According to their MySpace "Kitty and the can openers have officially signed with Audio-Ill records, an ongoing arrangement which was finalised last Thursday.
Involved in the agreement is a two year recording contract, as well as a tie-in with Audio-Ill’s sister company, Grand Parade Music Publishing, based in London."
This week's Ruby Tuesday is the well travelled and respected Jimi Cullen who has arrived on my radar in the last weeks. Stated on his site:
"It all began with Jimi hitchhiking around Ireland to his first gigs until he could afford a car at which time he started playing wherever he could and has since played some of Irelands finest stages with some of Irelands top acts like John Spillane, Paddy Casey, Declan O Rourke, The Revs, Aslan, David Kitt, Jinx Lennon, Mary Coughlan, Eleanor Mc Evoy, Roesy and the list goes on. His debut e.p. "Anthems for the doomed youth pt.1" was released to good acclaim in 2005 and has since sold over 600 copies. His Debut album “When the last leaf falls” was released in 2007 and to date has sold over 1,000 copies receiving good reviews in Hotpress and the Evening Herald and has also been picking up good radio play."
Oh he isn't bad at what he does. Check out this acoustic performance of a tune recorded for South East Radio.
3 Jul 2009 20:00 Sarsfields Drogheda, Co. Louth 8 Jul 2009 20:00 The Songroom @ The Globe Dublin 10 Jul 2009 20:00 The Chasin Bull Bundoran, Co. Donegal 14 Jul 2009 20:00 The sky and the ground Wexford town 19 Jul 2009 20:00 The Lethean bar Portlaoise, Co. Laois 24 Jul 2009 20:00 Fureys Sligo 25 Jul 2009 20:00 Busker of the year 2009 t.b.c. Killkenny 26 Jul 2009 20:00 The Mezz Bar Dublin 12 Aug 2009 20:00 The Zodiac sessions Dublin 21 Aug 2009 20:00 The Widows Belturbet, Co. Cavan 22 Aug 2009 20:00 Courtown triathalon fest. Courtown, Co. Wexford 23 Aug 2009 20:00 Courtown triathalon fest. Courtown, Co. Wexford 28 Aug 2009 20:00 Mc Ginnity’s Cavan town 29 Aug 2009 20:00 Baker’s place Limerick 30 Aug 2009 20:00 The Slate Cork 20 Sep 2009 20:00 The Purty Sessions Dublin 1 Oct 2009 20:00 Candlelight sessions Waterford 5 Oct 2009 20:00 The Platform - Glesson’s Clonmel, Co Tipperary 27 Nov 2009 20:00 The Purple Sessions Drogheda, Co. Louth
In Ireland we have been basking in the glory of the sun. The mood of the country is upbeat despite being in the face of a deep recession. I had this incredible urge to listen to Bob Marley and UB40 the other day because they seemed to be the soundtrack of a Finglas Summer. My childhood Summer's can be summarised by Bob, UB40 and this track from Mark Dignam's second album In A Time of Overstatement.
Some of the Tour/Gig posters are like pieces of art. How does my poster for next weeks Sessions night compare with the other posters?
Yngve (pronounced Ing-vuh) are a London based band via Sligo and Dublin and are touring Ireland in July. The tour includes a big Whelans gig with blog favourites Travega on the 28th July.
The Foggy Notions gig posters are the very best posters about. Here's one of the best I've seen.
In honour of the man whose music was inspirational to many people, I give to you a poignant little tune by David Hopkins. David was the keyboard player with Irish band Lir but is now making music and performing gigs on the east coast of America. 'Jackson' appeared on a Christmas single a few years back but the lyrics seem apparent for a mournful world-wide community of music lovers!
28 Jun 2009 22:00 Rockwood Music Hall New York, New York 30 Jun 2009 1:00 Red Lion NY, New York 2 Jul 2009 20:00 The Diving Bell Sunnyside, New York 5 Jul 2009 16:30 Red Lion NY, New York 8 Jul 2009 19:00 Red Lion NY, New York 9 Jul 2009 20:00 The Diving Bell Sunnyside, New York 16 Jul 2009 20:00 The Diving Bell Sunnyside, New York 31 Oct 2009 20:00 OTC Minneapolis, Minnesota 1 Nov 2009 20:00 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
Melophobia performed a great gig last night to a packed audience in Whelans. As with most album launchs the debut was played in full to a crowd who seemed to know the words of the majority of tunes already! The official video for their single 'In The Firing Line' was shown before the band made the best entrance I have ever seen for a new band. Each member appeared separately and kicked into their part of the opening track.
If I were this band's manager I'd invest heavily to get their music out there. The band consist of four fine musicians, a commanding front man, a bunch of great tunes and a brilliant image. Melophobia's sound could easily be described as EMO or industrial rock but this won't do justice to David's strong vocals. It was only €10 to see the band last night and you got a cd and the excellent support Entheos thrown in for good measure.
Galwegian Julie Feeney released her second album called 'Pages' this month and I'm enjoying it big time. It's 35 minutes (at 35 minutes eligible for next year's Choice Awards) of beautiful Orchestral Pop music. The album kicks of with two amazing love songs 'Love is a Tricky Thing' and 'Impossibly Beautiful'. The twelve tracks really do highlight Julie's songwriting talent. As stated on her website:
"Not only did the multi-tasking composer-performer from Galway sing, compose and produce the songs on her extraordinary second album, pages, she even conducted the top-flight full orchestra which performed them all in one epic 6 hour recording session at the Irish Chamber Orchestra Studio in Limerick."
Pages is fundamentally a pop album in the style similar to Regina Spektor or Cathy Davey. I love the orchestral arrangements on this album which compliments Julie's singing well. The Enya-esque effects on Julie's voice in some of the tracks sounded out of place and distracting. Also there is not a massive amount of variety in the album. When this happens the listener relies on the lyrics to carry the tracks which for me on some songs didn't happen.
I would bet money on this album being short-listed for the Choice awards because musically and technically it's a great album. Highly recommended!
16 Jul 2009 20:00 St. Nicolas’ Church - Galway Arts Festival Galway, Galway 21 Jul 2009 20:00 Farmleigh House Dublin Dublin 8 Aug 2009 13:00 St. Canice’s Cathedral Kilkenny 5 Sep 2009 20:00 Electric Picnic - stage to be revealed! Laois
Recently uploaded is a video from a 2006 performance from Katell in The Living Room, NYC. The song is 'There You Go' which is the final track from Katell's second album Jet. As reported in this week's Hot Press, Katell has released an EP of new material in the US and is now living back in Wales. Fingers crossed for some Dublin dates soon.
This week I've decided to go radically different by blogging about an Irish Folk musician who released one album in 1982 and is dead since 1991. Hardly a new artist on the horizon I know, but this guy is new to me!
"Michael Oliver O'Shea (1947-1991) hails from Carlingford, Co. Louth. Driven by wanderlust, he did voluntary work in a refugee camp in Bangladesh where he soon came about to buy a sitar.
In 1978 he met Algerian musician Kris Hoslyan Harpo and his `Zelochord.' After we had tuned up and played together the music helped to provide a mutual communication since we did not have each other's language. I knew there was something special in music and this I call `magic', which I discovered all over the world.
In Munich, Germany, Michael sold his sitar to afford a trip to Turkey. Afterwards he conceived of the idea of what he called `Mo Chara' (ir. my friend), a rough mix of hammered dulcimer (-> FW#22), zelochord and sitar. He added a black hole space echo box, i.e. a box with strings to have amplification and phasers. Another one was constructed from an old wooden box over which he had stretched 17 strings and 6 strings underneath the main ones to create an eerie sound. It was played using chop-sticks, amplified and played through various foot-pedals.
You could often find Michael busking for a living in London's underground and Covent Garden, playing mostly improvised music of his own, characterized by Indian classical forms and Irish melodic influences. I had never heard sounds like this before. It appeared to be a mixture of Ravi Shankar, traditional Irish music, crossed with Japanese Koto music. (W. Sproule)
Apart from that exotic music, he was an eccentric character as well, stuffing ping-pong balls in bis cheeks and going to perform, or walking with a dead salmon under his arm and frightening young girls. Michael O'Shea was killed by a post office van while stepping off a bus, leaving a legacy that K.S. Eden characterised: Allied with his own compositions and the use of amplification and effects it is no exaggaeration to say that Michael was probably Ireland's first World musician."
Looks and sounds like the following equation might be true!
Lack Of Money = More Fun Times
By all accounts the Oasis gig was a massive success. Maybe not for Irish band The Blizzards who would have sung to more people if they played on six-man a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. Oasis played a great set, nice mix of new and old and the support acts were top drawer! What's on the bill next year I wonder! They ended with 'I Am The Walrus'. Here is Bono and a random New York band Secret Machines performing the track for the soundtrack to Across The Universe!
Another excellent Irish band working on a new album is Future Kings of Spain. This tune Hanging Around perfectly describes the period of your life after the leaving cert examinations and before you decide on a career path! It describes young Irish Summer love and is a great tune.
Hanging around the streets of your town, I was waiting for you there. I'd run aground, was on the way out, Just kept thinking about your hair.
Wait alone, head is gone, where you running to?
Standing your ground, you made us so proud, No one noticed, no one cared. What you don't know now, Ain't worth knowing, ain't worth knowing. What you can't know now, Is how I feel to know that you're going, That you're going, going, Going, where you going?
When I'm talking to you, it all becomes so clear, I meant every word I said. Hanging around the streets of your town, I keep waiting 'til you go.
What you don't know now, Ain't worth knowing, ain't worth knowing. What you can't know now, Is how I feel to know that you're going, That you're going, that you're going, Going, where you going?
I'm wasting life, I'm sure of that. The glimpse that I see just fell black, Your tears make pretty streams and there Is a man over there, says he wants you, But this boy needs you now.
Arrow In The Sky are a three piece band from Mullingar in Irelands beautiful Midlands. 6th July sees the release of their debut EP entitled 'Do What Thou Wilt' and it's as an impressive release from a new band you will ever hear.
Track listing:
1 - Half Glass
2 - Last Breath
3 - Verbal Waltz
4 - Little Puritan
5 - Turn this life around
Half Glass is a wonderful summer tune that reminds me of the seventies folk Californian sound. Last Breath is driven by Conor's strong vocals and the beautiful mandolin rifts! Verbal Waltz ups the tempo slightly and is in many ways a classic rock track not a million miles from 'Losing My Religion'. Little Puritan contains harmonised melodies and a delicate accordion solo! The EP finishes with two strong ballads; Agape and Turn This Life Around.
I have gladly listened to the EP many times I think it's the best new music I've heard this year. If the EP was a full album I'd have thought good and hard about giving maximum stars for it. Reference points for comparison have to be Calexico and Neil Young but in truth I think Arrow In The Sky bring something totally different to the music scene. We have a band with three quality singers all who are multi-instrumentalists with a range of instruments used on the tracks. Make sure you see Arrow In The Sky live in the future!
Henrietta Game are a new band full of massive potential. The four piece consist of Aongus Mac Amhlaigh (cello, vocals), Ali Baba (violin, vocals), Judy Macnamara (Glockenspiel, guitar, piano, vocals) and Chris Leech (guitar, piano, vocals).
Henrietta Game make music that could easily be described as indie folk. The lyrics are meaningful and the vocal melodies are superb. When the string section kicks in the sound becomes warmer and in many ways more intense.
See the full band live tomorrow night in Whelans main room when Henrietta Game support Eugene Donegan. Henrietta Game have been confirmed for the second night of The 2UIBestow Sessions in Boyles, Slane.
Full Line-up:
Bill Coleman Henrietta Game Arrow In The Sky Mickael Lenel
Recored live in Oldcastle at the launch of Le Cheile last Saturday.
We are following up the success of the launch with a great mix in this line-up. Headlining is Bill Coleman who will showcase some new material. New bands Henrietta Game and Arrow In The Sky will bring their fresh new sounds to the night. However it is the magical talents of Mickael Lenel who will steal the show!
In the week of the big Oasis gig in Slane it's worth remembering the Irish artist on the bill the last time Oasis played in 1995 was Luka Bloom. Luka has recorded many many covers over his career but none so brave as this tune written by LLCoolJ:
This week's Summer Song is taken from Damien Dempsey's first album 'They Don't Teach This Shit in School' and is the closing tune 'Beside The Sea'. This is one of my favourite Damo tunes because of the wonderful Irish Summer images the lyrics create and develope.
Apart from the U2 support the only place you will see Damien Dempsey this Summer is in Slane on Saturday 29th August.
There are a few tasty packages available for the gig:
PACKAGE 1 – CAMPING OPTION!! 1 x Damien Dempsey Ticket 1 x Bus Journey (To & From Event) 1 x Camping Space Price: Only €35 pps
PACKAGE 2 – HOSTEL OPTION!! 1 x Damien Dempsey Ticket 1 x Bus Journey (To & From Event) 1 x Hostel Bed 1 x Breakfast Price: Only €50 pps
PACKAGE 3 – COTTAGE OPTION!! 1 x Damien Dempsey Ticket 1 x Bus Journey (To & From Event) 1 x Bed in Cottage 1 x Breakfast Price: Only €70 pps
PLEASE NOTE:
• Contact Slane Farm Hostel to avail of the above Package Offers • Please make it clear that you wish to avail of the above packages so your gig ticket will be ready when you arrive. • You will be able to collect your Damien Dempsey Ticket when you check in on the day of the gig.
Túcan are set to release their debut album 'Aliquot Strings' this month and I'm looking forward to getting my paws on it. Túcan along with Junah, The Bottom Floor Band and The Spook of the Thirtheenth Lock are at the forefront of a new Irish folk movement making waves in Ireland. Taken from Túcan's MySpace:
..... "Túcan, an instrumental acoustic guitar duo comprises of two members, Donal Gunne and Pearse Feeney. They incorporate a wide and varied range of styles into their playing; from classical and 60’s rock to heavy metal and jazz. They have been playing together since 1999 though they only started to perform live in 2003 as the first four years were spent building the solid musical foundation they felt they required. Their sound is definitely coloured by the fact that neither has any formal musical training and they prefer rather to develop their skills through keen ears and an insatiable love for music."
Túcan have made the tune Garavogue available for free from their official website and can also be found below.
13 Jun 2009 20:00 Festival der Kulturen Bad Fredeburg, GER 27 Jun 2009 20:00 HARD ROCK CALLING London, London and South East 7 Jul 2009 20:00 Borderline London, UK 8 Jul 2009 20:00 Korova Liverpool, UK 9 Jul 2009 20:00 Dry Bar Manchester, UK 11 Jul 2009 18:30 T in the Park Festival Scotland, UK 12 Jul 2009 17:00 Oxegen Festival Ireland 24 Jul 2009 20:00 Whelans Dublin, IRE 25 Jul 2009 20:00 Cyprus Avenue Cork, IRE 1 Aug 2009 20:00 Belfast Festival Belfast, UK 7 Aug 2009 18:00 Relentless Boardmasters Music Festival Newquay, UK 21 Aug 2009 18:00 Frequency Festival St. Poelten, AUT, Niederösterreich 22 Aug 2009 20:00 V Festival Hylands Park, Chelmsford, UK 23 Aug 2009 20:00 V Festival Weston Park, Stafforsdshire, UK 30 Aug 2009 20:00 Solfest - Festival Silloth, West Cumbria, UK
I was chatting with one of the soundest blokes in the music scene last week Bill Coleman who is working hard at getting the difficult second album completed before the end of the year. Being the industry heavyweight I am I was slipped a demo CD of three new tracks. And WOW! We need a new adjective to describe the tunes. Luckily you can decide the word by checking out new tunes 'Crossfire', 'False North' and 'Your Hands Were Made For Working' on his MySpace page.
Also Bill's website has got a nice upgrade! Check out the music section here!
This week's sample love tune is taken from Bill Coleman's 2003 debut EP called 'A Long Time Coming' and it's a beautiful tale of love. Highly recommended!
Before I get into the single let me just mention Junah's image. When you see these lads on stage you think full on hard rock is on the menu. This misconception clears up when you hear these talented musicians play the kind of folk rock which transcends any attempt at categorising Junah.
Low La Day is a great little catchy tune which features strong vocals and folky electric guitar rifts. The two accompanied tunes are nice little tunes which prove how radio friendly Junah are. Think along the lines of crossing Paddy Casey with Eleanor McEvoy. Actually that's a terrible comparison because at this moment in time I can't think of any band making the kind of melodic folk rock sound that Junah makes. As singles go this is great and nods to an excellent debut on the horizon!
In January 09 Dublin band SIXTEEN LAYERS were approached by production company – Ten Ways Media – to document the process of an independent band releasing and promoting an album. Having stuck to the band for three months, SIXTEEN LAYERS fan and filmmaker Tom O’Neill and his guys filmed, interviewed and generally watched and recorded everything from in stores and rehearsals to the Crawdaddy album launch in March and acoustic gigs around Dublin. The result is a cracking little movie/doco/short that gives a short, sharp intro to the band that is SIXTEEN LAYERS.
‘INTO THE HURRICANE’ will be screened before the band take to the stage to perform tracks from I AM NO ONE
THE SUGAR CLUB, LEESON STREET, DUBLIN JUNE 12th Doors 8pm /Tickets €10 Special Guests Six Foot Small
1. My next mixtape to post in the coming weeks will be a B-Side mixtape. I hope to have about 15 tunes from Irish artists which appeared on singles but didn't make it onto an album!
Any suggestions would be massively appreciated!
2. If you are an Irish artist and want me to have a listen to something or simply to say hi why don't you add a comment somewhere or email me on mixtape4melfi[at]gmail[dot]com
3. Do your best to support Irish Music this Saturday when the band Junah plays a free gig and single launch upstairs in Whelans! The single is very good, with a cracking video and it will be review sometime into the future!
According to their MySpace: " .... BLIND PILOTS play melodic guitar driven rock, with occasional effects laden synths. Their music is influenced by Radiohead, Whipping Boy,the National and U2. Taking their name from The Cooper Temple Clause song of the same name, the Pilots formed in late 2004."
Jim and Ronan from the band were the opening act of the launch of The 2UIBestow Sessions in Boyles, Slane last week and gave us an excellent set of tunes both new and old. The old tunes were from their debut EP recorded in April 2008 called 'The Toys Have Gone Berserk'
The EP begins with the excellent Fractured Boy which has basslines, guitar rifts and vocals that a certain other Irish four piece would be proud of! The official video is below. Seat Ga Ga is a genuinly catchy rock tune! Stillbeats and Jealous Hands show that Blind Pilots have massive potential to produce a debut album of pure quality. You can certainly hear The National, U2 and Whipping Boy influences in the EP.
On February 27th a fundraising concert in aid of Barretstown.
Founded by actor Paul Newman, Barretstown is a specially-designed camp for children with serious illnesses - primarily cancer and serious blood diseases - from Ireland, Britain and throughout Europe, and their families. The camp provides a unique programme of adventure, activities and fun – backed by the medical world - which helps children with serious illness regain their confidence and self-esteem and has become internationally recognised as having a profound and positive impact on their lives.
The idea for the gig was to ask bands to perform tracks by artists that inspired them. The show was recorded and will be available free with this Saturdays Irish Daily Mail.
Inspirations, Live at the Academy February 27th 2009 Tracklist:
1. Dean Lapongo - Lean On Me(Bill Withers) 2. Dublin Gospel Choir - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For(U2) 3. The Kinetiks - I Will Follow(U2) 4. Ham Sandwich - Running Up That Hill(Kate Bush) 5. Engine Alley - Southern Man(Neil Young) 6. The Blizzards - Suffragette City(David Bowie) 7. The Walls - Heroes(David Bowie) 8. Republic Of Loose - Shine A light(Rolling Stones) 9. Sinead O'Connor & Republic Of Loose - You Can't Do That(Beatles) 10. Fun Lovin' Criminals - Foxy Lady(Jimi Hendrix) 11. Shane MacGowan, Mik Pyro, Glen Brown - Everybody Needs Somebody(Blues Brothers) 12. Finale - Lean On Me
PSYCHO FEST this Sat 13 June / 2pm - late! The Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey St.
Full line up:
New Amusement / Humanzi / the Brothers Movement / Cheap Freaks / 202s / Boom Jackson / House of Dolls / The Hot Sprockets / Wounds / Sickboy / Hassle Merchants / Howlin’ Dowlin / Percolator / The Mighty Stef / Funeral Suits. with DJ’s Dandelion / Gib U:MACK and more
I think Percolator is going to become massive in the near future. Check out this video:
Pleasant Voice ...... Check! Male/Female Harmonies ........... Check! Strumming Guitar Rift........... Check! Piano chords complimenting the sound ........ Check! Meaningful Lyrics............ Check!
Gareth is a young [very young] singer songwriter from Co. Antrim and has released a very good 4 track EP called Walk With Me. I have listened to the tunes many times and I'm hugely impressed by the quality here in the basics. He is now currently promoting his EP as a solo artist in various venues around the country and has recently performed live on Dublin FM’s “On the verge” with Brendan Hickey. “Walk With Me” is currently available as download from ITunes, Amazon, CDBaby, Rhapsody. Gareth's influences include Damien Rice, Declan O' Rourke and Ray Lamontagne.
The Le Cheile Festival is starting to take shape in the form of line-ups for the Oldcastle based festival. I think I'll have to go to a few of these gigs myself!
June 13th Oldcastle Launch - Gary Dunne & Henrietta Game Creans 9pm FREE
July 30th Lucky Dip Music & Arts Creans 9pm €5
July 31st Jason Byrne Oldcastle House Hotel €18
July 31st Lisa Hannigan, Fiona Melady Caffrey's €20
July 31st Mundy, Nell Bryden Creans €20
Aug 1st Declan O'Rourke, Ari Hest Caffrey's €20
Aug 1st Delorentos Adeibsi Shank Sanzkrit Creans
Aug 2nd Little Palace Joy Booth Ray Heffernan Caffrey's
Aug 2nd Fight Like Apes Ever27 The Distractors Creans
Aug 3rd The Barleyshakes, Noise Control, Heritage Centre, 6ft Small, Ruairi Coogan Creans €10
Another nod to CLuas.com for including the two JJ72 albums in their top 50. To me neither album was especially brilliant but each had some great tracks and Mark Greaney's voice is superb. They also released as b-sides some amazing covers such as Wicked Game and this one here: Pet Shop Boy's - It's A Sin!
Concerto for Constantine is three Dubliners: singer and guitarist Mark Greaney (formerly JJ72's frontman and songwriter), bassist Gavin Fox (formerly of Turn, Idlewild and Vega4),and drummer Binzer (formerly of The Frames, BellX1, and Halite; he also plays drums for Mundy amongst others. The band are busy preparing their debut album and are one of the bands on this year's IMRO stage a Oxegen!
Friday July 10: David Kitt, Heathers, The Joy Formidable, The Flaws, Yes Cadets, The Mighty Stef, Cashier No. 9, Ruth Anne Cunningham, The Brilliant Things, Home Star Runner, Stone Motion.
Saturday July 11: Director, General Fiasco, St Vincent, Codes, And So I Watch You From Afar, Cap Pas Cap, Joe Echo, Nightbox, Angel Pier, Carosel, Jenna Toro
Sunday July 12: Villagers, Wintersleep, Broken Records, Concerto For Constantine, Dark Room Notes, Blood Or Whiskey, The Chakras, The Jades, Andrew Hozier Byrne, Bone.
At about the half way mark of 2009 let me remind you of the 'Sound of 2009' list that myself and Ronan from Swear I'm Not Paul blog published in January! The list of 10 acts are:
Aortal ...........[broke-up]
Armoured Bear ........[recording new album]
Laura Izibor ........ [about to conquer the world?]
Lines Drawing Circles ..... [out n about gigging]
Susan Enan ....... [debut recorded and out by end of year]
Television Room ....... [debut released]
Tenaka ........ [debut Ep out and gigging]
The Funeral Suits ....... [2 EP's & many headline gigs]
The Kanya Tree ......[hmmm not too sure!]
The Kinetiks ....... [EP released and lots of attention from the US]
Overall this still is a good list. I can still see Susan Enan being popular, Tenaka to release a strong debut and Armoured Bear to come out fighting with more great tunes.
However the bright star of the list is Funeral Suits [think they dropped the 'the' from their name!]
'Oh Dear' the debut EP from Funeral Suits included the track Black Lemonade which is a great tune. 'Eye Spy' has the difficult task of trying to better or equal the quality of the debut. The lead tune 'Start of the End' has a long intro before it crashes into a full band indie rock sound. There's an almost apocalyptic feel from the guitar chords and lyrics here. Just as I was getting into the industrial sound of the track it ends. 'Helsinki' has a near perfect guitar rift and strong vocals. 'Dani is Karl' is the hardest track on the EP with a booming bassline and crashing drums. 'Acid Happy' has acoustic rifts over guitar soundscapes in the style of Yo La Tengo's best tunes. Overall the vocals sound great, the tunes have great melodies and has an indie rock style somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and TV on the Radio.
Electro/Alternative Irish band Dark Room Notes released a strong album this year called 'We Love You Dark Matter' from which 'This Hot Heat' is taken from. Maybe it's the inclusion of the word Hot in the title but at times it reminds me of The Cure's classic Hot Hot Hot. That's not a bad thing!
It was probably a better idea to post this track last weekend when the weather here was only glorious!
11 Jun 2009 20:00 Academy 2 - The Once a Month Club Dublin 12 Jul 2009 22:15 Oxegen Kildare 1 Aug 2009 20:00 Castlepalooza Festival Offaly 2 Aug 2009 20:00 Indie-Pendance Cork
It's been a few days now since the launch of The 2UIBestow Sessions in Boyles, Slane and I have to admit it went very well. Ham Sandwich were hugely impressive especially with the inclusion of Sarah on violin which adds an extra spark to their sound. I'm looking forward to the Whelans gig next Saturday night. Ruairi Coogan showed massive signs of improvement and Blind Pilots were a great start to the night. However Limerick based Kiernan McMullan played an amazing set of five tunes which captured the attention of the 100 strong crowd. Check out That Afternoon:
Mundy.ie is the home of Mundy's single tenerife which he has made available as a free download. Find the single here:
It's a great blog and regularly features Irish artists. Well worth a good read.
Some nice footage of Liam O'Maonlai and Marketa Irglova at a gig last week in Prague!
The Swell Season mini tour in August has been announced as well as hints that a new album might well be with us in September. Plans are in motion for an Autumn US tour followed by some European dates!
18 Aug 2009 20:00 Millenium Forum Derry, Northern Ireland 21 Aug 2009 20:00 Wexford Opera House Wexford, Wexford 23 Aug 2009 20:00 Cork Everyman Palace Theatre Cork, Cork 24 Aug 2009 20:00 Glor Theatre Ennis, Clare 26 Aug 2009 20:00 National Concert Hall Dublin, Dublin
June is the month of the Balcony.TV awards and the Irish Nominations are:
Best Male: Jack L -
Best Female - Lisa McLaughlan
Best Female - Clara Monahan - Leave The Bottle
BEST NEW IRISH ACT as featured on BALCONYTV DUBLIN
SARA LOU (3/05/2009) THE PHONIC ATHLETIC (22/04/2009) LITTLE GREEN CARS (25/08/2008) THE CANDIDES (15/10/2008) JOHN SHELLY AND THE CREATURES (26/02/2009)
MOST ENTERTAINING BALCONYTV DUBLIN SHOW
KEITH BARRY (27/03/2009) ASLAN (7/11/2008) RED KID (naked) (8/08/2008) THE LONELY SCHIZOPHRENIC (10/02/2009) KARL PARKINSON (12/12/2008)
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a fucking big television Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing ga me shows Stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home Nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats You have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life
Test # 1: The 2UIBestow Sessions begin tonight! 9pm Boyles, Slane. Great line-up, if you can make it that would be amazing.
Test #2: Will our government survive the elecions on Friday! General Election on the horizon maybe?
Test #3: The English Examinations mess is too funny. It shows the power of communication in our country. Text, email and Twitter allowed the information to get from Co. Louth to every corner of the country before the government had any idea that there were problems!
Hogan fronted by Mark Hogan have released a new single 'Jealousy'. It's a decent pop tune which should gain Hogan massive exposure and radio play. I first came to notice Hogan last year when he was on the radio plugging a previous single 'I'm Gonna'. I got a real Jack Johnson/John Butler vibe from Hogan then but 'Jealousy' is very much a radio friendly catchy pop tune.
Buy The Single: Jealousy - Available From Friday May 1st to Download Text >> Music 2611 to 57501 for just €1 Also Available on Itunes and All HeartBeat City's & B.P.M "JEALOUSY"-Here comes a happy up tempo ROCK/POP song to beat all these recession blues!!!
The insomniac inspired single is another great tune from the band. We have the delicate vocals of Kathryn, progressive rhythm section, Dan's strong backing vacals and thoughtful lyrics which lead me to think that with a good bit of luck I Am Not Lefthanded will become a successful band in the near future!
The band are requesting their fans to make a short video clip and upload it to their Vimeo channel!
Darragh J from Mullingar is releasing his debut album this Summer and from the few samples on his MySpace I think the album will be pretty good. Darragh's music will appeal to the likes of Mark Geary and Damien Dempsey fans. He has a strong voice, some decent tunes and a rock image that will no doubt gain him some female attention!
2 U I Bestow named after the Mundy track on the 'Romeo & Juliet' soundtrack is the music website of an experienced Maths Teacher moonlighting as a Freelance Music Journalist.
I write about Irish artists only on this site. I also have a new website promoting all the free albums I find on bandcamp: http://freeirishalbums.wordpress.com/
This is a hobby not a living! If your music is included here feel free to email me to get it removed. However be aware that your music will be featured on the popular site elbo.ws!
