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Month: April 2018

John Blek Releases Double A Side

John Blek is set to release double A side ‘Needle & Thread’| ‘Salt In The Water’.

Catharsis Vol.1 is the third solo album from Cork, Ireland-based songwriter John Blek. Best known for his work with his band John Blek & the Rats, John has begun a new journey influenced by the folk music of Ireland, Britain and the US. With his solo work, he delves into the world of fingerstyle guitar and reveals the deeply personal and poignant lyrical aspects of his character.

I spent much of the early part of 2017 in and out of hospital with some mysterious illness that was intent on wasting my now 30-year-old body. My energy was at an all time low and all that gave me joy had been stripped or put on hold. All but my guitar and what was left of my feeble voice. So to fill the days and occupy my mind, I wroteI wrote of resilience, of pain and uncertainty. Of new love through fevered dreams, of strength, hope, distance, sedation and the cure. I did it every day and recorded the demos sitting up in my hospital bed accompanied by the electronic bleeps of the machines and punctuated by the nurse’s concerned enquiries. I had a reason. For me this is cathartic. For me, this was the panacea.”

LIVE SHOWS

April

Saturday 21st Dublin, Whelans 
Sunday 22nd, Cork, Leap, Connollys

June

Sunday 17th, Clare, Doolan Folk Festival 

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Join Me In The Pines Announce New Single and Tour

David Geraghty is most well-known to Irish audiences as a founding member of Bell X1 but in recent years he has been exploring a new solo direction under the moniker Join Me In The Pines. The new single ‘Two to Fall in Love’ will be released on 16 April 2018 and represents a move away from the dark folk of previous albums, embracing instead joyous music with hints of Prince, Bowie, Gary Numan, Nile Rodgers. ‘Two to Fall in Love’ has an electropop sensibility underpinned by a brooding bassline, with Geraghty’s atmospheric vocals gliding over the top.

Following on from the Join Me in the Pines’ solo tour in February, Geraghty has just announced a May/June full band tour which will preview the bold new musical direction. Geraghty says, “I really enjoyed getting back out there on the recent solo tour, but I’m so excited to perform the new album with the Join Me in the Pines band in May and June. The reaction to the new songs in February was great but now it’s time to get the groove on with the band.” David will be joined on the road by Marc Aubele (keyboards and vocals), Mick Major (bass and vocals) and Daragh Mayon (drums and vocals).

A new album will be forthcoming later this year with mixing duties undertaken by the very talented Ross Dowling (James Vincent McMorrow, Talos, Brian Deady). This will be David’s fourth solo release and the second under Join Me in the Pines.

May / June TOUR 2018:

Fri. 11 May – Cleeres Kilkenny
Thurs. 17 May – de Barras, Clonakilty
Fri. 18 May – Roundys, Cork City
Fri. June 1 – Roisin Dubh, Galway
Fri. June 8 – Dolans, Limerick

Ticket links at: http://joinmeinthepines.com/gigs

MINDRIOTmt Release ‘We Owe You Nothing’

MINDRIOTmt, a 3 piece from Mitchelstown in Cork have been blazing a trail since the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Brothers’ in 2016. With singles topping the iTunes and Google Play charts the band is now set to release  new music in 2018 with a single called ‘We Owe You Nothing’.

The single will feature TodayFM DJ Dave Moore on vocals with a mix of emotion and aggression. Due for official digital release on the 27th April, the single will have its first radio air play on TodayFM on the Friday 13th April.

The band has gigged relentlessly and with live shows that are a mix of raw emotion and power and fun have won them tours with UK Legends The Darkness and Canadian Prog rock master Devin Townsend and a host of festival slots sharing the stage some of the biggest names in music.

unapologetic, unrelenting, and unmistakably fun” – Irish Examiner

2018 will show no sign of slowing for Tony , Steve & Mike with national tour dates  kicking of shortly .

In the super league of Irish rock bands” – The Irish Times.

www.facebook.com/MINDRIOTmt
twitter.com/MINDRIOTmt
www.youtube.com/MINDRIOTmt
www.MINDRIOTmt.com

 

Rhob Cunningham Releases ‘Step Outside’ On 21 April

‘Step Outside’, the new album from Rhob Cunningham, is released on International Curlew Day, April 21st, 2018

“This record is based on looking at the world from a perch in Vienna,” says Rhob Cunningham of his new album, Step Outside (released April 21st, 2018). “The title is just self-directed advice. It helps that it could be a plea too. Or a healthy reminder. I think I’d be a bit of a homebird if it wasn’t for music, but it keeps me busy. There’s value to be found in mild existential crises in foreign countryside train-stations.” 

A product of the Irish music scene, after touring and collaborating with Lisa Hannigan, James Vincent McMorrow, Cathy Davey, Neil Hannon & Conor O’Brien, and playing support on Irish soil to the likes of Gil Scott-Heron, Bobby Womack, John Martyn and Tori Amos, the Dublin native has spent the last five years on the move, recording and writing in whatever city he finds himself in.

I played my first Austrian gigs in late 2015 and, a year later, a Viennese-based buddy came to visit me while I was working in a sweet shop in Nashville. His offer of a cheap room in a new spot was always going to be a blessing, of course it helped that I was moving from Music City to the City Of Music.

Already acknowledged as a captivating live performer and prolific lyricist, ‘Step Outside’ finds Cunningham at his pared-back best. The range of his voice continually dips and lifts, but consistent are the expressive lyrics and folk twang he has honed over time.

While his 2010 album ‘Our Little Secrets’ was a celebrative stomp and his 2014 album ‘The Window And Day’ a glistening Icelandic expansion, this new release sees his compositions laid bare.

The songs were recorded in two sittings, under the watchful eye and self-assembled microphones of Martin Mitterstieler, who also adds synth below the finger-style guitar and vocal harmonies.
We met at a gig in Lower Austria some years back, shared a stage and threatened to work together ever since, once the album was written, he was only up the road. It all fell together quite nicely.

While some songs are harder to pin down, the first track to be shared from the album is ‘Goodbye Brood’, a tender lament about the curlew, a long, slender-billed bird native to Ireland’s coasts and boglands.

Its familiar call is a loud curloo-oo, but its population has declined so rapidly in Ireland in the last thirty, forty years. I learned about their plight through Anja Murray’s Naturefile series on RTE’s Lyric FM, it was one of those songs that wrote itself.

Another composition, ‘Hope As Silver’, ponders the different colours that silence can be, an attempt to set The Tremeloes straight.
Well, some silences aren’t really so golden at all! I mean, if you’re crying for help and no one answers that call, that’s not a particularly golden absence of sound. I’m surrounded by gold in Vienna, they even have three little Wicklow nuggets in the Natural History Museum, which Ireland might consider reclaiming seeing as we’re a bit short at the mo.”

A noticeable element on the album are the guitar’s open-tunings.”It’s just a benefit to writing songs in a set period of time, they’re going to borrow from each other. I always try to add something new, though. It’s worked for me before. Germany, twice. I got an album out of a 4-month stay in Paris that way.” 

“With Vienna, I knew I had an open calendar. It gave me the freedom to write songs about whatever I was met with.” There’s an ode to the breath-stealing Undine, who inspired Hans Christian Andersen to write The Little Mermaid.

Another song, ‘The Lights’, revolves around the variety of places light can come from. “It’s worth trying to cover the whole spectrum.”

Two songs were written on brief sojourns to Dublin. The John Prine-esque ‘Two Signs’, which is based on the midnight efforts at Dublin’s Apollo House, “watching men and women form a line and smuggle beds into an empty office block so some of the homeless could have shelter for Christmas.

‘The Acts’, was written while partaking in the 24-hour-play project in Dublin historic Abbey Theatre in 2017. “Six stage plays were being written in 24 hours, so I thought it apt to follow suit 
write a tune amid it all, add it to my set at the interval. So, during preparations, participants had been asked to bring along props for inspiration, possible inclusion in the plays. We all met up the night before, gathered in a huge circle and took turns adding things to the mix.” 

A mother, Clelia, an Actor, and her daughter, Clarabelle, the Assistant-Director, were present. When it came their turn, Clelia offered a small, ornate urn, the combined ashes of Clarabelle’s grandparents. “Perchance that they may dance an extra dance across the Theatre’s sacred stage! So ‘The Acts’ is a song for those searching for signals, a song about the different ways of seeing. You could say there’s a thread of that throughout.

Rhob Cunningham’s New Album ‘Step Outside’ is released digitally worldwide, on International Curlew Day, April 21st, 2018

https://show.co/GZE5Eyc

It’s All About That Bass for An Taobh Tuathail’s 19th Birthday

On Tuesday 1 May, Cian Ó Cíobháin will mark An Taobh Tuathail’s 19th year on the airwaves with a special broadcast on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta where the focus will be on spinning the tunes with the greatest basslines.

Cian says:
I heard stories from mates about the moment that James Blake played ‘Limit To Your Love’ at a festival a few years ago.  As soon as the bass dropped, there was no escaping its forcefield, all the way down through the crowd, towards the bar, where bottles shook and rattled on the shelves.  I’ve had equally sensual experiences with the power of bass, whether raving in Brixton basements, or the night that I first heard Mount Kimbie in Galway shortly after their first album came out.  The impact of the bass that night was incredible. I could feel my teeth chattering as a sequence of warm basslines thumped off my chest.  Bliss.

There are some tunes that I listen to in my home studio where you can hear every CD reverberate on the walls when the bass drops.   These are the kinds of tracks that we’ll be mining for this year’s birthday special.”

Cian’s inviting listeners to get in touch with their favourite basslines and bass moments for #AnTT19 via Twitter, Facebook, Spotify playlists or simply email att@nullrte.ie.

All suggestions are welcome – from the wonderful old dub and reggae basslines that graced Jamaica’s Studio 1 productions, to the rib-rattling hoover basslines from classic Belgian rave tunes, post-punk, soul, Motown, jazz, disco, Cuban music, and the UK rave-continuum, who each gave us distinct basslines that continue to mesmerise and bewitch us.

An Taobh Tuathail’s 19th birthday special, #ATT19, will be broadcast at 10 pm on Tuesday 1 May on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Le Galaxie Release Video for ‘Day Of The Child’

Le Galaxie have released the video for current single ‘Day Of The Child’ take from their  third studio album ‘Pleasure’  which is out now released through US label Red River.

For their third studio album, Le Galaxie have coupled with LA based Independent label Red River. This isn’t the only new and exciting partnership for the band, as longtime collaborator May Kay, formally of Fight Like Apes, is now a full-time member of the Le Galaxie family.

Recorded in their own studio with ultra producer Blende, ‘Pleasure’ points to Le Galaxie’s evolution from purveyors of dance floor bangers to creators of well-crafted songs. The affecting, almost master and servant like vocal exchange between Michael Pope and May Kay, demonstrates a self-confidence and maturity of a band in control. The first release from the album, ‘Pleasure’, was the calling card for an album that sees the band producing a new body of work, to be enjoyed as much between your ears as between the throbbing floors and laser lit ceilings of venues and festivals across Ireland, the US, Europe and beyond. 

Le Galaxie have spent the past seven years claiming their title as Ireland’s best live act, honing their craft across clubs and venues, bars and fields, tents and countries, cities and towns, parties and raves. And in doing so, the band has had a multiplier effect, going from a cult following to a force. All systems are go.

Having brought festivals across Europe, like Lovebox, Benicassim, The Great Escape, Transmusicales and Electric Picnic on their feet and dancing, it is time to bring the Le Galaxie party to album.

‘Pleasure’ is out now!

http://www.legalaxie.net/

http://www.facebook.com/legalaxie

Applications for the Long Road to Longitude Now Open

CANVAS Youth Arts Committee, in partnership with the Grainstore, dlr’s Youth Arts Facility and MCD Productions presents Long Road to Longitude, their yearly Battle of the Bands where the winners get to play at Longitude. Winning acts will also have the opportunity to do a recording session with the Dún Laoghaire Further Education Institute (DFEi) music production course in September 2018.

The competition is open to bands and solo artists aged 13 – 25 years who are from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The heats will take place on Saturday 5, 12, 19 May, the semi-finals on Saturday 26 May and Friday 1 June and the Grand Final on Friday 8 June.

Closing Date for Applications is Friday 28 April.

For more information and to apply contact: grainstorecanvas@nullgmail.com

Application forms can be found on the Grainstore website:www.dlrgrainstore.ie/youth-arts/long-road-longitude-2018

CANVAS is a group of young people who help choose and run different arts projects that happen in the Grainstore, dlr’s youth arts facility. CANVAS is officially the Grainstore’s Youth Arts Committee and they are actively involved in shaping and influencing the artistic life of the Grainstore. They have run and managed Long Road to Longitude since 2014 with the support of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and MCD Productions.

The Grainstore, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s Youth Arts Facility, continues to be a leader in offering unique arts experiences to young people, through workshops, projects and providing a space for young people to create their own projects and events in a safe and supportive environment. We value young people’s artistic ideas and voices and provide an environment where we can bring those ideas to life.

Facebook: @DLRgrainstore / CANVAS@grainstore

Twitter: @cabinteelygrain

Instagram: @grainstorecabinteely

Website: www.dlrgrainstore.ie

Photo: Jonathan Stokes

SIGNAL: VISUALS : Examining trends in tech, careers & creativity in music | 18th April

The SIGNAL series examines upcoming trends, tech, careers and creativity in music.

SIGNAL: VISUALS, the third event in the series will explore the rise of visuals and its importance to the live music experience. Joining host Martin Clancy are Ant O’Brien and Ronan McGrath of Generic People on how to create immersive live performance using Resolume 6.

Sponsored by IMRO, SIGNAL is a new dedicated series of discussions and interactive demonstrations focused on cutting-edge technology, creativity and music, featuring artists, educators and creative thinkers. The series is a collaboration between Science Gallery Dublin and Martin Clancy, a music researcher at the Trinity College Dublin’s Long Room Hub. Martin is a certified Ableton Live trainer with over thirty years’ professional experience as both a music producer and an industry professional. 

Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2018 – 18:30 to 20:00
Location: Paccar Theatre, Trinity College Dublin 2

FREE – PLEASE REGISTER HERE

Robert Grace ‘Golden’ Out This Month

25 year old Robert Grace, a cat from Kilkenny, is one of Ireland’s most exciting up and coming performers, songwriters and producers. It’s a bold statement to make but when you hear his new single ‘Golden’, you will find it hard to disagree! ‘Golden’ follows the airplay hit from 2017 ‘Wanna Love’ which clocked up National airplay on RTÉ 2fm, Beat, iRadio and many other stations across the country. It reached No 5 on the Independent Airplay Charts.

In recent years Robert has developed into a songwriter/producer/performer of note. Robert wrote three and co-produced four tracks on Hometown’s recent chart-topping album released on Sony Music. He has also co-written with some of the best-known songwriters in the UK including Dan McDougall (The Wanted, The Shires) // Blair MacKichan (Paloma Faith/Sia/Lily Allen) // Phil Thornalley (Natalie Imbruglia/Pixie Lott) // Josh Wilkinson (One Direction / 5 seconds of Summer) //David Munday (Tina Turner/Pixie Lott/Belinda Carlisle). In his capacity as writer and producer, Robert has helped other artist’s music achieve chart success.

With his new single, it’s now time for Robert to shine in his own right. Let it be ‘Golden’.

Find Robert online:

Facebook.com/RobertGraceMusic
Twitter.com/robert_grace
Instagram.com/RobertGraceMusic

Columbia Mills Headline Button Factory

Columbia Mills return to the Button Factory in Dublin, on Friday April 13th, for what promises to be their biggest show to date.

Fresh from the release of their debut album ‘A Safe Distance To Watch’ the band will explore their favourites from the album and their previous released EPs with an exclusive preview of new material due out in the summer.

This is a great opportunity to catch Columbia Mills before they embark on their UK tour and the festival circuit.

The band are joined on the night by Orchid Collective and Outsider. This is a show not to be missed.

TICKETS : https://goo.gl/n2hN4x

www.columbiamillsmusic.com

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