Author: Press Officer

Santa Claus is Rockin’ (Bradley Gillis) is a charity Christmas single written by Glen Shire, Limerick in aid of Barnardos. It was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin and includes an array of the best musicians in the business who have worked with The Corrs, Andrew Llyod Webber, Imelda May, Chris Rea, Van Morrison, Westlife, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mike and the Mechanics and many more. It was executive produced by Simon Shire and vocals were recorded by Bradley Gillis from New York. 

The accompanying music video was shot by director Maurice Linnane who worked on documentaries for the Foo Fighters, U2 and the Cranberries. 

It was officially launched at Windmill Lane on Fri 23, November. From preliminary reviews on YouTube and by leading Irish and UK DJs, it is widely anticipated it will become a Christmas standard for many years to come. 

It is available to purchase on iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon and will shortly be in Tower Records, Wicklow Street and O’Connell Street, Dublin and Savins Music, O’Connell Street, Limerick.

Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), Neon Trees, Iggy Pop, Ryan Bingham, Eve, Carly Simon, Hunter Hayes, and Many More Round Out Judging Panel

 Unsigned Only Music Competition today announced its judging panel for the 2013 competition, which is now accepting entries. The panel of judges consists of the top echelon of recording artists and music journalists, representing the ten categories of popular music covered by the competition.Founders/Directors Candace Avery and Jim Morgan noted, “We are gearing up for another great year of Unsigned Only with even more judges, bigger cash prizes, and another great opportunity to bridge the gap between unsigned artists and the music industry executives who could potentially influence and elevate their careers.”

Designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major label record company, Unsigned Only’s goal is to find an outstanding, talented performing artist: a band, singer, or solo artist…a newcomer or veteran…raw or polished – the “gem” that needs to be discovered. Unsigned Only is looking for the total package. The Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $10,000 in cash (plus additional prizes) and one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. First Place and Second Place winners will also be selected in each category. Entries are being accepted now until March 14, 2013.  Categories include: AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Christian Music, Country, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop/Top 40, Teen, and Vocal Performance.

Launched in 2011 by the founders of the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), Unsigned Only is a fresh and novel approach to other music competitions. Not only does it offer great prizes, recognition, exposure, and the chance to be heard by a group of judges consisting of high-profile recording artists and industry professionals, but it also takes it a step further and offers the Grand Prize winner the unprecedented opportunity to be mentored by a group of record company presidents, A&R reps, and more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for an artist to directly network with the highest level of record company professionals and get guidance, advice, feedback, and networking opportunities.

2012 Grand Prize winner Lara Johnston states, “being the Grand Prize winner of Unsigned Only has been a definite high point of my career thus far. The mentoring opportunities provided by Unsigned Only are nothing short of incredible: I’ve had in-depth conversations and meetings with the uppermost gatekeepers and leaders of the music industry. Since winning Unsigned Only, I’ve garnered invaluable advice from a rich variety of perspectives, and I’ve had the chance to start relationships with people who can truly help me in my career. I’m excited to see where this all takes me and I would urge any aspiring artist to enter this year’s competition – you never know, you might be the next Grand Prize winner!”

The judging panel is comprised of an impressive group of recording artists and top-level music journalists. They include: Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders); Cyndi Lauper; Iggy Pop; Carly Simon; John Oates (Hall & Oates); Eve; 3 Doors Down; Neon Trees; Brandi Carlile; Hunter Hayes; Manchester Orchestra; Black Francis (The Pixies); Ryan Bingham; Faith Evans; David Crowder; Craig Morgan; Robert Smith (The Cure); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Of Monsters and Men; Wynonna; Aaron Shust; Kirko Bangz; G. Love; Jason Gray; Dustin Lynch; The Mountain Goats; Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Vanessa Satten (Editor-In-Chief, XXL Magazine); Christopher Weingarten (Senior Editor, Spin); and Chris Richards (Pop Music Critic, The Washington Post).

The panel of mentors who have signed on to participate is equally impressive. Included are: Monte Lipman (President of Universal Republic Records); Pete Ganbarg (Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); Shawn Holiday (Senior VP of A&R, RCA Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing); Josh Bailey (Sr. VP of A&R, Word Label Group); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Allison B. Jones (VP of A&R, Big Machine Label Group); Lisa Ramsey-Perkins (Senior Director of A&R, Sony Music Nashville); and more to be announced.

All entries must be original music except for the Vocal Performance and Teen categories, which allow original or cover songs.

Web: http://www.unsignedonly.com

A NEW recording of Slade’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ by an Irish band??? Are you MAD, has someone here lost the plot???!!!???

Well yes a little bit maybe, but it just had to be done and the time was right and the time is now!

An updated version of Slade’s iconic Christmas hit with an Irish flavour was inevitable and who better to take it on than the recently reformed In Tua Nua. Lead singer Leslie Dowdall gives a rip roaring performance and violinist Conn Woolridge chips in on vocals for the middle eight. Produced by the band’s drummer Paul Byrne who also provides the Beatles style harmonies on the chorus, In Tua Nua have sprinkled their unique blend of musical glitter over everybody’s all-time favourite Christmas tune to pump new life into this old tune and produce a fresh, vibrant, fun record that will see it played off the air for yet ANOTHER 40 years to come…

Okay, altogether now: IT’S CHRIIIIISSSTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!

And……all proceeds go to CHILDLINE

Merry Christmas Everybody

Available from iTunes

Release date Nov 30^th 2012

Young musicians from Kirkos Ensemble will perform a range of recent and new Irish works at the Contemporary Music Centre’s next new music::new Ireland salon concert on Thursday 29 November.

The programme of solos, duos and trios for varying combinations of violin, viola, cello and piano, features six works composed over the last eight years and includes two world premieres.  The pieces take their inspiration from sources as diverse as Pythagoras’ music of the spheres (Linda Buckley), Arabic and Persian poetry (Raymond Deane) and German artist Gerhard Richter (Jonathan Nangle).  Kevin O’Connell’s Strike for violin and cello and Garrett Sholdice’s The Grass of Yen is Growing Green and Long for viola and piano will be heard for the first time.

Established in April 2012, Kirkos is a contemporary music ensemble founded and run by students of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, with the support of the RIAM.  Aiming to expose young people to all kinds of contemporary music, the ensemble has already gained attention for its work championing new music, particularly that of young Irish composers, and performed as part of the Contemporary Music Centre’s Culture Night ‘happening’ in September.

CMC’s new music::new Ireland salon series aims to encourage newcomers and enthusiasts alike to engage with the music Irish composers.  Each performance takes place in an informal atmosphere with dialogue encouraged between composer, performers and audience.

Admission to the concert is free but booking is strongly recommended.  To book contact the National Concert Hall (tel: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie)

‘Sandy’, the new single from Miss Paula Flynn is now available on iTunes and via Miss Paula Flynn’s bandcamp site.  Moved by the plight of families whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy, the Irish singer has agreed to donate any monies raised from the download to Red Cross America to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Miss Paula Flynn is from Northern Ireland and she is best known as the voice from a TV advert for mineral water which featured her version of David Bowie’s hit ‘Let’s Dance’, Released as a single, it quickly reached number 1. The song also won a Shark Award for best music used in an advert.

In 2009 she independently released her first solo album entitled ‘Miss Paula Flynn’ picking up nothing less than four out of five stars from Irish reviewers. The video for ‘Holiday In Sweden’ – taken from the album – was nominated in the Best Solo Female category of the IMTV Irish Music Video Awards. 2013 will see the release of it’s follow up in which the music takes a decidedly more vintage country feel.

Musically Miss Paula Flynn bridges the divides between Bjork and Hank Williams, with songs that love a good story and come delivered with the sultry passion that is the hallmark of her vocal style.

Miss Paula combines her love for music and radio with a weekly show called ‘The C Word’ (C for Country) on RTE’s digital station 2XM which Hot Press (Irelands most successful music magazine) described as ‘the best show on radio’.

The track available for download from: http://misspaulaflynn.bandcamp.com/track/sandy
 

“This Irish singer has a voice that is crystal clear and light as air, yet strong and expressive. Miss Paula Flynn sounds like that perfect pastry tastes. She makes you feel, she makes stories, and she tells stories. Grab a glass of milk or a cup of coffee and indulge”. – Boriss M., New York Fashion magazine Ouch

“An enchanting balladeer, Miss Paula Flynn is blessed with crystal clarity of expression reminiscent of classic country singers such as June Carter Cash and more contemporary exponents like Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis”. – Event Guide, Ireland

“Miss Paula Flynn, is one of Ireland’s most interesting emerging artists. Her debut album- Miss Paula Flynn – is a beguiling listen, and marks Paula out as a serious talent. Here is a singer of rare, unaffected talent”. – The Connacht Tribune

Pale blue Jak have just released an original animated music video for their song “Mr Ace”. The video is directed and animated by Aidan McAteer.

The album “Faces” by “Pale blue Jak” comes from the imagination of Neil Byrne and each of the songs feature a delightful mix of character stories, personal experiences and eventful situations performed by a group of exceptional musicians. Upon release in North America, “Pale blue Jak – Faces” entered the iTunes US Top 100 Pop Albums and the iTunes Canada Top 50 Pop Albums Charts and was the second best seller for CD Baby that month.

A County Wicklow native, Neil has performed to hundreds of thousands of people across the United States, Canada and Australia with “Celtic Thunder” as a lead vocalist and band member and also features on Celtic Thunder’s Billboard World Music #1 Albums of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Web: http://www.palebluejak.com