Month: March 2018

Paul Doran has been a highly regarded songwriter for many years. Known for songs like ‘Natives’ (Christy Moore and Paolo Nutini) and ‘Poison Words’ (Mary Black and Mary Coughlan), Paul has joined forces with some legends of the Irish music scene to record his debut album ‘Sand’.

‘Natives has touched listeners round the globe with it’s universal quality’ – Christy Moore

Featuring nine songs written by Paul, including ‘Natives’ and ‘The Gardener’ both recorded by Christy Moore and a cover of Tim Hardin’s ‘The Lady Came From Baltimore’ it brings together quality songs, a unique voice and musicians who have performed with Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, Chuck Berry, Sinead O Connor, Ron Wood, Paul Brady and The Fleagh Cowboys.

“Paul Doran’s brilliant ‘Poison Words’ will doubtless see The Holy Ground hovering at or around the top of the charts till year’s end” – Hot Press

‘That Was My Heart’ is the first single to be released and is available from Bandcamp and CD Baby

Paul Doran began performing his own material supporting acts like Moving Hearts, John Martyn and Christy Moore while also working as a session singer for producer Bill Whelan and others mostly singing jingles’ for radio and TV. He co-wrote ‘Make It Work’ for the Self-Aid concert with Christy Moore who first recorded ‘Natives’ in 1987 leading to several other covers of the song. Over the years Paul’s songs have been performed by Christy Moore, Movin’ Hearts, Paolo Nutini, Mary Black, Mary Coughlan, Eleanor Shanley and others.

“I was dying to sing this song for years but I didn’t have the guts” – Mary Coughlan

Shot in Dublin City by Bold Puppy, Stephanie Rainey has just released the colourful video for her new single ‘Question Mark’.

Speaking about the video Stephanie Rainey said: ‘The video stays true to what the song is all about: that person from the past who could’ve been the one. With someone like that there is always an underlying, unspoken tension. Since I put out the track I’ve had so many messages from people saying that they know exactly who their Question Mark is – which is so mad. I think everybody has one so I think the video will resonate with a lot of people”.

‘Question Mark’ is the follow up to her recent radio hit  ‘Sorry’ and singles ‘100 Like Me’ and ‘Nothing of You Left to Love’ which have amassed nearly 10 Million streams across all platforms as well as over 6000 plays on Irish radio in 2017 alone. 2017 saw Stephanie Rainey play the main stages of Ireland’s biggest festivals Electric Picnic and Indiependence and she capped off 2017 with her first first 5 date tour of Ireland with sold out shows.

Now in 2018, she has embarked on her spring tour playing in venues doubled in capacity. Live, audiences are captivated by Stephanie Rainey’s honesty and humour and she never fails to make a connection. With only a few tracks released so far, she manages to have people singing for the duration of her shows while for songs like ‘Please Don’t Go’, you could hear a pin drop.

Stephanie has the look of a young Chrissie Hynde and her songs lie in the emotional hinterland between Adele and Ed Sheeran. Her music is not about gloss and glamour but the grit and grind of the real world. Her’s is a voice that is authentic and honest.

Stephanie Rainey is the Irish singer songwriter who made the impossible happen. With no funding, no manager, no contacts and no carefully calculated social media campaign, she created a music industry stampede of epidemic proportions with just one heart-stopping song – ‘Please Don’t Go’. Within 24 hours of the song being uploaded onto Facebook, Stephanie, had more than a million hits (it quickly rose to 5 million views across both Facebook and YouTube), offers pouring in from US and UK record companies and world-wide media attention.

‘Question Mark’ is available for streaming and download across all digital platforms now.

Upcoming Live Date 

25 April – Cork Opera House as part of Music Cork with Hermitage Green, The Strypes & Fontaines D.C.

http://stephanierainey.com/
https://www.facebook.com/stephanieraineyband/
https://twitter.com/stephanierainey
https://www.instagram.com/stephanieraineymusic/

Supertonic Sound Club are an 8 piece Dublin based band influenced by old school soul-funk and authentic reggae.  They have performed in session on both RTÉ and BBC and have received national airplay throughout Europe.  Members of the band have performed with a diverse range of leading international acts including Oasis, Sinead O’Connor, Tony Allen and James Galway.

Their latest single, ‘Please Don’t Ask’ features Sweden’s Kristina Glasnovic on vocals and is an uptempo slice of modern soul.  The single is now available on CD and digital download and will be released on 7 inch vinyl in April.  A video for the single has been produced featuring Dublin’s finest comedy improv group and that latest dance craze, towel dancing.

A single launch will take place on Thursday, 12^th April at East Side Tavern on Lower Leeson Street.  The following week, the band will be performing at the Freedom Sounds Festival in Cologne, Germany.

‘Please Don’t Ask’ is currently on the RTÉ Radio One playlist and the band will be performing on ‘The Late Late Show’ in April.

Oh Bryan are an alternative rock band based in Dublin City. The band consists of Stephen O’Brien, Shane Power and Billy Campbell. Oh Bryan formed in late 2016 and have been growing from strength to strength. They recently released their debut EP ‘Rewind’ in August to a sold out show in Whelan’s.

Since the release of the EP, Oh Bryan have received an extremely positive response from national radio station Today FM. Their second single ‘Maze’ was given its first spin on the Lost In Music show hosted by Louise Duffy. Since then, the band have shared huge stages with other great Irish artists such as Little Hours, The Blizzards and Chasing Abbey. Oh Bryan have a list of dates in the coming months with headline shows in Dublin and Kilkenny.

Oh Bryan have worked very hard on their online presence. In the past 12 months they have released two self-made music videos and multiple lyric videos. They are doing particularly well on social media platforms such as Spotify where they have over 150,000 streams and on Facebook where the fan following is close to hitting 10,000 likes.

Moving into 2018 the band are already in pre-production with new music for a second EP. These new songs will be debuted at their Dublin headline show in Bello Bar on the 23^rd of March.

For more information, check out:

ohbryan.com

Dublin’s loudest Rock ‘n Roll train The Minutes return with a brand new single ‘Got My Love’ out now

Four years since their last release and a lot has happened.

The boys have become men and the men made a record, by themselves.

“Got My Love” is the first single to be released from the forthcoming third long player.

Bearing their trademark rumbles, thumps and licks “Got My Love” is swamped in illustrative assured vocals and steely slide guitars.

The Minutes will road test new material in the intimate surrounds of:

Whelans (upstairs) – Dublin May 18th (Sold Out)
Whelans (upstairs) – Dublin May 19th
Mike the Pies – Listowel May 25th

Its been a while but fear not…The Minutes are back.

www.theminutesmusic.com
www.facebook.com/theminutes
www.twitter.com/theminutes

The Ark and Improvised Music Company are looking for applications from professional artists and ensembles in jazz and improvised music for ‘Fun Size Jazz’

This is a performance and development opportunity for jazz and improvising musicians to propose  short ‘scratch’ performances aimed at young audiences. The chosen artists will have an opportunity to devise, create and deliver their short live performances for audiences of children at The Ark this summer 2018.

It is the intention to use this open call for ‘Fun Size Jazz’ as a stepping stone towards identifying projects that could be developed further in 2019 in association with IMC and The Ark for potential future Irish or international touring.

Applications are welcome from professional artists and ensembles (maximum quartet) in jazz and/or improvised music to develop short ‘scratch’ performances aimed at young audiences.

Full details on this opportunity available here:

http://www.improvisedmusic.ie/news/fun-size-jazz-performance-and-development-opportunity-for-jazz-and-improvis

Recorded as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis, ‘Home’ is the debut release by Susie Q, otherwise known as Susan Quirke – a singer, songwriter, and musician originally from Co. Limerick.

Since launching in January 2018, the track has had extensive international airplay in the US, Canada, Japan, and Germany, and Susie Q has been featured on RTE Radio 1 and in Hotpress, the Sunday Independent and on the Irish Times Róisín Meets podcast. The video accompanying the song has had a huge response online:

Youtube: http://bit.ly/2C98Ljb on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2DQilb8 

Her forthcoming album, ‘Into the Sea’, will be released later this year and blends elements of indie rock with folkier ethereal and atmospheric songs written in California, Spanish Point in Clare and at her home near Bull island in Dublin.

The album has been recorded with Irish indie luminaries including ex Lír duo, Colm Quearney and Rob Malone, and members of Irish indie legends The Frames – Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Graham Hopkins, and Justin Carroll. It was mixed and mastered by Grammy award winner Dave Odlum.

Susie Q is also known for her work as a co-founder of the A Lust For Life mental health charity and she is also a meditation teacher. She has opened for the Dalai Lama and has performed at Body&Soul, Electric Picnic and other festivals.

Susie Q will play both these festivals during the summer and will also perform as part of the ‘I Heart The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordain tribute concert in Dolans, Limerick on July 5th.

Susie Q says she wrote the song in response to feeling disturbed by news reports of unaccompanied children who fled their homeland and ended up living on the streets or in refugee camps. “What’s going on in Syria and elsewhere is horrific and it’s important we speak out. ‘Home’ is a plea for peace and a reminder that whatever your race or religion, we are all one people, and together share this planet as our home. I think it’s important to remind ourselves of our shared humanity during these turbulent times. It can sometimes be easy to see each other as separate, but fundamentally we are all connected.”

“In many ways, today’s refugees across the world are not unlike those who fled the famine in Ireland on coffin ships in the 1800s. I think it’s important to remember that whatever our beliefs might be, most people in the world crave peace, safety, a home, an education, and decent lives for themselves and their children.”

“Susie Q has a voice that pulls you right in.. she is a gifted Irish artist and her new song Home is a powerful, beautiful and much-needed call to humanity that needs to be heard.” – Fiachna Ó Braonáin (RTÉ Radio 1 / Hothouse Flowers)

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Dublin indie-pop four piece Montauk Hotel have released their new single ‘Hands’.

Following the success of their debut E.P. and single ‘Sense of Place’ last year, Montauk Hotel’s latest release ‘Hands’ showcases their ability to fuse strong melodies with glistening guitars to create their own brand of 80s influenced glimmer of indie pop. Montauk Hotel are made up of Claudia Verdecchia (vocals), Shell Dooley (guitars), Aoife Hester (bass) and Karima Dillon-El Toukhy (drums).

The band have garnered a reputation as one of the city’s most exciting live acts, with shows including The Last Mixed Tape’s Lost Series, Bello Bar, The Sound House, The Bowery, Vantastival and Sunflower Festival, as well as headline shows at Whelans, Sin E, The Harbour Bar and The Workman’s Club.

The single will be accompanied by the following tour dates:

March 17^th – The Workman’s Club, Dublin
March 28^th – Whelan’s, Dublin
April 5^th – The Menagerie, Belfast
April 27^th – The Underground, Dublin

‘Hands’ is available on Spotify and Apple Music and for download from iTunes.

“A gorgeous jangly pop noise” Hot Press

“the Dublin band’s vapourous indie guitar married with strident vocals… is delicately-spun and melodic stuff” RTE Entertainment – Irish Band Set to Rise 2017

Listen to ‘Hands’ on Spotify:

‘Hands’ is also available on iTunes.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter: @MontaukHotel

Instagram: @montaukhotelband

Facebook

Soundcloud

Breaking Tunes

YouTube

Website: www.montauk-hotel.com

There was a tremendous turnout in the Seven Oaks Hotel on Saturday 10th March for the Pan Celtic national song contest where eighteen original songs went head to head for the top prize of €1,000 and the honour of representing Ireland in the International Contest in Letterkenny in April. Galway based musicians Pádraic Seoighe and Niall Teague scooped the top prize with their song ‘Ar Saoire’.

The 18 finalists from across the country, including two from Carlow, performed live before an audience of more than 300 and the judging panel of Alan Swan, Head of Music with RTÉ 2fm, Rossa Ó Snodaigh of Kíla fame and well known local musician Pádraigín Caesar.

Musical director for the contest was Ollie Hennessy while the Pan Celtic House Band featuring Ollie on piano and keyboard, Aoife Kavanagh on fiddle and Tom McDermott on drums provided accompaniment for many of the compositions.

Local musician and singer Eric Butler was guest performer for the evening while local rapper Jahk O’ Connaith also entertained the crowd with his song ‘Gan Dídean’. Main sponsor of the gala event was IMRO and the winning composers were presented with the national trophy and a cheque for €1,000. Gael Linn and Glór Cheatharlach sponsored the runners up prizes.

The judges were extremely impressed by the high standard of the entries and were visibly moved by the professional delivery of all finalists.

Having listened to all 18 songs and marked each performance under the agreed criteria the marks were finally totted up and the winners announced. A big cheer went up when it was announced that 3^rd place would be shared by Áine Durkin for her song ‘Grá faoi Bhláth’ which was performed by local singer Lisa De Buitléar and the group Blind Poets from Cork with their song ‘Farraigí Garbha’ . Pádraic Jack from the Aran Islands was thrilled to be placed second with his song ‘I bhfostú sa bhFiántais while the top prize of €1,000 and the Pan Celtic trophy went to Pádraic Seoighe and Niall Teague from Galway for their composition ‘Ar Saoire’ which is based around the refugee crisis.  Pádraic and Niall will now look forward to a trip to Letterkenny over the Easter break where they will represent Ireland at the Pan Celtic International Song Contest competing against the entries from the other participating Celtic nations of Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall and The Isle of Man.