Month: August 2019

Having emerged as one of the most unique live acts in Ireland in recent times with an array of diverse projects to their name urban street funk band Stomptown Brass are back this autumn with a fresh sound, a tighter line-up, and are bringing the second line on a tour around Ireland. The eight piece release their latest floor filler ‘One Last Time’ September 23 ahead of a nationwide tour.

‘One Last Time’ not only captures the band’s infectious energy but brings a darker, more texture-driven groove. The single combines their second-line jazz roots with a more eclectic mix of styles and sounds, from more modern jazz forms to different electronic music genres.  

Since their inception in 2015 Stomptown Brass have shocked, delighted, and entertained audiences across Ireland and abroad. Through numerous festival appearances and themed shows, they have built and maintained their status as one of the country’s most unique and dynamic ensemble acts. Blending the sounds of funk and blues with a raucous cacophony of powerful driving rhythm, the impressive band line-up of two Drummers, two Trombones, two Trumpets, one Saxophone and a big dirty Tuba are known to put on a serious show.

Off the back of their debut EP ‘Locomotive’ and their single ‘I Got a Plan’, the band have performed numerous times at Electric Picnic, Longitude, Kaleidoscope, Sea Sessions, Indiependence and Another Love Story, along with sell-out headline shows at Pepper Canister Church, The Chocolate Factory, The Sugar Club, Cyprus Avenue and Dolan’s among others.

Breaking new ground, the band sold out back-to-back shows at Dublin Fringe 2017, Norway Fringe 2018, Cork Jazz Festival 2018, Waterford Imagine Arts Festival 2018, and returned for two self-produced shows at Pepper Canister Church in Dublin.

Tour Dates

October 18 – Central Arts, Waterford
October 19 – Billy Byrne’s, Kilkenny
November 2 – Dolan’s, Limerick
November 9 -The Academy Green Room, Dublin

Exciting new Kilkenny band The Wha are today delighted to announce their incendiary debut single ‘Innocents’ – out via Chess Club.

Currently home to the likes of Alfie Templeman, Bloxx and Phoebe Green, with previous discoveries including Wolf Alice, Jungle, Billie Marten and Sundara Karma, Chess Club has proven a fertile breeding ground for exciting new emerging talent – and The Wha are no exception. All aged just 18-years-old The Wha are dual vocalists and guitarists Finn Cusack and Sam Cullen, joined by Marek Lech (bass) and Abe G. Harris (drums). 

Childhood friends Finn and Sam met in primary school, eventually forging a songwriting partnership aged just 15 years-old that would go on to form the nucleus of The Wha. Influenced by the evergreen greats – The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan – and contemporary auteurs like Julian Casablancas, Alex Turner and Father John Misty, as well as playwright Sarah Kane, satirist Flann O’Brien and novelist Jack Kerouac; The Wha find humour and understanding everywhere – piling it high alongside buoyant riffs, tempestuous rhythms, and Finn and Sam’s wry lyricism. 

The Wha’s attachment to their hometown remains strong. “Growing up in Kilkenny has its ups and downs,” the band begins, “It’s a small city, you can’t really run away from anything. I think lots of young people here get to the point where they want to leave, whether it’s for two years or forever. It is a fun town to grow up in. Some nice spots, some nice pubs. It’s easy to waste time here.” However, with little to no interest in school – other than the opportunity to hang out with one another – the four friends left immediately after finishing their exams this summer to focus on writing, recording and honing The Wha’s energetic, raw, and playfully chaotic sound. The first fruits of those labours is ‘Innocents’. A paean to growing up, the Catholic Church’s well-documented scandals and addiction, ‘Innocents’ is a perfect distillation of The Wha’s mantra: “fucking great songs played with fucking great energy.”

See The Wha live in 2019: 

1 Sep | Electric Picnic Festival, Stradbally
14 Sep | Upstairs @ Whelans, Dublin, Ireland*
Oct 14 | Olympia Theatre, Dublin^
Oct 15 | Olympia Theatre, Dublin^
Oct 16 | Telegraph Building, Belfast^

*w/ FUR
^w/ Two Door Cinema Club

The Wha – Innocents – out now via Chess Club Records

Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealwha
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewha17/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealwha/

Photo credit: Nick O’Donnell

‘Break Me’ is Aimée’s second offering and the follow up to her debut Top 40 hit, ‘Don’t Bother’, a track that exudes conviction, self-value and principle.  ‘Break Me’, also a Top 40 hit, is a song that acknowledges struggles, strength and survival and gives a glimpse into Aimée’s vulnerability and ultimate healing.  To date, ‘Break Me’ has been streamed over 225,000 times. 

Aimée will take to Stradbally Co. Laois this Saturday, 31^st August to play her debut Electric Picnic in The Electric Arena @ 2:15pm.

Due to demand, Aimée has also just announced a venue upgrade for her debut headline show this coming November.  The pop songstress was set to play to a sold-out Whelan’s in Dublin on November 24^th but has now upgraded to The Grand Social, Dublin who will play host on the same date. Tickets available here!

The music video for ‘Break Me’ was directed and produced by Ovie Etseyates in D-Light Studios and on Tower Bay beach in Dublin.  Ovie and Aimée have worked together on many projects and Ovie was at the helm of her last video for ‘Don’t Bother’, watch here! He also featured on, and together with Aimée co-wrote the track ‘Over Me’ that Mark McCabe released, last year. Watch here! 

Of Break Me, Aimée says:

“’Break Me’ is a song I wrote about my experience dealing with anxiety. Anxiety is something I have been dealing with since I was 7 years old. For a very long time it controlled my life. For me I took back the control when I stopped trying to fight it, and stopped trying to change who I am.”

“Although I still deal with this every single day, and I probably will for the rest of my life, I regained my strength by accepting this is who I am and knowing I am strong enough to get through it. I know nothing is going to break me.”

“I choose to be open about my own experiences in the hope that somebody listening, who may be feeling the same, might take the step of talking about it, too.”

“We’re all a little damaged but it’s alright…
We all got some baggage, there’s no point trying to hide it”

While envisioning the concept for the music video, Aimée tells us:

“It was strange because I already had it completely envisioned in my head from the day I was writing it in the studio! I wanted it to be super stripped back & raw. All about the emotion, and just letting the song do the talking!”

“I wanted to show my progression of feeling really low and then showing me getting through it and gaining my strength back. For me music & dance is my therapy. So, combining the two of them in a video with a song so personal to me was an amazing feeling.”

Ovie tells us:

“’Break Me’ is a very important song to Aimée so naturally we decided to go in a direction that didn’t distract from the lyrics. We went with a stripped back, less is more type vibe.”

Get ‘Break Me’ HERE!
Listen to ‘Don’t Bother’ HERE!
Watch the video HERE!

AiméeMusicOfficial.Com // Instagram  //  Facebook  //  Twitter  //  Youtube // Spotify

Blushing Boy are five friends who came together in Dublin, Ireland last year around the songwriting of front woman Ella Naseeb. Pairing elements of post-punk with Naseeb’s nuanced lyricism and an indie ethos, they aim to make music that is both challenging and enjoyable. 

Blushing Boy are gathering momentum at pace on the Irish scene for their captivating live set, recently opening for fellow rockers Otherkin and Thumper.

Having recorded with Dan Doherty of Darklands, the band release ‘Consumer’, a hymn for the overworked, underpaid, independent thinker.

It was debuted on radio by John Barker on 98FM’s Totally Irish. 

The band are set to announce a nationwide tour in the coming weeks.

“An incredibly immersive and impressive debut, ‘Consumer’ highlights Blushing Boy as a band with a firm grip on their sound and serious potential for their future.”  – The Last Mixed Tape

https://www.instagram.com/blushingboy_
https://open.spotify.com/track/1VsGthzyO0O8bYyb96bz8G
https://twitter.com/blushingboy_
https://www.breakingtunes.com/blushingboy

Daytona Rose who hails from Dublin, Ireland but resides in NYC has just released her brand new DOUBLE A single ‘Done Up’ &’ Joyride’. 

From a young age it was evident that she loved to sing, from performing at a wedding at the age of 4 when she was flower-girl to performing solo a few years later at the the Late Late Toy Show with the National Choir.

A trained classical pianist completing all of her grades through the Royal Irish Academy of music, Daytona went on to attend the infamous Rock College in Ballyfermot, Dublin. There she learned to write songs and hone her performance craft.

Unsurprisingly, she was then chosen to do an exchange program in The Pop Academy, Hammelburg, Germany. Which set the precipice for an International music journey which would see her travel all over the world developing her music including Dubai, LA, London and where she currently resides – New York City.

For many aspiring artists alike, New York is the place to be, and it was in New York where she started recording and collaborating with some big writers such as Kevin Mc Call who is behind Chris Brown -Deuces / Stripped, Lil Eddie who has worked with Kylie Minogue and Autumn Rowe who is a vocal coach on the USA X Factor & Americas Got Talent.

Daytona is heavily inspired by peers such as Rita Ora, Jess Glyne, Little Mix, Anne Marie and Bebe Rexha. You can join over 10,000 people who are following Daytona on her journey over on her Instagram.

https://www.facebook.com/daytonarosee
https://www.instagram.com/daytona_rose
Twitter @Daytona_rosee

Multi-award winning Irish power punk pop band The Blizzards are making an exciting triple announcement today with the release of an album, a film and a tour.

The Blizzards, bruised and battered after releasing 2 albums with major labels, have decided to go it alone with the release of their highly anticipated third album ‘The Last Great Algorithm’ independently. The album’s release has been so long awaited that the band even made a film, “The Blizzards: Behind The Music”, cataloging the entire process with its’ Dublin premiere set to take place at the IFI next month.

One of the most anticipated albums of the year, ‘The Last Great Algorithm’ is available to pre order now here before it hits stores and goes live on all digital platforms on 15 October 2019.  Produced by Philip Magee (Kodaline, The Script), ‘The Last Great Algorithm’ presents exceptional levels of creative originality with first single ‘Who Would Want To Be In A Guitar Band?’ available digitally from 20 September and dropping at radio today.

Speaking of the single Bressie of The Blizzards said: “The track was borne out of the very considered feedback from a media playlister about the perception that one of our songs was “too guitary”. Shocked at realising that guitars were now illegal, we had two choices. Give up, or write this song. We gave up actually. But our manager kicked our asses so here’s the song we wrote to retaliate.”

As if the album wasn’t enough to look forward to, a tell-all star studded short film that documents the band’s exploits over the past year is being released to the big screen with the Dublin premiere taking place in Dublin’s Irish Film Institute (IFI) on  20 September and follows its screening at the Galway Film Fleadh in July.

A chance to get up close and personal with the band, the Jeff Doyle directed film, follows Bressie, Dec, Justin and Louize and their by all accounts, unorthodox, manager Duncan as they navigate the challenges of the music industry. The film features an array of big names sharing their impressions of the The Blizzards, from Picture This, to Laura Whitmore to Stormy Daniels. Tickets for the screening are available from www.ifi.ie today – https://ifi.ie/the-blizzards-behind-the-music-irish-focus/. Complete with an exclusive interview with the band followed by a live set.

A busy few months awaits, with The Blizzards embarking on their UK and Ireland Tour in November 2019. Tickets for all dates are on sale this Friday 30 September. Visit Ticketmaster and local venue box offices for tickets.

THE BLIZZARDS // UK AND IRISH TOUR DATES 

The Skylite Room, Warrenpoint // Oct 26
Nell’s, London, UK // Nov 14
Crown Live, Wexford // Nov 22
Whelans, Dublin // Nov 23
Mike The Pies, Listowel // Nov 28
De Barras, Clonakilty // Nov 29
Dolans, Limerick // Nov 30Kavanagh’s, Portlaoise // Dec 6
Monroes, Galway // Dec 7
Cyprus Avenue, Cork // Dec 27
Spirit Store, Dundalk // Dec 29

Out 20 September 2019 ‘Who Would Want To Be In A Guitar Band?’, is the first single taken from The Blizzards upcoming album ‘The Last Great Algorithm’, which is due for release on the 15 October, with the band premiering their short film in the IFI on 20 September 2019. Tickets for their upcoming UK and Irish Tour go on sale this Friday the 30 September at 9am.

Aiken Promotions proudly presents a fourth and final show due to phenomenal demand with Mick Flannery live at Lost Lane, 17^th October. Tickets are all sold out for his live shows on 10^th, 11^th and 18^thOctober 2019.  Tickets for 17^th October show are €30.00 inclusive of booking fee, on sale tomorrow at 9AM. This follows the release of double-platinum selling artist, Mick Flannery’s self-titled sixth album. 

Mick began to write songs as a teenager in his home of Blarney, County Cork. As musical influences from albums by the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits seeped into his creative DNA, Mick absorbed, learned and honed the craft that would send him on his way into the world. The path was smoothed somewhat when, at the age of 19, he became the first Irish songwriter to win the Nashville-based International Songwriting Competition. By the time he turned 21, he had signed to a major label and released his debut album.

With his latest release, Mick touches on loose themes of ambition and the search for a meaningful life in the context of a musician’s sometimes feckless and dysfunctional lifestyle. The central character, he reveals, is someone like him, “although this person achieves more notoriety than I have. He is properly famous, and he has to deal with that.” The loose theme is just that, however. “I’m not going to hammer it home. Facets of the theme are on the album, but the storyline itself isn’t an overarching one – each song can stand on its own, and not need to be part of a narrative.”

Mick Flannery has, of course, experienced and processed enough in the past fifteen years to know what his views are. He smiles when he says that for the sake of the songs he ever so slightly embroiders certain facts for creative effect.

“Obviously, I don’t equate to the levels of conflict I’m describing in the songs. I know the spectrum because of how reserved I am, and how – in my years of being in the music industry, and through varying levels of being noticed – it can change your life a bit. You’re not anonymous in certain places, and when that modifies your behaviour things can happen to you that are unknown to the general public. It’s a strange thing, a balancing act. Most of the time, however, I can go out for a quiet night and not be recognised. I wouldn’t want to give up that freedom.”

Mick Flannery’s self-titled album out now via Rosa Productions / Warner Music Ireland. Order at www.mickflannery.com

Stream / Buy at: https://wmi.lnk.to/mickfannery

On September 13th, Yellow Season releases his latest single ‘Remedy’.

A follow up to his pop-induced, radio-hit debut single ‘Can You Feel It’. 

Recorded with renowned producer, Philip Magee (Kodaline, The Script), ‘Remedy’ maintains the pop sensibilities of its predecessor with a four-to-the-floor anthem; understated and hypnotic. 

Performances at ‘Ones to Watch’, supports to ‘Wild Youth’, and Spotify/Apple Music playlisting by Universal Ireland: ‘This is Fresh’, ‘This is Irish’ and ‘This is Essential’ are a testament to his impact and appeal. 

Nealo is set to release his latest single ‘Angel On My Shoulder’ on Friday 30th August.

“This is a song about life. It’s a song about acceptance of all the flaws we see both in ourselves, in our home cities, and in our lives. ‘Angel On My Shoulder’ sprung from the mindstate of falling both in and out of love with my own life, and with Dublin as a city and a home.

No city is perfect, and our own lives aren’t either, but it is the acceptance of these imperfections and the appreciation of what we do have that will eventually lead down us down a cobblestoned road to happiness.”

The song is a collaborative effort between Nealo, jazz neo-soul trio INNRSPACE, Adam My Fault & Diffusion Lab.

Nealo is a hip hop artist cut from a different cloth. Having spent 10 years touring in hardcore punk bands, he settled down, got married and went off to college to get a law degree. After a few years working in a solicitors firm, he heard the calling to return to music, but this time in a completely different way.

The Dublin born rapper & singer began making beats and writing lyrics in 2018 as a form of catharsis to find a home for his thoughts and poems on paper. Over the course of the next few months he managed to sell out 2 headline shows and finished the year closing the Dublin Literary Festival in a memorable night in the GPO. On top of this he landed huge supports in the Olympia and the Academy, festival slots at Longitude, Electric Picnic, Sea Sessions and many more, radio play on 2FM, FM104, RTE, and Spin and critical acclaim for his songs across many Irish publications.

Nealo’s laid back blend of introspective hip hop over jazz influenced beats is a complete contrast to what you would expect from an ex hardcore punk vocalist, but it has worked its magic to carve him out a loyal following, in Dublin.

LIVE SHOWS:
31.August – Electric Picnic / Salty Dog Stage
27. September – Headline Show / The Grand Social / Dublin