Just a year after his 4th solo album ‘The Art Of Saving Lives’, Dublin pianist / singer / songwriter Josh Johnston returns with a new EP, ‘Moon Landing’.
The new EP features reimaginings of ‘Moon Landing’ and ‘Swimming On The Moon’ from 2018’s ‘The Art Of Saving Lives’ and 2008’s ‘Asylum Harbour’ respectively, as well as new tracks ‘In My World (She Said)’ co-written with Dublin songwriter Doug Kinch – and Chris Wood’s soulful song ‘Come Down Jehovah’.
The song choice owes a passing nod to the recent 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings – the songs evoke both the dread and excitement of exploring uncharted territory, as well as the elation of a productive voyage in these new directions. The EP is the first product of a new studio partnership with producer / engineer Anthony Gibney (Jane Willow, Nick Kely, Blood Red Mountain Band).
Helping Josh out musically on these recordings are Paj Groenland on acoustic & electric guitar, Brian Hogan on bass (Kíla, Preacher’s Son), Dave Hingerty on drums (Kíla, The Frames, Josh Ritter), Scott Flanagan on hammond organ, Bill Blackmore on trumpet and Marco Francescangeli on saxes and clarinet.
Look out for more releases – a full album is anticipated in the summer of 2020.
The EP will be available in CD and digital form, and to stream from Friday 13th September.
In Concert Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Josh Johnston & Friends Special Guest: Jane Willow Lost Lane, off Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Doors 8pm Tickets €15 from www.lostlane.ie
Friday 1st November 2019 Josh Johnston & Friends Special Guest: Jane Willow Black Gate Cultural Centre, Francis Street, Galway Doors 8pm Tickets €10 at the centre or at the door
Fresh off the back of their storming Main Stage ‘Electric Picnic’ performance, Dublin four-piece The Riptide Movement are proud to announce the release of their new five track EP ‘Something Special’ on 4 October 2019 and an extensive Live Tour with dates in London, Hamburg, Belfast, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Limerick, Laois, Galway and Kilkenny. Tickets for all dates are on sale now from Ticketmaster or local venues directly.
Having released the first single ‘I’ll Be There’ to rave reviews in May, the second single taken from the EP ‘Something Special’ was released in August and was immediately added to the ‘New Music Friday UK’ and ‘The New Alt’ Spotify playlists, with over 50,000 streams to date.
‘Something Special’ is exactly what the title suggests, it’s an uplifting, energising, guitar driven collection of songs. Co-produced in Attica Studios with the legendary Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, SOAK) Speaking about the EP, The Riptide Movement said: “We’re so excited to announce that ‘Something Special’ our 5th studio record will be released on Friday October 4th 2019. It will be released as a 7 track EP on 12″ VINYL and as a 5 track EP on all digital and streaming platforms. This is a really important record for us and we feel it’s one of our best, you’re gonna love it, Big Love, Mal, JP, Ger & Gar!!!”.
With four studio albums to their name – most notably The RTÉ Choice Music Prize nominated, Gold selling, Number 1 Album ‘Getting Through’ – Dublin four piece The Riptide Movement are renowned for their phenomenal live shows and soaring, guitar driven, energetic tracks. Having toured extensively throughout the world on the back of critically-acclaimed releases ‘All Works Out’, ‘You & I’, ‘Elephant in the Room’, ,Changeling’, ‘I’ll Be There’ and latest release ‘Something Special’ the Dublin four piece also released an environmentally conscious web series called “Plastic Oceans’ in association with Clean Coasts, which can be streamed from their website www.trm.ie.
‘Something Special’ the brand new EP from The Riptide Movement, is available on Vinyl and all streaming platforms and digital formats from 4 October 2019.
“Something Special Tour 2019”
4 Oct – The Islington, London. 11 Oct – Nochtwoche, Hamburg. 25 Oct – The Limelight, Belfast. 27 Oct – The Olympia Theatre, Dublin. 15 Nov – Mike the Pies, Kerry. 16 Nov – Cyprus Avenue, Cork. 22 Nov – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick. 23 Nov – Kavanaghs, Portlaoise, Laois. 29 Nov – Roisin Dubh, Galway. 13 Dec – Set Theatre, Kilkenny.
‘My Nuclear Radio’ is the brand new album release from singer songwriter Jim McHugh. Out 27th of September, this 11 track album includes the singles ‘Avenue Road’, ‘Marjorie’ and ‘Everything’s Cool’. It was recorded, produced and mastered in Ben Reel’s studio in South Armagh and features Jim on Vocals/Mandolin/Electric Guitar, Paul McCabe on Bass, Butch McNeill on Drums and John McCullough on Piano/Keyboards.
The
album varies in style from alternative indie rock to folk. The themes of love,
fidelity, mental well-being and redemption are provided throughout the 11
tracks echoing in the melancholic arrangements and lyrics.
‘My Nuclear Radio’ will be available on all digital formats for streaming/download and in Tower Records Dublin.
New
live dates for album tour:
– October 5th, Workmans Club Dublin – November 28th, Spirit Store, Dundalk – December 7th, Iontas Theatre, Castleblayney
On Friday 11 October Blue Fish Diamond will release their latest single, ‘Morning Star’, which reflects on the age-old struggle between good and evil and the possibility of redemption through love.
‘Morning Star’ was recorded in Orphan Recording Studios and was produced by Gavin Glass. The artwork for the single was designed by Mark Keogh. A video for the single will be released on Friday 25 October which was produced by Lacuna Creations.
Blue Fish Diamond are a Dublin based indie folk rock band who formed in late 2016. In 2018, they released three singles followed by their debut album ‘From Dark To Light’, which Hot Press magazine described as ”essential listening for those who like their music powerful and heartfelt”.
The band’s songs are written by Jim Murphy, a latecomer to the music industry whose influences include Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Paul Simon. In 2014, he began a degree course in Commercial Modern Music at BIMM music college. At BIMM, he met like-minded musicians with whom he formed the band in late 2016. The band comprises:
Jim Murphy (rhythm guitar & lead vocals) Shay Sweeney (drums) Ronan Quinn (bass) Laura Ryder (piano) Axel McDonald (lead guitar) Matilda O’Mahony (backing vocals) Ella Ryan (backing vocals)
Blue Fish Diamond has played at many Dublin music venues since their formation including the Tivoli, Whelan’s, The Workmans Club and The Grand Social. They have also played at venues in Wicklow and Kilkenny and have played at music festivals in Dublin, Cork and Laois (including Electric Picnic in 2018).
The band will launch the single on Friday 11 October at a show in The Underground on Dame St. (Dublin 2).
All Tvvins duo Conor Adams and Lar Kaye enjoyed a phenomenal start to their career. Their debut album ‘IIVV’ shot into the Irish charts at #2, earned a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish Album of the Year and smashed the 15 million streams landmark. Meanwhile, gigs in the UK and Ireland included a life-affirming sold-out show at Dublin’s historic Olympia Theatre as well as a tour as guests to Metric. The band continued this momentum with their follow up album ‘Just To Exist’ released in 2019 and produced and co-written with James Vincent McMorrow. The band headlined the National Stadium in Dublin and McMorrow’s dedication set a blueprint for the band’s future.
Continuing on from their sophomore album, All Tvvins went in to studio straight after their European tour supporting ‘Just To Exist’ album and pushed forward with a new batch of songs, songs that sit alone and may not have fit with the traditional album campaign. ‘Divine’ is the first of this bunch.
Conor from All Tvvins explains about the themes explored in ‘Divine’: “To see yourself from outside of yourself is one of the weirdest experiences you can have. The sensations you feel are of you and old but completely new at the same time. This song is about the outer body experience both in the literal sense and the figurative every day. I think it’s a good thing to try see yourself as others might see you. When I do this I feel more connected to everyone and everything else…. I don’t feel like this single unit anymore.“
Irish Autumn Tour Dates… October 3rd – Dolans Warehouse, Limerick October 4th – Cyprus Avenue, Cork October 5th – The Black Box, Galway October 10th – Spirit Store, Dundalk October 11th – INEC, Killarney October 12th – SET Theatre, Kilkenny October 25th – Wexford Spiegeltent Festival October 26th – Sligo Live, Sligo
It has certainly been a busy few years for Gráinne which has led to animpressive array of shows, including two nights opening for Gladys Knight at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre, Eagle Eye Cherry, and a festival appearance at Glastonbury.
Gráinne has gained a reputation as an outstanding vocalist, touring internationally with Mark Geary, and sharing stages with Glen Hansard, Liam Ó Maonlaí and Damien Dempsey.
Speaking about her fortcoming album ‘This Secret’ Gráinne says “I’ve been working on these songs for ages, but it was only recently that I had time to record it!”. In a whirlwind Nashville session last October, she recorded eleven tracks in just under three days.“It just felt really easy,” she muses. “I’d never recorded like that before, but it was an incredible way to do it – and a lovely way to catch a snapshot of a moment in time.”
Grainne released her first solo release, ‘FiringPin’, in 2015, which was followed by an album of Irish songs and ballads with award winning guitarist Brendan Walsh, called ‘Songs from Ireland’.
This is Gráinne’s first full length LP.
Upcoming Tour Dates: 21st Sep – Shorelines, Portumna, Co Galway 22nd Sep – Crover House, Cavan, IE 26th Sep – Dubin Launch Gig – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre 27th Sep – John Smith Support – Lost Lane, Dublin, IE 29th Sep – Tin Church Laragh, Monaghan, IE 5th Oct – Solo – Cork Folk Festival 7th Oct – Songs from Ireland TBA 8th Oct – Songs from Ireland TBA 9th Oct – Songs from Ireland, Sixmilebridge Folk Club Pickers Session 10th Oct- Songs from Ireland Rathfarnham Castle 12th Oct – Private House Show, Cavan, IE 16th Oct – Grateful Fred’s, Merseyside, UK 18th Oct – Cafe#9 Sheffield, UK 19th Oct – West Kirby Arts Centre, UK 4th Nov – Private House Concert, DE 7th Nov – Cafe Kultur Lichtung, DE8th Nov – Private House Concert, Essen, DE 9th Nov – Private House Concert, Lulsdorf, DE 10th Nov – Hotel Friends, Dusseldorf, DE 22nd Nov – Private House Concert, London, UK 23rd Nov – Private House Show, Kew, London, UK 26th Nov – The Bedford, UK 7th Nov – Shannon, IE 12th Nov – Crickdalle, UK
Sans Chateaux is the music of Cork’s Austin Moore. Writing and recording under this name since 2010, Austin has released two projects: a self-titled EP in 2012 and an album — ‘Aspendale’ — in 2016. He is now back with a second album — ‘Ephemeral Heights’.
Ahead of the release, Sans Chateaux shared the stunning, dreamlike, title track.
The title song ‘Ephemeral Heights’ is about going on a
trip and being unable to resist the dread at the end of a good experience,
while that experience is still going on.
Austin says: “I tried to liken a holiday to a lucid dream that is positive and from which you know you’re about to wake but resist as much as possible. However, the effort to resist highlights the fact that the end is coming, ultimately causing an unfortunate fixation on the return to the banal.”
‘Ephemeral Heights’
features fellow Cork musicians Annie Blake on electric and upright bass, Bríd
Dwyer on violin, and Dan Walsh on drums. It was recorded and mixed by Kevin J
Power and mastered by Alan Douches.
‘Weak Joy’ was inspired by a two-word phrase in ‘Lotus Eaters’,
the fifth episode of Ulysses. The Lotus here represents detachment
and listlessness, and this episode sees Leo Bloom idly killing time. The song
in turn tries to deal with themes of disinterest, without being boring
itself.
‘This song came about from a kind of fear I have of Sundays.
This really regards a feeling of dread and dispassion I sometimes get when
there is nothing happening and that I am most likely to experience on Sunday.
This idea – of ‘’nothing happening’’ – is tough to parse, but I try to get at
it here.‘
‘Ephemeral Heights’ is available for digital download now on Bandcamp, or you can listen on all usual streaming platforms.
Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor are excited to release their brand new single – ‘Back To You’ – ahead of a fresh Irish tour for October and beyond.
Watch the video for ‘Back To You’ here. Filmed in a variety of Dublin and Wicklow’s best known spots including The Forty Foot, The Harbour Bar, Bray and Dalkey Island, the video captures Hudson Taylor and a band of friends making the very best of a day out in Ireland.
Currently in the studio with Grammy-nominated US producer John Rausch – best known for his work with Taylor Swift and Birdy – Harry and Alfie are putting the finishing touches to their long-awaited second album, which will be released on Rubyworks early next year.
Harry and Alfie say about their new single: “‘Back To You’ is a song about an unstoppable connection to someone or something, even though it breaks your heart to go there. The song came together very quickly – we wanted to write something simple and fun.”
To celebrate the release of ‘Back To You’, Hudson Taylor will be back on the road for a new Irish tour in the Autumn, and they will return to Whelan’s, the scene of their unforgettable festive residency in 2018.
Harry and Alfie add: “We are thrilled to be back on tour around Ireland, and can’t wait to meet fans both old and new. Christmas week at Whelan’s is going to be a big party.”
2018 was a big year for Hudson Taylor. The brothers released the ‘Feel It Again’ 5-track EP in the spring, which delivered two huge airplay hits in the shape of ‘Feel It Again’ and ‘Run With Me’, and has gone on to enjoy over 14.5 million streams on Spotify. They followed this with an 8-track mini-album called ‘Bear Creek To Dame Street’, which brought together more new tracks produced in Seattle by Ryan Hadlock, best known for his work with The Lumineers and Vance Joy, and some of their best loved older songs, captured live in concert at a sold-out concert at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre.
2018 also saw Hudson Taylor make huge steps forward with their live profile. Two sold-out European tours, plus key European festival appearances including Leeds / Reading (UK), Electric Picnic (IE), Rolling Stone Weekender (Germany) and Benicassim (Spain). In America, they toured with both Gabrielle Aplin and Hozier, and successfully completed their own debut US headline shows. They also made their first US TV appearances on Good Day New York (Fox), WGN-TV (Chicago), Good Morning San Diego and Fox 5 San Diego and wrapped online sessions for Paste, Baeble Music and Balcony TV. The brothers rounded off the year with six consecutive sold out homecoming nights at Whelans’ in Dublin.
Hudson Taylor kicked off 2019 with a successful US headline tour, which also took in TV appearances in Nashville and Chicago and sessions for Audiotree and Digital Tour Bus.
HUDSON TAYLOR LIVE DATES
10th October – Blackbox Theatre, Galway 11th October – Big Top Dolans, Limerick 12th October – Speigeltent, Wexford 13th October – Cyprus Avenue, Cork 17th October – Set Theatre, Kilkenny 19th October – Lukers, Shannonbridge 24th October – Kenny’s, Lahinch 25th October – Ruby Room, Castlebar 27th October – The Guildhall, Derry 31st October – Mike The Pies, Listowel 1st November – Debarras, Clonakilty 17th – 21st December – Whelans, Dublin
‘Back To You’ is released by Rubyworks on Friday 6th September.
Following the news of their sold out this October 25th, Lankum are delighted to announce their return to Vicar Street on 4th January 2020. Proudly brought to you by Aiken Promotions. Tickets €30.00 inclusive of booking fee, on sale now.
Rough Trade Records are excited to announce that Dublin four-piece Lankum will release their new album ‘The Livelong Day’, on October 25th. Check out the video for opening track ‘The Wild Rover’ now. A very different interpretation to that which is well known, “this particular version of ‘The Wild Rover’ was first heard from the singing of Dónal Maguire, who in turn got it from fellow Drogheda man Pat Usher, and the recording was subsequently released on an album entitled ‘The Usher Family’ in 1974.There are countless renditions of this tune, it is a song very much rooted within the dirt and peat of Ireland, but the revelation of a little known final verse takes it from a jovial pub tale to one of sadness and destitution. The actual crux of the song becomes desperate, a matter of life or death.”
Director Ellius Grace explains the thinking behind the video; “I wanted to visualise the mythical Irish landscape in the video, to respond to the feeling of ancient Ireland that the track conveys so strongly. The video is an ominous journey through a landscape that is coming alive, a dark trip into the mythical unknown. Void of people and living things, the flora begins to take over, morphing and stretching our view as we travel. I took inspiration from folk horror. Rocks and textures stretch and flex at first imperceptibly, and then get out of control and take over. For colour grading, I looked to classic depictions and paintings of the Irish landscape. I wanted to channel these very deliberate visions of the countryside as a place of both beauty and darkly storied unknown, steeped in our nation’s folklore.”
Made up of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat, Lankum have gained worldwide acclaim for their first two albums and captivating, often euphoric live performances. ‘The Livelong Day’, recorded and produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy in the Meadow and Guerrilla Sounds studio, through March and May of 2019 successfully blends alternative folk and psychedelia. Lankum are about to fully cement their reputation as one of the most unique and talked about groups to emerge from Ireland in decades.
Lankum honour the sacredness of traditional Irish tunes, but allow them to metamorphose, to grow and breathe like the heavy, ancient breath of the Uilleann pipes which seethe beneath the tracks of their third studio album (and second with Rough Trade) ‘The Livelong Day’. “Drone is a big part of traditional music because the Uilleann pipes are indigenous to Ireland, so we’re ramping up that history and taking it as far as we can.”
This is the idea found at the core of the universe created in ‘The Livelong Day’; expanding and emboldening, that which is already playing out in history. Alongside the traditional songs on the record, there are two originals, the haunting ‘Young People’ and the tragic beauty of ‘Hunting The Wren’. The latter was composed by Ian as part of a writing challenge with Lisa O’Neill, in which Ian gave Lisa the subject of Violet Gibson, an Irish woman who went over to Rome and skim-shot Mussolini on the nose (it features on her album ‘Heard A Long Gone Song’), while Lisa gave Ian the song subject of the Wrens of Curragh. Mirroring these marginalized women, who were described as ‘free-thinkers, prostitutes, alcoholics, vagrants, ex-convicts and harvest workers’ and created their ‘nests’ out of furze in the rough plains of Curragh, County Kildare, is the wren – a bird hunted and tyrannized in Irish folklore.
It is effortless to connect with the songs of ‘The Livelong Day’ because it is an album devoid of ego. Despite the intensive historical and musical research that goes into selecting, writing and arranging these songs, the rare knowledge that they may have or their intricate musical skill, these songs are never indulged or overfilled. There is an understanding that If you can play one note, just one note and let it drag its feet with the weight of feeling, it can make a song even more affecting in its sparseness. “In this album compared to last, we wanted more percussive elements, more rhythm, more movement but at the same time we were more confident just going into the studio and seeing what happens, and leaving space open for experimentation.” While there isn’t a theme or concept as such, there is a tone that runs through it: “it’s a combination of being desperately depressing and hopeful at the same time.”
“We don’t want to be fossilising or archiving these songs we want to be pushing and accelerating them further, and the multi-sensational quality that these songs have create a visual atmosphere that you can step into and actually find it very difficult to bring yourself out of.” ‘The Livelong Day’ exists as both a narrative and a soundscape, and the way in which these songs live and ring true in our ‘modern’ lives makes total sense. This indefinable quality is what makes Lankum truly anarchic. Humanity always has, and always will, feel. What could be more relevant than pain, joy, suffering, liberation? All foundations for the human condition can be found within these songs.
Full Album
Track Listing:
1.The Wild Rover 2.The Young People 3.Ode To Lullaby 4.Bear Creek 5.Katie Cruel 6.The Dark Eyed Gypsy 7.The Pride Of Petravore 8.Hunting The Wren
Laura Elizabeth Hughes has unveiled the official video for her new single, ‘Straight For Tomorrow’. Directed by up & coming filmmaker Peadar Gill, the video features home movies from the singers childhood throughout the beautifully shot performance. Taken from her ‘Ceremony’ E.P., capturing a journey from darkness to light, the record showcased the distinctive vocal and writing talent of an artist fast establishing herself as a rising talent among a fresh new group of emerging Irish songwriters.
“Straight For Tomorrow” takes the songwriter back to her roots following the success of her last single ‘In My Defence’ earlier this summer which featured Laura Elizabeth Hughes as the cover artist for Spotify’s coveted ‘A Breath of Fresh Éire’ playlist for a number of weeks. This was followed by a collaboration with Cork producer 1,000 Beasts for ‘Because of April’.
Laura Elizabeth Hughes unique voice has seen her build a substantial fan base from around the world with her YouTube channel amassing an astonishing 2.5 million views, catching the ear of Grammy nominated R&B star, Joss Stone. The singer was such a fan of Laura’s single ‘The Dark’ (also from the “Ceremony” E.P.) that she posted the video to her own 1.3 million fans on Facebook.
On the live front, 2019 has been a big year following a sold-out hometown show in the Vintage Rooms of the Workman’s Club and first headline shows across the Atlantic in New York City and as part of a special intimate show for Sofar Sounds in London.
This October, Laura has been selected as a showcase artist for Ireland Music Week and will follow it up with a headline show at The Workman’s Club as part of the We Are… series. Tickets for the Workman’s show are on sale now here.
Live:
October 5th: Ireland Music Week showcase, The Grand Social, Dublin October 9th: The Workman’s Club, Dublin
