Author: Breffni Banks

Award-winning Irish singer songwriter Declan O’Rourke celebrates his brand new album with a show at Vicar Street, 13th March 2021. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster from Friday, 23rd April at 10AM. 

Declan’s album ‘Arrivals‘ was produced by Paul Weller, the most emotionally raw and affecting album of his career.

Recorded over six days at Black Barn studios in Surrey, with Weller producing (“he was there every moment, before, during and long after, discussing ideas about this and that, even down to the artwork. It was hugely impressive…”), ‘Arrivals‘ sees Declan O’Rourke present his art in a different yet wholly distinctive manner. The sound is stripped back to Declan’s soulful and resonant voice, the virtuosic acoustic guitar playing for which he’s renowned and only the occasional sparse arrangement of strings and late-night drums bringing colour and light to the LP’s 10 songs. Weller, a fan of Declan’s songwriting for some years, also adds his multi-instrumental abilities to the recordings, including a beautiful piano accompaniment to the closing track.

“Proffering reassurance in the face of inevitable sorrow” is what New York Times music writer Jon Pareles has said about Declan O’Rourke. Not many people would have thought that such praise would have so significant a purpose during a prolonged time of global turmoil, but – as his many admirers know only too well – O’Rourke has been spreading hope, love and emotional clarity for over 15 years.  

‘Arrivals’ deftly balances the personal and the political. The personal – it is assuredly his most emotive and intimate work to date – comes from O’Rourke’s admission that he has always been guided by family.   

Alongside a vision of seeing the personal and political run in parallel and occasionally intersect on ‘Arrivals‘, is the way in which textural layers have been stripped away.

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Summer has come early as Lydia Ford returns with alt-pop single ‘Feel It For You’. Sleek production and anthemic choruses are nothing new for the Irish artist and this track builds further on her reputation for infectious pop gems. ‘Feel It For You’ combines Ford’s glossy, synth sound with bitingly honest lyrics of self-reflection. Her deeply personal words are at the forefront of the music throughout, and the emotional realisation is amplified further still with the chorus’ intricate layering.

‘Feel It For You’ continues Ford’s stellar list of releases. She has received national airplay in Ireland and performed at prestigious events such as Other Voices, but this enigmatic artist also has some serious international reach. There has been support from major US sites such as Uproxx and Billboard, UK airplay on BBC radio, and additions to global Spotify playlists including New Music Friday and Fresh Finds: Pop.

Having previously spent time in Brooklyn to immerse herself in the NY music scene, Lydia also collaborates with producers in London and Tokyo, and these days see her based in Berlin no less. The new single ‘Feel It For You’ is a pop track with attitude – a raw, upbeat track from this intriguing pop artist. Lydia Ford is taking on the world, and the world is listening!

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‘No More Clones’ is the debut album from Limerick-born artist Shane O’Neill.

Shane grew up in a house filled with music, regularly falling asleep to the sound of his father playing guitar, his mother singing. Close harmonies and finger-picking guitar style forming the soundtrack to his childhood.

When his father bought him a guitar for his 12th birthday, that was it! Shane taught himself to play and has been writing and singing songs ever since.

After taking time out to cycle round the coast of Ireland in aid of the RNLI, Shane decided it was time to record an album.

The result is ‘No More Clones’; a really rich sounding album that weaves through a wide range of current themes from climate change to true love.

One of the most poignant songs on the album is ‘Video Dreams’, dedicated to a friend who became homeless on the streets of London and was stolen from the world far too prematurely. While the title track is a reminder to all of the need for self-care in the midst of a global pandemic.

But love, positivity and optimism have the last say in the album’s anthemic finale ‘Stars Burn Out’.

‘No More Clones’ was produced by Bill Shanley at Cauldron Music and is available on all the usual digital platforms.

Twitter: @shanecpon
Facebook: shane.oneill.3591267

The National Concert Hall and International Literature Festival Dublin present an evening of words and song responding to the ongoing legacy of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Home Institutions on Saturday May 29th. This free event featuresElaine Feeney, Loah, Terri Harrison, The Mary Wallopers, Majella Moynihan, Noelle Brown, Philomena Mullen, Jess Kav, Alison Lowry plus more to be confirmed.

This extraordinary collaboration presents personal responses from artists to the ongoing dark legacy of Ireland’s mother and baby home institutions. Until recently, religious orders and the Irish state are deemed to have operated a network of institutions for the concealment, punishment and exploitation of women called ‘fallen’ and ‘offenders’, a secretive system that forcibly separated families. Through breaking silences and sharing testimonies, survivors of Ireland’s religious-run institutions have become catalysts of change. In the search for answers, their voices must continue to be heard.

Working with generational survivors of the institutions, this one-off live event is curated by author of the acclaimed Republic of Shame, Caelainn Hogan.

Robert Read, CEO of the National Concert Hall commented:

“We hope this event – which presents an array of artistic responses from survivors, artists and writers – will create a platform for reflection and healing that helps us to shape a path forward. I would like to thank The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for their ongoing support in making these events possible.”

This special evening includes creative responses from poet, novelist, playwright and Creative at Tuam Oral History Project Elaine Feeney, and musician and survivor Terri Harrison, who was forcibly separated from her son through the religious-run institutions. Also contributing is actor, writer and adoption rights activist Noelle Brown, who co-wrote and performed in the play Postscript about searching for her origins.

Additional spoken word responses come from writer and academic Philomena Mullen, who grew up in Ireland’s institutional system and is working on a book for Skein Press. Also, author of A Guarded Life Majella Moynihan, who was forced to give her son up for adoption and charged with breaching Garda regulations for being pregnant outside of marriage and singer, writer and poet Jess Kav, who speaks about the generational impact of the institutions.

Musical responses on the night come from Irish – Sierra Leonean performer Loah, who starred as Mary Magdalene in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar and Dundalk folk outfit The Mary Wallopers.

The night also features the exceptional work of award-winning and internationally-renowned glass artist Alison Lowry from Co. Down. She uses an ancient technique called ‘pate de verre’, casting antique christening robes to recreate them in glass.

Presented by the International Literature Festival Dublin and the National Concert Hall.

International Literature Festival Dublin is a Dublin City Council initiative, kindly funded by the Arts Council.

A Free Livestream from the National Concert Hall 

Saturday 29th May 2021, 8pm GMT

View on National Concert Hall Youtube/Facebook or Crowdcast.io/ilfdublin

The concert will be available for 7 days following the performance.

This event is supported by The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Following the release of the lead singles from J Smith’s debut album ‘(…) And you chose not to laugh’, YURN creates a new and exciting take, giving fans of both projects, a new way of experiencing these emotive songs. Although Blood Orange hints that “passion ain’t built to last”, the creative avenue that YURN provides artist James not only keeps his fervour alive, but has led to new and amazing opportunities.

When talking about the EP, YURN reveals, “Art should be about the listener’s own experience and interpretation. So much of what we consume ourselves with is what the artist was trying to say, how they were feeling or what they wanted us to know. But often the feeling we attach, the conclusions we come to are more powerful and meaningful than when given the specifics of the artist’s experience. The parentheses gives power to the listener to attach their own meaning, and strive to place themselves rather than someone else.”

YURN’s last collaboration with ambient artist Gareth Quinn Redmond saw the duo feature on Nialler 9, Hotpress and District Magazine and have had regular plays on Irish radio. YURN was also pegged as an artist to watch for 2021 by Hotpress Magazine.

Throughout his career, YURN has sought opportunities to create in new directions and has delved into diverse mediums such as film, writing, and art. The name YURN comes from a screenplay Smith wrote, about a child’s longing for love from an absentee father. It seemed like the perfect name to begin a new artistic direction as Producer YURN.

‘Parentheses’ EP is out 23rd April.

You can find YURN on Spotify and Apple Music.

https://linktr.ee/yurnmusic

Following the release of an impressive mixtape ‘92 Degrees’ at the end of last year, Irish rap caviar drill collective, A92, continue to prove why they are the hottest topic. With enough talent and charisma to silence any doubters and a platter of street bangers such as ‘Take It (Yuck)’ and ‘Repeat It’ under their belt this year, A92 continue infiltrating every level of global rap.

The new single ‘Bite’ combines the melody of commercial rap with the bass and pressure of drill, they show why they have broken into charts worldwide. With resident vocalist Andre Fazaz delivering a hook inspired by UKG classic Babycakes, Ksav and BT trade typically slickly delivered battle bars. Produced by 18-year-old Navan native JBJ, who’s earned credit’s on Ivan Dolls’ GRM Daily Dupy, AJ Tracy’s latest project ‘FLU GAME’ and the likes of Rap Man’s ‘Premier League Wrap Up’ alongside catching the attention of UK rappers Mist, Krept & Konan, Headie One and more. This warms up for their 2nd mixtape, set to drop June 2021!

Crashing into the mainstream from their hometown of Drogheda, Ireland (the area code of which gives them their name), the group of seven Irish-Nigerians, namely Offica, Dbo, Ksav, Kebz, BT, Andre Fazaz and Nikz, have gone from local heroes to globally charting phenomenon in a few short months.

Signed to Moves Recordings in May 2020 (following the solo success of Offica on the label), they dropped a string of singles – ‘Who’s On Who’, ‘Duck Duck Goose’, ‘See Me Now’ and ‘A9 Link Up’ – each bigger than the last, building momentum until their major breakthrough came in October 2020; ‘Plugged In Freestyle’. Written and recorded with in half a day and shot as part of the Fumez the Engineer Plugged In freestyle series, the track featured Ksav, Dbo, Kebz and Offica spitting back to back bars over a jumpy drill riddim produced by 16 year old Irish wonderkid Charlie Mockler. Filmed in a couple of takes, this hookless drill freestyle flooded across social media, first in the UK, then beyond. It broke into Spotify’s viral charts in over fifteen countries simultaneously, went wild on Tik Tok, and also raced into the UK and Ireland’s official single charts, breaking into the Top 40 of both – rare enough for a freestyle, let alone one on an indie label, produced by a group of underdog kids fighting to be heard from a forgotten, down-at-heel Irish town.

A92 – https://www.instagram.com/a9ineofficial/

ANDRE – https://www.instagram.com/andrefazaz/

BT – https://www.instagram.com/a9trapboy/

KSAV – https://www.instagram.com/ksav.a9/

Pillow Queens have rescheduled their upcoming Irish shows for December 2021 as well as adding an additional show.

“Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, we’ve had to reschedule our Irish shows for December 2021. If you cannot make the new date please contact your point of purchase for information on refunds.” – Pillow Queens

Thursday,  2 Dec 2021 Ulster Sports Club, Belfast

*NEW SHOW ADDED*

Wednesday, 8th Dec 2021, Cyprus Avenue, Cork

Tickets available from www.pillowqueens.com

Friday, 17 Dec 2021 Button Factory, Dublin

Sat 18 Dec 2021 Button Factory, Dublin

All purchased tickets will remain valid for the new show dates

All ticket enquiries please contact Tickets.ie

Proudly presented by Singular Artists

https://pillowqueens.com/
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Dublin indie-pop artist PureGrand has released a new single, ‘Pictures’. The song is the third single from his upcoming EP that will be released at the end of this year.

‘Pictures’ features PureGrand’s signature retro-pop sound. The playful mid tempo tune owes influence to 90’s boy band ballads, built on hooks and harmonies. He constructs an earnest 90s love song with a modern twist, with lyrics about contemporary dating and attraction.

He says, “The rules have changed, they’re not as clear, so the song is poking fun at the complexities of modern dating. Often we are infatuated by people, but also keep them at arm’s length. In a way the song is quite sincere, but there’s also tongue in cheek sarcasm as well.”

The song was produced and recorded by PureGrand. A photographer and visual artist, the song accompanies self portrait press photos and a lyric video, also self- produced.

PureGrand is a solo audio/visual project by Dublin native Luke Faulkner. A self confessed pop music freak, he is fast making a name for himself on the Irish music scene with his distinct marriage of strong pop hooks, introspective lyrics and striking visuals which he writes, produces and creates himself. PureGrand takes the sounds and aesthetics of the 80s and 90s and merges them with contemporary themes and lyrics.

Most recently PureGrand was selected by Nialler9’s Best New Acts 2020 as well as Hot Press’s Hot for 2021. Though it started as a bedroom DIY endeavour, PureGrand has gone on to preform at Ireland’ s best homegrown alternative nights including Glitterhole, Avoca’s Queer Cabaret, and Dublin Fringe festival. He most recently performed with Jack Rua, CMAT and Gold Blooded Woman as part of Gotta Tell You, a pop event about the future of Irish pop as part of Music Town Dublin.

Dublin-based singer/songwriter/producer Dunluvly is set to release a new single, ‘Hazey’ on 14th May. The track is a three year project that features layered guitars and contemporary bedroom-pop production. The wavy flanger fingerstyle guitar carries you into a trance-like state, that is complemented by a creative use of guitar delay effects.

This is the first single Dunluvly has released since his EP ‘Plethora’. The EP caught features on Hot Press Magazine, The AU Review and The Thin Air in the wake of 2020.

Dunluvly says, “I wrote this track about a state of distracted anxiety that I named ‘the haze’ at a young age. Through many years of being a bit of a hippie, I developed a way to map the things that would lead me into this state of mind. This song is the story of that process.”

He goes on to say, “This was probably the most delicate recording process I’ve ever encountered. I caught the sound in the original demo, but failed to recreate it for so long. That’s probably why this track took three years to complete.”

Dunluvly is a multi-instrumentalist and producer born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. With roots in traditional Irish music and psychedelic indie, his sound is often described as a sonically rich experience.

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Cork based producer Bantum releases his latest single ‘New Leaf’ on Tuesday May 4th followed by a 3 track EP on May 25th. After the success of ‘Gully’, ‘Tower’ and ‘NGLA’ with Loah last year this is a return to Bantum’s instrumental electro funk sound with a new feel.

‘New Leaf’ introduces a new sound and direction for Bantum inspired by the disco funk soul sound of Stardust, Cassius, Royksopp, Daft Punk, Jungle and Four Tet among many others. Having garnered a reputation for collaborating with artists across Ireland and the UK spanning multiple genres, Bantum has produced a trio of tracks for the inevitable return to the dancefloor. In his own words, “I had this constant image in my mind of going back to a club or a party while writing the record. It’s funny that these are arguably the most danceable and upbeat tracks I’ve written when there’s nowhere to go yet to let loose! It’s been cathartic to produce this record and I can’t wait to play it live someday. The title is a direct reference to how I feel about this, like I’m turning a new leaf sonically.”

Written and produced entirely at home in Cork, ‘New Leaf’ will be the first of multiple Bantum projects over the coming year.

Ruairi Lynch is a Cork native electronic music producer who performs and records under the name Bantum. Mixing elements of electronica, funk, dance and hip hop, he has been releasing music for close to 11 years culminating in the 2016 RTE Choice prize nominated album ‘Move’. He has performed in Ireland, the USA and the UK and has held slots at festivals including Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Sounds from a Safe Harbour, It Takes A Village and many more while opening for the likes of Jon Hopkins and Kiasmos’ Janus Rasmussen. A keen collaborator, Bantum has released music across multiple genres spanning R&B, Soul and Hip Hop in multiple languages. Having spent 2020 steadily releasing singles such as ‘Gully’, ‘Tower’, ‘NGLA’ and working on critically acclaimed short films, Bantum is changing things up again with his upcoming EP ‘New Leaf’. Citing influences as diverse as Nicolas Jaar, Prince, Soulwax, Daft Punk, Four Set and many more, ‘New Leaf ‘ is a step in an even funkier, beat driven instrumental direction to be played at home and in the club.

Bantum website: bantumsound.com

Bantum on Facebook: facebook.com/bantummusic

Bantum on Instagram: instagram.com/bantumruairi/

Bantum on Twitter: twitter.com/RuairiLBantum

Bantum on YouTube: youtube.com/user/BantumMusic

Photo: Celeste Burdon.