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Author: Breffni Banks

Featuring X release official video for Wild Love

featuring xIreland’s hotly-tipped teen, indie quintet ‘Featuring X’ unveil their official video which pays homage to the iconic 1985 classic Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted to Love’.

Although returning home exhausted due to their Leaving certificate examinations, the Drogheda-based band decided to “celebrate” day one in style by finally revealing the new video, which was directed by Gavin Kilduff.

The 6pm online announcement was made yesterday (Wed 4th June) by bassist Sarah McLaughlin, who says “We wanted to kick off the summer despite having the English Paper 1 and Homec to deal with, so we decided to release the video when we came home, there was such a great buzz online although I am sure many curse us today for being a distraction and missing last minute cramming!

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GANGS announce debut EP launch on July 31st

GANGS are delighted
GANGSto announce that they will be recording their debut EP with the Dublin label Reekus Records. Under the guidance of Brian Foley, bass player with iconic 80’s band The Blades, GANGS aim to bring their hard-hitting sound to a new level.  The teenage rock and roll quartet will begin recording this weekend and look forward to drawing on Foleys experience as both a musician and producer.

“We’re delighted to be working with Brian (Foley), he’s a hero of ours so we’re really excited about working with him. The Blades played a big part in our development as a band and we really look up to them.”  Jordan Curtis – GANGS Frontman

Speaking at the announcement, owner and founder of Reekus Records Elvera Butler had nothing but praise for the Dublin four-piece. “I am delighted to announce that Reekus will be working with GANGS for their debut EP. These four teenagers are extremely talented and will no doubt make big waves both here and abroad when this EP comes out. Without a single release they have been selling out venues around Dublin which is testament to their infectious music.”

The EP is an ode to Dublin and explores life and growing up in the capital through a younger vantage point.  The four tracks, each distinct yet bound by a common theme, document the tumultuous love affair between a young man coming of age and his city. From the upbeat opener ‘Daisy’, which deals with love of place, to the darker undertones captured in ‘There’s Poison In Your Liffey Blood’ the EP cycles through the entire emotional spectrum.

Like previous exports from Dublin City, GANGS too are proud of their hometown and heritage. Their music is passionate and full of anger towards the issues which are dragging down their homeland. With this EP they delve into the dark and gritty elements of life in Tallaght, highlighting the poison which has emptied streets and left youth feeling frustrated and hard done by.

UPCOMING GIGS

  • June 7th Sweeneys, Dublin (Retro Revival)
  • June 14 The Mercantile, Dublin
  • July 16 The Water Rats, London,
  • July 17 The Alley Cat, London

ABOUT GANGS

GANGS are a Rock n Roll four piece out of Dublin, made up of Jordan Curtis, Dan Smith, James Connolly, and Jonny Halpin. They came together as a band in 2012, backed by their collective appreciation for music and fashion. With a sound and style forged by friendship, talent and a dedication to their craft, the would-be rockers transported themselves to the top of the pile and are now regarded as one of Ireland’s hottest new musical prospects.

To date, GANGS have blown away crowds both at home and overseas with a host of sold out shows, the most notable of which being Other Voices Dingle and Derry, London’s far-famed Dublin Castle and The Great Escape festival.

GANGS draw inspiration from a wide range of musical icons, most notable of which being The Jam and The Blades. With captivating vocals, two classically trained guitarists and a hard-hitting drummer it’s easy to hear shades of everything from ‘60’s rock n roll’ right up to ‘80’s mod rock’ and beyond wrapped up in GANGS distinct style. They will be launching their debut EP on July 31 with two shows at Dublin’s Academy 2, one of which will be especially for under 18’s. Everyone is welcome to ‘Join the GANG’ on their quest for worldwide musical domination.

You can follow GANGS on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

We Banjo 3 release highly anticipated second album ‘Gather The Good’

we banjo 3To celebrate the recent release of Gather The Good, the second studio album by the award-winning band We Banjo 3, Music Network are hosting a Dublin launch event in Powerscourt Theatre, Dublin on Wednesday 2nd July 2014. The event is free but has limited capacity. Email admin@nullmusicnetwork.ie for tickets.
Consisting of two pairs of brothers from Galway – David and Martin Howley and Enda and Fergal Scahill – We Banjo 3 have been impressing audiences around the world since the release of their 2012 album Roots of the Banjo Tree (winner of The Irish Times Traditional Album of the Year).

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Winners Announced: West Cork Chamber Music Festival / Contemporary Music Centre Composition Competition 2014

2014_wcm_inviteThe winners of this year’s West Cork Chamber Music Festival in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre Composition Competition 2014 have been announced, as follows:

Patrick Connolly for Extracts of music from the room next door,

Sean Doherty for Arche,

Christopher McAteer for Intaglio

Amy Rooney for Foreground Background.

The selected works will be premiered at the 2014 West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which runs from Friday 27 June to Saturday 5 July, as well as being presented at the Festival’s Young Composers Forum, directed by Deirdre Gribbin, on Saturday 28 June. The composer of each selected composition will be awarded a bursary of €500.

The West Cork Chamber Music Festival in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre has held a competition for young Irish composers for the last five years. Each year, works for chamber ensembles have been selected to be performed in concert during the Festival and as part of the Festival’s public workshop programme. The competition has been a valuable opportunity for young composers to work with professional performers, to receive guidance from a leading composer and to hear their works performed. The West Cork Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition is supported by IMRO.

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IMRO Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Giveaway

IMRO customer, hugh lynch'sHugh Lynch’s,
recently became the second winner of our Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Giveaway.

From time to time IMRO like to inform our customers about promotional events, business initiatives and award schemes etc. being undertaken by IMRO in its role of fostering music creation and promoting the use and value of music to the business and cultural communities.

To find out more about how music can add value to your business, and be in with a chance to be next month’s winner of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, simply send your email address, name, business name, address and account number to customer@nullimro.ie.

Pictured here receiving the prize from Karl Kinsella, Licensing Sales Manager at IMRO, is Emmet Lynch of  Hugh Lynch’s in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

IMRO Licensee Competition Terms & Conditions

Rocstrong wins Alcatel/HotPress ‘Big Break’ competition

rocstrongRocstrong has been taking Irish radio by storm after the release of his first single Go Head in January 2014.
It has reached Music Blogs like REDBULL, NIALLER 9, STATE.IE PHANTOM FM, TXFM,  DCFM, 98FM, TODAY FM, RTE 2FM  along with a long list of others!
Rocstrong Talks about his life as a singer/songwriter and what to expect on the EP in THIS weeks issue!!

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IMRO Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 March Giveaway

IMRO customer, photo (2)Rhubarb Café/Deli, recently became the third winner of our Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Giveaway.

From time to time IMRO like to inform our customers about promotional events, business initiatives and award schemes etc. being undertaken by IMRO in its role of fostering music creation and promoting the use and value of music to the business and cultural communities.

To find out more about how music can add value to your business, and be in with a chance to be next month’s winner of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, simply send your email address, name, business name, address and account number to customer@nullimro.ie.

Pictured here receiving the prize from Karl Kinsella, Licensing Sales Manager at IMRO, is Robert Callow of  Rhubarb Café/Deli in Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin earlier this week.

IMRO Licensee Competition Terms & Conditions

Vann Music release new single “Tina”

VannIreland’s most exciting up and coming electro-pop act VANN MUSIC make waves yet again with another explosive song and unique video written by Bobby McGlynn and Bryan Quinn (whose previous work includes the Rubberbandits’ “Dad’s Best Friend”), and directed by Myles O’ Reilly (Lisa Hannigan etc.) for their latest single “Tina”. The track is a guaranteed festival earworm with synthy hooks, an infectious chorus, and unstoppable beats that will keep you dancing all summer long.

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PictureHouse sign record deal with Cherry Red Records

PictureHousePictureHouse are delighted to announce they’ve signed with Cherry Red Records and will release a remastered and repackaged edition  of “Evolution” in July through the British record label. The first release is a remixed version of Hello which is due out on June 23rd.

Following the success of the single “rules of science” which was playlisted on BBC Radio 2, RTE Radio 1 and dozens of other stations including stations in Cyprus, Romania, Latvia and Indonesia and which garnered support from the likes of Irish rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll, a spokesperson for the band today said “We’re absolutely delighted to have teamed up with Cherry Red Records.

Their experienced and passionate team are the perfect fit for us and we’re looking forward to working with them on this release and to continue the momentum that we’ve started to build in the UK this year. ‘Hello’ was co-written with Lasse Anderson in Dublin, recorded by Adam Kviman (who’s other credits include “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry) in Sweden, and remixed in March by long time collaborator Pete Glenister in London. Pete worked extensively with PictureHouse in the mid 90’s producing 2 albums and co-writing a number of songs including “Sunburst”.Catch the band live at The Button Factory on July 30th.

Tickets on sale from www.picturehouse.ie

The Songwriter Club announce new session details

Songwriter Club - Camden SessionsThere will be a Songwriter Club meeting at The Camden Sessions in Anseo on Camden Street. This is another unplugged music venue which sees the group have it’s usual meeting on Tuesday 10th June from 8pm followed by an open mic night. Guest speaker on the night will be David Wilkinson from the Marketing & Membership Department of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO). The idea behind the club is to bring songwriters together every couple of months to chat about all sorts of songwriting stuff, share ideas, set up collaborating groups and also to have fun getting to know each other. There will also be special guests from different areas of the industry. All songwriters, whatever the genre, whatever the standard are welcome to attend.

Sinead McNally and Keith McLoughlin set up The Songwriter Club which has been running in Dublin since October 2011. They get musicians to meet up and get chatting about the music industry, the lives of songwriters and much more.

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