Author: Breffni Banks

Rowlette is an indie-pop artist. As a solo performer with an acoustic guitar, she is recognised for her powerful vocals, inspirational lyrics and captivating performances. Hailing from Co. Mayo, she has a distinctive yet gripping writing style. Somehow not falling into the typical romance genre, you’re more likely to catch Rowlette singing about topics such as breaking the mould, friendship, embracing ambition and living in the present.

Rowlette’s tracks have received radio play across the country’s radio stations and abroad (Ocean FM, MidWest Radio, RTE 2fm, Radio Ri-Ra, RTE Pulse, Near FM, WLR FM, Shannonside FM, KFM, KCLR FM & Highland Radio), was added to several Spotify editorial playlists (including Fresh Pop, Pop Right Now and New Music Denmark and Iceland) as well as coverage across many media outlets, such as RTE, GoldenPlec and Hot Press. Her most recent release, Christmas song ‘December’ racked up 5,000 listens on Spotify alone in its first 24 hours.

Well known on the Irish live scene, the pre-pandemic months included Rowlette performing a packed-out headliner in Crowbar last Autumn. She then joined Jack L on his latest tour, impressing audiences across the country in venues such Cork Opera House, Theatre Royal and the Pavillion. Over the pandemic, she’s played live streams with the likes of Mundy, as well as on some blog outlets, including Indie Buddie, AER music and Finbar Hoban Presents. She also hosted her own private, sign up event in February.

New single, ‘Don’t Ask Me What I’m At’, out 11th June,  is a tongue in cheek, pop anthem, written by Rowlette when she had just finished school. “I was so tired of being asked ‘What are you doing now?’, ‘What do you want to study, what do you want to be?’, I understand it’s such a normal and common thing to ask but when you have no idea what on earth you want to do with your life it can feel like such an intimidating and loaded question.”

“I often felt like quipping back, ‘I don’t know Karen, what are you doing with your life?’ but I thankfully managed to resist and channeled the energy into this song.”

“I feel like a lot of us have such societal and self-imposed pressure as it is and life can be so overwhelming at times. You’re looking around thinking everyone else has it figured out and then people are asking you what you’re doing and when you really don’t know, it can feel like there’s something wrong with you.”

“The scariest thing for me is, I kind of thought things magically become really clear at some point and you’ll just transform into a competent, self-assured adult who has it all figured out. That hasn’t happened yet, and the more I ask around, the less I believe it will happen. I think it’s quite possible that all seven billion of us are winging it.”

“Colm (Slattery) of Fluttertone had heard me play it live several times and really loved the track and encouraged me to release it. He hooked me up with Michael Mormecha and we went up to his studio one day. He’s so talented and it all just clicked very easily.”

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‘Alright’ is the brand new, highly anticipated single from Rachel Mae Hannon. The track will be released on all major music platforms from June 11th, 2021 and is the first single from her upcoming EP ‘Like It Is’.

Rachel is a soulful vocalist and multi-instrumentalist writing all her own original music. Monaghan born and Dublin based, her genre can be found at the intersection of where pop meets neo-soul.

‘Alright’ focuses on our individual experiences of recovery, moving on, and our constant ability to rediscover ourselves.

Life can throw so many unexpected hardships at us, but ultimately it’s our resilience that will see us through. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to react. Be yourself, deal with things how you want to, and take your time. Everything WILL be alright.

Her new single ‘Alright’ is the much awaited follow-up to her debut single ‘Be In Love’.

‘Be In Love’, the debut single from the Monaghan born, Dublin based artist Rachel Mae Hannon was released in July 2020. The single highlighted the importance of self-love and currently has over 256,000 streams on Spotify.

In one of the first initiatives of its kind in the UK and Ireland, the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast is championing ‘Mothers in Music’, a twelve-week song writing, recording and performance programme designed for female musicians with caring responsibilities.

Addressing the needs of one of the most underrepresented demographics in the music industry, ‘Mothers in Music’ saw 17 women from Northern Ireland, Donegal and Dublin come together remotely on a weekly basis for a series of workshops from music industry professionals between February and May this year.

As part of the ‘Mothers in Music’ programme, participants learned how to get back into making music, regain their confidence and build a community of musicians that can support, socialise, work and collaborate with each other.

Charlene Hegarty, Talent Development Manager at Oh Yeah, explains more about how the programme came to be developed:

“Since 2016 Oh Yeah has run the ‘Women’s Work’ festival, which celebrates diversity and addresses issues faced by women in the music industry.  We were hearing from a lot of women who were asking for more opportunities to participate in music, but who were unable to attend festival events and programmes due to their caring responsibilities.

‘Mothers in Music’ is our response to this demand and we were thrilled when the Spirit of 2012 fund was able to help us create and deliver a high level industry project tailored to the needs of mothers.”

Speaking about the range of women taking part in ‘Mothers in Music’, Charlene says:

“Our ‘Mothers in Music’ participants come from really diverse musical backgrounds.  Some have written and performed with household names, some have taught and played music for themselves and others are somewhere in-between.  What they all have in common is that they have had to prioritise their caring responsibilities over their music.

We are really proud of how the programme has succeeded in helping participants to build their confidence, enhance their creative and technical skills and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness by bringing like-minded people in similar circumstances together to learn and enjoy music.”

Congratulating Oh Yeah on the success of ‘Mothers in Music’, Eibhlish Fleming, Head of Impact and Learning, Spirit of 2012 said:

“Many women put parts of their lives on hold to care for family members and loved ones. The Carers’ Music Fund programme – of which Women’s Work is a part – is about enabling female carers to take time for themselves, to connect with others in a similar position, and reconnect with what makes them happy. Spirit of 2012 is delighted that the latest cohort of Women’s Work has enabled 17 women who put their music careers on hold to care for a family member to take their first steps back into the industry, grow their self-confidence and professional network, and spend time doing something they love.”

Song writing, music making and studio time were all included in the ‘Mothers in Music’ programme, with additional topics covered including addressing self-doubt, expanding your sonic palette and setting up a performance space.

Participants were also treated to Zoom songwriting sessions, supported by PRS For Music, with a number of high profile special guests, including singer-songwriter Katie Melua, Stina Tweeddale of Honeyblood and Ivor Novello Award winner and President of the PRS Members’ Council Michelle Escoffery.

The songwriting sessions were hosted by Stuart Fleming, Senior Membership Manager, Scotland and Northern Ireland, PRS for Music, who says:

“The only way we can truly tackle and improve gender disparity in our industry is by addressing and breaking down barriers that continue to prevent women music creators from progressing their careers. That PRS for Music could help to bring together established songwriters such as Katie Melua and Stina Tweeddale of Honeyblood to share their experiences and assist these women from Northern Ireland at a pivotal point in their careers, whilst acknowledging their caring duties and any associated prejudices gives me immense pride, but more importantly hope for the future. 

The confidence, sense of community, and increased professionalism the programme has enabled is something we hope to build on with Oh Yeah and throughout our wider network of women songwriters and composers.”

Also sharing her knowledge and experience with programme participants was award-winning recording engineer and campaigner Olga FitzRoy, who has worked with bands including Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Muse. Olga says:

“It was a real pleasure to share my ongoing work campaigning for the rights of mothers in the music industry and beyond. The ‘Mothers in Music’ initiative is much-needed, as too many women face additional barriers to their careers when they have children.”

Summarising what she has learned from ‘Mothers in Music’, participant Fiona O’Kane says:

“I learned that you can have a career in music and be a Mother at the same time. Yes it can be tough, but with the right support, it can be done. Never feel guilty for putting the effort into your dream – it won’t only benefit you, but you will be an inspiration to your children, in that one day they might follow their dreams too.”

‘Mothers in Music’ is supported by the Spirit of 2012 Carers’ Music Fund, made possible by the Tampon Tax Fund, awarded through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) . It is the only Northern Ireland project supported by the Carers’ Music Fund.

An online video of ‘Mothers in Music’ participants covering ‘Push that Knot Away’ by KT Tunstall, will be premiered as part of the Women’s Work festival, presented by Oh Yeah.  Search ‘Oh Yeah Centre’ on YouTube Friday 18 June at 6pm.

Introducing Sinéad Whyte, an Irish songwriter and vocalist who’s just released her stunning debut single ‘Kills Me Now’.

Recorded in Crookedwood Studios and produced and mixed in London.

‘Kills Me Now’ showcases the incredible vocal range and writing skills of Sinéad Whyte.

A self empowered soulful piano ballad on overcoming heartbreak.

Sinéad Whyte is an Irish up & coming singer-songwriter based in London. Born in Dublin, Sinéad’s love for music started at a young age, with her learning the piano at age 4 and later becoming a member of RTÉ’s Cór Na nÓG choir for many years. Sinéad spent her formative years studying Pharmacology in Dublin before deciding to move to London to pursue her love for music. Sinéad has earned a reputation for her strong, moving, “goose-bump inducing” vocals. Setting up her YouTube channel in 2019, Sinéad’s voice was an automatic hit, with her cover of ‘Bruises’ reaching over 200K views. Gaining more popularity, Sinéad’s cover of ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ has accumulated over 1.5 million views on Facebook after being shared by a popular music page. Following this success & her popularity on streaming services such as Spotify & Apple Music, Sinéad had a strong desire to pursue her career further as a solo artist. Sinéad began to work on her own material, much of which has stemmed from her love of writing expressive poetry.

She sites Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Lewis Capaldi, Dermot Kennedy and Sam Smith as inspirations.

‘Kills Me Now’ is Sinéad Whyte’s debut single. Written within two days during the first lockdown, Sinéad put her experiences of heartache into this upbeat piano ballad. Sinéad believes this song will resonate with many, that the lyrics are powerful & portray a story most people have gone through. That eventually you realise that a relationship didn’t work out for the best. The moving lyrics combined with the strong, emotional vocals & catchy melody makes this song one to look out for in the charts. This is Sinéad’s lockdown silver lining, her first finished single & her entry into the singer-songwriter world.

Sinéad has performed in Stockholm’s Kungsträdgården to over 2000 people in August 2019. Following this, Sinéad performed her first solo live gig in Tramline, Dublin. As the future unfolds, Sinéad has more song releases in the pipeline with plans to fulfill her dream of releasing a full album.

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Molly O’Mahony is an exceptionally gifted musician and singer songwriter from Ballydehob, West Cork. Today, Friday 4^th June, she released her debut single as a solo artist ‘Remember To Be Brave’.

“This is a song of hope, recovery and forward movement. I send it out to everyone affected by the crazy year in our wake, and as a rallying cry to look up, open outwards and keep her lit. The world and the people in it are actually wonderful.” – Molly O’Mahony

Molly has spent the past decade writing and performing with art-folk group Mongoose zwho have been a fixture of the Irish music scene since their formation in 2012. The band have released two albums and two EPs in that time and have shared stages with the likes of Glen Hansard, Mary Coughlan and Eddi Reader.

Over the course of 2018 and 2019, Mongoose collaborated in making and performing in ‘Woman Undone’, the theatrical retelling of singer Mary Coughlan’s life, which culminated in a joint Irish Times Theatre award nomination for the band with Coughlan and composer Valgeir Sigurdson for ‘Best Sound’ in 2019.

As a teenager living in Ballydehob, she performed as one half of a jazz duo with local guitarist Norman Collins. They played a regular spot at Ballydehob Jazz festival for consecutive years. After winning a local singing competition, the pair used the prize of studio time to record an album together entitled Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars, a collection of blues and bossa nova standards, when Molly was just seventeen.

Molly returned to her family home in West Cork in March of last year, along with her four siblings. She penned the song ‘Remember To Be Brave’ against the backdrop of the unfolding pandemic. It is the first release from an album she’s due to record this summer.

‘Remember To Be Brave’ the debut single by Molly O’Mahony is out now on all digital platforms. Stream/download at https://linktr.ee/mollyomahony

Twitter: https://twitter.com/molly_omahony

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

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

“To be the man, you gotta beat the Man!” – Ric Flair

In a world where truths are masked by hyperbole and misleading information, the planet we live has become the playground of the super-rich at the expense of us all. The poor are portrayed as the enemy, ancient species grow further to the brink of complete extinction, the intentional destruction of the rainforests, collapse of ecosystems and soaring global emissions. Environmental catastrophe, no longer an idle threat, is now a reality.

‘The Flair’ is a brief burst of bright light, shot out from an often-unnoticed part of Ireland.

Recorded in Cliff Deanes WL Studios, mastered by Fergal Davis, with accompanying video by Dicemen Productions, ‘The Flair’ is a roots rock romp musically influenced by the Bad Seeds, Queens of the Stone Age and The Pogues, lyrically leaning towards Karl Marx’s hatred of the bourgeoisie.

‘The Flair’ is available on all digital platforms from 04.06.2021

Friday, 4th June 2021, saw electronic artist and producer Elaine Mai release her single ‘Still Feel (feat. Ailbhe Reddy)’ – the second to be taken from her debut album, which is due for release later in 2021.

The release of ‘Still Feel’ sees Elaine draw once again from the pool of incredible vocalists we have in Ireland and build on the momentum of ‘No Forever (feat. MayKay)’; a single that took Irish radio by storm, reaching no. 2 in the Irish radio breakers chart, no 31 in the overall radio chart and currently standing on over 11 million radio impacts, having been played 2,500 times on Irish radio since January this year.

Themes of belonging and self-acceptance on ‘Still Feel’ are perfectly complemented by  the lyrics and haunting vocals of Ailbhe Reddy, whose own debut album, ‘Personal History’ was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2020, earning her a spot on the Choice Music Prize shortlist along the way. An artist who finds strength in sensitivity and embraces the full power of a moment, Ailbhe has a talent for crafting intensely moving alt-folk tunes.

Elaine Mai says: “Belonging and self-acceptance are the two main themes of this track for me. It’s introspective and hopeful and Ailbhe’s gorgeous vocal adds another layer and narrative to the song. Ailbhe is an artist I really admire and we became closer while playing with Daithí in recent years. Her vocal on his track ‘Submarines’ is the one that hooked me and made me want to work with her one day. I’m so happy that we made it happen and we’re able to share ‘Still Feel’.”

A further expansion of Elaine Mai’s skills as a producer, ‘Still Feel’ manages to blend Reddy’s soft, emotional vocal delivery with the familiar beats and signature sound of Elaine Mai, to give us a track that is both reflective and dance-worthy.

Ailbhe Reddy says: “Elaine and I got to work on a bunch of shows together with Daithí during the summer of 2019 and we kept saying that we should work together on something. Last year she sent me a selection of tracks she was working on for her upcoming album and this one stood out to me immediately.  It took me ages to come up with lyrics for it because it was so beautiful on its own with no vocals, so I wanted to make sure anything I did improved on what was already a gorgeous tune. There were some lyrics I had about lying around on a really hot day in my apartment listening to music a friend of mine had sent me and feeling nostalgic about the wild summers we had in our early 20s.  The choruses are all about how some songs can pull you back to a time and place as if you never left.”

As we get closer to discovering what her debut album might sound like, Elaine says: “All of the songs from my upcoming album relate to a central theme of home and belonging. This can be interpreted in many different ways, from feeling uplifting and reassuring, to more sad and mournful. I love writing music that can make you feel different things at the same time.”

Singer, songwriter, and spoken word artist Elina Filice recently released her sophomore EP, ‘Flight Risk’ on May 28th. The project is the culmination of the biggest year yet for the emerging artist. 

Leading up to the five-song EP, Elina released a series of successful singles that now find a permanent home in the project. The lead track on the EP is Elina’s breakout single ‘Thinking Of You’, accompanied by a fresh radio edit and creative lyric video. With 750k+ streams on Spotify, a critically acclaimed music video, and worldwide coverage and radio play, the song marked a new era for the artist.

The successive singles, ‘Lying’, ‘Everything About You’, and ‘First World Problems’ didn’t disappoint. Widely and critically received, these singles have been being described as having a, “unique, genre-blending songwriting style” (Hotpress Magazine), “fast-paced lyricism, intricate musicianship and genre-melding hip-hop” (The Last Mixtape), a “bright spoken-word style that heightens the jazz-blues pop song’s charm” (Nialler9) and a “vision that sees past the standard and peers deep into the sonicverse to pull out new storytelling, carrying elements of yesterday into a sound for tomorrow” (The Buzz Mag). 

Elina says, “This EP explores themes of movement, travel, adventure, and getting lost to find yourself. It’s me searching for meaning, trying to understand the world around me, and tackling universal questions and struggles through my personal lens. Being a nomad, being queer, being raised on jazz and blues but with a passion for a dirty beat, all of it informs my perspective and sound.”

Sonically, the project embodies the evolution of Elina’s musical journey. Jazz and blues-influenced guitar meets infectious beats, stuck-in-your-head hooks, and thoughtful storytelling. The songs consistently defy and blend genres and styles. 

Elina goes on to say, “The project encompasses a year of incredible growth, both musically as an artist, and on the business side of things through my label, Red Vine Records. As well as perseverance, transitioning to a totally virtual career, and being a part of the resilience of the music industry. The project took place across borders and time zones, with some of my favourite collaborators.” 

The project was recorded at Wavefarm Productions (Dublin, Ireland). It was produced remotely between Elina and producers Kevin Brennan, Zach MacPherson, and her dad, Carmine Filice. It also features collaborations with Neolithic, Cat, and Claudia Crampton. 

Elina Filice is gaining attention for songs that defy genre and interactive live performances. Her music is soulful and melodic while being influenced by blues and spoken word. Born to Canadian parents, Elina spent her formative years in Singapore before moving to Canada to attend university. She then relocated to Dublin where she worked extensively in the music industry and founded Red Vine Records. Elina is a strong advocate for queer rights and visibility, and regards music as a powerful tool for the queer community. 

ElinaFilice.com

Buy the EP here: elinafilice.com/shop

Connect with Elina: Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  Spotify  Youtube   

The Grunts have just released their new single ‘The Ballad Of Jones Ramone’ across all platforms.

The song is a Caribbean inspired steel drum song which envisions a punk rock musician retiring to Bermuda to find love and live a peaceful life. It’s dedicated to Cork Musician Johnny Coughlan (aka jones Ramone) who passed unexpectedly in June 2020. The song was recorded using steel drums, Lap steel guitar, acoustic bass and acoustic drum. The chorus describes search for a new life and love to be spend by the ocean for eternity. “I’m going to fly where love comes easy, embrace the golden wind, I’m going to fly where love comes easy, and to your arms again I will dwell.”

The spirit of pure energy and a love of life is present in this song.

The Grunts are an Irish indie / punk band. Together for over 15 years ago and taking their influences from early 80’s and 90’s indie rock. They have steadily become one of Ireland’s most exciting indie rock bands. More recently adding a gentler melodic flavour to their raw energy sapping rock sound.

https://thegrunts.hearnow.com/

https://www.facebook.com/grunts777/

https://www.instagram/thegrunts

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6JuOrqcoC5VPLAbi9xyjSa?si=lZuz72oKRgujXCRwSngb0A

https://twitter.com/thegrunts 

https://soundcloud.com/thegrunts