock and indie riffs with harsh, dark themes. Movment released an EP RED DEATH SESSIONS in 2017.

The 2nd MOVMENT Album, TRANSFORMATION, will be released on Distort The Scene on 02 December 2021.

Leave Me Alone is streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and all streaming platforms now.

Website: www.movment.ie

Twitter: www.twitter.com/movment

Facebook: www.facebook.com/movmentie

Following the success of recent release ‘Wish You’, ZOiD, (AKA Daniel Jacobson), returns with a brand new single ‘Static’.

Dipping into the waters of soul and funk, ‘Static’ features Belfast soprano and jazz vocalist Suzanne Savage and gets its release on October 29, 2021.

‘Static’ is the second single from ZOiD’s upcoming album ZONGS due out in 2022. Collaboration forms the basis for ZOiD’s projects with appearances from Nigerian-Irish vocalist Esosa Ighodaro O’Brien and saxophonist Chris Engel also featuring on ZONGS.

There is a sense of mischievous playfulness that underpins ZOiD’s music, belying some intricate arrangements and clever songwriting that form the foundations of the new material. From early techno leanings, ZOiD’s musical compass has also been steered by artists as varied as Burt Bacharach and Aphex Twin, ensuring a rich artistic palette from which 2021’s releases have drawn upon.

From his earliest influences from labels such as Warp, Rephlex, Underground Resistance and Dublin’s D1 producers Donnacha Costello and Rob Rowland, ZOiD’s fertile musical imagination was inspired by techno before evolving to write tracks that amalgamated several genres into a populated musical petri dish of new ideas and innovation.

ZOiD collaborated with Aisling Ennis’  on a one-off live performance from her #BOUNCE project (https://www.aislingennis.com) of a duo piece called ‘Blaster’ which took place last month in Ballybla Farm, Wicklow.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjFygnq4qM

‘Static’ is out October 29, 2021

Twitter: @zoidan

Instagram: @zoid999

Facebook: @zoidioz

Website: www.zoid.ie

Pillow Queens are delighted to announce their biggest headline shows to date in Ireland.

They will perform live at Vicar Street on Saturday, 1st October and Empire, Belfast on Friday 14th October 2022.

Tickets are €25.00 / £16.00 available from www.singularartists.ie from Friday, 29th October 2021 at 10am. 

Since forming in Dublin in late 2016, Pillow Queens have seen their initial word of mouth buzz grow with every new release. From sharing stages with the likes of IDLES , Soak and Pussy Riot, to their own sold out shows, the band have developed a community of loyal and passionate fans. The winter of 2019 saw the band travel to the wilds of rural Co. Donegal to record their debut album with award winning producer Tommy Mclaughlin (Soak/Hannah Peel). Released through the bands own label in September 2020 to near universal critical acclaim, IN WAITING surpassed all expectations, with The Irish Times 5-star review calling it “An Emotional Masterpiece”.

The album was duly nominated for Ireland’s prestigious Choice album of the year award. The album gained Album of the Day and A list play on BBC 6 Music, and drew praise and support from the likes of NPRs All songs Considered and KEXPs song of the day.

As more people fell hard for the record, 2021 began with the band being invited to make their US Late Night television debut on CBS’s The Late Late Show and continued to be a special one for Pillow Queens as they signed with Sub Pop Publishing.

In May, the band returned to their Dublin city practice space to begin writing their next record, and have recently found a new home for it, signing a worldwide deal with Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records.

The rest of the year will see the band complete their long delayed sold out Irish and UK tour dates.

Connect with Pillow Queens:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify

Chloë Agnew and Brian McGrane, both successful Irish singer/songwriters with roots in world-renowned music collective Celtic Woman, have released their new single ‘Somebody Just Like You’.    It’s out on all streaming platforms now.

Does the heart ever forget what real love feels like? 

Agnew and McGrane both agree that it does not, and have turned that sentiment into a piece of resonating music. ‘Somebody Just Like You’ allows the listener to sit with the joy that comes with real love, the pain that comes with losing it, and the hope of finding it again some day.

To both artists, ‘Somebody Just Like You’ is a release of emotions that often only music can inspire. McGrane describes how writing the song during a rocky relationship of his own really hit home and allowed “buried feelings to come pouring out.” Agnew talks about how the song goes out to all those who have felt love and pain, and hopes the listening experience can act as a safe place to “cry it out.” 

Though Agnew and McGrane have worked alongside one another on various musical projects throughout the years, ‘Somebody Just Like You’ is their first official original release. It will come accompanied by a raw and atmospheric music video filmed by BadBear Visuals at Jealoustown Studios, also to be released on October 22nd, 2021.

Brian McGrane is a singer, songwriter, and producer from the small Irish town of Navan. From leading the church choir at age 7 to forming his own rock band at age 12, McGrane has been a music enthusiast and performer for most of his life. At age 22 McGrane was handpicked to tour with and sing backing vocals for the internationally-renowned Celtic Woman, an experience which allowed him to work on his craft while making valuable worldwide connections. He has done countless original shows, landed a place on SPIN 103.8’s ‘One To Watch’ with Sarina Belissimo, and supported Tom Walker at the Kinsale Shark Awards in 2019. He has produced songs for Connie Talbot (Britain’s Got Talent) and Chloë Agnew (Celtic Woman) among others, while his own music has been (and continues to be) widely streamed in Ireland, the States, and beyond. In this challenging new climate McGrane continues to write, produce, and perform quality music. 

Daughter of entertainer Adéle “Twink” King and Irish oboist David Agnew, Chloë Agnew was born in Dublin into a life of acting, singing, and dancing. She made her first TV appearance at the age of 4, and enjoyed early success from the age of 14 as an integral part of world-class performing collective Celtic Women. Since then she has performed all around the globe, both as a solo artist and alongside some incredible collaborators (Chicago, John Driscoll Hopkins, Ryan Silverman) and organizations (Guinness Book of Records, Military Tattoo Festival, Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish). Chloë has also had the honor of performing for three consecutive US presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama). Chloë is a part of Ireland’s newest creative platform ‘The X Collective’, alongside some of Ireland’s best industry creatives and performers. She is currently working on a series of solo projects and collaborations.