In celebration of the release of his new single, “I Believe”, Kormac is inviting his fans to create a summer remix of the track.
Written by Kormac in his Dublin studio last year, “I Believe” combines spiritual jazz and old gospel recordings with a modern, electronic touch.
Now, the multi-instrumentalist and DJ is handing the stems over to you, the fans. The winner of the competition, selected by Kormac himself, will get their remix released to his extensive audience (including 80,000 monthly listeners on Spotify).
Jealous of the Birds is the solo project of hotly tipped Irish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Naomi Hamilton.
Hailing from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, Jealous of the Birds emerged from the vibrant suburban folk scene, alongside acts such as Ciaran Lavery and Silences. Naomi quietly unleashed her debut EP Capricorn in March 2015, where her wonderfully understated bedroom indie-folk won her an ever-growing legion of support. The entire EP is a stunning lo-fi collection of tunes recalling Girlpool, Karen Dalton, Cat Power, Laura Marling and even The Moldy Peaches at times.
Her debut album Parma Violets, matched introspective indie-folk with fiery post-punk. Equal parts light and shade, the songs are poignant and vulnerable, bursting with honesty and raw passion. Describing her music she has said; “My only hope is that the songs sound like a real friend talking.”
This new song, “Mrs Dalloway” is a development of Naomi’s songwriting, arrangement and production ideas and was written after listening to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles.
Naomi on Mrs Dalloway:
“It grew out of my fascination with Virginia Woolf’s novel and the dichotomy between how a person presents themselves to others and how they actually feel. Part of Mrs Dalloway’s desire to be the perfect party host is motivated by the need for a distraction from her turbulent inner life. That’s something I often recognise in myself and other people which coloured the song.”
SomeRiseSomeFall – the talent-laden quintet comprised of Ger Wolfe, Annette Buckley, Hank Wedel, Martin Leahy & Edel Sullivan celebrate the release of their Grateful-Dead-inspired album “Some Climb”, this summer.
Described as ‘music for the human condition’, this album offers the superb rendering of rare Americana gems from the canon of the Grateful Dead and artists who influenced them – including Allen Toussaint, Greg Trooper, Rev. Gary Davis and Jorma Kaukonen, to name a few. The talents of Wolfe, Buckley, Wedel, Leahy & Sullivan give a delicious new voice to these ‘lost songs for lost souls.’
The SomeRiseSomeFall ensemble is an unique musical venture, based on the vision of Cork-based music lover Michael Fitzgerald. The project aims to reach out with indigenous musical talent to highlight positive initiatives in two key areas – mental health awareness & support, and social and community programmes to improve the daily lives of those stuck in the limbo existence of the Direct Provision system.
SOME CLIMB is available now from www.somerisesomefall.com and for download from iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and all other music sites.
Dublin Pop – R’n’B artist TADGH is set to release his next single ‘danger.’ this coming June 10th on all digital music platforms. The track itself is a lively upbeat self produced pop song with flavours of RnB-soul throughout. It’s another funky offering from the young writer/producer that will fit nicely into your summer playlists.
He plays Dublin’s Tivoli theatre for BIMM live on June 9th and will perform a 20 minute set showcasing at least four new tracks including itself ‘danger.’
Following the release TADGH will host a headline midnight hour performance at Whelan’s, Dublin to celebrate with support from fellow BIMM graduate Laura Keane, doors are at 11.00pm with free before 10.30pm and €10 general admission to Whelan’s after.
TADGH is one of Dublin’s most hotly-tipped singer-songwriter/producers, having performed his debut single ‘Bad Move’ on RTE’s ‘Saturday Night with Miriam’ and with continued success with his last release ‘OkayLove’ reaching over to 70,000 streams and counting via Spotify.
TADGH is set to release his debut EP this coming autumn, he is one of many rising names on the Irish music scene to come out of BIMM Dublin and with plenty of new music, exciting announcements and much more to come; 2017 is shaping up to be a very busy and bright year for TADGH.
New Irish indie-electro band Franco Fire are set to release their debut EP at the end of June featuring the track “Forget” below.
Franco Fire are fronted by Marc O’Reilly who has had some previous solo success with his track ‘Bleed’ now streamed over 1.3 million times on Spotify and about to be featured in the soundtrack of a major movie.
Franco Fire have been formed from the ashes of the band ‘R’ who had some success a few years ago when their debut single ‘Change’ received considerable airplay support in the UK from BBC Radio 1 & 2, 6music and reached No 1 on the Amazing Radio Chart.
If there were any doubts that the Blizzards return was a definitive one, they’ve shattered them all. Between an 11 date sold out Back to Basics tour (where they returned to all of the Irish cities in which they originally built their following), an all-time high of Spotify plays, and brand new single “Show Me The Science”, the Mullingar five-piece have made it clear – they’re here to stay.
The Blizzards have partnered up again with producer Philip Magee (The Script, Kodaline) to create a synth-heavy, 80’s anthem. “Show Me The Science” is the fourth single from the band’s forthcoming album, due later this year.
Lead singer Niall Breslin explains, “The initial lyric idea came from an interview I was listening to on the radio about how we can now use algorithms to find love and I thought to myself, ‘that’s a load of sh*t’. I think trying to equate love to science almost takes the magic out of it. The song also comes from the idea that everything seems to have been vilified by science. I’d like to think that there are still things in the world that we are not meant to fully understand.”
The song is heavily 80’s influenced and Bressie adds, “I’ve always had a deep love of power pop. I wanted to add that retro sound but still keep it sounding like the Blizzards. It was so much fun recording and producing this and we wanted to get that across in the tune.” And as for that unforgettable saxophone solo by award winning jazz musician, Ben Castle? “We personally feel there is not enough sax solos in modern pop music. We wanted to help try bring back the glory of the sax solo as it’s the worlds sexiest instrument… just behind bag pipes!”
The group have an array of tour dates, including many Irish festivals, this summer and have their first massive outdoor show of the summer on June 17 when they support The 1975 in Malahide Castle.
“Show Me The Science” is available everywhere on July 7!
Upcoming Tour Dates:
June 3rd – Leixlip Festival
June 4th – Bandon Festival
June 10th – Strabane Summer Jamm
June 17th – Malahide Castle, supporting the 1975
July 7th – Club Creation, Dungarvan
July 14th – Mallow Racecourse
July 15th – Castlecomer Festival, Kilkenny
August 4th – Le Cheile
August 12th – Revival Festival, Listowel
Cormac O Caoimh is has just release his 4th solo album “Shiny Silvery Things”, which charted in the official IRMA charts. The first single , track 1, “Second Hand Clothes” has already reached over 2 million listeners over 40 radio stations in Ireland, UK and Europe. And he has just finished his tour and CD launch gig with a sold out show in Triskel Christchurch.
Following on from “The Moon Loses Its Memory”(2014), which received high acclaim from National Press such as The Times, Mojo Magazine, The Star, Hotpress and countless more, O Caoimh’s intimate vocals and exquisite guitar playing has attracted the attention of musicians and music lovers alike and the new album will carry on this tradition.
Unlike his previous 3 albums this is not a concept album. Or maybe that is the concept. This is an old-school album. A collection of fine songs, some fast, some slow, some personal, some fictional but sewn together sonically and lyrically by his inimitable songwriting and guitar playing. Lyrically the album explores a variety of influences too. Many are personal songs while others influenced by books and others are based on fictional characters, stories and scenarios in Cormac’s head. But all the songs are uniquely Cormac O Caoimh songs that have the strange knack off hitting home and appearing personal and relevant to the listener.
This album has more musicians playing on it than other Cormac O Caoimh LP’s. Aoife Regan is back on vocal duties and Colum Pettit is playing violin. Martin Leahy and Dave Donovon are on drumming duties, Cormac O Connor on bass and keys, Eoghan Regan on electric guitar and John O Connor on saxophone for one track. The album was recorded and produced in Maple Room Studios by Cormac O Connor and partly in Cormac O Caoimh’s attic. It was mixed by Adam Whittaker (who has mixed Julian Cope, Doves, The Damned and many more) and mastered by Dolan Whelan at Hafod Mastering.
With career-long comparisons to Prefab Sprout, Lloyd Cole and Elvis Costello, O Caoimh has a style and panache on this new album that will etch a little nook in your life like a lifelong friend that you turn to when you want to unwind. On Tracks such as ‘Second Hand Clothes’: “Your soul’s second hand clothes, worn through at the knees and elbows, try teach… Teach me a sadness, that fits you, fits you like old shoes” and ‘Silence and Sound’: “Time is like a church, its signs remind me… Light and Darkness form shapes. Colours born and worn make shadows and shades remind me”, the lyrics draw you in the same way as turning the first pages of a bestselling book you won’t want to put down.
Session Motts launch their new single “Plundered Past” on 30 May 2017, the second of a number of releases in 2017. A hyper-bright, emotional dance record inspired by the darkest subject imaginable. The song is accompanied by a video shot in Larne, Co. Antrim by film-makers Adam Hart, Richard Deering and Sinead O’Quigley, and is based on the true story of the 1988 unsolved murder of 18-year-old German backpacker Inga-Maria Hauser, whose body was found in a forest elsewhere in Co. Antrim. Despite its tragic inspiration, Plundered Past is an uptempo dancefloor stormer intended as a defiant celebration of a life cut short.
Session Motts’ trademark 80s-Modern sound – a hybrid of Post-Punk, Northern Soul, Disco and Burt Bacharach – was first heard on their debut single Chip Shop Fights, released in January this year. Nialler9 quickly named Session Motts ‘New Artist of the Week’ in The Irish Times, and the group soon picked up similar accolades from DublinLive.ie and DublinConcerts.ie. The song also gained regular airplay on RTÉ1, Newstalk, 98FM, Radio Nova, 8Radio and Dublin City FM, via, among others, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Tom Dunne and Gavin Glass.
The reaction to Chip Shop Fights, from both media and fans alike, was overwhelmingly positive. As a result, although originally intended as a studio-only project, Session Motts are now playing live.
LIVE GIGS
Thursday 15 June – Harbour Bar, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Friday 14 July – Whelans, Wexford Street. Dublin 2
There has always been Celts in Vienna. From the earliest tribes to the Irish monks that founded the Schottenstift in the 12th Century and beyond. Through music, song, literature, language and art, and in recognition of the many peoples who have helped carve out Vienna’s unique identity, the Schottenfest is a contemporary Gaelic Celtic festival to celebrate Vienna’s past, its present and the rich history between Austria, Ireland and Scotland. Founded in 2016 and based on an idea by Shane Ó Fearghail to reintroduce Vienna to it’s Gaelic past, links that stretched over 1,000 years back to Ireland and Scotland, the Schottenfest was realized by Shane Ó Fearghail (Ire), Stuart Neville (Scotland) and Mark Peters (Ire/Eng). With the help of a great crew, solo sponsors and wonderful support, the festival has grown legs.
Following on from the success of the very first Schottenfest in 2016, organisers are very happy to announce that Schottenfest 2017 is going ahead and will take place this year from November 29th – December 3rd in various locations around the city. Where they will once more present live musical events as well as cultural presentations, all of which were a big hit at last years festival. They look forward to Schottenfest 2017 and will announce their lineup soon.
Following their wonderful performance on the final Late Late Show of the season, lifelong friends and Irish country music legends Big Tom & Margo release a special duet entitled “A Love That’s Lasted Through The Years”. It has been an ambition of Margo’s to record a duet with Big Tom for many years. Notable songwriter Shunie Cramsey created a poignant and touching song for the King and Queen of Country and Irish and it’s as beautiful as we would expect from two of Ireland’s million-selling artists.
Big Tom began singing in London pubs in the early 60s and went on to become a breaking star with the release of “Gentle Mother” with The Mainliners in 1966. He toured UK and Ireland throughout the 60s and 70s until forming The Travellers in 1978. Big Tom has been a household name synonymous with country music success and continues to delight fans as he approaches his 81st birthday this September.
Margo O’Donnell started her career in music while singing as a young teenager with the popular show band The Keynotes in 1964. She released “Bonny Irish Boy / Dear God” in 1968 and her star rose quickly. Margo went solo in 1969 with backed by her own band The Country Folk. Margo found massive success as a solo singer, selling over a million records in a short period. Margo achieved 50 years in show business in 2014 and released her “50 Songs For 50 Years” collection.
