Author: Breffni Banks

From early singles ‘wolfstooth’ & ‘TMj’, to the choice nominated album ‘Staring at Clocks’ last year via legendary shows at Other Voices, Eurosonic and hundreds more, Bitch Falcon have been a singular band burning their own path and now they finish on their own terms with one last farewell show .

Bitch Falcon announces they will play one more show this November at Whelans, Saturday, 11th December 2021. 

Expect to hear songs throughout their career over the last decade,  as well as performing their critically acclaimed album ‘Staring At Clocks’ in its entirety. 

Catch Bitch Falcon performing for one last time in Whelans, 11th December 2021. 

€20.00 inclusive of booking fee on sale Thursday at 10am

Tickets available from www.singularartists.ie

Connect with Bitch Falcon:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify 

Tuesday 26th October sees Dublin singer-songwriter Gerr Walsh release his debut album ‘Ghosts of Hope & Magic’, a collection of 10 songs ranging from the cinematic melancholy of Million Moons to the emotive folk pop of Brighteyes. It will be available to stream and download everywhere.

Musicians on the Album include: Singer Naimee Coleman on backing vocals, Drummer Adam Marcello (Katy Perry), Bassist Keith Duffy (The Corrs), Keyboardist Max Greenwood (Jerry Fish, Jack L, Tom Baxter), and Gerr Walsh on acoustic and electric guitars.

Earlier this month the current single ’Strays’ featured on RTE Radio 1 Recommends list and reached No.2 on the RTE Radio 1 Airplay Charts.

Gerr is planning a live stream gig for the launch of the Album in November and some live gigs in 2022.

Gerr Walsh, is a singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. He released his debut EP ‘Prevailing Winds’ in 2016. With regular plays on radio by DJs, including RTE Radio 1’s Fiachna ó Braonáin, a loyal fanbase has been built while playing live with the likes of Joe Chester, Max Greenwood, Naimee Coleman and Alice Jago.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/GerrWalsh

Bandcamp: https://gerrwalsh.bandcamp.com/

Born in Belgium but now based in Dublin, R&B artist ORLA is an exciting new addition to Ireland’s music scene. Growing up in a musical family, she was surrounded by music of all genres from a young age.  From the Irish trad music her father played to the French songs she grew up listening to in Brussels, she was always exploring new styles of singing, but upon hearing the music of artists such as Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys, she fell in love with Soul and R&B. At seventeen, she moved to Dublin. Starting off as a backing vocalist she quickly moved on to writing and performing her own songs in venues all around Dublin.

In 2020, ORLA released her Debut single ‘Close to Me’, which captured the attention of Radio stations and Music Blogs all over Ireland, with Hotpress Magazine describing her as ‘an artist to watch’. Soon after the release, she performed an acoustic version of ‘Close to Me’ in The Parlour of Whelans. In this intimate performance, the song is stripped down to just ORLA’s voice and two instruments. It shows off the luscious tone of her vocals and gives a new interpretation of the song’s story.

ORLA channels the emotions of her songs into her vocal delivery and embellishes her music with textured harmonies, vocal runs and layers. In the past year, she has focused on writing, creating a new set of songs that truly reflect her current sound as an artist. She has been working with Producers such as Alex O’Keeffe and experimenting with electronic influences in her soulful tracks to create a unique sound, as heard in her upcoming single ‘Lazy’.

‘Lazy’ is ORLA’s second single, following the release of ‘Close to Me’ in 2020. Written alone by ORLA on guitar, the song was brought to life by producer Alex O’Keeffe, known for his work with artists such as Erica Cody, Fia Moon and Bobbi Arlo, and mixed by Adam Shanahan (My fault Music.)

“I wrote this song a year ago, in the first lockdown. It was summer and everyone was stuck at home. I was thinking back to a time where my life was so busy in comparison and finding hours to do just nothing with the person I most wanted to be with was a blessing. It’s a song about the early days of romance and knowing that even when you aren’t doing anything extraordinary, being with that person is what makes the time worthwhile. I wanted the sound of the song to reflect the romance, comfort and nostalgia of this feeling. It’s more playful, with an upbeat groove and a little less serious than my last song. The layers of vocals are there to create a dreamy feeling, while the saxophone, strings and guitar give it the laid back groove of classic R&B tunes I grew up listening to.”

The new album “Inheritance” by Ian Ashford & the Solidarity Band is out since 23rd September, 2021. This project was a collaboration between Irish and French musicians during the lockdown in 2020. The album has 9 tracks with the singles “Ally”, “Polyanthus Scent” and “Shimmering Back” featuring on RTE 1 recommends playlists over the last few months.

Ashford says “We wanted to be free and with no particular genre in mind. Our will to create a new album and put to good use our suffering during this time helped us to create something worthwhile. Our album ‘Inheritance” tries to understand ways to deal with the invisible Inheritance of suffering that tumbles down through the generations and resides within all of us.”

Ian Ashford worked at distance with Bastien Choukroun, Simon McCourt and Arthur Duburq to create this album due to lock down restrictions and living in different parts of the world. The album is now available on all streaming services.

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Three Underneath, the self-titled album, is set for independent self-release on October 15th, with a total of 11 tracks on the album.

The band are running a virtual festival to celebrate the launch, with behind-the-scenes footage of the album process, lyrics and background for the songs and a digital download of the album for free.

The album was Mastered by and mixed in part by Aidan Cunningham (The Scratch, Overhead The Albatross) and produced by the band themselves.

“This album is our calling card. It’s our real debut. It had to be self-titled, because it shows all facets of where we’re at right now. The last 18 months have been challenging to say the least and I think this album pretty much chronicles our journey throughout the fear and confinement to the love, hope, pragmatism — there’s plenty of heavy, straight-up rock and some quite candid introverted stuff in there! ” explains Daragh.

‘Three Underneath’, the album, comes as a follow-up to the band’s double EP, “Something Pretty / Something Pure”, which Dan Hegarty 2FM chose as one of his top of the year in 2015

The band were fortunate enough to be chosen for funding in 2020 to release the album during the pandemic and are grateful to the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for supporting the release.

Three Underneath is available now and will be issued in limited edition physical and bundles, available exclusively at ThreeUnderneath.com

Norwegian DJ and producer Matoma returns with an empowering new single, ‘Never Surrender’ feat. Steve Garrigan the charismatic Irish rock band front man, Kodaline, on October 15th.

Written over lockdown, this is Matoma’s second release in 2021 following ‘Summer Feeling’ and ‘Good Vibes’ with Hrvy. Demonstrating why collaborations bring us such unique releases here we have the perfect hybrid of Matoma’s uplifting production vibes and Steve Garrigan’s melancholy and yearning vocal style. With the diverse influences coming together to deliver a perfectly produced pop dance track providing the space for Garrigan’s heart felt words to take center-stage before introducing classic piano house keys, twisted trumpets, and ‘80s synth stabs.

There is also a unique theme running through the release, shining a light around the issue of bullying, with the lyrics tackling the subject encouraging us to believe in ourselves and never give up.

‘This is a song about bullying and anxiety, believing in yourself and never giving up on who you are.’ – Steve Garrigan

Having been inspired by some of his own life experiences Steve Garrigan put pen to paper to share his story. Having also recently published his memoirs, his band has a unique ability to capture intense emotions in arena-scaled songs, putting some of that feeling into ‘Never Surrender’. Kodaline are already well  established with a huge global fan base, three number one albums in Ireland and two top ten hits in the UK.

Matoma was also driven by life experience and shared his inspiration on the release: “After graduating high school and dreaming of who and what I would become, it was always to follow my love for music and make a living from it in some way. I ended up choosing something safer than music and joining the military, because frankly I was too scared to embrace my dream. But dreams have a way of not letting go, and I ended up dedicating my life that path that has now led me here. ‘Never Surrender’ is my interpretation of this journey – to never give up on something you strongly want no matter what others – or your own fears – say you can or can’t do.”

In the first chapter of Matoma’s (aka Tom Lagergren) career, he rose from a bedroom producer to becoming one of dance music’s biggest and brightest new stars. Between his solo tracks, two albums, and collabs with everyone from Becky Hill and The Vamps to Dua Lipa and Snoop Dogg, the Norwegian artist has amassed over 2 billion streams. This new career phase marked by the release of ‘Never Surrender’ can confidently be called Matoma 2.0. proving he is so much more than a DJ, producer, remixer, performer but also a climate activist, a leader, a mentor, a teacher, and an inspirational figure.

‘Never Surrender’ has all the necessary ingredients to become a standout song of 2021, with both these exceptional artists coming together, this  sure to be a feature in your favorite streaming playlist as well as on heavy rotation on national radio.

Irish singer-songwriter Anna Carmody returns with a surprise two-track release today.

Influenced by artists from Lana Del Rey to Villagers, she has been quietly building a dedicated fanbase since last year and has already seen her music videos reach hundreds of thousands of views in a few short months. Hot Press soon took note of the rising hype around this enigmatic artist and support grew from there with national and regional radio support.

Anna’s gentle sonic brand is both charming and thought-provoking. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and delivers a rawness and honesty in her work. Her music has been described as “beautifully haunting”, touching the hearts of many with lyrics inspired by loss, adventure, heartbreak and more. She draws inspiration from the people and life moments that struck a chord with her the most.

On her double track release, Anna describes ‘Hangover’ as a track that compares the breakdown of a relationship to a bad hangover;“It’s an emotional song and I wrote it in a heartbreaking moment while still with my ex-boyfriend. ‘Gone Away Dear’ was written soon after, when the relationship ended so it only seemed fitting that I release them together. They’re both recorded as just piano and vocals so they have the necessary stripped back, raw sadness required.”

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“I spend much of my life chasing and listening for hooks. In my own songs and in other peoples. When it comes down to it there’s music I like, music I don’t like and then there’s music that I fall in love with and that’s what I’m really looking for”.

Niall Brennan is a songwriter/musician from Dublin, Ireland.  ‘Living On The Moon’ is the third song to be released from his forthcoming E.P. Something Glorious. Niall wrote the song after seeing a moon landing documentary but now the song stands as a comment on the recent billionaire space race.

It was produced by Niall’s long-time friend Gavin Ralston who tragically passed away during the making of the E.P. Another long-time friend Brendan Tallon (Love in These Times) stepped in to finish the project.

Other musicians who play on the single are John Boyle (Marianne Faithful) and Aonghus Ralston (The Waterboys) and Frank McGing (Woodtown Sound).

‘Living On The Moon’ will be available on all streaming platforms from 22nd October and available for download from Niall’s Bandcamp page.

Irish singer-songwriter Pete Kavanagh releases his new single, ‘Mercy,’ on Friday 15^th October.

The single is paired with a powerful video directed by Mary Duffin (Danny Boy, the feature film (2020)) with cinematography by well-known music photographer IrishMJ.

‘Mercy’ is an alternative rock song harking back to the dark grunge days of the 90s, think Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, with a strong melodic, musical delivery underpinning dark lyrics that deal with Clerical and State abuse in Ireland.

The track features Pete on double track lead vocal and acoustic guitar, Graham Hopkins on drums (The Frames, Therapy?), Hally on lead guitar and backing vocals (Peeling Onions) and William McCormack on bass (Arc Waves, Kill City Defectors).

‘Mercy’ is the third single to be taken from Pete’s debut album ‘Join Up the Dots’ which is set for release on November 5th. Soulful and captivating, the album combines alt-country, folk and rock with an overriding Americana feel.

‘Mercy’ is a testament from an Irish working man in support of the victims and survivors of clerical and state abuse in Ireland, and indeed worldwide.

Pete says: “I attended primary school in Ireland in the late 1970’s, a school with an obligatory Catholic ethos. I witnessed daily displays of physical and mental abuse. There was also sexual abuse. The Christian brothers, nuns, priests, teachers and community at large, collectively created an environment where this behaviour became the norm. By the mid 9o’s, I was an angry young man with a guitar. I wrote songs to vent my anger and express my emotions. Music was a healing force, a form of therapy. It was during this period that I heard Christine Buckley (Dear Daughter) recount her horrific experience of life at St. Vincent’s Institutional School in Dublin (Goldenbridge). Her story moved me to tears and it inspired ‘Mercy’. I feel now is the right time for this song to be heard.”

The beautifully filmed video portrays the story of a survivor (played by Pete Kavanagh and his son) who has returned to his hometown to confront his former oppressor.

It is an emotional journey that will leave you thinking about it long after the video ends. Actors Brian McCabe and Mary Power Cooney’s captivating performance brings the stoic, arrogant stance of an institution regime to life.

Pete Kavanagh is a singer-songwriter, musician and storyteller from Co. Kildare, Ireland who has an old-world sound but with modern twists that are all uniquely his own. His sound invokes the vintage quality of musical influences such as Bob Dylan, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. He weaves dark themes in his songwriting, exploring psyche and despair of human nature while wryly holding onto hope for something better.

Facebook – https://facebook.com/petekavanaghmusic
Instagram – https://instagram.com/petekavanaghmusic
Twitter – https://twitter.com/petekavanagh7
Youtube – https://youtube.com/petekavanagh1
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/4veGu1QjrqP8hvPROeNWXo

Irish alt-folk star Maria Kelly‘s debut album, ‘The Sum of the In-between’, will be available worldwide, on vinyl and on digital platforms, from Friday 15th October 2021 on VETA Music.

On Friday 12th November 2021, Maria will celebrate the release of ‘The Sum of the In-between’ with a headline show at The Workmans Club, Dublin, presented by Singular Artists.

Since the release of the album’s first single ‘Martha’ earlier this year, excitement has been building about ‘The Sum of the In-between’. Two further singles, ‘eight hours’ and ‘good enough’ elevated the Westport-born, Dublin-based singer’s forthcoming debut album to ‘potential album of the year’ heights.

Alternative music bible Notion said, “Maria Kelly’s so-soft-they-could-melt vocals stay true to the West Irish alt-folk artist’s delicate and tender style”; Nameless Faceless commented that “Kelly’s voice possesses an intimacy and emotional intelligence that could break your heart”; and Hot Press writing that Maria’s most recent single, ‘good enough’, “sees Kelly continuing the open, courageous lyrical style that has earned her fans the world over.”

Even before Maria had an album in the works, she was garnering praise from the likes of The Line of Best Fit (“…Kelly effortlessly balances the melodic whimsy of her folky vocal with the weight of her sparse, thoughtful songwriting”), Consequence of Sound (“…silky smooth vocals that spin widely relatable tales”), Wonderland (“From every angle, Kelly’s art is an immersive experience”) and Nialler9 (“poignant folk music at its very best”).

As we move towards the release of ‘The Sum of the In-between’’, a theme that emerges is one of acceptance and finding the strength to meet yourself where you are, wherever you are. Maria’s singles ‘good enough’, ‘eight hours’ and ‘Martha’ are deeply introspective and honest songs about her own mental health journey and the rest of the songs on this album continue that exploration.

“’The Sum of the In-between’ is an attempt to find the strength to confront the current version of myself at all costs. Not who I was, or who I hope I’ll be, but who I am at this moment – despite how uncomfortable that version may be to accept”.

“It explores the deepest parts of my brain, and it celebrates the strength that can be found in the darkest of places. It’s also a thank you to my friends, who have got me through the worst of it, during times where I know they were battling with the very same things.”

With the world at a standstill, 2020 saw Maria retreating to a small cottage on the south coast of Ireland. During this quiet in-between, Maria has found space to write and record her eagerly anticipated debut album – a blank canvas and an open sea with which to take stock and reflect on her 20s so far. It was produced remotely by her long-time collaborator, Matt Harris.

“I made this album with Matt remotely, sending things back and forth, and experiencing the songs through my headphone. They haven’t got a chance to live on a stage yet, so I can’t wait to bring this body of work to life with a full band on November 12^th”

Though introspective, Maria’s new record is inherently one that is designed to provoke not just thought and emotion – but also action. Her underlying message to the listener that ‘you deserve the right help and you deserve support’ comes through her music like a good friend who wants you to be well – but knows that gentle encouragement is the best method of persuasion.

Maria Kelly’s world of delicately woven alt-folk is laced with a sincerity that cuts to the bone. Finding comfort in the confessional styles of artists like Regina Spektor, Daughter, and Lucy Rose, she soon transferred her own introspections to music, developing a sound that is as delicate as it is disarmingly frank.