“I’m on my time with everyone.” The opening line of Nirvana’s ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ and a line that has taken on a whole new meaning over the past months. Three Underneath have, like many other bands, been at the mercy of the restrictions. With little opportunity to write, rehearse and collaborate, Daragh Murray recorded much of the new material in his home studio.
The combination of isolation and loss of income, no longer rehearsing, performing and meeting people has been a large factor in the rise of anxiety in the industry.
“Three Underneath were already taking time off in 2020. The songs were starting to feel stale, we weren’t making any money and we were starting to sort of hate it.
But the combination of already being on a break, just as the pandemic happened, meant that one of our biggest support networks just wasn’t there at all. It was very weird. I was still chatting to Liam obviously, but mostly on family Zoom chats.”
Featuring lyrical themes in quite a similar vein to The Beatles’ classic “Help”, Three Underneath ‘Tell Me It’s Okay’ seeks reassurance from anyone willing.
The music video features special guest appearances from Trevor Hutchinson, Neil Forrester and band photographer and tour manager Jessica Forrester.
‘Tell Me It’s Okay’ is out Friday 30th of April 2021.
Recorded between Vienna and Dublin, ‘New England’ is the third single from Shane Ó Fearghail’s new album ‘Born From Tradition’. Self penned the song is a ballad of reflection. Written from the perspective of a boy who looks back across the waves of time and tide in search of understanding, ‘New England’ is an honest historical account of a shared history.
The catalyst for writing ‘New England’ was the Grenfell Tower disaster. Brexit was its motivation. The history of colonial imperialism its driving force. As controversial as the song might sound, it feels like it captures the Zeitgeist.
‘Born From Tradition’ is Shane’s fourth album. An Irish folk album in mirth and measure, it is a fine collection of old and new traditional styled songs, that comes back to that idea of home and roots.
Shane is an Irish Singer-songwriter based in Vienna. An animator by trade, from Dublin his musical style fits neatly into the Irish Indie Folk box. Likened to, REM, Neil Finn (Crowded House), Rufus Wainright III, Glen Hansard and Ron Sexsmith, it is easy to see where his songwriting loyalties lie. Irish music however, is his first love.
In his first release since his debut album in 2019, Wicklow based singer-songwriter and producer David Boland brings through a sweet indie-alt-pop sound in his latest single ‘6 String’. The tune was inspired after listening to Novo Amor’s track ‘Opaline”‘ on loop for hours at a time, but is also influenced by artists such as Bon Iver, The 1975 & Jeremy Zucker.
‘6 String’ marks a momentary departure from the folk driven acoustic sound that defined his acclaimed album ‘Learning To Breathe’ in 2019, incorporating elements of sound design and expansive production in the track.
“There’s definitely more folky stuff in the pipeline but as my writing process and influences continue to change, I’m having a lot of fun exploring different genres too. Everything comes back to a guitar and vocal at the end of the day for me but producing a track takes me and the songs to unchartered territories and I love it!”
It’s the first of several tracks that the artist will be rolling out throughout the rest of 2021.
One of Ireland’s most interesting talents to emerge in 2020 is Seba Safe, who follows the success of his single ‘In Waiting’ on Paragon Records by releasing his debut EP the ‘Map Runner’ EP (02/04).
Writing candidly and honestly on personal relationships, love, loss and change, Seba Safe’s
pertinent lyrics are wrapped in a sound that combines Pop, Folk, Dance and R’n’B with inspirations spanning from the sparse folk pop of Maggie Rodgers, Big Thief and Julien Baker to the more modern production of Dermot Kennedy and Lil Peep.
With an artistic range that saw him collaborate with Æ MAK on ‘I Dance In The Kitchen’, the track saw heavy radio and DSP support including being named ‘Track Of The Day’ on KEXP.
2021 sees Seba Safe securing solid DSP editorial support across his releases to date, selling out a second headline show in Dublin’s The Grand Social (20/11/21), and garnering significant airplay support from BBC 6 Music, RTE 2FM (including Record of the Week from Tracy Clifford), RTE Radio 1 playlisting amongst many others.
“The ‘Map Runner EP’ was written and recorded at a time where I wasn’t confident in my music or myself. I had just gone through a significant break up and I was really struggling with the fact I hadn’t done anything with my music. The aim of this release is to celebrate growth and to acknowledge the past. These songs might not necessarily be my current sound or represent the person I am now but they are a huge part of my journey and I feel proud to finally release them. I owe this release to the version of myself who went through everything it took to write. These songs used to make me feel sad when I listened to them but now I understand their value and their importance to my personal growth.This EP for me is as much about moving on now as it was then. I hope you enjoy the songs.
P.s Things get better and life goes on.” – Seba Safe
LIVE
Seba Safe, The Grand Social, Dublin, November 20th 2021 (Headline show with MCD)
For the fifth and sixth singles of her new album and video series ‘The St Buryan Sessions’, Cornwall-based singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid honours two musical giants, both of whom have produced albums for her in the past. ‘Time To Love’ is a co-write with Irish singer/songwriter Gerry O’Beirne, while ‘Rabbit Hills’ — which unlike its predecessors in the series is one she’s never recorded before — was written by legendary English guitar maestro Michael Chapman and originally recorded by him on his 1970 breakthrough album for Harvest/EMI, ‘Fully Qualified Survivor’.
O’Beirne has toured both as a solo artist and as a band member with The Waterboys, The Sharon Shannon Band, Patrick Street and Midnight Well, but is perhaps best known for his much-loved original songs (‘Western Highway’, ‘The Holy Ground’, ‘The Shades Of Gloria’, to name a few), which have been covered by the likes of Maura O’Connell, Mary Black and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh amongst many others. He produced Sarah’s first three albums in addition to co-writing songs with her for the most recent three.
“Gerry is the kind of songwriter that I’ve always aspired to be,” Sarah states in an introductory video for ‘Time To Love’, “which is to say that you probably know a bunch of songs that he’s written without even realising that he wrote them. And I don’t know if I’m ever going to get to that level of … immortality, if you like, but I do know that co-writing with Gerry has generated some of the best songs I’ve ever written, even if it can be a little bit of a fraught process at times.
What usually seems to happen is that we find ourselves in vehement disagreement over a word here, or a note there, and eventually Gerry just throws up his hands and says ‘Okay, have it your way, but I think you’re wrong.’ And I say ‘Well, I know I’m right,’ and then I go into the studio and I start trying to record the song, and I realise that Gerry was right. And I change the song to the way he wanted it, and it becomes a much better song.”
Chapman and McQuaid struck up a friendship after meeting at the Village Pump Festival in 2014, and he produced and played on her 2018 album ‘If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous’. Last year, Sarah was invited by Michael’s wife Andru to contribute a track to a privately released album commemorating his 80th birthday, consisting of recordings of Michael’s songs by various artists he’s worked with over the years, including Lucinda Williams, Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile, Meg Baird, Steve Gunn, Bridget St John and other equally illustrious names.
“I was so honoured to be asked to be part of it,” Sarah recalls, “and I immediately asked Andru if I could do ‘Rabbit Hills’. It’s such a beautiful song, both melodically and in terms of the lyrics, which are incredibly poetic, and the imagery they evoke — when I listen to the words I have a perfectly clear picture in my mind of this place “where the water meets the trees / and the long grass turns to sand” — and for a long time I’d had a notion that it would be a lovely one to cover eventually.
I was terrified that she was going to say somebody else had already bagsied it, but she emailed me straight back saying ‘It’s yours, go for it,’ and the first thing I thought was that I’d really like to write a piano arrangement of it, rather than trying to emulate Michael’s guitar which was obviously always going to be impossible as well as pointless. And then when the St Buryan Sessions project came up and I knew I was going to have access to that gorgeous grand piano, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it.”
The piano in question belongs to the St Buryan Male Voice Choir, which kindly gave permission for Sarah to use it, but resides permanently in the stunning medieval church where ‘The St Buryan Sessions’ were filmed and recorded last summer after Sarah’s gigs and tours were cancelled due to COVID-19.
“We set her up as if it were a regular gig,” explains Sarah’s longtime manager and sound engineer, Martin Stansbury, who produced, recorded and mixed the project. “No flash studio mics, just the same touring PA and monitors she’d walked onstage to a thousand times, so it would be truly home territory.”
Martin also placed ambient microphones around the soaring space to capture its natural acoustic and intensify the listener experience of “being there”, while Cornish filmmaker and director Mawgan Lewis of Purple Knif (who worked previously with Sarah on videos for ‘If We Dig Any Deeper It Could Get Dangerous’) and Eden Sessions veteran camera operator John Crooks were able to take full advantage of camera angles that would not have been possible if audience sight-lines had been a consideration.
“I’m totally thrilled with the result,” says Sarah, “and I’m so glad that we were able to do it in a place that’s been so special to me on a personal level – plus, the church itself had a huge impact on the overall sound, as well as on the visuals.”
‘Time To Love (The St Buryan Sessions)’ and ‘Rabbit Hills (The St Buryan Sessions)’ will be available for streaming and download via Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, Bandcamp and other services from April 23 and May 14, respectively.
Videos of each song will be premiered the day after release in live “watch party” events on Sarah’s YouTube channel, with Sarah on hand in the chat to answer questions and respond to feedback. The roll-out of singles and videos will continue throughout the year, and Sarah plans to release the full 15-track, 72-minute album on CD and limited-edition double LP on Friday October 15.
Getting ready to kick off the summer, Dublin based dance/pop artist Butler has just released his brand new single ‘Me & You’ featuring White Wax. Bursting with the signature pop sound we have come to expect from Butler, ‘Me & You’ sees White Wax bring a fresh new dynamic to the song.
The perfectly formed piece of ear candy will have you nodding your head before the first chorus hits. Delivering a radio-ready punch once again, ‘Me & You’ featuring Wax White is the perfect follow up to the ultimate bop ‘Colours Of Love’.
Butler is the brainchild of award winning singer/performer Luke Thomas, and the electrifying new project has allowed him to explore his more commercially creative side. On this track he teams up with Dublin rappers Wax White and the result is bang on the money.
‘Me & You’ the brand new single from Butler featuring White Wax is out now across all digital platforms.
‘Into The Sea’ is the stunning breakthrough debut album from Lahinch-based County Limerick-born singer, songwriter, and musician Susan Quirke, out now [Friday 23rd April 2021]. Recorded alongside some of Ireland’s finest musicians, it features elements of indie-rock and folk, with an ethereal sound that announces this as an album of great depth and beauty.
Susan has released five tracks to date and her music has been played on RTÉ 1’s The John Creedon Show, Late Date, The Ray D’Arcy Show, and also BBC Radio. Susan has performed at the Electric Picnic and Body&Soul music festivals, played for figures such as the Dalai Lama and President Higgins, and she has been featured in Hot Press, The Irish Times, and The Sunday Independent.
‘Into The Sea’ features Irish music luminaries Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin (solo artist, The Frames, The Swell Season), Colm Quearney on guitar (The Square Pegs, Lír), Robbie Malone on bass (David Gray, Lír), Justin Carroll on piano (The Frames, Iron and Wine), and Graham Hopkins on drums (Therapy, The Frames, The Swell Season). The album was recorded in Dublin (The Qube studio) and Wicklow (The Meadows). It was engineered by Ruth Kennington and Rían Trench and mixed and mastered in France by Grammy award winner David Odlum. It was co-produced by Susan Quirke and Colm Quearney.
The songs on ‘Into The Sea’ were written by the ocean at locations in County Clare, Dublin, and in northern California. ‘Into The Sea’ is a concept album that plays upon the metaphor of the sea as a sea of consciousness. The songs draw upon aspects of reclamation of personal power, healing, transformation, and holding on in hard times. Other songs speak to the power of community, our interconnectedness, the global refugee crisis, connection with nature, cultivating peace of mind, and alchemising fear into love. This is a grower of an album, bringing the listener into a deeper richer experience with every listen.
Particular album highlights include the high-powered indie anthem ‘The Embrace’ (exploring a powerful moment of forgiveness), the upbeat ‘I Like The Way’ (a catchy alternative love song), ‘Let Us Love’ (an ode to intimacy and love), and ‘To The Bone’ (a timely uplifting reminder of our inner strength). Other songs such as ‘Follow Rivers Way’ are stripped back and make for more mellow listening. Susan has written a deeply personal blog about her 10 year journey of making this album which you can read on her website here.
Susan is also an award-winning social entrepreneur for her work in the field of mental health and wellbeing. She is well-known as a meditation teacher and has taught people all over the world to meditate. She has worked with the Irish rugby team and previously led a meditation for over 6000 people during the #StandForTruth social justice event in Dublin.
Susan Quirke’s much anticipated debut record is OUT NOW [April 23rd, 2021].
Susan’s online launch celebration with songs, stories, and guests, is tonight, Friday 23rd April, 8pm-9.30pm, and all are welcome to join. Link to register is www.bit.ly/SQcelebration
Following on from the success of its release in January 2021 Róisín O’s ‘Heart + Bones’ has been reimagined by internationally renowned Irish producer & remixer Mark McCabe.
Speaking about the collaboration Mark said:
“I’m a big fan of Róisín – her voice comes from a really special place. When it was suggested that I remix this track it was a no brainer.”
Mark Mc Cabe’s upbeat interpretation of ‘Heart + Bones’, builds intensity throughout, culminating in a catchy signature sound for summer 2021. This reworking of the powerful pop ballad, with Roisin’s undeniable strength as a vocalist, and Marks midas touch makes ‘Heart + Bones – The Mark Mc Cabe Remix’ a dance anthem for the masses.
Róisín commented:
‘I’ve been a huge fan of Marks for many years, hearing he wanted to collaborate with me was slightly surreal and I jumped at the chance. I really wore my heart on my sleeve when I wrote ‘Heart + Bones’ and I couldn’t have imagined anyone else doing the song such justice. Mark’s given it a new lease of life and I can’t wait to dance to it at a gig as soon as possible”.
‘I Survived’ is the latest single from Irish Americana duo The Remedy Club along with a release of vinyl for their album ‘True Hand True Heart’. The album was recorded and produced by 5 time GRAMMY winner, Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams).
‘I Survived’, out 30th April, is about experiencing the challenges in life and closing the gap on what the world thinks we should be and what we truly desire. It is about finding our inner strength to carve out our own path and survive the curve balls that life throws at us.
Working from their own studio in the idyllic surrounds of West Sligo, Lazyrevs, made up of Nadine Keogh and Tom O’Connor operate as true independent artists, writing, recording and producing all of their own material and releasing on their own label Revelate Records. The duo have featured on BBC’s Introducing Mixtape with two of their previous singles, and also recently featured in the final season of ABC’s hit TV show ‘Mustangs FC’.
“’Sorry What I Said’ has an Indie Pop summer vibe with lyrics that come from a genuine place of real conversations and memories from past relationships.”
The band took inspiration from Andy Shauf’s ‘Neon Skyline’ on this song. “We were obsessively devouring that song and the sound of that album while in the middle of production for ‘Sorry What I Said’”.
The dry Indie pop sound and catchy guitar hooks are a slight departure from the band’s last single ‘Tidal Wave’ and while ‘Sorry What I Said’ is a definite tip of the hat to Andy Shauf’s production style, it shows that Lazyrevs aren’t afraid to dip a toe into a more diverse sound.
The official release date for ‘Sorry What I Said’ is 30/04/2021 but the song has already received support and airplay from BBC Radio and Amazing Radio in the UK.
