Author: Breffni Banks

James Vincent McMorrow has just premiered brand new single ‘Paradise’, which is available now on Columbia Records and received its first play on BBC Radio 1 as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World. ‘Paradise’ is the latest taste of James’ much-anticipated new album ‘Grapefruit Season’, which also features teaser singles ‘Headlights’, ‘Gone’, ‘I Should Go’ (with Kenny Beats) and more ahead of its July 16th release. McMorrow’s UK and European tour for early 2022 has also now been confirmed, including a London date at Kentish Town Forum on February 21st and two homecoming shows at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on April 19th/20th.

Produced by James alongside Paul Epworth and Lil Silva, ‘Paradise’ is about pretending everything is fine when, beneath the surface, it really isn’t. Instant, uplifting yet melancholic, the standout single features a children’s choir (says James) because, “it needed to feel naive and sincere. I’d assumed this song wouldn’t connect with a bunch of kids, but when they arrived in the studio they had learned every single line and couldn’t stop singing it. It reminded me why we make music: it’s not a selfish endeavour, it’s for everyone.”

‘Paradise’ further previews ‘Grapefruit Season’, James Vincent McMorrow’s upcoming, fifth studio album – and one in which the artist, producer and songwriter pushes himself (and his sound) in all new ways. The record was recorded between London, Los Angeles and Dublin, largely before the pandemic struck. It embraces the timeless yet timely fact that life is chaos; the idea of growing up, but as ‘Paradise suggests’, still feeling none the wiser. Each song is held together by McMorrow’s instantly-identifiable voice, an untethered musical imagination, and (from dancehall to soul, country to R&B) purposefully little else in its pursuit of fear-free pop music. Even the title, ‘Grapefruit Season’, seems to signpost doing simply what you want, rather than what you are supposed to do (it was inspired by James watching his mum eat grapefruit as a kid, and the idea that what’s good for you may not actually be pleasurable).

Throughout the emotional highs and lows of ‘Grapefruit Season’, you are reminded of the risks James Vincent McMorrow has taken since the singer-songwriter roots of debut album ‘Early In The Morning’ (which turned ten in 2020); but also that those same instincts – to follow inspiration wherever it leads, and to be as brutally honest possible – remain a refreshing constant. Whilst there may always be trouble in ‘Paradise’, what’s emerged is James Vincent McMorrow’s most essential album to date.

See James Vincent McMorrow live:

Olympia Theatre, Dublin: 19 April 2022

Olympia Theatre, Dublin : 20 April 2022

Limelight, Belfast: 21 April 2022 (if applicable)

Big Top, Limerick: 22 April 2022

Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.ie

Today, Friday 21st May, Maria Kelly follows up on the success of ‘Martha’ with the release of her latest single, ‘eight hours’, on VETA Music.

As we move closer to the release of Maria’s debut album (autumn 2021), a theme that emerges is one of acceptance and finding the strength to meet yourself where you are, wherever you are. ‘eight hours’ sees Maria continue her exploration of her own mental health journey. While ‘Martha’ was about learning to deal with change and all that comes with it, Maria says she imagines ‘eight hours’ as a conversation – trying to explain to someone exactly why you’re struggling, but invalidating your experience every step of the way.

Maria elaborates: “You convince yourself that it’s just one single thing, and that if you could just find it, fix it, get over it – everything would be ok again. Ironically, through that process of invalidating, there’s so much pressure, guilt and shame, which just sends us further into that spiral.

“It’s a cycle I think a lot of us fall into, because it’s really hard to give yourself permission to struggle. I spent a really long time fighting against my own experience. Feeling down or lost always equated to ‘not trying hard enough’. I was always on the hunt for something to fix, but I’m constantly reminding myself that nothing is inherently ‘broken’ – so there is nothing to fix in the first place.”

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.

‘Martha’ became Maria Kelly’s most successful radio single to date, garnering over 1 million impacts on Irish radio alone since its release just over six weeks ago. The beautiful track has also received plays on BBC Radio and XS Manchester, to name a few, and has almost 100,000 streams on Spotify so far.

Maria Kelly is signed to VETA Music along with friends such as HAVVK, Sive, St. Bishop and DYVR. A number of critically acclaimed releases have been accompanied by shows across Europe playing with and supporting the likes of Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow, KT Tunstall, and Paul Noonan (Bell X1) and All The Luck In The World. Maria quickly became known for her heart-wrenching live performances, unassuming humour, and a ‘pin-drop’ vocal that is impossible to ignore. Maria’s work has continued to gain momentum internationally, rallying support from the likes of Mahogany, Consequence of Sound, and The Line Of Best Fit along the way.

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.

Over the past year producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Killeen has been releasing his original music under the moniker SENU, a vehicle for his unique blend of electronic beats, jazz and hip-hop. This Friday 21st May, he will release ‘Jetlag’ – the debut album from SENU.

FYA FOX is a new exciting artist inspired by sparse electronic pop with emotive lyrical themes. A classically trained vocalist allured by the alternative pop scene FYA’s influences range from London Grammar to Lana Del Rey to Banks. Her latest single ‘Sunset’ is released 21st May.

Her new single, ‘Sunset’ masterfully blends FOX’s textured vocals with compelling acoustic infused pop beats. It’s a stunning offering from an artist harbouring all the hallmarks for future stardom.

FYA’s previous two singles ‘Body’ & ‘White Lies’ have already been supported by 2fm, Today FM and the likes of Hot Press, Record Of The Day, Flavour Magazine, Fortitude & Attitude + many more. ‘Body’ was added to the BBC Radio Ulster ‘Where Music Matters’ playlist which features ten new tracks across the BBC Radio Ulster playlist each month and was also added to a number of prestigious Spotify playlists including ‘Fresh Finds’ (750k followers).

FYA’s debut single, ‘White Lies’ received favourable radio support across the UK and Ireland including a world exclusive from Radio One’s Gemma Bradley on BBC Across The Line. The single also received praise from Irish tastemaker titles, Nialler9 and The Last Mixed Tape and was added by Hattie Pearson to the influential Co-op Edit UK playlist.

Singer-songwriter-producer, Saucy Monky Alumni; Hot Press Guest Sex Columnist; ABC Theme Songwriter; and recent signee to IMRO, Cynthia Catania has been churning out the singles during the past year and immersing herself in studio work during the pandemic. This new single is an extended remix of a ‘Take Fountain’ release penned with long-time Dublin-born collaborator, Annmarie Cullen.

The singer-producer says, “‘Forever For Goodbye’ is near & dear to my heart. The song was originally written for a film pitch. My co-writer and I were so inspired by our collaborators we started a new project with them! Steve Sidelynk (Massive Attack) and Thomas Ross Johansen produced the original. Thomas also contributed tracks for this particular remix and a few others we stalled on. Steve was so busy touring ‘Take Fountain’ never got off the ground – but the song became a staple in my live show. Especially as a solo artist, I was grabbing those experimental samples for live loops. Those parts became the base of this arrangement. It’s been an experiment delving into soundscapes, attempting to figure out how to keep the listener’s attention – the track plays down in just under six minutes. It was an awesome experience, getting lost in the production process.”

“The songwriting is lovelorn on the surface, but to me, it’s always been about expansion. Taking that idea of having “forever to say goodbye” well knowing we all have our own interpretations of timelessness, endings, death, break-ups, and so on. Someone near and dear to my heart was a part of the Dutch ‘MarsOne’ project – a contest for space exploration and the settlement of planet Mars. At the time this was written, I was immersed in thinking about losing someone to space – it was unimaginable, ya know? The remix is an offshoot of those ideas and feelings, taking it one step further – the literal meaning, the existential; death, near-death (experiences), space – both inner and outer. That’s what I was trying to evoke with the music and further with the video (thanks to my collaborators Aly Whitman and Sue Ann Pien). Those images, the sound design, and even my approach to the performance art.” Catania says

‘Forever For Goodbye (Near Death Remix)’ is out now.

Forever For Goodbye (NDR) on Spotify
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The Jonah Medal take a nose-dive into confessional 70’s Lennon via the folk- rock of the Waterboys with their new single ‘From M To M’ released everywhere today. Continuing his theme of reflection, Bjorn Baillie continues to write sketches of a 40-something life through the lens of family, friendship and fatherhood.

About the song Ballie says, “The last single ‘Septembering’ was about that journey as a couple from early days straight through to family and all that brings. This song is like the impatient foot-tap of midlife – eager to keep pushing and creating.”

Recorded in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles and Nick Cave’s studio in Brighton, this song sounds like a lost-70’s classic with an instantly memorable piano intro and life-affirming lyric.

Founded in Brighton, UK in 2020, The Jonah Medal began as a creative mission for Baillie to challenge his own forward musical progression, turn backwards and deeply inwards, and embrace the familiar.

“Having written for many years for a band who needed singles and album tracks, The Jonah Medal is my finally feeling comfortable addressing the issues in my own life, in my friends’ lives, and the lives of my peers.” – Bjorn Baillie

Baillie’s own creative journey had taken him around the world once already with his hometown band La Rocca. He spent his 20’s with them signing a major record deal, posting up in LA and touring with the likes of Phoenix, Jet, Silversun Pickups, and more. While based in LA, Baillie logged countless hours collaborating with artists of every genre; in the process, cultivating a deeply personal connection with the musical legacy, the lifestyle and the inhabitants of the legendary Laurel Canyon neighbourhood. There is a through-line from Baillie’s “Laurel Canyon period” into the new music of The Jonah Medal – the bare honesty and humanity of Carole King and Joni Mitchell, the soulful lyricism of Crosby, Stills and Nash and the humour of Randy Newman – these are the themes that Baillie knew he needed to express in this new body of work, with the new-found perspective and experience of a well traveled artist and a father.

“I’m asking my own generation if they’re okay. Mid-life is here for so many of us. With older parents and young children… we’re the generation squeezed in the middle trying to hold it all together. THAT’S what I’m addressing, all following my lead to serve the song, with sincerity and warmth.” The Jonah Medal reflects the musical and lyrical themes explored by Baillie throughout his career, injected with the clarity and heart of a man living a truly full life. Weathered optimism, clear-eyed understanding, the highs and lows of relationships, and adulthood, all represented in the lyrics, the sounds and the fabric of this music.

“We had no maps or detailed instructions, we started out as new…”

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Introducing Pauric O’Meara, an established independent artist, where 2020 saw him release his radio popular single,  Techno or Rnb, as well his well received EP – ‘Looking Forward To Hindsight’, which contained the singles ‘Is This Real?’, ‘Wasting Time’ and ‘Beacon Call’, which together gathered over 60 thousand streams on Spotify alone, as well as gaining vast recognition for his cinematic video from ‘Is This Real?’ and lockdown uplifter ‘Beacon Call.’

New single ‘Final Say’, out 21st May, is an exploration of a relationship that was prevented from reaching its full potential as a result of external circumstances causing unfillable cracks.

In order to carry on, or move on, it’s important to go either way with a clear mind or conscience so that all involved can hold their heads up high, and essentially, have the ‘Final Say’.

Unfortunately, as is portrayed through Pauric’s ability to musically set the mood and lyrically tell the story, this becomes difficult to achieve when all involved do not have the same idea, however, being happy with the effort you made can act as the last word in itself.

Pauric is an independent singer-songwriter from Co. Tipperary, based in Dublin. He has been making his mark on the Irish music scene for quite a few years since his time on The Voice. His raw, powerful vocal has been known to grab people’s attention across many places and many stages.

Through the years, he has performed in many top venues around Ireland supporting bands such as Hermitage Green, Hudson Taylor, Billow Wood, Amazing Apples and HAWK but had a breakthrough year in 2019, with 2 successful headline shows in Dublin in The Soundhouse and Workman’s Club, as well as making his Electric Picnic Festival debut.

With the release of his EP ‘Looking Forward To Hindsight’ gathering over 60k streams since their individual releases, widespread radio play and shows booked in Ireland, England, Scotland Germany and America, 2020 looked set to be Pauric’s biggest year yet! With his Whelan’s show hitting sell out, and new releases in the pipeline, 2021/22 has the potential to be even bigger!

Announcing the launch of a Fund it crowdfunding campaign for Cork-based singer, songwriter Kevin Walsh, in support of his debut single, ‘Embrace The World’, a super-group song in aid of the Autism charity, AsIAm. In a 50/50 split with Kevin, the charity will receive 50% of all proceeds and royalties.

Kevin’s inspiration for the super-group style of performance comes from the Band Aid charity singles of Bob Geldof, and the recently successful Irish Women in Harmony singles.

AsIAm, set up by Adam Harris in 2014, aims to provide a one-stop shop for the Autism community in Ireland. Their mission statement emphasises education, empowerment, advocacy and community, four areas which strongly resonate with Kevin, who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of five. “Music is my way of expressing myself to the world around me,” says Kevin.

Kevin got together with an ensemble of Cork’s finest producers and musicians recently to record the instrumental track. All have strong ties to MTU Cork School of Music, where Kevin graduated with First Class Honours BMus and MA degrees. The producing duo of Keith Clancy and Aidan O’Mahony, are also the team behind Roy Buckley’s Grammy shortlisted ‘The Old Man On Patrick Street’. Musicians include Maria Ryan and Lucia MacPartlin on strings, who also played on the Irish Women in Harmony singles, along with Christopher Hockey, Mark O’Gorman Daly and Jake O’Driscoll.

Another alumna of those singles, Limerick-based singer / songwriter Emma Langford is ready to lend her voice to the song. Further singers in the line-up for ‘Embrace The World‘ are Mark Daly, currently recording for an album produced by Sascha Paeth of heavy metal band Avantasia; West End Stars Molly Lynch and Caroline Kay; Stephen Gormley the lead vocalist with folk band Moon Looks On; and Lisa Curran, Tralee Vocal Academy, soprano and social media manager. “Not only are these amazing artists, but their degree of social consciousness is incredible, the dream is to get other top Irish and international singers involved too – artists of the highest class, calibre and connection!” Kevin tells us.

RSVPIreland.net project manager Yvonne Coughlan, an award winning film director and screenwriter, will be working with Maurice Supple of blue shed productions to create the music video for ‘Embrace The World’, intended to dramatically depict some key experiences and challenges overcome by Kevin and his mother, Cathy, with performances by actors, combined with on-screen appearances by the super-group vocalists. In preparation for the project, and scripting the music video, Yvonne has conducted intimate interviews with Kevin and his Mum, and is inspired by their stories about the difficulties they faced to get Kevin to this pivotal point in his career.

By embracing widely different vocal styles within the super group performance, Kevin is also illustrating the variety of Autistic diagnoses. Each person on the spectrum is an individual with different needs, limitations, and abilities, and, just as no musical style is any less valid than another, so too is each Autistic person equally important and gifted, but in need of support. Stop and Listen!

‘Embrace The World’ is set to be released later this year, to support the project, follow the progress, and enjoy some unique rewards make your donation at the following link https://fundit.ie/project/embrace-the-world

Dublin Garage Psych band THEE U.F.O. return with a new album entitled ‘Live – Vo.1’ which will see its official release on June 4th on the band’s own record label Gelatinous Records. All the tracks were recorded completely live by Thee U.F.O frontman Darragh William Hansard and his fellow bandmates at his home studio in Dublin, and will be available on a limited edition cassette as well as a digital download available from gelatinousrecords.bandcamp.com and available to stream on all the usual digital platforms.

“Inspired by our want to get back out and play as well as wanting to see gigs we decided to do a live album. All songs were recorded in 3 takes or less to maintain energy and enjoyment on our part. Some familiar tunes, some new, and of course meandering jams. 

We are very excited to start playing real gigs soon. This is just a small peek into our live show, hopefully it will get you thru’ another 30 minutes of this seemingly never ending limbo we’re all in. 

Play it loud, Have fun!” – Darragh William Hansard.

THEE U.F.O are a Psychedelic Garage band, formed in Dublin and fronted by songwriter Darragh Hansard. Inspired by the music of bands like the Oh Sees, King Gizzard, The Doors and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Setting up a small studio at home, Hansard began recording his own songs while playing all the instruments himself during the recording process.

Releasing the results in the form of numerous EP’S and singles, while eventually adding new musicians to the line-up to play these songs live. which, in 2018 saw them evolve into a noise mongering live act who’s shows consist of long jams and “catchy tunes” reminiscent of a classic 60s sound. Playing shows in popular venues across Dublin city like The Sound House, Thomas House, ANSEO, Whelans and many more throughout 2018 and 2019.

Released their debut album in May of 2020, ‘The Singles Collection – Vol 1’ which consisted of all their singles up to that point. 2020, also seen the band release their second album of the year with ‘Light Boat Drones’ which was once again released on their own label.

We first laid eyes on the orange Obito mask in late 2019 when Offica made his debut with ‘Naruto Drillings’ a song which quickly exploded in popularity. With a co-sign from KSI on the remix of ‘Naruto Drillings’ the mask became a recognisable figure in the Irish drill scene. The official unmasking to reveal the man behind the mystery took place on breakthrough single ‘Face Reveal’ when; you guessed it; OFFICA finally revealed his face. Fast forward to today, OFFICA is now a highly successful and accredited artist venturing off trying new things. Obito signifies the start of something new with the appearance of a new upgraded white Obito mask.

“OBITO to me is the return of the mask. Just because things are taking off doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten where I came from. OBITO is my way of going back to the basics, I’m embracing the Obito mask,” explained Offica. Produced by his partner in crime Kidspyal, Offica returns to his roots with a Naruto Drilling inspired beat loaded with heavy brazen bar and precision aim shots at opposing sides. When asked what the track was about Offica replied, “Drillings Init.”

Offica is one of many artists flying the flag for Ireland right, becoming known for its idiosyncratic take on the drill and unmistakable Irish twang, Offica uses this to his advantage with the sprinkling of native pidgin in his ghostly-flowed rhymes. Fresh from a Top 40 hit with A92 and their ‘Plugged In Freestyle’, with his crew A92, plus a batch of impressive singles including ‘Opor’, ‘Take It (Yuck)’, and ‘Where’s The Motive?’ with Blanco and Reggie, Offica has proven that he has what it takes to win.

Offica – https://www.instagram.com/a9offica/