Author: Danny Carroll

Driven Snow release “Flickers Of You” (FIFA Records / Driven Snow Music) their third and final offering in 2022.

Slinky, subtle and laid back, “Flickers Of You” is a musical exploration of the quieter parts of a long-term relationship. Emerging from a songwriting exercise (with reference to the Periodic Table) that Kieran had immersed himself, the tune only really started to come together when Emily walked into the room, added the vocal chorus and left again…one of those random moments of magic that all of the best songs rely on.

As with its predecessors, this song was recorded in Attica Studios with Tommy MacLaughlin – who used a basic drum machine as guide percussion for the tune but instead of it being replaced with something more sophisticated, as was intended, it became the perfect foil for the accompanying instrumentation and melody.

Driven Snow’s releases over the year have brought them a steadily increasing level of coverage including a feature in Sunday Times Magazine and airplay throughout Ireland (including National playlists on RTE and BBC NI) as well as plays across the UK and as far afield as USA, Canada, France and Spain.

‘Flickers Of You’ is released on 25th November and Driven Snow will be playing their first live shows up close and very intimate in early 2023! Shows so far confirmed are:

Saturday 21 January – Kasbah, Limerick

Friday 17 February – Coughlans, Cork

Saturday 18 February – Levi’s Cornerhouse, Ballydehob, Co Cork

Saturday 25 February – The Workmans Cellar, Dublin

Doppler’s summer single “ It’s Your Fault Too” was on heavy rotation on Irish radio and made the RTÉ Radio 1’s Recommend List for several weeks and was consistently in the Top 5 of the Monthly Airplay chart throughout May & June. John Creedon played the track on his show 2 nights in a row and compared their sound to that of The Waterboys. Coincidentally Doppler played a sold out Ballina Arts Centre alongside The Waterboys legendary fiddle player Steve Wickham in recent weeks as well as playing support for Alabama 3’s Irish tour. International dates and festival slots for 2023 are on the horizon for the 6 piece Alternative/Irish/Folk/Pop/Rock act.

After Hot Press premiered Doppler’s debut single ” A Memory” the video sparked a “phenomenal reaction” according to HP’s A&R Dept main man Stuart Clark. The Specials guitarist Horace Panter also struck an unlikely connection with Doppler and is now a legit fan after stumbling across them. “A Memory” spent several weeks at the top of the RTÉ Monthly Airplay Chart and the track has since amassed over 125,000 plays on Spotify. Doppler signed a publishing deal with the Dublin based music publishing company The Nucleolus.

Following an influential recording session in Clew Bay Studios in Westport with multi award winning & double platinum selling Polish producer Bart de Boer (EMI/Universal), Doppler’s 3nd single
“Wait A Long Time For You ” was born. With well renowned Raph Dziubinski (Joe Cocker/ Average White Band/ Simply Red) on percussion and Kevin Donnellan (BRÍDÍN) laying his incredibly rich & diverse sound on fiddle, it was just a matter of days before the track was completed.

“The subject matter in “ Wait A Long Time For you” attempts to address the complexities of melancholy, a recurring theme for Doppler. “Me and Mick put this together over a Sunday afternoon lyrically. We wanted to integrate elements of time into the melancholic atmosphere of the lyrics to juxtapose the upbeat feel the music has, similar to the idea of Alone Again Naturally by Gilbert O Sullivan. The song is about waiting for something to happen in your life but then nothing happens. It’s a sad song but writing it with Mick and making it what it is now brought us some real joy. We feel there’s a lot going on in such a short space of time which currently reflects our own personal life experiences. As always, music helps us get through these challenges. We intend to keep moving forward.”

Doppler have shared the stage with the likes of Gavin James, Alabama 3, Neil Hannon, Cathy Davey, The Blizzards & The Saw Doctors and have also performed with Oasis’ cult member Bonehead on several occasions. They’re also winners of the IMRO Clancy Brother Song Contest.

The video was filmed and produced by award winning Irish filmmaker Fionn Rogers. The stunningly crafted piece features a mockumentary of two talented snooker players who are on the verge of global success in the late 1970’s. The two childhood friends have put Ballina on the world map and seem to be winning tournaments across the globe for fun. Now the two sportsmen meet in the World Championship Final after despatching the likes of Hurricane Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White. Can they make history?

“We just wanted to enjoy the process of making music videos and this is exactly what we wanted to create. We want to enjoy our time writing songs as this is a special thing and we want it to be joyful. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it ” – explains Mick Dempsey.

“This feels like the start of something new for us both and we’re excited to see what people think of our new songs. We just want to be as prolific as we can and let our music do the talking for us. We’re so thankful and grateful for the support we’ve received”- Mulrooney

Doppler release ‘Wait A Long Time For You’ on 8th November.

The Rosecaps are a three-piece independent rock band from Loughrea, Co. Galway and have been writing music together since 2019. The band released their debut EP ‘Before You Grab Your Cigar’ in early 2021 which amassed over 45,000 Spotify streams and featured their first single ‘1800 Hours’. They later released their second single ‘The Wall’ in mid 2022.

Consisting of Daniel O’Malley on guitar, Shane Fahy on keys and Emmet Feerick on drums, the group began as childhood friends. Realizing that they had a shared love of music, they began writing songs together and playing gigs as a way to fund their nights out. Taking inspiration from bands such as The Killers, Arctic Monkeys and The Cure, they each contribute equally in their songwriting process, whether it be lyrically or musically.

The Rosecaps aim to keep releasing music with plans to record again in the near future, as well as plans to play their original songs in venues all across the country.

They also aim to record a full-length album from their extensive backlog of material.  Some of the group’s most noteworthy live performances include playing the Róisín Dubh on numerous occasions, and opening for Chasing Abbey, Wild Youth, and Hudson Taylor in Shannonbridge at various stages in 2022.

Empty Wrappers stands out amongst previous releases from The Rosecaps as the bands most unique track to date. The song has a much more laid-back feel and is a slight diversion from the usual high-energy tracks that the band put out.

Empty Wrappers is a track written by the band about a hopeless romantic fixating on his ideal soulmate. However, the main character of the song takes every opportunity to cynically question his own originality and reality. He grapples with the age-old clichés surrounding his situation as he tries to separate fact from fiction.

The beginning of the song feels stripped back and bare, with just an acoustic guitar plucking chords and a lead vocal. As the song progresses, more and more layers of instruments are gradually added resulting in a swelling climax that almost sounds unrecognizable when compared to the beginning of the song. The band creates a bitter-sweet feeling and even a sense of nostalgia via the chord progression and the arrangement of instruments.

The Rosecaps release ‘Empty Wrappers’ on 4th November 2022.

The Strabane singer/songwriter, who originally hails from the rural countryside of Castlederg, returns with his brand new single ‘Irish Whiskey On The Shelf’, following up on his chart-topping Irish country hits ‘The Farmer Wants A Wife’, ‘There’s Irish in Our Eyes’, and ‘Cotton Eye Joe’.

In recent times, Lee, like many, never envisaged having to take his band off the road, but because of the COVID pandemic, Lee had to do just that. Not one to give up, Lee worked hard behind the scenes, song writing. Coming up with some new modern American Country style songs as well as his signature Irish sounds, of which ‘Irish Whiskey On The Shelf’ is certainly one of those.

As the pandemic dragged on into its second year, Lee decided to get together with writing partner Pete and finish one of the American songs. In December 2021, Lee had completed production on the first of the new American songs. Lee’s manager, Paul, sent the song off to long time music contact in London David Howells, who was busy working with on Ed Sheeran’s latest number one single at the time. David saw something special in the song and, like Lee, agreed it would be suitable for an artist like Tim McGraw. The London contact knew this all too well, being the manager of a producer with fifty-seven number one UK singles; his team had worked with Tim on a previous US Billboard number one ‘Leave it with me’ and after a few nervous weeks, he got back to Lee with the news that a major Nashville publisher wanted to speak to him, and by March, Lee had signed the deal on his first ever pitch to a Nashville publisher. The publisher was extremely impressed with not just the overall production elements but also the level of the song lyrically, coming from a young man in Ireland talking about American life. I guess Lee’s early international experience working on other music projects in the US, London, and Stockholm, working alongside people like Steve Mac and Wayne Hector, all added to his experience.

Lee has since delivered another song using the services of top Nashville musicians and Grammy-nominated Nashville producer Matt Troja. “The plan now,” Lee says, “is to get over to Nashville and work on the next few songs I’ve already completed”.

Back to his own career as an Irish performer and artist in his own right, Lee, who never forgets where he came from, decided to revisit an Irish style song he wrote that he had on the back burner.

He finished the song ‘Irish Whiskey On The Shelf’, working again with Jonathan Owens, who has produced all Lee’s major hits.

The self-penned song is influenced by ‘The Boys of Bluehill’ – a reel that dates back over a century ago. As well as a terrific melody the upbeat sing-along floor filler has it all! Lee has written a fantastic story of a man who needs to get away from the pressures of modern day life, touching on the social culture of a real vibrant Irish pub, which is something we Irish near and far know all too well. And in this instance, there is more to it than just the Irish whiskey on the shelf.

Lee Matthews releases his new single ‘Irish Whiskey On The Shelf’ on Friday 4th November.