Author: Breffni Banks

In recognition of their Independent number one EP ‘Feel It Again’, IMRO presented Hudson Taylor with an IMRO Award ahead of their performance at Ballykeefe Amphitheatre in Kilkenny on Saturday 18th August.

The IMRO Number 1 Award was introduced to acknowledge IMRO members who reach number 1 in the album charts here in Ireland.

2018 is treating brothers Harry and Alfie Hudson Taylor very well. Back in January, Hudson Taylor’s UK and European tour was a sellout, and the brothers went on to complete their first US tour in the spring. While in America they also made their US TV debuts on WGN in Chicago and Good Day New York on Fox, as well as key sessions for Paste, Baeble Music in NYC and Balcony TV in LA.

Hudson Taylor’s debut EP for Rubyworks charted at number one in the Irish independent album charts, and their profile on streaming keeps going from strength to strength, with both ‘Run With Me’ and ‘Old Soul’ enjoying in excess of one million plays each on Spotify, with support peaking at one million monthly listeners. ‘Run With Me’ was their second Irish airplay Top 10 success following on from ‘Feel It Again’.

The duo have had a busy summer of festival appearances in both Ireland and further afield, with the remainder of 2018 full of live performances in Ireland, the UK, Europe and appearances as special guests to Hozier on his American tour.

https://www.hudsontaylormusic.com/

‘Acrasia’ is the new single from Donegal Alternative quartet In Their Thousands.

Following on from a string of major festival appearances, European tours dates and TV and radio coverage at home and abroad, In Their Thousands returned to their roots, heading home to the North West of the island to truly engross themselves in their craft. A re-immersion in Irish traditional music, language, and culture became the focus of the four members; brothers Declan and Aidan McClafferty, first cousin Ruairí Friel and lifelong friend Marty Smyth.

‘Acrasia’ is the first single from their debut album due out later this year, and the result of locking themselves away in a studio with renowned Mercury Prize nominated producer Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, Soak, BellX1).

The video was directed by TG4’s Creative Director Seàn Cathal at a rare old cinema in Buncrana between film screenings and bingo sessions.

“Acrasia is a word used in philosophy to describe the state of mind where a person is acting against what they know to be ‘right’.

The concept for the song came out of that general idea, about why this occurs and leads people towards darkness and suffering in a mundane way which then leads to a much more profound suffering. Also the origin of the ‘voice on the shoulder’ – where exactly is that coming from?

We came up with the underlying track in a tiny cottage in the countryside in Donegal where we used to jam. It has an open fire and a tin roof with ivy growing inside and some fairy lights.”

https://www.facebook.com/intheirthousands/

Jane Willow is a Dutch singer-songwriter who moved to Ireland at age twenty-one to pursue music after a stint of studying songwriting at a Dutch Music College. Her music is laced with Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake influences and her light vocals are often compared to the likes of Norah Jones and Lisa Hannigan. In her music she experiments with folk, jazz and classical elements, whilst keeping her rich, soft and velvet-like voice at center stage.

In recent years Jane’s played an incredible amount of gigs, frequenting venues like Vicar Street, Whelan’s, The Workman’s Club and Galway’s Roisin Dubh. In August 2017 she opened for Glen Hansard in Vicar Street. She followed this gig with a full band show in the Grand Social. In November Jane successfully raised over €4000 on fundit.ie for her first EP.

Jane’s been featured in The Irish Times, The Irish Times Women’s Podcast, RTE Radio 1, BBC Radio Ulster and was the finalist in many songwriting/performance competitions and ‘Ones To Watch’ showcases.

On her debut EP she collaborates with Dave Hingerty (drums: Kila, The Frames), Vyvienne Long (cello: Damien Rice) and regular band members Joanna Marie Burke (backing vocals), Eoin Healy (bass), Derek Copley (mandolin) and Scott Flanigan (keys).

On August 28th she releases her second single and music video for ‘Onward Still’, with a double headline acoustic show in The Cobblestone, Dublin on August 30th. While her EP is due for release on Thursday November 15th in The Sound House, Dublin.

Fast rising Irish Indie-Folk musician Ailbhe Reddy teases her highly anticipated forthcoming debut LP with the release of her latest single ‘Shame’.

With two stunning EP releases to her credit, ‘Hollowed Out Sea’ and ‘Attach To Memory’,  Ailbhe Reddy has firmly secured her place as one of Ireland’s top independent artists.

Collectively, her singles have garnered over 4 million streams across all platforms and Reddy has been wowing audiences both home and abroad with her mesmerising Florence-esque vocal range and striking live shows.

Ailbhe performs at The Social, London September 4th.

‘Shame’ sees Ailbhe Reddy up the tempo somewhat from previous releases, embracing the stigma associated with depression and calling it out for exactly what it is.

“Shame is the word that sums up so much of what holds people back and keeps people down.  A pre-cursor for my own experience of struggling with depression and feeling afraid to talk about it.  I also wanted  to write a song about depression you could kinda dance to”

Ailbhe Reddy has been making huge waves in her native Ireland after releasing her debut EP ‘Hollowed Out Sea’, which included her break out single ‘Distrust’ that garnered critical acclaim and over 2 million streams on Spotify alone. She went on to feature on almost every major Irish festival line up in 2016 including Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Hard Working Class Heroes and Other Voices.

Ailbhe started 2017 by releasing her single ‘Relent’ winning critical acclaim from the likes of Line of Best Fit, Clash Magazine, Earmilk and Wonderland Magazine. She also performed a stunning set for Irish TV show Other Voices in Dingle before performing sold out shows in Dublin, London and Toronto.
That summer she featured on many of the coveted UK festival line ups, such as  The Great Escape, Glastonbury, Latitude and Cambridge Folk Festival.
She also signed with boutique London-based publishing label BDi Music before finishing her year of touring with a headline show in St Pancras Old Church, London.

To start 2018 Reddy released new single ‘Nothing to Doubt’ to excellent reviews and Spotify play-listing.  It was featured on BBC Introducing Mix-Tapes and on Tom Robinson’s BBC 6 show, where he called her a ‘fast-rising Irish artist’. 

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Sean OB announces his debut EP set for release on August 24th through Universal Music Ireland. The ‘Half Cut EP’ features previously released singles ‘Trouble’ and ‘Teacher’ plus two new tracks.

Sean OB is a songwriter and musician with a voice and attitude that’s unmistakable. Displaying remarkable skills as a songwriter with poignant lyrics set to ferociously catchy rock ‘n’ roll melodies Sean writes with a hard-hitting no bullshit approach. He counts stand-up comedians like Doug Stanhope and Bill Hicks as influences that are just as important as the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and John Lennon.

Born and raised in Tallaght in Dublin, Sean first picked up a guitar at the age of 12. Once the rigid structures of school were thrown aside Sean set about establishing himself in the Irish music scene, firstly as leader of spirited trio Trap Door, followed by two years on guitar with Raglans.

Having spent the last two years toiling away on demos in his bedroom studio, Sean OB recorded his debut EP with Grammy Award winning producer Rob Kirwan (Hozier, PJ Harvey and The Horrors) in Westland Studios and Exchequer Studios in Dublin.

Backed up by his explosive band he is now striking out for much bigger things!

“There’s a sprint-ahead energy to the newcomer’s music, fusing the raw punk-poetry of Shane MacGowan with the yelping rock ‘n’ roll of Buddy Holly. New single ‘Teacher’ is an incredible ear-worm, matching a DIY aesthetic to some glorious pop hooks and lyrics that cut a little deeper.” Clashmusic.com

“It’s a song full of vigour and heart.” Joe.ie

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Wild Youth, one of the hottest new bands in Ireland right now, have just released a behind the scenes music video capturing their summer tour with The Script. The video is backed by live favourite ‘GMSOYL’.

The four piece have been lighting up the Irish airwaves this summer with their massive hit single ‘Can’t Move On’. The song of the summer, which follows their radio hits ‘All Or Nothing’ and ‘Lose Control’, has started making waves in the UK and has been selected by BBC Radio 1 for ‘Best New Pop’ and featured as Zane Lowe’s ‘Breaking’ artist on Beats1.

Since they burst onto the live scene in 2017, Wild Youth have found themselves invited to support artists such as Niall Horan, The Script, and Zara Larsson on arena sized shows.This summer they’ve been drawing huge crowds to their festival slots at Sea Sessions and Indiependence and tickets for their sold out Whelan’s show (22 September) were snapped up by fans in just a couple of days. Next up the band join The Coronas as their special guests at King John’s Castle (25 August) before they take to the Electric Picnic stage next month to top off their summer festival season.

Currently splitting their time between Dublin and London, writing and recording their first album, Wild Youth are set to become one of the hottest acts of 2018 and beyond.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

25 August: King John’s Castle, Limerick – special guests for The Coronas
20 September: Olympia Theatre, Dublin (Help a Dublin Child Appeal with FM104)
22 September: Whelans, Dublin
24 September: The Lexington, London

Ahead of their sold out headline date at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens, IMRO took the opportunity to present The Academic with an IMRO Award in recognition of their number one debut album ‘Tales From The Backseat’.

The IMRO Number 1 Award was introduced to acknowledge IMRO members who reach number 1 in the album charts here in Ireland.

It will be 3 years in October since The Academic released their debut EP ‘Loose Friends’ and in that short space of time, they now find themselves at the forefront of 2018’s breaking guitar bands, not just in Ireland but on the international stage. Debut album, ‘Tales From The Backseat’ which was released in January went straight to No.1 on its first week of release in the official album charts, a record which is brimming with uplifting pop hooks, sweet vocal harmonies and youthful exuberance. There is an irresistible charm, undeniable wit, and infectious personality that shines through with the band.  Leaping from mellow, artfully constructed melodic thoughtfulness into wild, explosive moments of raucous brilliance, there’s a surprise around every corner within the music and songwriting, all executed with an undeniable measure of passion and grit.

Racking up millions of streams online, selling out venues headline shows across the world, touring and opening for the likes of Twenty One Pilots, The Kooks, Noel Gallagher and The Strokes, it’s a far cry from the band’s early days, playing local battle of the bands competitions in Mullingar.

https://www.facebook.com/theacademic/

Sara Ryan releases her new single, the title track of her debut EP, ‘Glitter Skies’ on 13th September.

Sara has played to over 2,000 people this summer and has received a huge live response for her music from audiences all over Ireland, from extensively touring her Debut EP, “Glitter Skies”, throughout the country this year. Sara has sold out some of Ireland’s award winning venues. Sara is still currently touring her Debut EP, which contains her third single “Euphoric Recall”, which has been getting a huge amount of airplay all over Ireland from Roddie Cleere KCLR, Dj Ray WLR, KFM, Beat 102 103, Dublin City FM Sin E Radio Show, Fiachna O’Braonain RTE Radio One, Ruth Smith, John Creedon and Sara has received wonderful praise from critics such as GoldenPlec, REMY, Hot Press, the public and Maton Guitars, “we are delighted to have Sara on board”.

This summer Sara played the world renowned stage of the Doolin Folk Festival (White Horse Sessions Stage). This followed a busy 2017 when she released her debut single ‘Belle’, which won “Best New Comer” and “Best New Single” on Dublin CityFM, to top the year off, she was crowned ‘New Folk Artist of the Year’ at the prestigious Irish Folk Music Awards, alongside Damien Dempsey, Johnny McEvoy, The Druids and Aoife Scott. The Kildare-born songwriter, now based in Cork City, built a strong and loyal following touring with Mick Flannery, Jack L, John Spillane, Wally Page, Luka Bloom and Cry Monster Cry.

September 2018 sees the release of Sara’s third single, “Glitter Skies”. The title track of her debut EP. Outside Ireland beckons as Sara has been asked to play a show in Denmark, and will tour other European countries to promote her EP, “Glitter Skies”. Sara Ryan brings a soulful, blues infused and electrifying sound to Ireland that hasn’t been heard before. Sara plans to record her debut album in 2019.

Live Dates 

24th August – Debarras, Clonakilty, supporting Luka Bloom.
29th August – Aero Island, Denmark.
15th September – The Bowery, Rathmines, supporting Steo Wall.
21st September – Foust Gallery, Ennistymon, Co. Clare.
5th & 6th October – Cork Folk Festival, Cork.
20th October – Vonnys House, Lahinch, Co. Clare (House Concert)
26th October – Crane Lane, Cork Jazz Festival, Cork with Barry Wilson.
11th November – Record Break Ennis, Co. Clare
3rd December – Glor, Ennis. (Gig for Homelessness)

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Dublin based Alt. Rock quartet, FIELDS announce the release of their new single ‘Get Worse’.

Frontman Sean O’Brien talks about the track…”‘Get Worse’ underpins where I’ve been at in my life for quite some time, and where some people find themselves every single day. It’s borne out of this struggle with a sense of imposter syndrome, when you’re pulling one way, then another and all the while you feel like you should be somewhere else or someone else. We tried to explore that feeling with the track, its ups as well as its downs.”

Formed in 2016, FIELDS is an Irish collective whose members include Seán O’Brien, Killian Leahy, Emmet Casey, and Des Brodie. Over the past 24 months, the group has honed a sound which marries the intimacy of folk-enthused story-telling with powerful synth-driven melodies and carefully entwined harmonies.

The band draws creative influence from an eclectic spectrum of artists including The National, New Order, the Dubliners and Chance the Rapper, to name but a few.

FIELDS are currently finalising their debut album, which will feature singles ’22:22′ and the recently released ‘Some Kids’, with further track releases expected this autumn.

www.fieldstheboys.com