Month: January 2018

In the first of a string of singles lined up for this year, Dreaming of Jupiter bring us their debut offering of 2018, from their upcoming EP, in the shape of ‘Let Me Down’. The Dublin trio have been playing together since late 2016 when they burst onto the scene with a packed out single/video launch for ‘Light of My Life’ in Dublin’s Whelan’s. This was followed by several acclaimed live performances at a string of festivals and gigs including Castlepalooza, Sunflower Fest and Sea Sessions among others and even playing as far afield as Madrid for SOFAR Sounds. The band finished up last year with a private live recorded show for their fans in Dublin’s ‘Windmill Lane Studios’, this made for a great finale to the year, and has ensured that Dreaming of Jupiter are a musical force to be reckoned with going forward into 2018.

Their sound incorporates a number of different influences from Electropop to Funk, RnB and Trip Hop in such a cohesive way it feels as though they have created a genre all of their own. It’s groovy, it’s atmospheric, it’s soulful and it’s different.

Having just returned from their first UK tour in Jan 2018, being featured on the critically acclaimed RTE series ‘Striking Out’ and hit the ground running with a packed out show in Dublin’s Button Factory, the band are eager to get their new material out into the ether. ‘Let Me Down’ kicks off with some almost jazzy synth beats and is a fusion of Funk, Jazz, R&B and Electropop. Reminiscent of 90’s R&B and featuring their now trademark groovy baselines, this is a laid back track featuring some rap vibes from Zoë, exploring the feelings left behind after a whirlwind and fiery romance has cooled down. This single demonstrates a massive development and maturity of their sound and is a sign of things to come from the band – constantly evolving but staying true to the elements that make them special.

With its catchy yet sophisticated sound, ‘Let Me Down’ is one for fans of MØ, Jessie Ware, Charli XCX and Snake Hips, and is a very strong start to DOJ’s much anticipated debut EP.

NIALLER9 / IRISH TIMES – ’ New Irish act of the week ‘

HOT PRESS : ’ Dublin ambi-electro 3 piece Dreaming of Jupiter, have exploded in a way most bands can only dream of in such a short space of time – and it is very clear to see why. ’

GOLDENPLEC: ’ The Dublin trio create smooth funky grooves in the Chic/P-funk style, delivering chugging staccato guitar riffs and bouncy basslines while also exploring laid-back electro with hints of London Grammar, all tied together with a powerful soul vocal. ‘

Following a string of big dance bangers during summer 2017 and the BBC 6 Music plays of ‘Massif Anthem’ late last year – described by Hot Press as “sounds quite unlike anything else we’ve come across” – Dublin-based indie dance artist Donal Quinn releases brand new single ‘Precious’ on February 8th.

‘Precious’, live favourite at gigs, was recorded in Hackney, London with top producer Tom McFall (Kasabian, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party). Available on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer and all other digital distribution outlets.

https://twitter.com/DonalQuinnMusic
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Available on iTunes & Spotify

To celebrate Seachtain na Gaelige and Bliain na Gaeilge, Jim McHugh will release a new song entitled ‘An Muc Snámha’ on 6^th of March 2018.  Jim McHugh comes from Castleblayney Co. Monaghan and the name Muckno is synonymous with the town, and is attached to the beautiful lakes and to the parish itself. The name Muckno is derived from the legend of ‘an Muc Snámha’ (the swimming pig). The legend depicts St. Maeldoid who decided to build a new monastery on the opposite side of Muckno lake.  After his hard labour each day, St. Maeldoid would return the next morning to find his stone walls all knocked down. The legend describes a black pig (an muc dubh) swimming across the lake at night to destroy St. Maeldoid’s work. The legend attests the black pig was the devil (an diabhal) himself.

For this song, Jim McHugh interprets this legend slightly different.  It’s based on the pig’s perspective. Up to this point, he had been earning his keep with the monks and was ruefully awarded by the monks with shelter and food for him and his family. This all changed when St. Maeldoid and his monks (na manaigh) decided to build a new monastery.  They were so consumed with their new project that they neglected the poor pig and his family.  Of course, he had to take action so he escaped from his keep. It wasn’t easy for the small pig.  Crossing the freezing lake (an loch) at night and knocking down the walls and large stones (na clocha móra) had a negative impact on his health (mo cheann atá tinn) and physical condition (lámha briste).   His reputation was also tarnished and blackened (Dúirt siad gur mise an diabhal). In the song chorus, the wee pig gloats he’s a free pig (is muc saor mé) and they’ll never capture him (ní bhéarfaidh said orm)!  Legend tells that St. Maeldoid eventually abandoned his efforts across the lake. This we assume was to the satisfaction of the small pig and his family.

The song is produced, mixed and mastered in Ben Reels Studio, Silverbridge, Armagh. The song features McHugh on vocals, guitar and mandolin. Percussion by Ben and Jim.

An Muc Snámha will be available on all digital formats for streaming/download.

Galway International Arts Festival and Róisín Dubh are delighted to announce that one of Ireland’s biggest international successes of recent years, Kodaline will return to the Festival Big Top for one night only in 2018.

Kodaline played two nights at Galway International Arts Festival in 2015, both of which sold out in record time.

They return to the Festival Big Top in 2018, fresh from thrilling sets at some of the UK’s biggest venues in 2017, including Glastonbury, where they treated fans to their stunning new single ‘Brother’.

The track, which was produced by Steve Harris and Two Inch Punch, with long-time collaborator Johnny McDaid (Snow Patrol) as executive producer, and mixed by Spike Stent, is the first addictive taste from their forthcoming new album.

Last year Kodaline, who are made up of singer Steve Garrigan, guitarist Mark Prendergast, bassist Jason Boland and drummer Vinny May, featured on Kygo’s global smash ‘Raging’. On their forthcoming album, they have for the first time worked with a variety of different writers and producers, including pop guru Wayne Hector, Jonny Coffer (Beyonce, Emeli Sande, Naughty Boy and Two Inch Punch, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and Sam Smith).

The new album will be the first new music from the band since 2015’s ‘Coming Up For Air’, which went gold in the UK. The band’s debut album, ‘In A Perfect World’ has sold over a million copies worldwide and imprinted itself on the nation’s consciousness, with streaming figures well into the 100s of millions. On Vevo, the band’s videos have had over 200 million views, and they have sold over a million singles.

Kodaline’s multi-platinum selling debut album ‘In A Perfect World’ enjoyed massive success in 2012, going into the Top 3 in Britain, spending nine weeks at No. 1 in Ireland and bringing  them to the attention of Europe and the US.

Their song ‘All I Want’ has appeared on a number of successful TV and film soundtracks, including Grey’s Anatomy and box-office smash The Fault In Our Stars.

Kodaline will play the Festival Big Top as part of Galway International Arts Festival 2018 on Thursday 19 July. Tickets for Kodaline go on sale on Friday 2 February, priced at €47.50, from www.giaf.ie and roisindubh.net.

Galway International Arts Festival’s Festival Big Top 2018 line-up is set to be the biggest in the festival’s 41-year history, with acts already announced including alternative rock band Walking on Cars and indie sensation Caribou.

Galway International Arts Festival would like to acknowledge the support of its principal funding agencies the Arts Council and Fáilte Ireland, its Festival Partner Ulster Bank and Education Partner NUI Galway.

Louth contemporary folk band Kern are gearing up for Milwaukee Irish Fest having just won the TradFest Temple Bar Showcase.

Kern is made up of traditional musicians Brendan McCreanor (uilleann pipes) and Barry Kieran (fiddle) along with singer-songwriter SJ McArdle. The band has released a debut album, ‘False Deceiver’, produced by Trevor Hutchinson (Lúnasa, The Waterboys). It is a mix of songs and tunes from the band’s home County of Louth alongside original material and has already garnered significant national airplay in Ireland (including RTE Lyric FM and Radio 1), including live appearances on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show and Raidio na Gaeltachta.

More recently Kern released a single, ‘Till the Docklands Drown’, produced by Donal O’Connor (Ulaid, At First Light). The song was featured in the IFTA-winning Element Pictures movie ‘A Date for Mad Mary’. The band has also toured extensively over the past year.

Kern’s performance, along with the other bands in the showcase, was recorded for broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 and goes out on Niall Toner’s Roots Freeway at 11pm on Saturday February 3rd.

Dublin-based songwriter Paddy Hanna today reveals ‘Toulouse The Kisser’, another track from his forthcoming album ‘Frankly, I Mutate’, which will be out 2^nd March. 

As Paddy explains about the new single – “It’s a travelogue of drunken misadventure, watching your future waste away and accepting you will become the person to whom people say, “at least I’m not that poor fool”.

The album was recorded in Bow Lane studios, which was knocked down a month after recording. Everyone was required to wear foundation during the recording process!

“We took the unusual route of lavishly recording many of the tracks around roughly recorded demos, almost like tracing over a four-track demo with an orchestra”.

Producer Daniel (Fox) was keen to give the album a wall of sound feel, so it was his idea to bring in the strings and horns. The strings were arranged by Ena Brennan.

Hanna’s sophomore album will be released via Strange Brew Rekkids. Following on from the singles ‘Bad Boys’ and ‘Mario Lanza’,  Hanna continues with an orchestral element to his music, along with contributions from members of Girl Band, Saint Sister, Tandem Felix, Cian Nugent and the Cosmos and the Trinity Orchestra.

Hanna played the HWCH 2017 festival and along with his own dates in November and December accompanied by a live band.

“Blessed with a sharply defined, neatly uplifting chorus and some biting, Elvis Costello style lyrics it’s a neat introduction to a curious talent” – Clash

The new album solidifies Paddy Hanna’s position as one of modern pop’s premier songwriters, pitching him right up alongside everyone from Meilyr Jones, to Arab Strap, to Richard Hawley.

https://www.breakingtunes.com/paddyhanna
https://www.facebook.com/Paddyhannamusic/
www.strangebrew.ie 

In January 2017 Conor O’Sullivan released his second solo album ‘The Inbetween’ which for the first time also saw him take on the roles of recording engineer and producer. The fruits of this self professed experiment bore excellent results, the album receiving great acclaim and radio play.

Now in January 2018, Conor has once again emerged from the same process with a new album of self penned songs. His latest offering, ‘Fifty For Electricity’ takes a somewhat different direction in terms of songwriting, a departure from the folk/traditional style of narrative. The songs collected here vary thematically and stylistically, seeing Conor broaden his horizons and sitting comfortably into a more contemporary setting.

Although Conor accompanies himself on a number of instruments here, the assistance of double bassist Martin Brunsden and drummer Martin Leahy feature throughout. There are also contributions from vocalists, Aine Whelan, Eoin O’Brien and Adrian Spillett, strings from Brendan Clancy and Clare Sands, and accordion from Christy Leahy.

The album is available from conorosullivanmusic.com and iTunes from January 29^th.