Author: Breffni Banks

‘Human Herdings’ is the new album from Irish artist Marc O’Reilly. It is a stunning collection of retro style electric grooves and acoustic driven folk/blues which perfectly blend Marc’s trademark husky vocals and razor sharp guitar style.

Following the release of his critically acclaimed debut album ‘My Friend Marx’, Marc has established himself as one of the exciting new generation of Irish breakthrough artists and seen him tour extensively in Europe, including appearances at major festivals like Glastonbury, Electric Picnic and Boardmasters, and squeezing in trips to the US to appear at the Live in the Vineyard Festival in California and Canada for CMW in Toronto.

His alter-ego side project, the electro-pop duo ‘R’, recently received excellent radio support for their debut single ‘Change’, making the BBC 6music playlist and gathering considerable spot plays from BBC Radio 1, Today FM etc as well as reaching No 1 on the Amazing Radio Chart.

For further info, visit: http://www.marcoreillymusic.com/

Marc will tour the UK and Ireland to support the release of ‘Human Herdings’.

March 27th – Dublin, Whelan’s

March 28th – Cork, Cyprus Avenue

March 29th – Lismore, Roses West End Bar

April 2nd – Bristol, The Louisiana

April 3rd – London, Servant Jazz Quarters

April 4th – Leicester, The Cookie Jar

April 5th – Nottingham, The Bodega

April 9th – Leeds, Brudenell 2

April 10th – Bury, The Met

April 11th- Newcastle, The Cluny

April 12th – Glasgow, King Tuts

Dublin-based The Crayon Set first came to prominence in 2011 when they won a national competition to play the main stage of the Benny & Jerry’s Music Festival in London (with the likes of Ash, Ocean Colour Scene and Fun Lovin’ Criminals).

The concept of the band, as the band name suggests, is to take different sounds and colours and to continually mould them into something new and fresh. The current 7 piece line-up features musicians from various backgrounds including rock, classical & jazz. In creating music, they often employ less traditional rock instruments including double bass, violin, piano, trumpet, harmonium, oboe, flute, cavaquinho, banjo etc and most of the band also chip in on vocals and harmonies. Energy, diversity & originality are important to the band in terms of song-writing and their live performances.

The Crayon Set self-released their debut album in April 2013. It was recorded in Leeders Farm Studios in the UK and their own home-built studio in Wicklow. It was mixed at Rockfield Studios.  It was co-produced by Nick Brine (Teenage Fanclub, Super Furry Animals, Oasis). The band have a DIY ethic – from the recording of the album, to the artwork and the release of their music.

Official Website: www.thecrayonset.com

The Crayon Set are releasing a new single “Attack” on 29th March.

It will be available as a FREE digital download from http://thecrayonset.bandcamp.com/

It is also available on ITunes, Spotify, AmazonMP3, Google Play and Rhapsody.

Soundcloud Stream: https://soundcloud.com/thecrayonset/attack

To coincide with the release the band will be playing their first gigs of 2014:

21st March – Crane Lane, Cork. Doors 11pm. Admission €0.

29th March – Whelans (Upstairs). Doors: 8pm. Admission €5.

(Special guests for both gigs = Carriages).

More dates to be announced shortly.

Irish singer-songwriter CARMEN is not one that’s unfamiliar to moving around. From moving to Silver Springs (US) to attend school in the early years of her life, she then joined the good people of county Cork further down the line, and has now resided in not one but two places to live – Dublin and London.

At 18, CARMEN won a place to study classical music at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London. But she’d always had an independent spirit and found herself increasingly frustrated in that environment. Her heart was elsewhere, so she packed her bags and left giving her the freedom to play the music she was really excited about.

CARMEN has recently been gaining steady industry support due to her distinct voice and writing style. Whilst ‘Take This Dance’ is the first track she is making available as a solo artist, she has toured, performed and recorded with many well-known acts including Sinead O’Connor, Andrea Corr, Noisettes, The Kooks, Kate Ceberano and she’s even played Reading and Leeds with metal singer Serj Tankien. CARMEN’s songwriting has been compared on numerous occasions to that of the classic singer-songwriters of the 1970’s.

‘Take This Dance’ features prominently in Ridley Scott Associates film ‘The Phone Call’ directed by Mat Kirkby, which stars Oscar winner Jim Broadbent and Sally Hawkins. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Fest in 2013 and so far has been shown at London BFI Film festival, Cork Film Festival and won the ‘Audience Appreciation Award’ at Leeds Film Festival. The song was produced by legendary Irish record producer John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, U2, Damien Dempsey).  ‘Take this Dance’ is a fragile heart laid bare for all to see, bittersweet yet full of hope…it’s the song you heard in your head when you first met at 21…the same tune you played when you tied the knot at 31…and the final tune you both danced to when you reached 101. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. – Mat Kirkby, Director, Ridley Scott Associates

Proceeds from the sale of ‘Take This Dance’ are being donated to CONSOLE the suicide and bereavement charity.  Established by Paul Kelly in 2002, Console provides a lifeline to those in crisis as well as to those who have suffered from bereavement. They have gained the support of other Irish musicians including Kodaline, Christy Moore and Frances Black as well as Brendan Gleeson and Miriam O’Callaghan.

The song is written and performed by CARMEN on vocals, piano and strings and features film composer Andy Wallace on harmonium and producer John Reynolds on drums.

Take This Dance will be available from 28 March for €0.99 through all digital platforms and iTunes.

For further info, visit www.carmenofficial.com

https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/take-this-dance/id807447735?i=807447784&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

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Ryan’s video for ‘Start Again’ has received over 373,000 hits on YouTube in less than a week and climbing.  The video has gone viral in the last couple of days.

‘Start Again’, was written to highlight some issues that are affecting young teenagers today by Ryan Dolan in the hope that he can offer them some inspiration. Ryan’s own teenage years were difficult as a gay ‘young Irish lad’ who was scared to come out and tell his friends and family that he was in fact gay. He was bullied at school because he was “different” and he often contemplated suicide.

Since Ryan’s huge success a year ago with his hit single ‘Only Love Survives’ which charted in over 32 countries globally, and made it into the top 10 single charts in Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Norway and top 40 in the Uk and Australia.    Ryan has been very busy recording with top producers in Ireland and London as well as writing with songwriters from various countries including the UK, Sweden, Norway and America. He has also been performing at festivals across Europe in countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Belguim and Holland.

His new single which is titled ‘Start Again’ delivers the message that everybody should be who they want to be in life, be happy with themselves, and if you are not happy with your life, don’t end it – simply start again.

For further info, visit www.ryandolanofficial.com

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/start-again-single/id814512497

On the 20th of April 2014 award winning Dublin band Dem Fools embark on their first international tour of Milan and Northern Italy.

Teaming up with young Italian three-piece “Rumor” – themselves hailing from the shores of Lago Maggiore, Dem Fools are set to play 5 shows in Italy, and return where the Irish leg of the tour commences May 4th with 5 gigs over 5 nights in Dublin.

The brainchild of Irish singer songwriter Ray Heffernan, this is the birth of a very special new project “Gigswig”. A simple concept based on an army of singer-songwriters, bands and musicians all fighting the good fight, striving to carve out a living and dreaming of foreign stages. Gigswig is making this a reality, giving both bands the chance to gain crucial experience living as touring musicians. It’s an opportunity to play an international tour, to share and learn with peers and hone their craft playing to international audiences.

A limited edition double EP featuring three tracks by each of the bands will be released on April (Dem) Fools Day which will be available through the bands social media sites and at shows.

Tour dates include:

Italy – 22nd April – Essattoria, Arona; 24th April – Durty Nelly’s, Borgomanero; 25th April – Agorá, Cusano Milanino; 26th April – Il Kantiere, Verbania

Dublin – 5th May – Balcony TV Dublin, 6th May – Whelan’s; 7th May – Zodiac Sessions, Bruxelles; 8th May – The Gypsy Rose; 9th May – Ollies Place, Skerries; 10th May – Michael Collins, Rush

For further info, visit: www.demfools.ie

Hips the fourth single from swords album Lions & Gold.

The video published by Smalltown America Music, featuring Katie McGann and Barry Tallon, follows an ambiguous relationship between two people and hints at how sometimes people’s lives are on repeat…

Direction & production comes from Neil Hoare.

Swords support Ham Sandwich in The Olympia Theatre on Sat April 19th.

Hips is available on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify now.

For more see www.swordsband.com