Month: July 2017

Irish Indietronica quintet Columbia Mills this week launch their new single, “This City Doesn’t Feel Like Home To Me”.

The track, which follows the critically acclaimed singles ‘Battles’ and ‘Head Start’ is also taken from the bands forthcoming debut album, ‘A Safe Distance To Watch’, which is scheduled for release in October.

Columbia Mills are on the festival circuit over the summer, and you can see them at Indiependence in Mitchelstown on Sunday August 6th, Groove Festival in Bray on Saturday August 19th, and Electric Picnic in Stradbally on the first weekend in September.

http://www.columbiamillsmusic.com/

‘Sunday Shapes’ is the first single release from Great White Lies series of recent recordings with producer Comrade Hat. Following a busy period touring Ireland, Canada & Los Angeles the jazz/pop sextet are set to release new music to a growing international audience.

‘Sunday Shapes’ brings together elements of what the group have become known for. Hooky bass lines growl under dynamic vocals glittered with bursts of harmonies, powerful keys, brass and thumping percussion. These very elements have brought them comparisons to Prince and Regina Spektor.

Since the release of their self-titled debut ep they have performed live on RTE 1, Bloom in Phoenix Park, Stendhal Festival, won VAI song of the year and music featured in BBC NI documentary ‘Love In A Day’.

Tour dates:

13/07               Ned’s Point, Buncrana, Co. Donegal
15/07               The Alley Theatre, Strabane, Co. Derry w/Lauren Bird
27/07               The Workman’s Club, Dublin w/guests
29/07               Shindig Nights, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal

Further dates TBC & a stunning music video, live video and a remix to follow the single.

Out 12^th July 2017

New month, New release!

Rocstrong continues his monthly release project with his third of the year – ‘Be Cool’, a follow up to ‘Vibes’ and ‘I Gotcha’.

‘Be Cool’ is a funky, rhythmic and melodic pop, described as Anderson Paak meets Lupe Fiasco. The track sums up what everyone has been waiting to find out since ‘Vibes’ has been released last month. The guitar infused track shows Rocstrong switch flows from verse to verse as the singer-songwriter reflects on the ups and downs that usually happen in relationships, often leading to anguish and heartbreaks. Is it too little too late?  Listen to “Be cool” to find out.

‘Be Cool’ is currently available exclusively on Soundcloud for streaming and available on iTunes, Spotify and all other streaming and download platforms on 07 July 2017.

Rocstrong plays Longitude Festival on 15^th July 2017 and more festivals to be announced soon.

https://www.officialrocstrong.com/

Photo: Yan Bourke

Graham J. releases a new mini album entitled ‘LOVE LIES BLEEDING AT MY FEET’ of all original songs, some of which have been written by him.   These are powerful songs that will touch our souls, make us angry, make us think and hopefully help to create change for the good.  It shows the many forms of music that influence him, opera, classical, jazz, pop, musical theatre and rock.

2017 has already gotten off to an exciting start for Graham J.  In early May Graham was approached by BBC 6 Music and BBC Merseyside to record his own version of Ian Prowse’s “Does This Train Stop on Merseyside”. This recording will feature as part of a new documentary about how Irish Artists have influenced musical life in Liverpool. Graham J’s performance will be featured alongside contributions from major musical artists including Elvis Costello, Christy Moore and Miles Hunt. The documentary is scheduled to air in the Autumn.

On Saturday 24th June Graham J travelled to London to headline a show at “The Saturday Sessions” in Notting Hill’s Mau Mau. On Sunday 25th June he travelled to Cambridge to perform two of his original songs and chat live on Sue Marchant’s “Big Night In” for BBC Cambridge.  One of the original songs Graham performed was “Always By Your Side” from his new album which was streamed live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suembignightin/videos/10155479879018336/

He then hotfooted it over to Cambridge’s CB2 where he performed an acoustic set. DJ Justine Greene, a huge champion of Graham’s music, has invited Graham to return to her show Sunday Breakfast on BBC Coventry Warwickshire on Sunday 30th July to perform five of his new original songs which will also be filmed for streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Experience the live sound of this incredible artist and you won’t be disappointed:  This autumn Graham J and the Cabaret Noir will begin an exciting monthly residency at Dublin’s The Grand Social. Join them on the last Thursday of every month beginning on Thursday, 28th September 2017. These unique evenings will be used to showcase Graham J’s distinctive and ever evolving voice as a singer/songwriter.  Graham will also be joined by numerous special guests.

Graham J. is fast gaining an international reputation as one of the finest singer/songwriters of his generation. Acclaimed for his highly emotional interpretations, outstanding and unique vocals and his eclectic mix of repertoire. His music is being played on stations throughout the UK, USA and Canada. Graham’s first album “Wild Is” received much acclaim with four and five star reviews from magazines such as Maverick Magazine and Blues Matters.

Graham J is that unique and mythical artist who is vocally at ease in every genre from Opera, Jazz, musical theatre, pop to electronic dance music.   His new mini album ‘LOVE LIES BLEEDING AT MY FEET’, is a unique collection of all original songs which highlight Graham’s many artistic influences including such luminaries as Anohni, Bowie, Brel and Stigers.

Graham J’s new EP ‘LOVE LIES BLEEDING AT MY FEET’ is now released on all digital formats.
Purchase link: http://smarturl.it/LoveLiesBleeding  

http://www.grahamj.eu

The concept behind 1000 Beasts is simple; one artist takes the incredible talent that surrounds him and nurtures collaborations to produce fresh music greater than the sum of its parts.

Founded by “Cian”, a well-established freelance musician, pianist and producer in his own right who has toured internationally and worked at the highest level in his native Irish music industry and abroad, 1000 Beasts is an alt-electro/alt-pop project collaborating with different acts and artists (“The Beasts”) on every release.

Launching their social media campaign with the incredible ‘30//06//17’ series of teaser material, including a fast-paced adrenaline filled trailer (https://www.instagram.com/p/BUy0osElI9w/), and with artists such as Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Janet Grogan, Travis Is A Tourist & Larks promised for future releases, it might just be worth keeping an eye on 1000 Beasts.

Their debut single, “Wonderland (feat. Briony)”, accompanied by a highly original “meta” music video – claimed to be ‘one of the cheapest music videos ever made’, is due for release on the 30th June 2017 and will be available to buy on all major digital platforms.

For more information on 1000 Beasts and to keep up to date with their latest news make sure to follow @1000Beasts (Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, Soundcloud, Twitter).

Wonderland (feat. Briony) – 1000 Beasts from 1000 Beasts on Vimeo.

IMRO this weekend presented The Coronas with an IMRO Award in recognition of their number one album “Trust The Wire”. The award was presented to the band by IMRO’s David Wilkinson before their sold-out show at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, the band’s biggest headline show to date.

The IMRO Number 1 Award was introduced to acknowledge IMRO members who reach number 1 in the album charts here in Ireland or overseas.

A sonic leap on from its predecessors, ‘Trust The Wire’ sees the award-winning, arena-conquering band fuse their arms-aloft melodic pop with lush electronics, spine-tingling atmospherics and a new-found sense of adventure. The album was released on their own label So Far So Good Records on 2^nd June 2017 and went straight to the top of the charts, making this their first No1 album.

From its tightrope-walking title, to the content of its lyrics to its bold production, Trust The Wire brims with self-belief. Written on the quartet’s return to their native Dublin after almost four years living in London, it captures the focus they found in leaving home, the fresh perspective it gave them and a soaring maturity in their songwriting.

A decade on from their debut, having toured the world, topped the charts and surpassed their teenage dreams, it’s no surprise that The Coronas are surer of their strengths and readier to take risks. ‘Trust The Wire’ fizzes with ambition, often in ways you wouldn’t expect from a band famed for their sing-alongs.

After a rollercoaster three years, including a stint on a major label before deciding to do things their own way, spellbinding first single ‘We Couldn’t Fake It’ recounts the band’s realisation that they were right to trust their instincts, rather than be swayed by a label only seeking sales. The hypnotically-beautiful ‘Give Me A Minute’ is actually about Danny feeling antisocial after a gig, but sounds like a romantic statement of intent. Ditto the spectral ‘A Bit Withdrawn’, which is about misconceptions, but could be a plea to a lover.

The album’s title, taken from a line in the broody, dramatic closing track ‘Look At All The Lovers’, reflects the recurring theme of self-belief and sums up a band both acknowledging their achievements to date and stepping out of their comfort zone to tackle new challenges.

“Like a tightrope walker who doesn’t need to see the next step, they just know.” says Danny. “It’s about believing that what feels right will work and going for it. If you don’t trust your instincts, you’ll never move on. This is our fifth album. It would be easy for us to stick with a sound because it’s worked for us in the past. But that doesn’t excite us. Discovering what we’re capable of as a band, knowing that we can grow and get better is what makes us want to keep doing this.”

http://thecoronas.net/

Photo by Dara Munnis

Named after the collectable Japanese toy, Tiny Magnetic Pets from Dublin, are unusual on the current Irish music scene. Rather than be influenced by singer/songwriters or indie rock, the inspiration behind their music comes from Bowie’s Berlin period, 70’s krautrock and early disco, with a good measure of 80’s synthpop thrown into the mix. With the quintessentially pop vocal delivery of Paula Gilmer, it could be said that Tiny Magnetic Pets operate in uncharted musical water, somewhere between Kylie and Kluster.

Their debut on Happy Robots Records follows 2009’s debut album ‘Return of The Tiny Magnetic Pets’ and two critically acclaimed EPs in ‘Stalingrad’ and ‘The NATO Alphabet’.

The band have accrued strong support for their blend of electronic European pop. Ex-Visage member and founder of the Blitz club, Rusty Egan, has been an enthusiastic champion with a remix of their track ‘Control Me’. Another fan is Andy McCluskey from OMD who in 2016 recommended the band “for all lovers of distinctive electronic music”. After opening for NEU! legend Michael Rother at the Electri-City festival in Düsseldorf, they played a blistering show which led to them opening for ex-Kraftwerk member, Wolfgang Flür. That show was a defining moment for Tiny Magnetic Pets, leading to two collaborations with the technopop legend on this new album.

“Deluxe/Debris” is a brilliant encapsulation of what they do best. Drifting effortlessly between blasts of perfect pop with songs like ‘Guiding Light’ to ten minute epics such as live favourite, ‘Semaphore’ with its krautrock beat and experimental electronic excursions. ‘Cold War Neon’ is a moody suspenseful instrumental that in a perfect world would soundtrack series two of cold war thriller Deutschland 83. Never afraid to experiment, there are two versions of ‘Here comes the noise’, part one is atmospheric and reflective in a David Bowie Berlin-period way, whereas part two is like an infectious Pet Shop Boys hit sung by an exuberant Sarah Cracknell. On top of this are the two collaborations with Wolfgang Flür ‘Radio On’ and ‘Never Alone’ both of which give a Germanic seal of approval to the Irish trio’s daring electronic excursions.

With each track seguing into one another, like side two of Abbey Road or Oxygene, and without ruthlessly pushing all the hits to the start of the record for the sake of Spotify streams, “Deluxe/Debris” harks back to a period when albums were listened to from start to finish. Yet it’s breezy, optimistic take on the electronic pop sound, is both reassuringly familiar and effortlessly fresh. “Deluxe/Debris” is the perfect soundtrack for complicated times.

‘Deluxe/Debris’ is the tenth release on Happy Robots Records and is available to order from www.happyrobots.co.uk

12″ vinyl LP /  Digital
Vinyl limited to 300 copies
Available online via Happy Robots or available in stores, distributed exclusively by Cargo Records
Released 18 August 2017​

A breathtaking new live video has been unveiled by intriguing Irish neo-soul artist, SÍOMHA (pronounced Shee-va). The song was captured live on the edge of the unmistakable limestone slabbed landscape of The Burren, in her native Co. Clare along the Wild Atlantic Way. In the video, the rocky grey of The Burren is offset by the stunning backdrop of the sun rising across the sky in a blaze of red. The warmth of the morning sky is echoed in this jazz and soul infused song, which was inspired by the sight that greeted her as she drove home in the early hours after late night gigs; catching the brilliant reds of the sun rise in her rear view mirror and pausing to watch the colors of day and night bleed together until it was finally bright.

‘July Red Sky’ is the second in a series of live videos by this emerging new Irish talent. ‘FLY!’, filmed and recorded live in a beautiful converted cottage in Feakle in East Clare, was released earlier this year and racked up 25,000 views in the first few days of its release. It was featured in Nialler9’s ‘Songs of the Week’ in The Irish Times and was included in Joe.ie’s ‘Song of The Day’.

‘….a golden voice…’
– RTE Lyric FM

‘…a star in the making’’
– Hotpress Magazine

“SÍOMHA’s voice possesses delicate grace. Her cool crystal clear vocals evoke the cadence of super-special singers like Amy Winehouse, Brittany Howard and Ella Fitzgerald. Her stylish and Jazz infused songs perfectly match that voice.”
– Gerry Quinn (Music Journalist)

www.siomhamusic.com