Author: Breffni Banks

‘The Last Goodbye’ – a collection of Christie Hennessy’s beautifully crafted hits, re-recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra is set for release on 2nd November.

This one-disc collection will feature 10 classic titles including the timeless version of ‘Messenger Boy’ sung in that unique delicate Kerry voice taken from his first ever LP. ‘Oh Jealous Heart’ and ‘Soho Square’ both get new treatment with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra creating that effortless and exhilarating accompaniment. The record also features some of his most beautifully penned songs including ‘Remember Me’ and not forgetting the country influenced ‘All The Lies That You Told Me’ (which had been a huge success as a single for Frances Black).

The album also includes two beautiful duets with daughter Hermione on ‘Every Time A Star Falls’ featured on “A Friend of Mine” and ‘If  You Were To Fall (And I Was To Fall In Love With You)’ taken from his multi-platinum selling album ‘A Year In The Life’.

Christie Hennessy has been at the forefront of Irish music and folk music, his career spanning over 30 years and now fans will get to hear his wonderful songs and marvellous lyrics as the colourful legend lives on. Family always mattered hugely to Christie and his children Hermione, Tim and Amber became an increasingly central part of the story. They were all singers and musicians and they loved the creative interplay with him. Hermione recalls of her father “he took people on an emotional journey – from every high of happiness, through great, side-splitting laughter, to every touching piece of sadness… but as always with a sense of possibility and renewal.”

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra were conducted on the album by Gavin Maloney who has worked with Ulster Orchestra, Crash Ensemble and National Chamber Choir. Gavin Moloney teamed up along-side Christie’s son Tim Hennessy orchestrator, producer and mix engineer for the album. Carrying on his father’s legacy and fulfilling his Dad’s dream to hear his songs performed by an orchestra. One of Christie’s very favourite albums was Harry Neilssen’s A Little Touch of Schmillson in the night…. and here it is realised…. but with his beautiful songs.

The Last Goodbye is released November 2^nd through Universal Music Ireland.

Tracklisting as follows:

1. Messenger Boy
2. Maybe
3. Oh Jealous Heart
4. Remember Me (And I Will Be With You)
5. The Actor
6. All The Lies That You Told Me
7. Soho Square
8. If You Were To Fall (And I Was To Fall In Love With You) with Hermione Hennessy
9. Every Time A Star Falls
10. Roll Back The Clouds (I Am A Star)

To finish off the year with an almighty bang, Dublin singer songwriter ELLYD is set to release her highly anticipated new single ‘Sorge’.

Following on from her successful single ‘Close’ during the summer, which received massive airplay on national radio, the alternative pop artist’s latest offering is sure to follow suit when it’s released on Monday, November 5.

The guitar driven stomper, which combines ambient vibes and catchy singalong lyrics, will be hitting the airwaves ahead of the singer’s intimate gig in The Vintage Room at Dublin’s Workman’s Club on Friday November 23.

As well as performing her new single on the night, she will also be playing a number of previous favourites including songs from her debut EP ‘Rise’ which reached number 8 in the iTunes charts.

The singer, whose voice has been compared to the sultry haunting vocals of Gemma Hayes & Skye Edwards, first honed her talent by touring across Europe while also becoming a regular on the Irish music circuit playing festivals and top venues including Electric Picnic, Indiependence, The Button Factory, Whelan’s and The Workman’s Club.

-Today FM presenter Ed Smith: “Absolutely love her voice. She has a big future ahead of her, absolutely no doubt.”

Spies release the new video for their current single ‘Broadstone’, directed by Sam Edwards. The band will play the Button Factory in Dublin on December 14th to celebrate the release of their long awaited debut LP, ‘Constancy’. ‘Constancy’ will be released in full on November 23rd through Dublin independent label Trout Records. The band have begun taking pre-orders for the record which will be pressed on limited edition 180gm heavyweight vinyl.

In 2016, Spies followed the release of their acclaimed ‘Sea Creature EP’ with an extensive tour including several dates with Wolf Alice. After a two year absence from social media and live performances, the band unexpectedly returned with singles ‘Young Dad’, ‘Uriah’ and ‘Ho  Chi Minh’ earlier this year. Their new electronic sound received praise from both from UK and Irish press (DIY, Line of Best Fit, Nialler9, The Thin Air, etc.). The summer of 2018 saw them play sold out shows in Dublin and London while also making an appearance at Electric Picnic.

New single ‘Broadstone’ shows a side to Spies unlike anything they’ve produced before. Like many of the songs on ‘Constancy’, ‘Broadstone’ began life in Inch, Co. Kerry during a writing trip. Returning to Dublin, the song came into its own as the band began experimenting with new sounds. With upbeat guitar riffs and Brazilian percussion, Spies combined their synth-rock sound with samba rhythms, paying homage in equal parts to Quincy Jones and James Murphy.

Singer Michael Broderick penned the song as a love letter to the area of Dublin City he’s been living in over the last few years – “’Broadstone’ is one of the 3 neighbourhoods that make up present day Phibsboro. It’s where I was living during the writing of ‘Constancy’,  it’s really the setting of the album for me. I was living with Morgan from Saint Sister and her boyfriend Rory who’s a documentary maker, so our flat was a hotbed of creativity. I wanted to capture a snapshot of that time in a song.”

Gig Tix: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/spies-at-the-button-factory-constancy-album-launch-tickets-50442335383

Album Pre-Order: https://www.musicglue.com/spies/shop

Constancy Tracklisting:

Ho Chi Minh
Young Dad
Uriah
Broadstone
Airport Inquests
Strange Fast
Watchman
Constancy
Red Oak
Love is a Dream

Stolen City have shared their excitement, following securing one of their biggest headline shows to date.

The Dublin-based band took their social media to announce the gig, which will take place in the Academy, on the 1st of December this year.

This announcement comes following a jam-packed year for the young trio.

The band made their first international appearance at German festival, Rock an der Eider, in August.

The summer also saw them take to the Play The Picnic stage at Electric Picnic, with the support of 2FM and IMRO.

The band have played a host of other events across the country this year, in a bid to secure their reputation as one of the top up-and-coming bands.

Speaking of the announcement, lead singer Seán McGrath said: “We’ve had an absolutely mental year, with great performances – I think it’s fitting that we will be ending the year on a high note in our hometown. The Academy is such an incredible venue and we’re beyond excited for another headline show.”

Tickets will go on sale October 19th.

On  Friday October 26th rising Galway singer Ultan Conlon will play the 3 Arena in Dublin as special guest of  former Creedance Clearwater Revival singer John Fogerty at his Blues Fest concert with Steve Miller band.

2018 has been hugely successful for Ultan Conlon who has toured Ireland and the UK with Eddi Reader and The Stunning, sold out a headline show at Whelan’s in Dublin in April to launch his new album in April and   played his most high-profile show to date at the Trinity College Summer Series as special guest of Bryan Ferry.

Ultan Conlon’s third studio album ‘Last Days of The Night Owl’, which was mixed by Grammy award winning producer Collin Dupuis in Nashville TN, was chosen Album of the Week by RTE Radio 1 with the lead single ‘The Measure’ sitting at No.1 on the Radio One airplay chart for four weeks in April / May. Ultan Conlon has just released a second single from the album, a brilliant duet with Mary Coughlan of his song ‘A Weak Heart Like Mine’.

Ultan Conlon has a special ability at capturing the human spirit through his lyrics, which have been honed over  almost two decades of writing and performing. The quality of his songwriting is equally matched by his powerful yet fragile voice that critics have likened to the great Roy Orbison.

Ultan Conlon toured the west coast of US last year and as guest of the Watkins Family Hour performed with  Jackson Browne, Shelby Lynne and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fame at the famous  Largo club in Los Angeles. Ultan  Conlon has also performed with Glen Hansard and John Martyn who has recorded one of Ultan’s earlier songs ‘Really Gone’.

Participant is Stephen Tiernan, a songwriter and producer from Dublin, Ireland. Having experimented with ambient textures, sampling and live instrumentation across 2 EP’s and several singles, Tiernan now finds himself stripping back the layers and demonstrating a more nuanced and immediate approach to his songwriting.

‘Coast’, (Released Oct 10) is the first single taken from his new EP, ‘Modern Retelling’, due for release in 2019. ‘Coast’, is a folk-inspired rumination on mortality, doubt and nervousness. Recorded in his home studio in Dublin, ‘Coast’ features Tiernan’s intimate vocal and pulsing fingerpicked acoustic guitar, eventually making way for swelling strings by Éna Brennan – aka Dowry.

Fittingly, Participant and Dowry embark on a Double Headline Irish Tour this November with UK and European Shows in the works for early 2019.

Nov 15 – BelloBar – Dublin
Nov 16 – Brewery Corner – Kilkenny
Nov 22 – The Record Room – Limerick
Nov 23 – The Roundy – Cork

Speaking about writing ‘Coast’ Tiernan had this to say –

‘When I was writing Coast I was attempting to rationalise feelings of fear and doubt and capture the inner voice during these moments. Those few long seconds before you realise everything is actually ok, you can relax.’

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Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) is very excited to celebrate the release of IYMAs volume 11 which you can listen to or purchase here with tracks featured on this album from Youth Work Ireland Galway’s representing team, as they are the recipient region of the IYMAs programme for a third year in a row, along with Róise McHugh from Youth Action Northern Ireland Belfast who was selected as the IYMAs Lil Red songwriter award recipient.

This year IYMAs featured a special track dedicated to Sean Hughes (aka Lil Red) who was involved in the IYMAs for the last few years through his IYMAs hub in Finglas Youth Resource Centre and who passed away early this year. This track was recorded by his friends Newkind and features Beyond the Beat FYRC and is called ‘Friday Morning.’

This album was produced in Herbert Place Studios giving the young musicians the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Muse, Kodaline and Hozier who finished a recording session there just before IYMAs Volume 11 was recorded. The album was mastered in Wav mastering who have worked with David Bowie, The Foo Fighters and Damien Rice.

Last year’s album stormed the charts entering at number three! To mark the album launch, an all ages concert in the Róisín Dubh in Galway with seven acts performing  was held on Sunday October 14th.

Release date: October 12th, 2018

(Digitally Worldwide), CD available OMG Zhivago (Galway)

Track listing:

1. 60 Watt Girl – Will You
2. 60 Watt Girl – Coloured
3. Sorcha Carrick – Barbed – Wire – Benevolence
4. Aoibheann Flanagan Gill – Jealousy
5. WiNG – A Strong Dose of You
6. Jasmine F Murray – Thoughts (Featuring Sorcha Carrick)
7. Newkind – Friday Morning (Featuring Beyond The Beat FYRC)
8. Róise McHugh – Underlie

The London-based Northern Irish musician Aislinn Logan made a great impression with her recent tracks ‘Spree’ and ‘Fair Game’. Highlighted by new music champions The Line of Best Fit and Clash as well as Hot Press, they also earned airplay at BBC Radio One, 6 Music and playlist at RTÉ 2FM.

Now Aislinn Logan reiterates that she’s one to watch with the release of her follow-up single ‘Wait On Me’. A slice of upbeat indie pop that references classic 80s electro pop and electronic music. The track was produced by Kristofer Harris (Ghostpoet, Bear’s Den, Belle & Sebastian).

Lyrically, the song explores the modern age, the steady hum of technology, and its impact on human interaction.

As Aislinn explains, “I was feeling like I was in a constant rush – there’s this pressure to have it all ‘figured out’ yesterday. We end up overthinking things that are nonsensical to overthink, and maybe become a bit dissociated about things that should be the opposite. I wanted to make something fun, something influenced by the pace of technology, its effect on society. Although it’s a bit satirical, Wait On Me, is about the importance of human connection through all the commotion – it’s a breezy banger you want to dance to.” 

Aislinn Logan has that rare ability to meld disparate sounds into a cohesive whole that makes unlikely genre bedfellows a natural fit. Her scene-setting lyrics are delivered with a vocal that conveys someone who has lived through her subject matter. They’re set to productions which have the sophistication, while the instrumentation – often polished versions of her bedroom studio recordings – give them a human character.

Traces of Aislinn’s eclectic musical interests inform everything she does without being obvious touchstones. There’s a touch of singer-songwriter, somewhere between Bon Iver and Paul Simon, but on this track she evokes the sounds of artists as diverse as Blood Orange, Christine and The Queens and New Order.

Equally important is her love of electronic sounds with “elements of patterns and metronomic repetition” worming their way into her music after she became enamoured with Glasgow’s underground techno, electro and Italo disco scenes.

Aislinn Logan continues to go from strength-to-strength with emotive music that naturally ebbs and flows across perceived boundaries. “If you listen to a load of different kinds of music, you’re going to end up coming out with things that are a bit different,” she concludes. “It ends up being exciting. I think that sort of approach is super relevant for a lot of people, because at the end of the day that’s how everyday life can be – changeable.

Multi-platinum international music sensation, Celtic Woman, return with a spectacular new studio album ‘Ancient Land’ for release in October 2018. ‘Ancient Land’ is the first brand new studio album of new material since the Grammy-nominated ‘Destiny’ in 2016.

Recorded in Real World Studios in the UK in summer 2018, ‘Ancient Land’s’ 18 songs will feature material that is all new to Celtic Woman including original compositions ‘Follow Me’, ‘Be Still’ and ‘Love & Honour’ (instrumental), some Irish traditional songs including ‘Sive’, ‘Mna na hEireann (Women of Ireland)’, and ‘Moorlough Shore’ and some reimagined workings of contemporary songs such as ‘Long Journey Home’, ‘Going Home’ and ‘Homeland’.

This autumn, Celtic Woman return with a stunning new concert spectacular for PBS television:

Celtic Woman: Ancient Land – for PBS broadcast across the US from late November. Filmed against the backdrop of the historic Johnstown Castle in County Wexford, this stunning outdoor show will feature brand new music from their latest album, ‘Ancient Land’, and timeless favorites that never fail to warm the heart.

Celtic Woman continue the centuries-old Irish tradition of telling stories through song: stories of the land, stories of love and stories of dancing – songs that will bring a piece of Ireland into your home, and into your heart.

‘Ancient Land’ features the incredible vocal talents of Mairead Carlin, Eabha McMahon, and introduces newest member Megan Walsh along with the sensational Tara McNeill on fiddle & accompanied by orchestra and a full Irish band of drums and pipes, whistles, singers and dancers.

Since its debut, global musical sensation Celtic Woman’s concerts continue to touch the hearts of a huge audience that spans the globe.

Both an accomplished recording ensemble and a world-class performing collective, Celtic Woman celebrates Ireland’s rich musical and cultural heritage, while continuing its remarkable legacy of introducing some of Ireland’s most talented singers and musicians onto the world stage.

Following its debut on PBS in 2005, the group has achieved massive success encompassing thirteen chart-topping albums, eight DVDs and nine public television specials leading to sales of over ten million albums, with platinum success in nine countries. Each of its CDs – including 2016’s ‘Destiny’ which was also nominated for a Grammy – has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart. The group has been named Billboard Magazine’s #1 World Albums Artist six times.

A one-of-a-kind live act, Celtic Woman combines the country’s finest musical talents with epic stage production to present a uniquely inspiring live experience. As a touring powerhouse, the group has performed for over four million fans across 23 countries and six continents, with an especially devoted following in America. The show is renowned for its high-quality entertainment, exceptional musical performances and stunning visual productions, enthralling audiences of all ages.

‘Ancient Land’ captures this latest chapter of their extraordinary musical journey.

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