Kate Lawless hails from Connemara in the county Galway. She is a song writer, a singer, an actress or maybe an occasional enchantress! After studying music in Cork for the past 3 years, She is releasing her debut single and music video ‘Lawless Child’ in January, 2015.
The Longtails
are a Dublin-based band, combining influences from folk, rock, blues, and traditional genres.
Formed in May 2014, the lineup includes members from Ireland, Italy, Brazil and Japan bringing their unique backgrounds together to create their own distinct sound.
The band self release their debut EP Lindsay Road in early 2015, recorded by Marion McEvoy in Panchord Studios, Dublin.
They recently played the Whelan’s Ones to Watch Festival and will be showcasing this weekend at the Live at the Hub programme as part of Temple Bar TradFest 2015.
More information on the band and upcoming gigs can be found at their Facebook and Breaking Tunes pages.
The EP is available in digital format to download from www.thelongtails.bandcamp.com
The physical CD is available at all gigs and will be in record stores in the first quarter of 2015 or by contacting longtailsmusic@nullgmail.com
The shortlist for the Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2014 in association with IMRO and IRMA has just been announced.
The ten Irish songs will now go to a public vote with the overall winner to be revealed at the 10th Meteor Choice Music Prize Live Event at Vicar Street on Thursday, 5th March.
The songs in the running for the award are:
The Meteor Choice Music Prize – Irish Song of the Year Award recognises the nation’s favourite songs of last year. Every year since its inception, the Irish Song of the Year has encouraged people to celebrate Irish artists by shining a spotlight on the very best songs of the past year. The platform for homegrown Irish music has grown since the Irish Song of the Year Prize was established in 2011, and competition for the award is always fierce.
The public vote is now open at www.meteor.ie./choice. All voters are in with a chance to win smartphones and tickets to the Meteor Choice Music Prize Live Event on Thursday, 5th March in Vicar Street and people can vote once a day until voting closes at midnight on March 1st.
The winning entry will be announced at the live event and awarded the Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year trophy along with a prize fund of €3,000.
Lisa Comerford, Meteor’s Consumer Marketing Director, said: “We’re really excited to support an outstanding year for Irish musicians, as and reflected in the eclectic world-class shortlist for the Irish Song of the Year. The Meteor Choice Music Prize aims to encourage people to discover, discuss and enjoy great Irish music and this year’s shortlist certainly showcases the very best the Irish music scene produced last year.”
Tickets for the Meteor Choice Music Prize Live Event are on sale from all Ticketmaster outlets and from http://www.ticketmaster.ie, priced at €24.00 including booking fee.
The Meteor Choice Music Prize is supported by IMRO, IRMA, RAAP, HMV Xtra vision, Culture Ireland, Today FM, RTE 2 & Music Week.
Fia Rua has just released his new single, Darkness, the latest from his current album, The Sky Went Low & The Sea Went High. The video was filmed in Augsburg Germany by German artist Verena Kandler. The song centres on facing one’s demons and talking to the Darkness as a positive exercise.
Fia Rua plays St Finian’s Church, Dublin 2 this Saturday, 31st January with his fellow Urchin Collective artist, Enda Reilly, and Róisín Dubh, Galway as part of Citóg on 4th February.
Darkness is available for download from Fia Rua’s Bandcamp page.
Cry Monster Cry have just released the brand new video for their latest single “Postcards”. The video features Ian Lloyd Anderson of Love/Hate and Our Few & Evil Days and was directed by Lagoon Pictures.
The song has been selected as Song of the Week by Louise Duffy on Today FM and by Fortitude Magazine. 2015 looks set to be a big year for Cry Monster Cry with “Postcards” released as the first single from their upcoming album, Rhythm of Dawn.
The single is now available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon.
Keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter for news of upcoming live shows.
A brand new single entitled ‘Somewhere In Heaven’ will be released to download on 30th January, featuring a collaboration between Francie Conway, Christy Dignam and Finbar Furey.
Written by acclaimed singer-songwriter Francie Conway, ‘Somewhere In Heaven’ is a song with a simple message that holds great meaning for many. Francie has been a long time collaborator with an Irish icon of music, Finbar Furey. Finbar was so impressed that not only does he play Banjo, Whistle and Uillean Pipes on the recording himself, but he also suggested Aslan lead vocalist Christy Dignam to perform the vocals.
If you’re looking for music that’s emotionally engaging, texturally lush, loaded with detail, adventurous in spirit and melodically rich, then Jape are worthy of your time.’ Drowned in Sound
‘The strong hooks bring you in and the downbeat material creeps up on you.’ The 405
The prolific Richie Egan returns with Jape’s fifth studio album ‘This Chemical Sea’, available from January 23th on Faction Records.
Revered by critics and fans alike in their native Ireland, Jape is the only act to have received the Meteor Choice Award for best Irish album twice: for their third album ‘Ritual’ (2008) and their last full length effort ‘Ocean of Frequency’ (2011).
On this LP, Jape have tangibly honed their sound, and written what the band calls ‘the first album which has a uniquely ‘Jape’ sound from start to finish, a type of gothic pop with lyrics of unusual depth.’ The record combines the mindset of genre-bending music that the band have always been admired for with a strict adherence to a pop format. It incorporates a nod to some of Egan’s biggest experimental influences (Voices from the Lake, Raymond Scott, The Microphones), but never veers away from placing the songs firmly within the frame of the pop genre.
The hooks throughout the LP are strong and resonate above the bouncing keyboards, particularly on the record’s lead single ‘The Heart’s Desire’. The Peaking Lights remix of the track, which premiered on The Line of Best Fit and received coveted airplay on Huw Stephens’ show, takes the song’s irresistible melodies and lets them flow for seven minutes, highlighting the band’s talent for penning an irresistable chorus.
The record’s strengths are enhanced by the skilful mix of David Wrench, who has worked with the likes of FKA Twigs, Caribou, and Jungle. The powerful melodies are nurtured, but never at the expense of the stunning instrumentation on tracks such as album opener ‘Seance of Light’, where the synthesisers shimmer and shine on a sea of deep electronic bass lines, along with other album highlights ‘Love on the Crest of a Wave’ and ‘Absolutely Animals’.
Following an extensive tour of Australia and Europe, Egan relocated to Malmo, Sweden in 2012, where he found a studio to write and record the majority of the new record. Egan explained his intention was to ‘make a coherent album that was a pure expression of my inner thoughts.’ Far from an insular process however, this was the first time somebody else was let in on the creative process. The tracks would be shared with fellow band member Glenn Keating for feedback, something Egan feels ‘was inspiring and helped me to push myself so much harder.’
Further adding to the collaborative aspect of the album, mercury prize nominated Villagers’ frontman Conor O’Brien features on the LP’s penultimate song ‘Ribbon Ribbon Ribbon’. However, regardless of outside influence, Egan also manages to demonstrate his penchant for taking inspiration from the personal, such as in the staggeringly beautiful final piano line of ‘Breath of Life’. This was written the same week his mother fell extremely ill, and its melody is something he believes reflects the ‘magical quality of music and its ability to induce memory’’.
As a man who has worked in many bands prior to, and alongside, Jape (The Redneck Manifesto, Villagers, David Kitt), Richie Egan has an impressive back catalogue of work, but ‘This Chemical Sea’ may well be considered his greatest achievement thus far. It is a compelling pop record with all the attributes of an album which will last well beyond its 2015
February 3rd sees the return of the IMRO Live Music Venue of The Year Awards, presented by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) in recognition of music venues that provide the very highest standards in live music entertainment. Qualifying venues include pubs, hotels, arts centres, theatres, purpose built music venues and many more.
We have a limited number of guest list places available for this event.
Simply email: events@nullimro.ie with your name(s).
“The Harsh Winds of Rathlin” is the second single to be taken from Axis Of’s new album ‘The Mid Brae Inn’.
This “weather-beaten journey through the Axis Of environment” is accompanied by a video that sees the band return to their roots. The video, produced by Misfits for Media, was filmed at the Attic Bar of Ma Kellys in Ballymoney, which for a long time was a setting for some of the bands most chaotic shows.
“The Harsh Winds Of Rathlin” is accompanied by a live bonus version of “Wetsuit” and is available from 21st January, 2015 on Smalltown America.
The release of ‘The Mid Brae Inn’ follows on 23rd February 2015.
Tickets for their upcoming tour are available here.
You can BUY the single from Independent Music here.
Meath band, Cult Called Man, have just released their latest single, ‘Wickyr Mice’. The single comes in advance of their second EP, ‘The Mr. Wednesdae EP’, due for release next month.
The concept behind the record centres on a character, Mr. Wednesdae, with lead-singer, Razmo, taking inspiration from the vocal stylings of retro kid’s cartoons in order to give the character his distinct voice. Throughout the record, Mr. Wednesdae relays his spiritual and modern day social commentary.
The band played a string of Irish festivals on the back of their debut EP, ‘Shoot Me (It’s Just TV)’ and were selected for the Guinness Amplify project. Having already taken to the stage at Whelan’s Ones to Watch earlier this month, and with gigs in The Spirit Store and at Guinness Live Stages next month, 2015 look set to be another busy year for Cult Called Man. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter.
