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Month: June 2018

Apella Announce Next Single ‘City Limits’

After their debut tour across the UK with Keywest, Apella returned to Ireland to a sold out crowd at the infamous Ruby Sessions in Dublin recently to perform a rare acoustic set where they announced the release of their highly anticipated 4th single ‘City Limits’.

This is an upbeat, feel good summer anthem that leaves you wanting to hit repeat! Apella continue to deliver catchy hooks, radiant riffs and BIG drums carefully crafted by Dara Quilty and Ronan Nolan. This type of smart, sassy writing is repeated throughout their soon to be released debut album, which showcases the duo’s new and ever expanding sound.

Apella burst onto the scene with their debut single ‘We Met At A Party’ to huge support from both national and regional radio stations which went on to be topped by their sophomore ‘Graceful Dancer’.

The duo made a serious mark on the live front having packed out their headline show in Whelan’s Main Room, which included some A-list fans in attendance like Ed Sheeran, Saoirse Ronan and Irish football legend Damien Duff! They followed that up with a slew of festivals before decamping to the studio to complete their album.

2018 has already been an eventful one for the band. They have showcased that their sound appeals to such a wide audience having toured the UK with Keywest and then opened for rock heavyweights Don Broco.

‘City Limits’ will be officially released this Friday, 22nd June. 

Apella play IMRO First Cuts at Abner Brown’s in Rathmines on June 27th to coincide with the single launch!

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Minister Madigan announces the change of name of the Irish Film Board to Screen Ireland

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, TD, has signed an order which appoints 18 June 2018 as the date on which the name of the Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board will be changed to Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.

The name Screen Ireland recognises and encompasses the widening remit of the agency and gives a greater voice to Irish creative storytelling talent on screen.  There is an international revolution happening within the audiovisual sector.  The traditional distinction between feature films in cinemas and drama on television has developed into a more complex environment, driven by a host of new internet platforms.  The way in which audiences see and hear stories on screen has evolved rapidly in recent years. The name change reflects the vision which the Government has for a vibrant film and screen content production sector in Ireland; bringing more Irish stories to more audiences across all platforms.

Minister Madigan said: “The name Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann will reflect the broader remit of the agency as the promoter of the Irish film, TV and animation sector.  Thanks to the increased Government support for the Irish audio-visual industry, €200m over 10 years, which was announced as part of Project Ireland 2040, Screen Ireland will continue to support and nurture Irish talent by funding the development, production and distribution of the screen content industry.

Sea Sessions Announce Stage Times

Sea Sessions, who return to the unique festival setting of Donegal’s Bundoran, have just announced their hotly anticipated stage times for the festival weekend from 22 – 24 June 2018. Organisers are celebrating 10 years partying by the beach so this year is guaranteed to be bigger and better than any year yet!

The full line up for Sea Sessions 2018 includes headliners Dizzee Rascal on Friday 22 June, Walking On Cars on 23 June and Rudimental on 24 June. Hannah Wants and Duskywill headline the new Astoria Dance Stage and Irish album chart toppers Delorentos and The Blizzards will headline the new Monroe’s stage. Also taking to the Sea Sessions stages are Everything Everything, Chasing Abbey, Hudson Taylor, Le Galaxie, Jerry Fish, Kormac (Av Show), Fekky, Versatile, DJ Yoda (AV Show), Wild Youth, Greg Wilson, Stomptown Brass, Fabio, Ryan Mc Mullan, The Hot Sprockets, DJ Deece, David Keenan, Wille & The Bandits, Slow Place Like Home, Waldorf & Cannon, Amber & The Bear, Marc O Reilly, Get Down Edits, DJ Mek, Brave Giant, Interskalactic,New Valley Wolves, Elaine Mai, The Clandestinos, 1000 Beasts, Vernon Jane, Thumper, Alan Finan, Delta Fuse,BPM, Colin Perkins, A Different Animal, Order of The Mess, Molly Sterling, Sixpenny Plug, Waking Android,  Ciara Brady, Myth and Motion DJs.

With their unique blend of quality acts, beach sports, surfing and a stunning location right on Bundoran beach on the Wild Atlantic Way, Sea Sessions is much more than just a music festival.

Sea Sessions surfing and sports events have become an important kick off to the tourist season in Bundoran and have made Sea Sessions an integral part of the Irish festival circuit.  Winner of IMRO Festival of the year at the 2017 IMRO Venue Awards alongside picking up the gong for Festival of the year at the “Excellence in local Government Awards”, Sea Sessions has gone from strength to strength.

The Festival started way back in 2008 as an after party for a Surfing Competition. Now it holds the top Surfing Competition in the country as well as hosting the worlds top skateboarders, BMX’ers and loads of beach sports. Supported by and working with DonegalCounty Council and Failte Ireland the event has become an important kick start to the tourist season for the capital of Irish surfing in Bundoran.

Limited tickets on sale now from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide, www.ticketmaster.ie. Priced from €109.90 for 3 days and €134.90 including 4 nights camping. There’s also limited single day tickets available from €49.50, Surfer Bar (VIP) Upgrades from €50 extra plus Glamping options.

Check www.seasessions.com for more details.

Sea Sessions

 22nd – 24th June 2018.

 www.ticketmaster.ie and Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide

Search Party Animal Release ‘Sailboat’ Today

Even at a time when the boundaries between genres are becoming ever more blurred, Irish quintet Search Party Animal collide an uncompromising hybrid of sounds. Mixing the organic instrumentation and song structures of guitar bands with the innovative production techniques of electronic music and a background in math-rock, they’re somehow both immediately accessible and surprisingly impossible to pigeonhole.

Although they’ve released just three tracks to date – their Faction Records debut ‘Evergreen’ and the follow-ups ‘Enemies’ and ‘Get Hitched’ – they’re already making waves in all of the right ways. They built upon an early invitation to play Canadian Music Week when Radio 1’s Phil Taggart premiered ‘Evergreen’, and their undeniable potential was highlighted when they were named in 2FM’s Rising 2018 list.

Having previously played festivals including Electric Picnic and Other Voices, Search Party Animal are now preparing for the current year of festivals including Body & Soul among others. By concocting a diverse cocktail of styles, Search Party Animal have hit upon a sound that can inspire a cult-like following that will spread far beyond their origins in the Dublin suburb of Dundrum.

Rushes Shares Latest Single ‘WAVE’

West Cork native Rushes is getting set to release his 2nd single ‘WAVE’ hitting streaming / download services on June 15th.

The song at first sounds upbeat and optimistic, with its combination of soulful synth, crisp vocal production and strong, dance-inducing bass. However, delve deeper and it hides dark undertones below its positive exterior. “The song is about seeing a friend going down the wrong path in life” admits Rushes, “ You see them mixing with the wrong crowd or not finding their feet but you still have hope that they’re going to get to a good place, that they can find happiness”.

With an EP on the way in October, and shows planned for later in the year, Rushestime has finally arrived.

@Rushesofficial

Barry Wilson Music Release ‘Sense Of Me’ feat Gemma Sugrue

Barry Wilson Music is a large ensemble project led by Barry Wilson, a musician, composer and songwriter from Cork, Ireland. He has spent the last year in studio collaborating with over 22 musicians across Ireland creating, writing and arranging music for his upcoming album due out at the latter end of 2018; as well as contributing drums, percussion, piano, e-piano, vocals and lyrics to his pieces. The music is a seamless blend of Jazz, Funk, Hip Hop, Film Soundtrack and everything in between, guaranteeing a unique sonic experience that’s both original and refreshing.

Collaborations with artists on the upcoming album include the likes of Ophelia McCabe (Renowned Irish MC), Gemma Sugrue (Voiceworks Director and vocalist for Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra), Sara Ryan (Up-and-coming solo artist recently named Folk Artist of the Year), Shaool (MC of the well-known Sligo hip hop act This Side Up) and many more. The project is in the early stage of being taken to the live stage, most recently Coughlan’s Bar and The Kino in Cork along with a show in Bagots Hutton, Dublin coming up in July.

Airplay from singles released include repeat plays from local Cork radio stations Red fm & 96 fm, as well as national radio stations such as 2FM (Dan Hegarty, The Alternative), KCLR (Roddy Cleere’s Irish Music Show) & Highland Radio (Centre Stage with Jimmy Stafford).

‘Sense Of Me’ feat. Gemma Sugrue encompasses a rich combination of music styles. Elements of jazz can be heard with its strong, blazing horn section; a sweeping, lush quartet of strings offers an orchestral, film score feel; the thumping rhythm section of Rhodes piano, bass, drums adds a rhythmic hip-hop & soul texture; a driving guitar brings with it a rock edge; all carried by the powerful voice of Gemma Sugrue.

As well as being the owner of the nationally renowned vocal tuition school Voiceworks, Gemma Sugrue was also soloist for Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra, headlining the Marquee and Electric Picnic. All of the instrumentation was composed and arranged by leader of the project, Barry Wilson, who performed e-piano on the piece as well as recruiting the talented outfit of musicians who are part of bands such as Shookrah, Notify, Strung, the Paul Dunlea Big Band, amongst others, making it a thoroughly collaborative effort of the current Irish music scene.

Creative Frame | Thinking outside the box – how to make a living as a musician

Trying to make a living out of music can be a real struggle. There are many challenges to working as a musician, particularly in rural Ireland, but across the whole industry it’s getting harder to sell CDs, to get good paying gigs and even though technology has made some things easier, it also means there’s a lot more competition around, not least from Netflix and the ever increasing range of entertainment musicians must now vie with for attention.

To really make a living out of music you need to think outside the box, explore new opportunities, and do what you’ve always done – only differently and better than before.

As a musician you need to take an active role in developing an audience for your work, how you market your work and promote yourself has changed dramatically in a very short time but at the same time there are new opportunities from different groups and individuals looking to pay for the services of a musician and different means for musicians to develop their music projects.

To explore some of these issues, we are delighted to have invited a panel of professional musicians who have managed to carve out sustainable careers out of their craft to attend the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton on Friday 22nd June from 2-5pm. The format for the day will include a panel discussion which will be open to the floor, followed by breakout sessions where you will have the opportunity to informally discuss your ongoing professional development needs with relevant panel members.

This informal and informative event will be of interest to musicians and singers from any context or genre, but traditional musicians in particular. It will be a great opportunity to meet the panel and get together with other musicians to compare notes and to share insights on ways to develop a sustainable music career in rural Ireland.

Chairing the panel will be Sandra Joyce, director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at University of Limerick. Panel members will include:-

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Jordan who is recognised as one of the finest traditional singers in Ireland today, she has been the lead vocalist for the traditional Irish music band Dervish for over two decades, and has played practically every corner of the globe to packed houses in over 40 countries. Fiddle player Dr Liz Doherty who currently holds the post of Irish Traditional Music Lecturer at the School of Creative Arts and Technology at Ulster University in Derry. Liz has performed and taught all over the world. She also runs a traditional music school Scoil Trad Bhun Cranncha and was director of the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention which took place in Ireland for the first time in 2012. Fiddle and banjo player John Carty who is one of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians having been awarded the Irish Television station, TG4’s Traditional Musician of the Year in 2003. He performs and teaches worldwide and is a tutor at the World Academy of Music and Dance. More recently John arranged the traditional music pieces in the highly acclaimed film Brooklyn. Fiddle player Ciarán O Maonaigh former recipient of TG4 Young Musician of the Year and released his first album shortly after in 2004. He is also a member of the band Fidil, and they have released three acclaimed albums. Ciarán’s music has been used in films, on television and on radio programmes including the award winning short film Noreen. He has also worked as a production co-ordinator, researcher and presenter on numerous television series’ for TG4.

Places for this exciting event will be limited so early booking is strongly recommended. To Book: https://goo.gl/Kmpyk7

Friday 22 June 2018

14.00 – 15:30 Panel Discussion

15:30 – 17:00 Break out discussions

The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim

 

Peco Announces Live Dates

Kildare native ‘Peco’ has announced special guests ‘Bunoscionn’ and ‘Charles James Walker’ for East Side Tavern on June 28th.

The indie folk rock singer has recently set up a string of festival dates including ‘Bare’ , ‘Riverfest’ , ‘ Bloom’ ‘The Acoustic Yard’ and ‘The Secret Village’ to name a few. To coincide with this he has recently announced a Dublin date for The East Side Tavern on June 28th to play his first headline show in the capital in 2018.

After releasing his debut EP ‘And So I Arrived At The Start’ late last year he has also recently released plans of his debut album coming early 2019. Recently featuring as a finalist in two separate international song writing competitions in both the UK and US respectively.

For more info check out www.pecomusic.com and tickets can be bought from www.ticketstop.ie at €6 + booking fee

Villagers Return With New Single and Album Announcement

Always restless and inventive while always true to the power and glory of songwriting and melody, Conor O’Brien has made another great leap forward with Villagers’ fourth studio album, ‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’, released by Domino on Friday 21st September.

Following the exquisitely sparse, intimate aura of 2015’s ‘Darling Arithmetic’, O’Brien’s new record reconnects with the multi-faceted approach of Villagers’ 2010 album debut ‘Becoming A Jackal’ and 2013’s ‘{Awayland}’ while adding a new-found soulfulness, rhythmic nous and dazzling panoply of sonic detail, both analogue and digital, creating feverish moods while writing effortlessly accessible tunes. Balanced with subtle aspects and lyrical themes that embrace existential fears and hopes in this desperate, technologically-centred dystopian age, The Art Of Pretending To Swim is the most brilliantly realised Villagers album to date.

The album was written, produced, mixed and primarily performed by Conor O’Brien in his Dublin studio.

The video for ‘A Trick of the Light’, the first single from the album, was directed by Bob Gallagher. Conor says of the collaboration:

Myself and Bob got together and discussed the song thematically and came to the conclusion that there was no other option but to make a short film in which we follow a disheveled shamanistic protagonist who mysteriously triggers an altered state of consciousness in everyone he meets, or at least believes that he does. We also wanted lots of dancing and to inspire a general feeling of “what the hell did I just watch?” in the viewer.”

O’Brien has a string of accolades under his belt including two Ivor Novello Awards (the most recent being 2016’s Album Award for ‘Darling Arithmetic’), two Mercury Music Prize nominations and is also a previous winner of Ireland’s Choice Music Prize.

Additionally, Villagers’ music recently featured in the high profile HBO drama ‘Big Little Lies’, Conor has collaborated with the composer Nico Muhly (that track featuring in the forthcoming Paulo Sorrentino Berlusconi biopic ‘Loro 2’) and Villagers’ Spotify session of ‘Nothing Arrived’ has hit over 100 million streams.

Tracklisting

  1. Again
  2. A Trick Of The Light
  3. Sweet Saviour
  4. Long Time Waiting
  5. Fool
  6. Love Came With All That It Brings
  7. Real Go-Getter
  8. Hold Me Down
  9. Ada 

‘The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ is available to pre-order on Domino Mart-exclusive deluxe LP (includes 10” of a 12-minute version of ‘Ada’ and B-side ‘This Is The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ plus signed lyric booklet), Deluxe LP (includes ‘Ada’/’ This Is The Art Of Pretending To Swim’ 10”), Standard LP, CD and Digitally. Pre-order: Dom Mart | Digital

Photo by Rich Gilligan

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Mongrel State Release ‘Evidence Of What’ This Month

Summer is here, and the International Groove Machine that is Mongrel State are back to soundtrack it for us! June 22nd sees the release of ‘Evidence Of What’, their first new music since 2016’s ‘Mestizo’.

Based loosely on the Greek legend of Cassandra, who could foretell the coming of disaster, but who was never believed, it attempts to capture the sense of growing frustration when faced with the knowledge that, no matter how compelling evidence may be, if someone is willfully refusing to see the truth then there’s very little that can be done.

The track was written by Darren in the south of Spain in early 2017 while the band were there on tour. Taking for inspiration the music of The Jim Jones Revue, its sound is a bit of a departure for the band as for the most part it eschews Claudio’s electric guitar to give space for Sebastian’s powerful drums and Guillermo’s driving piano, resulting in a raw, high energy track with a sense of drama to it.

The band have lined up a series of shows across the summer, and the dates are as follows…

Saturday 23rd June: Evidence of What Launch Party – Bello Bar, Portobello, Dublin (Adm €10)
Saturday 7th July: Jack’s Music Club – Dun Laoghaire (Adm €10)
Tuesday 10th July: White Horse Sessions – Kenny’s – Lahinch, Co Clare
Monday 23rd July: Boyle Arts Festival – Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Wednesday 1st August: Sin E (acoustic show) – Ormond Quay, Dublin
Friday 3rd August: Tully’s – O’Connell St. Waterford City
Sunday 5th August: Dublin Blues, Roots & Brass Festival (venue TBC)
Friday 10th August: The Belfast Empire – Belfast
Sunday 26th August: Hilden Brewery Festival – Lisburn

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