Author: Breffni Banks

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Davey Long has written about the fragility of life in his latest single, Flesh & Blood.

Flesh and Blood delivers a timely message about the current climate crisis and the precious and fleeting nature of our time on earth.

Flesh & Blood dips into alt rock with a hint of bass and drum influences, all while maintaining a heavy groove that shifts dynamics throughout the song and reaches a crescendo at the finale.  Critics have likened the single to old school pop-rock, with notable David Bowie, Pink Floyd and U2 influences.

Accompanied by a music video which features juxtaposed shots of the great outdoors, Flesh & Blood is a tribute to nature, life and its preciousness.

The song features a reputable line of musicians taking the reins on the tracks, including Dave Gough on bass, Rob Larkin on keys, Shane O’Dwyer and Eoin Drennan on guitar and James Delahunty on synth.

Davey adds his stylistic vocals to the mix while also taking the lead on production.  Martin Quinn did the mix and additional production at Jam Studios.

Flesh & Blood is one of three singles teased off Davey’s upcoming debut album, Eitilt, also out on 8th October 2021.  Eitilt features notable contributions from many fine Irish musicians including Kealan Kenny and Sara Ryan.

Ride The Wave, the first single from the album Eitilt, has received ample airtime.  Last Train To Tupelo, its sophomore release, has featured on numerous Spotify playlists.

‘The composition is laced with gorgeous guitars and hearty piano solos, while Long’s vocal performance is effortlessly infectious and feel-good’ – Kilkenny People

With three tracks under his belt, Davey is gearing up for an exciting album launch this October 2021.

Davey has appeared on several distinguished albums including Celtic Woman’s GRAMMY nominated Destiny and The Fundamentals Past and Present Collide. He has toured extensively with The Kilkennys and his song, Lampedusa, has been featured by the charity Open Arms in their social media campaigns highlighting the current migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

CONNECT WITH DAVEY LONG:

 Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify | SoundCloud | YouTube

It’s one of the most hotly anticipated Irish releases of 2021 and it’s out on Friday 8th October 2021.

We’re talking, of course, about electronic artist and producer Elaine Mai, who has been teasing her debut album ‘Home’ since the very start of this year when she released ‘No Forever (feat. MayKay)’ – a song that went on to become one of the stand out singles of 2021, reaching number 2 in the Irish Radio Breakers Chart and gaining over 3,250 plays on Irish radio alone this year.

Two further singles followed, ‘Still Feel (feat. Ailbhe Reddy)’ and ‘Go Slow (feat. Sinéad White)’, cementing Elaine Mai’s reputation as a seminal Irish artist for 2021.

On Friday 8th October, along with the release of her album, Elaine’s next single, ‘Waiting To Breathe’ will be released. The song features the haunting, distinctive voice of another of Ireland’s great vocalists, Loah, on a track that builds and rings out to herald the arrival of ‘Home’.

The 9-track album will be available as a digital download and on all streaming platforms. Elaine has already showcased with her singles that she can bring the best and brightest women together to produce tracks that have the power to evoke the strongest emotions, and her album will also allow fans to hear just how diverse and innovative a producer she is, as tracks like ‘3am’, ‘Mother’ and ‘Together Again’ punch through as absolute club bangers that arrive just in time, as the country prepares to open its doors post-pandemic.

Elaine Mai says: “All of the tracks on ‘Home’ relate to the theme of belonging. For me, the experience of feeling like you belong somewhere or with someone can happen in so many different ways. You might feel it in your favorite club, or in the company of friends, and every track tells a story about experiencing that feeling. I’m really proud of this piece of work and collaborating with so many brilliant Irish female artists has been an absolute pleasure. I’m really excited for people to hear it and experience it live.”

Indeed, Elaine is an artist whose music is made to be heard live. Emerging from lockdown in September 2021, she played the Mother Summer Block Party at Collins Barracks in Dublin where she was joined on stage by MayKay and Ailbhe Reddy to perform songs from this album and her back catalogue. The crowd’s response was breathtaking. Elaine’s live performance is so outstanding, it’s no wonder that her remix of Chris Isaack’s ‘Wicked Game’ was voted ‘Tune of Electric Picnic 2017’ by The Irish Times.

Though you’ll find traces of artists like Robyn and Shura underneath the surface, an Elaine Mai track stands tall on its own as propulsive rhythms, stirring synth lines, and scene-stealing guest contributors combine to jolt heart and soul. Hope and melancholy steal a march as dance partners on a collision course in line with Elaine’s graceful, adventurous, and soul-baring arrangements.

Since 2014, Elaine has amassed over 3.5 million streams on Spotify, breaking 100,000 listeners on the platform in 2019. 2021 single ‘No Forever’ garnered widespread acclaim and achieved 12 million impressions across Irish radio, hitting #2 in the Irish Radio Breakers chart and peaking at #6 in the Viral 50 Ireland Spotify chart.

The music of Elaine Mai is rich with lived-in experience. ‘Home’ represents a patiently beautiful, immediately rewarding celebration of an artist that has poured their life into an endlessly compelling craft.

On Friday 29th October, Elaine Mai will celebrate the launch of ‘Home’ with a live show at The Workmans Club, Dublin with special guests. Tickets are €12 incl. booking fee available here.

Ruby Moss released her third single of the year on Sunday, October 3^rd.

14-year-old Ruby wrote ‘Stranded’ during and after a long cycle along the canal in north Dublin last August 2020.  Beautifully clear vocals, gorgeous melodies and smooth as chocolate guitar by Davie Arkins makes this this a tune not to miss.   Every time you listen to this song, you notice something new and clever about it.  There is not a single word wasted in the message that these lyrics convey.  The structure of the song is perfectly in sync with the lyrics.  The vocal introduction has echo, the only time you hear effects on Ruby’s voice in any of her songs, the echo seems to be there to emphasise us being lost and in the middle of nowhere.  Then an apocalyptic swooshing sound brings us back to reality, the echo falls away and Ruby’s strong and clear vocal is there leading the way forward.

Despite the topic, you listen to this song and feel optimistic that we will find our way forward, around the obstacles ahead of us in the face of Climate Change.

Ruby Moss’ musical career began in St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir School where she sang with the Girls’ Choir, continued piano lessons and began learning the flute.

Ruby plays piano ABRSM grade 6 and flute ABRSM grade 4.  She plays flute with her school’s orchestra.  Ruby was awarded a prestigious organ scholarship this year and has already completed her first public performance at the school awards day.

Ruby has self-taught the guitar and also plays button accordion.

Ruby’s first two singles made it to #1 in the iTunes singer songwriter chart the week of their release

Ruby has been a lifelong vegetarian and has been vegan since she was aged 8.

Follow Ruby Moss below to learn more…

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Rising Rockstars N.O.A.H have just released their highly anticipated debut EP ‘Echoes of The Night’. The hefty six-track EP is not afraid to explore the boundaries of genre, and showcases collaborations with the New Orleans style Booka Brass, as well as Irish hip hop outfit Hare Squead.

Speaking of the EP, N.O.A.H said: “We wanted to try to represent this transitional year for us, in the same way the story of Noah effortlessly separates the old from the new. We feel that ‘Echoes of The Night’ symbolises this change and is a foundation for what is to come from the band”

‘Echoes of The Night’ is a summation of the past 16 months for this new band, both in metaphor and in sound. After the band decided to reform a previous musical endeavour they took inspiration in its naming from the biblical story of ‘Noah and the Ark’, which is centralised around the idea of new beginnings. The band’s debut EP marks the beginning of this journey and provides the listener with a taste of what is to come.

The EP sees N.O.A.H teaming up with Grammy-Winning Ruadhri Cushnan who produced the record in Camden Studios, as well as John Davis who mastered the record in Metropolis Studios, London. To celebrate the release of ‘Echoes of The Night’ the band will perform to a sold-out crowd in Lost Lane, Dublin on 2 October followed by a show in The Fiddler, London on 8 October.

N.O.A.H’s debut EP is a clear statement of intent from the Meath outfit. In what has been such a relatively short period, the band has achieved a tremendous amount. From signing with Mother Artists, supporting Bell X1 to performing live on BBC Radio. ‘Echoes of The Night’ had a lot to live up to, and boy does it deliver. This six-track EP showcases the creative diversity of what N.O.A.H have to offer, This EP is a myriad of ideas compressed into just six tracks, N.O.A.H are excited to share it with the world.

The lead single from ‘Echoes of the Nights’, ‘Hands Up’ was released in late July and has received amazing support from Irish radio and the wider media. Highlights include being playlisted on RTÉ 2FM as well as being chosen as one of the iLove Tracks for September on iRadio.

‘Echoes of the Night’ the debut EP from N.O.A.H is out now across all digital streaming platforms – it will be available on CD via Golden Discs and all good music stores from 2 October, followed by a limited release of vinyl in November 2021

It’s been a year of metamorphosis for Irish singer Stephanie Rainey.

As she watched her first new music in several years be embraced by a new generation of Irish fans, she has been planning the release of a new collection of songs that speak of her transformation from emerging pop star to established artist. New single ‘13’ is the first single from her upcoming EP and is set for release on October 20, 2021.

‘13’ is a song about change, how you have evolved from when you were 13 to who you are now.

It poses the questions are you happy with who you have become, have you accomplished the things you thought you would, and what is stopping you from making 13-year-old you proud? Stephanie Rainey wrote the single to commemorate her nephew on what would have been his 13^th birthday. It’s explores ideas around the innocence of youth, the experience and privilege of growing older, and appreciating life’s lessons. ‘13’ was co-written by Stephanie with Jim Duguid (Paulo Nutini) and Gary Keane (Hermitage Green/ Pa Sheehy) and produced by Ash Howes (Callum Scott/ Olly Murs/ Jack Savoretti/ Kylie) & Gary Keane.

Recent singles from Stephanie Rainey ‘No Cowboy’ and ‘Ross & Rachel’ blistered through the Irish charts and dealt with topics such as redemption and the sparks that fly between two people who are made for each other. Her eagerly awaited new EP is due out in 2022.

After selling out O’Mahony’s in Watergrasshill and Autumn Air in minutes Stephanie is excited to get back on the road in 2022. Originally marked for November 2021 her nationwide tour will now take place April 2022 with four new dates confirmed. Stephanie will also reunite with her Irish Women In Harmony ensemble for a nationwide tour in May 2022.

Stephanie is thrilled with the reaction to her new music which saw both singles break the Top 10 with ‘Ross & Rachel’ reaching #4 and ‘No Cowboy’ reaching #6 on the Irish Breakers Radio Chart. She has also been playlisted on 2FM, RTE Radio 1, iRadio, Beat 102-103, Cork’s 96FM, Today FM and Cool FM. Currently, ‘No Cowboy’ is about to break through 120,000  streams on Spotify while ‘Ross & Rachel’ has been streamed 70,000 times. The popularity of the singles saw both being Shazamed 4,500 times. ‘Ross & Rachel’ also has 110,000 streams on Soundcloud.

One of Ireland’s most-played female artists on radio, Stephanie Rainey has a combined 30 million streams and views across all music on social platforms. Stephanie has shared spotlights with the likes of Imelda May, Kodaline, The Waterboys, Tom Walker, and Tom Odell.

Stephanie has also played most of Ireland’s best music festivals, including INDIE and Electric Picnic, has sold out Irish venues with ease, and is a record breaker (going gold) courtesy of her inclusion in the ensemble Irish Women in Harmony, whose 2020 cover version of The Cranberries’ Dreams has amassed over 6 million Spotify streams.

‘13’ is out October 20, 2021.

Live Dates:

April 14 – Roisin Dubh, Galway

April 15 – Whelan’s, Dublin

April 23 – Dolans, Limerick

April 29 / 30 – Live at St Luke’s, Cork

Instagram: @stephanieraineymusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/59W7vyEBvLFnrimGrfEUiD?si=GtBQ3-OjTDuvRt2kPUIucQ

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/stephanieraineymusic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephanieraineyband

Website: www.stephanierainey.com

Twitter: @stephanierainey

“Sea swimming . . . heart willing, I’ll dive with you into the dawn, cured and renewed in the tide reborn.”

‘Sea Swimming’ is the third track taken from Wild Place, Jack O’Rourke’s new album, due out on November 12.

Recorded at Triskel Christchurch in Cork, ‘Sea Swimming’ was inspired by Jack’s folk roots, and features the combined talents of Clare Sands (fiddle and viola), Aisling Fitzpatrick (Cello) and Hugh Dillon (guitar).

Written and recorded during a time of Irish lockdown, ‘Sea Swimming’ tells a tale of escapism . . . a much-needed escapism that many, confined within their location and thoughts, sought out and found in our encompassing and soul-cleansing waters.

“I made a bee-line for the brine
Didn’t think of the ice cold
Healing all that pain, in green and blue
Me and Martha, sun coming through . . .”

The track is part of a collection of thoughtful and personal songs that make up Wild Place, Jack O’Rourke’s second full-length album. Stripped back to some raw and emotional compositions that were recorded live in the atmospheric surrounds of Triskel Christchurch, Sea Swimming is another indication of what is in store on Wild Place . . .

“This trad-like folk tune came to me out of the blue, like a wave breaking. During lockdown, I’d a lack of purpose with little gigs. My head was muddled so I headed to the ocean. I  joined the multitudes, swimming in the big bad blue, to check what the fuss was about . . .

“I was hooked from the get go. I experienced renewal and rebirth, feeling a great weight was lifted. ‘Sea Swimming’ is all about connectivity and washing away burdens and trauma. There’s a sensuality to the sea. When I sing, “Sea Swimming, it’s fitting, with sunlight dancing on your skin, naked as a morning with you again”, it’s about connecting and being intimate and trusting with someone you love. To be at one with yourself and your closest pals.”

The sea really is magic . . .

Tour Dates

October 16 – Spirit Store – Dundalk

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

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/