Month: April 2017

Ian Whitty & The Exchange follow up on the success of their recently released album Cash Crop with the double-A side single ‘Rodeo’ / ‘Tattoo Rings’ released on Friday 5th May. They return to the live circuit after a storming appearance at Quarter Block Party, with a slot at the upcoming Right Here Right Now festival at Cork Opera House April 30.

‘Rodeo’ is a healthy thousand miles from country music yet is a fitting title for a single that unfurls a scathing, rapid-fire commentary on society brimming with witty imagery and intricate anecdotes. On the flip side, ‘Tattoo Rings’ is an inversion to ‘Rodeo’s cynicism where we find a tale of earnest idealised young love spun out over rippling guitar and shimmering piano.

This double-A side is the follow up single to Bottom Line, a song that captured the imagination of Irish media whilst enjoying plenty of daytime airplay on national and regional stations, spending 8 weeks on the RTE Radio 1 recommends playlist. Released at the end of 2016, Cash Crop saw Ian Whitty delve deep into his imagination, drawing stories both personal and reflective to create characters for a body of work that not only reflected Whitty’s experiences up to this point but also Irish society.

“An album of genuine heft….Ian Whitty has the extraordinary gift of writing poignant lyrics, wherein everybody can find a glimpse of themselves.”
8/10 Hot Press Magazine

“Indeed, such is the calibre of ‘Cash Crop’ that it’s bang on the money throughout and leaves absolutely no IOUs whatsoever.”
9/10 Whisperin’ and Hollerin

“Keenly-aware pop with a folkish tinge, with absolutely nothing having been lost during Cash Crop‘s lengthy process.”
Broadsheet.ie

Ian Whitty & The Exchange play the Right Here Right Now festival on April 30.

https://www.facebook.com/ianwhittyandtheexchange/

Youth Work Ireland’s Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) marked its ten-year anniversary in Croke Park last Saturday 22 April 2017 and featured performances by nearly 40 young musicians, aged 12-19, who performed across two stages throughout the day.

Youth Work Galway are celebrating two in a row at Croke Park as their act Liquid Space were announced as the winning recipient act and region and follow fellow tribesmen JANAJ who won in 2016. Liquid Space, who formed to participate in the IYMAs, and Youth Work Galway have won recording time in a professional recording studio, a recording session in RTÉ 2FM’s legendary Studio 8 and a full backline provided by Music Maker Dublin. They will also produce an album of their own original tracks released on physical CD with a professional design. Last year’s IYMAs album stormed the Irish compilation charts entering at number five.

“We hosted our largest youth music event last Saturday with over forty bands performing across two stages, a large educational hub with music industry professional and a market place to provide young people with information and links to the creative and music industries. To date we have worked with over 80,000 young people from across the entire island of Ireland enough to fill our venue for the day Croke Park. We are going to start planning towards our programme launch this Autumn in the forthcoming weeks as well as our National event for next year and we plan to further expand our educational hub and supports throughout the day making the IYMAs the largest youth music educational event in the country for all those attending” said Irish Youth Music Awards Director Barry Lennon.

Aimed at creating teamwork and friendship at local level, the Irish Youth Music Awards also provides first hand work experience in all areas associated with the music business such as PR, stage management, graphic design, photography and much more. The programme honours the most effective music projects run by groups of young people based on the entire project from the band, to the crew, to the promotion and to the representing bands’ performance at Croke Park.

Having recently crowned winner Mo Adeniran, The Voice UK talent scouts visited the Irish Youth Music Awards in their search for singing talent for their next series. Speaking today, Justin Jeffreys, ITV Publicity Manager for The Voice said: “The event provided a spotlight on the future talented musicians from all across Ireland and was very worthwhile attending as we were impressed by the talent on offer.” 

IYMAs partners and supporters include The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, RTÉ 2FM, BIMM Institute Dublin, LinkedIn Learning, IMRO, Music Maker, Gaisce – The President’s Award and Youth Action Northern Ireland.

For More Information:
www.iymas.ie
www.facebook.com/irishyouthmusicawards
https://www.instagram.com/official_iymas/
https://twitter.com/officialiymas

Since starting out as a solo performer in 2011, Irish artist Elaine Mai has been crafting a reputation for atmospheric and melodic electronic music. She follows up the release of ‘Enniscrone’, the first track taken from her upcoming EP with the title track ‘The Colour of the Night’. A deeply personal track for Elaine, the song builds and builds until Elaine’s voice enters, offering salvation and respite from the introspective sound of what had proceeded.

Elaine says ‘Over the last few years, I have encountered close personal grief for the first time and this track is about that experience. The melody and movement in the strings are a musical representation of the journey from sorrow and despair to acceptance and hope. Although the person you loved is gone, there is joy in their memory, solace in the time that was shared together and ‘The Colour of the Night’ captures that for me.’

Since the release of her last EP in 2014, Elaine has been expanding upon her previous critically acclaimed live performances, experimenting with her live show as well as her approach to song-writing and production. Another single and the release of her highly anticipated EP on the 19th of May will follow after this release.

Upcoming gigs:
The Workman’s, Dublin // 5th May // EP launch
Roísin Dubh, Galway // 6th May // EP launch
Body and Soul festival, Westmeath // 23rd – 25th June

https://www.youtube.com/elainemaimusic
https://twitter.com/elainemaimusic
https://www.facebook.com/elainemaimusic/
http://www.elainemai.com

Having sold out their April 22nd gig, Brave Giant are set to play an extra date on April 21st in Whelan’s, Dublin.

Brave Giant is four lads with a love for similar music styles, who come from Drumlish, Co. Longford. Mark Prunty (guitar/vox), Podge Gill (guitar/vox), Ross McNerney (banjo/mandolin), Emmett Collum (drums).

They were Le Crunch Apple Of My Eye winners in 2016 with their Bob Marley/Daft Punk Mash up of the Bob Marley classic ‘Is This Love’ mash up ‘Is This (Digital) Love’, a track that went viral after being post by Joe.ie, the band also had four consecutive sold out headline Dublin shows in less than twelve months and were asked by Bord na Móna to participate in its first ever #HearthSessions campaign alongside Gavin James and Roisín Ó. However, Brave Giant were also tasked with putting its twist on the John Sheenan masterpiece synonymous with Bord na Móna’s television campaign in the 1980s, The Marino Waltz, and it received the thumbs up all round!

Twelve months only has passed since Brave Giant’s first single to radio in the spring of 2016. The single was ‘Lordy Lordy’, and the EP of the same name entered the iTunes album chart later that spring at No 2. Held off the top spot only by some young lady called Beyonce!

After the band’s headline Dublin shows in April, they look forward to the thrill of festival season and what it may bring! Brave Giant’s yet to be titled second EP is expected for release this summer.

Upcoming shows:

Friday 21st April – Whelans Main Room
Saturday 22nd April – Whelans Main Room – SOLD OUT

Tickets €10 including booking fee from wavtickets.ie & tickets.ie

The Henry Girls release their new “Far Beyond The Stars” today.

Throughout their latest album, fiddle combines beautifully with harp, double bass with accordion, ukulele with acoustic guitar as Karen, Lorna and Joleen further tap into what has become their own sound, based as it is in roots folk, elements of country, Irish and Americana. The mixture of these ingredients, combined with the sisters’ intuitive understanding of each other’s melodious vocals, has resulted in their finest collection of songs to date in Far Beyond the Stars.

Lyrically, some deeper matters are unearthed in songs such as ‘Ocean of War’, highlighting displacement and an ongoing refugee crisis on Europe’s borders, and the introspective and questioning ‘No More Maybes’. These musical sentiments take their place beside moving ballads such as ‘More Love, More Silence’ and ‘Slow Down’ and the more raucous and upbeat ‘Rebel Girl’ and ‘Don’t Call Me Honey’.

Following their widely lauded previous album, Louder than Words, The Henry Girls set about cementing their reputation internationally with several tours of Europe and the US, while seeing their Irish audience continue to grow steadily. Flawless live shows have yielded a loyal fan base both home and abroad and with Far Beyond the Stars, The Henry Girls have delivered an album of huge musical prowess set to define their unique sound and lift them to the level of their peers and inspirations.

There are poignant words that conclude the penultimate track on the album, ‘Satisfied Mind’, which must apply to a band who have completed an album where nothing was left behind:

“But one thing’s for certain, when it comes to my time.
 I will leave this old world, with a satisfied mind.”

Satisfied indeed.

On Monday 1 May Cian Ó Cíobháin will be marking 18 years on air for An Taobh Tuathail with a special broadcast on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta bringing us back to 1972.

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta came on air in 1972, and Cian Ó Cíobháin has long been fascinated by the idea of what type of music he would have been playing had ATT been on air at that time. So this year, for the programme’s birthday special, he is going to get into a time machine and travel back 45 years.

The playlist is likely to include early Bowie, Lou Reed, Can, Cymande, The Stooges, Judee Sill, Tangerine Dream, David Axelrod, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, The Sonics, Funkadelic, Shuggie Otis, Love, The 13th Floor Elevators …

If you’ve music you’d like to hear on #AnTT18 you can let Cian know via Twitter @AnTaobhTuathail, Facebook, Spotify or email attrnag@nullrte.ie

The An Taobh Tuathail birthday special will be broadcast on 1 May 2017 22:00 – 00:00 on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, and you can listen back on the Radio Player or see rte.ie/rnag/an-taobh-tuathail.

The Castlebar International Song Contest started with just 70 entries to find a song that might make the town of Castlebar better known. Twenty-two years later it boasted the second highest prize fund for any song contest in the world. It had attracted 17,653 entries from songwriters in every continent and had become and one of RTE’s flagship programmes in the station’s annual schedule.

The first contest was staged in the Royal Ballroom on Monday 10^th October 1996 with a total prize fund of £95.  It went on to become a week-long festival during the 1^st week of October each year until it finished in 1988.

In between it had become the 2^nd richest song contest in the world – only the Yamaha contest in Japan had a bigger prize fund.  The finals of the contest were relayed on live television from 1970 to 1988.

And now, a comprehensive history of the contest has been compiled by Paddy McGuinness who was one of the contest’s directors on a number of occasions.

The history contains all of the facts and results from all of the contests.  It has reminisces from many participants such as Gay Byrne, Terry Wogan, Mike Murphy and Acker Bilk.  It features lots of photographs… many of which have not been seen before – you may even be included yourself!

The book, which is on sale on line at www.mayobooks.ie  , is a ‘must have’ for everyone with an interest in music and songwriting.

Penske Recordings is excited to announce the debut album from Percolator. Painstakingly recorded at Guerrilla Studios, Sestra is due for release on April 14th in Ireland/ France (through Permafrost) & Friday April 28th in the UK/ EU/ Worldwide . The record’s mixture of melody and noise is occasionally abrasive but rarely harsh. Taking some cues from bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab and the Creation/Cheree/Slumberland/Sarah Records stables, their music comprises propulsive rhythms and gauzy synthetic textures, along with guitar work that is both muscular and delicate.

Percolator are a 3 piece band formed in 2009 by former members of Dae Kim. Since 2012, the lineup has consisted of founding members Ian Chestnutt (guitarist, singer) and Eleanor Myler (drummer, singer), with former Katie Kim, Ilya K bassist, John ‘Spud’ Murphy. Their diverse sound draws influences from krautrock, shoegaze, electronic music, and progressive rock.

The band have produced a string of releases including Flicker (2009), Yellow Fire (2011), Little Demon (2013) and Law & Order (2016) and have played support to several notable acts including Michael Rother (NEU!), A Place To Bury Strangers, Deerhoof and Charles Hayward (This Heat). The trio are set to tour Europe this summer to support the release of their debut album.

https://www.facebook.com/percolator.music/

Following its inclusion in James E. Perone’s SMASH HITS – The 100 Songs That Defined America, an academic study of the songs that have influenced American life from the 1750’s to 2016, You Raise Me Up, written by Irish songwriter and novelist, Brendan Graham and Norway’s Rolf Lovland, now finds itself building bridges between Russia and the West.

In what is billed as the first East-West, Easter Friendship Concert, to take place on Saturday 22^nd April in Moscow’s Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary, a Russian/English bi-lingual arrangement of the world-famous song, will be performed by the Choir of the Moscow State University of Printing Arts, and the Orchestra of the Moscow State College of Frederic Chopin with Violin Soloist, Alina Yudina.

https://easter.jlprussia.com

Ivy Nations, an indie-pop quartet from Dublin who are setting the dance rock world on fire, have just released the video for their single ‘Live By Design’. Ivy Nations have been added to various Irish festivals this year with Sea Sessions, Indiependence and YouBloom announced so far and are gearing up for their own headline show at the Grand Social on 29 June 2017.

Speaking about the video, director Benn Veasey and producer Rufus Pinkerton explain, it’s “a story focusing on the ideas of determinism, design, choice & freedom…in a dystopian world that was at once dated and a bit grubby, but at the same time really quite colourful and vibrant in places.”

New single “Live By Design” holds faithful to the energetic, dreamy sensibilities of the band’s previous releases, but pushes forward. It’s a shade darker, the band shares, and influenced by themes in Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” and Godfrey Reggio’s “Koyaanisquatsi”. Singer Joe Kiernan says of the single, “[Live By Design] deals with the pace of modern life, where live out our fantasies while existing on the outer edges. The song reflects frustration, an inability to change the inner discourses that hold us back, and a desire to remove oneself from the race.”

Only three singles deep, Ivy Nations have been praised for their refined sound established with producer Phil Magee (Kodaline, The Script). Their debut track “The Mile Road” was released to universal plaudits and reached #3 on the HypeM Twitter chart. Second single, “You Are the Centre of Me” premiered on BitCandy in December 2015 receiving national airplay in Ireland & non-com radio in Australia and the USA. Current single ‘Live By Design’ has been racking up national daytime airplay in Ireland since it’s release.

2016 saw the band perfecting their live show with performances at Whelan’s Ones To Watch, Electric Picnic and Other Voices, a sold out headline show in Whelan’s Upstairs, and coveted support slots for acts like The Academic, Kodaline, The Strypes The Frank And Walters and The Blizzards.

‘Live By Design’ available now for download from all digital platforms.

Live Dates:
June 4 – The Mercantile (YouBloom Festival)
June 25 – Sea Sessions
June 29 – The Grand Social
August 4 – Indiependence

www.facebook.com/IvyNationsOfficial
www.twitter.com/IvyNations
www.soundcloud.com/ivynationsofficial
www.twitter.com/IvyNationsvynations.com