Month: January 2019

The title of the CD is ‘Aonair’. ‘Aonair’, which means “alone” or “solitary”, is a collection of new compositions by accordionist David Munnelly that were recorded December 24th and 25th 2017. As the title suggests, the CD contains ten solo pieces in which David shows his astonishing creativity on this diatonic instrument.

The origin of this project is also special, because during the Christmas period of 2017 it saw the light of day in two days in the hall of 17th century Parel van Zuilen, Utrecht where David also lives.

Using typical sounds, such as an espresso machine for the tune ‘Corazon’, Spanish for heart but also a brand of coffee drank in the Netherlands. Malgosia Fiebig, the carrillonist of the Utrecht Cathedral, was so surprised by the pieces that she played one of the themes on the carrillon, which then ended up on this CD.

Munnelly’s background is traditional Irish, but by experimenting with new sounds and musical styles for years, he has laid the foundation for his own original sound. Only the fact that he brings these amazing songs to life with one instrument, makes this a CD that is completely original.

Bonded by their common desire to write giant stadium-sized songs, State Lights formed three years ago at BIMM College in Dublin, bonding over a shared interest in classic pop music and a common desire to write big stadium sized songs the guys decided to work on a music project. Members include singer Shobsy, guitarist Joe Regan, drummer Paul Ridgeway and bassist Noel Perry.

2019 has arrived and so has their stonking new single ‘Lonely’ with Shobsy’s voice and Joe, Paul & Noel’s playing, this is set to become the radio hit of early 2019, one listen and you will know why!

After a storming performance at Electric Picnic (where they performed alongside The Kooks, St Vincent and Cigarettes after Sex on the prestigious Electric Arena Stage) State Lights announced a headline gig at the Workman’s Club for Friday March 1^st 2019.

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20 years after the release of his first critically acclaimed album ‘Songs For a Fallen Angel’ John McGlynn self-releases his second album ‘Fragments’ on 18 January 2019.

Recorded over the summer of 2018 in Dublin by Greg French (The Brilliant Things) and Darragh Nolan (Sacred Animals) and produced by Rebecca Shannon (Chirpy).

His first album ‘Songs For a Fallen Angel’ was nominated in the Best Adult Contemporary Album category of the largest independent music awards in the world – The JPF awards. The lead song on the album ‘If All She Has Is You’ was subsequently recorded by Canadian synthpop duo Electric Youth and features on their album ‘Innerworld’, produced by Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode/Erasure/Yazoo).

John has worked with Elvis Costello, The Chieftains, Barry Manilow, Sinead O’Connor, Sting, Moving Hearts, Gerry Fish and is the co-director of the ground-breaking Irish choral group Anúna.

The album is built around McGlynn’s crystal clear vocals and unique fingerstyle guitar. ‘Fragments’ has been a long time coming. “It wasn’t the right time,” is the answer to the question “why did you wait so long to release it?”. The collaboration with Rebecca was a matter of chance and great luck. Her sublime synth work and production have elevated this beautiful album into an artistic masterpiece that closes the door on two decades of work.

The album is available to pre-save or pre-order on every major platform from January 11th 2019.

“I can’t think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of Dolores’ passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band.” Eileen O’Riordan, Dolores O’Riordan’s mother.

30 years after forming in Limerick (initially as The Cranberry Saw Us) The Cranberries are set to release their 8^th and final album ‘In The End’. With Stephen Street once again taking producer duties, the eleven-track record brings a remarkable career to a fitting and powerful closure. Announcing the album, the band has shared the first single ‘All Over Now’ that blends rock, alternative and catchy almost pop-sounding melodies to deliver a classic Cranberries sound.

The Cranberries – Dolores O’Riordan, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler – emerged from the pre-Brit-pop scene of the early ’90s, with their trademark indie guitar sound and Dolores’ distinctive Celtic-tinged lilting vocal style – described by Melody Maker as “the voice of a saint trapped in a glass harp”. Their rise to global fame was nothing short of meteoric; best known for their now classic songs ‘Linger’, ‘Zombie’ and ‘Dreams’, the band have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

While it is tinged with sadness following Dolores’ unexpected death on January 15^th 2018, ‘In The End’ is not a valediction, it is a celebration, one that stands as a powerful testimony to the life and creative work of Dolores and her brothers in music Noel, Mike and Fergal.

The genesis of ‘In The End’ began in May 2017 while the band were on tour. By winter of 2017 Noel and Dolores had written and demoed the eleven songs which would eventually appear on the album. “Dolores was so energised by the prospect of making this record and to getting back out on the road to play the songs live” recalls Noel.

In coming to terms with her tragic passing Noel, Mike and Fergal listened to the songs and, with the support of Dolores’ family, wanted to honour their close friend, and collaborator by completing the record.

Speaking about the band’s concerns at the time Noel said “we knew this had to be one of the, if not the, best Cranberries album that we could possibly do. The worry was that we would destroy the legacy of the band by making an album that wasn’t up to standard. Once we had gone through all the demos that Dolores and I had worked on and decided that we had such a strong album we knew it would be the right thing and the best way that we could honour Dolores.”

With the songs at various stages of completion they turned to Stephen Street – who had produced four of their previous albums including ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ and ‘No Need To Argue’ – and spent 4 weeks in a London studio building the sounds around her vocals from the original demos. “It was a bitter sweet time. The joy of recording new tracks is always exciting and one of the best parts of being in a band. At the end of every day when we’d laid down our parts there was a sense of sadness, knowing that Dolores wouldn’t be in that evening to work on that day’s track” remembers Noel.

The album is a strong goodbye from the band to their fans, a fitting tribute to their bandmate and friend and, most importantly, a collection of powerful songs that can take their rightful place with The Cranberries’ previous six records.

Speaking about the single and the album Dolores’ mother said “I miss her awfully, specially today, as does the entire family. That said I can’t think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of her passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band. She was very excited about this new album and was really looking forward to its release. I have no doubt that she is happy now and would be delighted with today’s announcement.”

In The End – tracklisting

1. All Over Now
2. Lost
3. Wake Me When It’s Over
4. A Place I Know
5. Catch Me If You Can
6. Got It
7. Illusion
8. Crazy Heart
9. Summer Song
10. The Pressure
11. In The End

The Pale release ‘Ursa Major’, the first song of their new album ‘Merciful Hour’, on Friday 25th January.

The single is taken from The Pale’s long awaited album ‘Merciful Hour’. Due for a release on the 12th of April 2019, ‘Merciful Hour’ was produced by sonic maestro Keith Farrell (Duckworth Lewis Method, Cathy Davey, Pugwash), the album is one of constant surprises, building on the classic Pale sound and expanding it musically and lyrically.

The release builds on the back of a great 2018 for the band. The band celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release of their award-winning debut ‘Here’s One We Made Earlier’ with a sell-out show in Whelan’s, a nationwide tour and a run of festival appearances. The re-issued album jumped to the top five of the iTunes charts and brought renewed airplay for the classic songs ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Dogs With No Tails’.

This was followed by a fully seated gig at Dublin’s Unitarian Church complete with string quartet and contributions from the Legally Sound choir, where material from ‘Merciful Hour’ was showcased to an enraptured audience. The Pale were also selected by Dublin City Council Culture Company to pen three songs about well-known Dublin heroes. The project was launched in November 2018 and the tracks will be released as part of Dublin City Council’s ‘Culture Map. The year culminated with a return to The National Concert Hall with the Legally Sound Choir, for the Aidlink for Turkana concert and support slots with Glen Hansard.

UPCOMING LIVE DATES:
WHELANS, DUBLIN 2^ND OF FEBRUARY
SPIRIT STORE DUNDALK 22^ND FEBRUARY
(more to be announced)

Benedict Morris (20) from Glasgow and Cormac Crummey (21) from Belfast are a fresh fiddle and guitar duo that first ignited 4 years ago at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Sligo and haven’t looked back since. They have subsequently compiled a vast store of tunes, mostly new compositions penned by themselves and some of Scotland and Ireland’s most notable musicians such as Mike Vass, John Brady, Aidan O’Rourke (Lau), Hamish Napier and Ted Kelly (Moxie). Their poise and musicianship has flourished over their time together; producing an energetic and vibrant collection of new music that has evolved in the working class cities of Glasgow and Belfast with shipyards, linen mills and bonded whiskey warehouses as their backdrop.

Considered to be two of the most exciting young musicians on the traditional music scene they have recently recorded their debut album ‘Wavelength’ in RedBox Recording Studios, Belfast with engineer and renowned musician Dónal O’Connor. Casting aside all technical considerations these two fearless pioneers are imagining a new skin on the tradition. This music sparkles, glistens and energises all who come into contact with it. Touring with a full band featuring the cream of Ireland’s vibrant music scene; Cathal Murphy (Cúig) on Drums, Jos Kelly (Moxie) on Keys and Richie Delahunty (Echo) on Electric Guitar, they are sweeping a whole new generation of listeners and musicians alike into the 21st-century.

The energy of their performances is contained through tight, intricate arrangements, then released in a flurry of potency with dashes of different influences such as jazz-funk and even rock; there is a little bit for everyone in their music. They’ve just blown audiences away on their recent sold out tour of Ireland and Scotland taking in iconic venues such as The Duncairn in Belfast and Whelan’s in Dublin.

Cormac Crummey has toured Europe with several artists such as Lisa Canny and Cúig. He graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BSc in Sonic Arts and Music Technology and has recently commenced recording with a new trio featuring Alan Doherty and Tola Custy. Benedict Morris has played at some of the biggest festivals in Europe such as Tønder Festival with Ímar and HebCelt with The Hur, a folk pop band he currently plays in. He is also the featured fiddle player with 5 times World Champion Irish dancer David Geaney in his new dance show Velocity: Rising. Bene has just been confirmed as a finalist in BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2019.

“It’s not every day you listen to a duo and know that they’re going to be the next best thing. Bene & Cormac. Incredible” – Mohsen Amini 2018 Musician of the Year – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

Grit-pop duo Thanks Brother release their first single of 2019, ‘We Caught It’, on Friday 18th January. This is the second single from the pair, following 2018’s ‘We Are Different’ which saw the band playlisted on national radio and perform live on The Late Late Show and The Today Show and followed on with sold out shows in Dublin and Paris. ‘We Caught It’ is a slice of anthemic pop, describing magic moments of lost inhibitions. Co-produced and mixed by Grammy Award winner Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran) the songs crisp production highlights O’s powerful vocals, evoking shades of Florence and The Machine and HAIM.

Thanks Brother is comprised of Róisín O, who has enjoyed great success as a solo act since her debut album ‘The Secret Life of Blue’, and John Broe, formerly the writer and singer with Irish band Miracle Bell. They began writing songs together in 2014, originally for a Róisín O solo album, however realising that there was an undeniable creative chemistry when writing, they embarked on the collaborative project Thanks Brother at the beginning of 2018.

The band’s unusual name comes from a chance encounter that took place at a concert in Ireland, where the duo met one of their screen heroes, actor Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Three Billboards), whose brief response to a gushing Broe’s praise was simply, “Thanks Brother“.

Thanks Brother have also written songs that have been used for television series and advertising campaigns as well as co-writing for other artists. The pair recently co-wrote singles with Irish band The Coronas, including ‘Real Feel’, the first U.S. single from their chart-topping Trust the Wire album.

‘We Caught It’ is the first of four single releases this year culminating in an EP this winter. The video for the song is shot by the duo on their iPhones when they were crashing a Christmas party in December. Róisín explains, “It was a spur of the moment decision to film it while we were at The Google Christmas Party in the RDS… which we weren’t really supposed to be at… but it all sort of fit in with the imagery of the song: doing shit you’re not supposed to when you’re drunk.”

The video will be released on Monday January 21st. Meanwhile, Thanks Brother plan to embark on a UK and Irish tour in March/April.

Dates confirmed so far are:

Friday 15 March Mc Gettigan’s Paddy’s Day Party, Dubai
Friday 22 March De Barra’s, Clonakilty
Friday 29 March St. Columb’s Hall Cinema, Derry
Thursday 9 May Mike The Pie’s, Listowel

‘After the success of their recent EP launch and performance at ‘Homegrown’ In Derry’s Millennium Forum, The Inside Out return with a new and eclectic track. ‘Georgie’ is released on 17th January.

The combination of George Hutton’s vocals, Kieran Brown’s songwriting ability, Paul Casey’s composition and production skills this track brings an unexpected edge to a group on the rise.

The Inside Out are set to release their first album late February 2019 and with the success of George Hutton’s debut solo album ‘Chapter One’ already known for his powerful vocals and stage presence, it’s an exciting time to see what he does with original material.