Month: November 2019

Meet ZALI, the award winning Irish Singer-songwriter that is hypnotising Ireland and the UK with her powerful vocals and her distinct cross-genre sound of Pop-Soul. Music has been her passion since childhood, and her involvement as a lead vocalist in the church choir helped ZALI develop her powerful voice, dynamic vocal range, and signature sound of old- school R&B mixed with Pop-Soul.

Inspired by artists like Amy Winehouse, Toni Braxton, and Frank Ocean, ZALI uses her music to capture true emotions. The embodiment of a storyteller, weaving through life experiences and expertly transforming them through captivating lyrics and a combination of lively and soul filled beats.

Her debut single ‘Can’t Stop’ gathered over 120,000 streams worldwide. Her latest release ‘Girls Like Us’ described as ‘heartbreak with a twist’ boasts of the strength, solidarity, and freedom in womanhood.

Since it’s release ‘Girls Like Us has’ been among the latest additions to official Spotify playlist such as ‘The New Éire’ and Universal Music’s ‘This is Ireland’, showcasing the country’s top acts. And thanks to the support and positive reception from girls and women all around, ‘Girl’s Like Us’ secured the award of ‘Best Irish Single’ at the 2018 Irish Post Music Awards, and has been termed a national anthem for ladies.

ZALI has been featured on a number of notable publications from the UK and Ireland to North America, and as she gears up to release her next few Singles, ZALI will be making appearances performing across radio and music festivals throughout 2019, letting us know this is just the beginning and she is here to stay! Single ‘That Girl’ is out November 22nd across all streaming platforms. 

Zali says about the new song:

“I wrote ‘That Girl’ as a relatable, audacious self-affirmative Soul-Pop anthem. I wanted to create a soothing daydream vibe, that gives you a feeling of good karma coming your way that you don’t want to wake up from.

It’s a reminder to girls everywhere to be unapologetic in their confidence because each and everyone one of us are ‘That Girl’ in our own rights, even when we don’t see it, there’s people out there being inspired by us everyday.“

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/33ZrGu7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisiszali
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisiszali/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisiszali
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGLjm1ZEhQ48lh0arQDpT8g

Tod Doyle has just released ‘Ice Cream’ – the first of four singles produced by Hally. This project began from a small studio on the outskirts of the Curragh, Co. Kildare where Doyle spent two years writing material for his next album. ‘Ice Cream’ is the first taste of his studio collaboration with producer and mix engineer Hally who has helped hone his sound throughout the past 9 months.

Doyle states “‘Ice Cream’ is an alternative folk song that explores the positive and negative sides of love, focusing on possible futures and dark pasts.” He also says that “this project has been a long time coming,” since his last release in 2012, ‘These Days’.

‘These Days’, written and recorded in Budapest and toured extensively across Europe and Ireland, resulted in very a busy period for the multi-instrumentalist. Doyle has spent the past six years touring in a number of successful bands across the globe.

2019 is a turning point for the folk singer-songwriter, with a natural gift for storytelling and a beautiful baritone voice, Doyle has finally found the time to release his own material which is much anticipated by fans. His forthcoming singles are more than unique, with an unpredictable contrast between each song that will leave the listeners dying to hear more.

Doyle’s sound is unique and compelling and you can’t help but be drawn in. He will undoubtedly have a firm placing in the modern Irish folk scene once these songs are released.

Sick Love today release their latest single ‘My Man’.

Sick Love deliver a high-energy, no holds barred rock show all wrapped up in the most anthemic songs. Described by Hot Press magazine as. “defiantly pushing against the grain of indie and folk bands in Ireland ,” they broke through with sold out shows as well as festival slots at Electric Picnic and Indiependence. The band were quickly marked by many as ones to watch, with the Irish Times preaching they are, “set to join the Super League of Irish rock bands.”

Sick Love are no stranger to the gritty, do-it yourself Irish music scene. Having risen from the ashes of former band Sub Motion that relentlessly worked through changing line-ups and sounds that crafted a name for themselves following a number of successful self-released tracks and a series of support slots (Crazy Town, The Strypes, Fangclub, Otherkin).

The band released debut single ‘Are You Ready’ in 2018. The track was recorded live in Herbert Place Studios, Dublin with James Darkin at helm ( Kanye, Will.i.am, Rihanna, Hozier ). Following up with releases like ‘Gun In Your Pocket’ and ‘I Want You All Of The Time’, the band have received significant UK and Irish radio support. Sick Love have been placed on 6 major Spotify editorial playlists including New Music Friday UK, Hot New Bands, The Rock List and the hugely sought after ‘Walk Like A BadAss’ accumulating over 650K streams to date.

The band have been touring extensively around the UK and Ireland, including a full capacity MCD headline show in the Sound House, the Dr Martens Boot Room in Camden, Camden Rocks Festival, main stage at the Great Estate Festival, supporting Dashboard Confessional at The Academy, all in the short time since Sick Love has emerged.

Five years since the release of their debut album, Irish brothers Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor are proud to confirm the details for their second long-player to be released on Friday 28th February.

“This record has taken us three years to make, working on it has brought us all over the world and capturing it all has been so much fun. It’s the sounds of Seattle, Nashville, New York City and our home town Dublin all in one album.” – Harry and Alfie. 

The brothers’ first album – ‘Singing For Strangers’ – featured the hit singles ‘Battles’, ‘Chasing Rubies’ and ‘Weapons’, and they spent two years on the road in Ireland, the UK and Europe promoting the release. Hudson Taylor announced their return in spring 2018 with ‘Feel It Again’, which went on to be one of the biggest Irish airplay hits of that year, which was followed up by another airwaves anthem in the shape of ‘Run With Me’. Hudson Taylor toured extensively both at home and in Europe and the USA in support of the ‘Feel It Again’ EP and the ‘Bear Creek To Dame Street’ mini-album, a part-studio / part-live document which featured highlights from a triumphant sold-out show at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre.

Harry and Alfie – “some of the songs came easy and others took years to finish writing. There are stories about our travels and the last decade of making music together, and also about love, loss, family, friendship and everyday life.”

“The title ‘Loving Everywhere I Go’ is a line from one of our songs, it’s about embracing the fresh possibilities that life offers you, and being open-minded to new sounds, people and places.”

The album was recorded in America and Dublin, with producer John Rausch at the controls for much of the creative process, “John is a super-genius and now a dear friend,” add Harry and Alfie.

“We have never been happier with the sound and production of our songs, and we are delighted to be getting then out into the world and releasing our second full-length album!”

‘Loving Everywhere I Go’ will be released on limited-edition coloured vinyl, CD and streaming services on Rubyworks on Friday 28th February 2020.

Fans can pre-order the album now at hudsontaylormusic.com

The brothers have also got their hands on some cool, limited-edition 7″ vinyl singles for their new festive bop ‘How I Know It’s Christmas’.

Be one of the first 500 to pre-order it as part of an album bundle and we’ll post out the Christmas 7″ together with an exclusive, signed Christmas card before Santa comes!

Track-listing.

1. Run With Me
2. Feel It Again
3. Back To You
4. Favourite Song
5. Where Did It All Go Wrong?
6. Hiding From Love
7. Just Like That
8. What Do You Mean?
9. Sound The Alarm
10. Six Last Words
11. Nothing But A Stranger
12. Old Soul (Acoustic)
13. Pray For The Day
14. I Will Be There For You

Following the release of his critically acclaimed album ‘Make It Up’ earlier this year, Kevin Herm Connolly launches what is arguably its standout track as a single – the plaintive ballad ‘I’m Still In Love With You’. Its accompanying video charts Kevin’s journey from Mancora, a small town on the northern coast of Peru where he lived for a spell, back to Dublin, where he has been mostly based ever since leaving his home county of Galway as a teenager.

Speaking about the video, Kevin says: “This video means a lot to me for various reasons. Firstly, it’s a family affair – the Peru scenes were shot by one of my brothers and the Dublin scenes by the other. The Dublin performance footage was shot on the old premises of Arad Studios, where the bulk of the album was recorded in very enjoyable sessions with my friend Les Keye. The studios have since had to move to make way for an office block… It’s nice to have this video as a document of those times. Lastly, many of the great friends I made during my time in Peru were involved and make cameo appearances in what was a very enjoyable (if ambitious!) shoot over there. I’m delighted to have so many important people, times and memories from my life feature in one of my videos!”

Kevin cut his teeth in the alt-country band El Diablo before releasing ‘Monsters’, the first collection of his own songs, under the name Herm. Ireland’s leading alternative music magazine (Hot Press) and radio station (Phantom FM) included it in their top ten Irish albums of the year and reviewers drew favourable comparisons with artists such as Beck, The Eels and Tom Waits. ‘Make It Up’ reveals a development in Kevin’s song-writing from the quirky and edgy indie pop of his debut to a more reflective and organic approach. Described as “accomplished and impressive” (Hot Press), “refined and contemplative” (Connacht Tribune), the album is available on all digital platforms now.

www.kevinhermconnolly.com
www.facebook.com/kevinhermconnolly www.instagram.com/kevinhermconnolly www.twitter.com/kevhermconnolly www.youtube.com/user/kevinhermconnolly

Sean OB releases his new EP ‘Cigarettes & Perfume’ today, Friday 22^nd November.

Featuring current single, ‘Single Young Man’, the video for which is out now. The video was directed by James Clarke & Ian Downes.

Speaking about the EP, Sean says:

“This record is for the self-destructive people who feel they’re alone in the world. I’m sure these songs will relate to their experience in the different stages of life being single, in love and heartbroken.

I had some time writing and working on the original demos but we kept it rough and ready in the studio and banged ’em out pretty quick…..which I think you can hear. Keep it simple and to the fucking point, as always. “

Sean has received great radio support locally, as well from UK stations across the water, including BBC Radio 6, RadioX and BBC Wales.

Talking about his current single, ‘Single Young Man’ which is taken from ‘Cigarettes and Perfume’, Sean explains, “Musically I kept it very simple sticking to the punk ethic of 3 barre chords on guitar, simple bass and heavy drums. Lyrically it’s a mixture of ideas like, looking back on a relationship and dealing with cannabis psychosis and anxiety. It’s also about an old friend and how I wanted them to feel proud of themselves because I admire them. And obviously it’s just about being young and single and in the moment, not caring about all of life’s challenges and struggles ahead which are inevitable.“

Sean writes with such hard-hitting honesty, demonstrating incredible skills as a songwriter and lyricist, that it is almost easy to make connections to the likes of Jamie T and Buddy Holly, but that would merely scratch the surface of this Irish troubadours’ talent. With influences from comedians like Doug Stanhope and Bill Hicks as well as Hunter S. Thompson and John Lennon the full story is a good deal more interesting, something you need to hear to truly understand.

Emerging Dublin indie-pop band milk. have just released their third single, ‘A Little More’ today, November 22nd.

‘A Little More’ takes on a narrative of emotional and sexual intimacy over pulsing, modern production from Adam Redmond of Flaked Studios. 

With over 400,000 streams of debut single ‘Drama Queen’ and positive reception on the “energising and rousing“, ‘Temperature’ from publications such as Earmilk, Nialler9 and GoldenPlec, milk. are set to continue this momentum, supporting Delorentos on their Irish tour in December and playing their biggest headline show to date in Dublin’s Workman’s Club on December 14th with tickets available via Ticketmaster.

Written by lead singer Sarah-Beth in a tent the morning after a music festival, ‘On Your Side’ is the new alt-pop, earworm from Luunah.

Dreamy electronics, synth and backing vocals create an ethereal atmosphere while a driving rhythm section keeps the groove going. A desire to live a colourful life is the message at the heart of ‘On Your Side’ – conveyed through the prosody of the words and music.

Prepare to be moved – inside and out.

Luunah is an alternative-pop band based in Cork, Ireland. The group was formed by lead singer, Sarah-Beth with peers while studying in Music College. Dreamy electronic textures and a driving rhythm section act as a canvas for her personal lyrics and vivid imagery.

The band incorporates acoustic and electronic elements into their live set creating a sound that is retro but modern. Their influences include St.Vincent, Metronomy, Bat for Lashes and David Byrne.

Luunah is a collage of diverse musical backgrounds with the band member’s experience ranging from RnB to Rock, Jazz to Folk and most things in between.

Photos by Miki Barlok

‘Love Shot’ is the latest single from Galway pop/rock band Rofi James, following the success of previous singles ‘Fool For Your Love’, ‘Open Eyes’ (Nominated for Best Single), ‘Reason’, which reached No.3 in the Radio Monitor Irish Airplay Charts alongside All Tvvins and U2, and most recent single ‘I Tried’. Rofi James have had regular airplay on radio stations nationwide including RTÉ 2FM, iRadio, Spin South West, Red FM, BEAT 102103, Galway Bay FM, and several other stations across the country.

Since their debut, the band have opened for established acts including Picture This, Wild Youth, Hermitage Green, The Riptide Movement, The Stunning, The Blizzards, Brave Giant, Sean & Conor Price and Ryan Sheridan to name but a few. Other notable appearances include Electric Picnic, Fever Pitch, OTB Music Festival and Riverfest which Rofi James co-headlined alongside Le Galaxie and Hermitage Green. 

Rofi James looking forward to taking to the stage once again for their upcoming Co.Headline show in Galway on December 21st alongside Fallen Lights.

Upcoming Live Shows:

The Loft Venue, Galway – December 21st
Rofi James / Fallen Lights

Rofi James Facebook page: www.facebook.com/rofijamesmusic
Rofi James Twitter page: www.twitter.com/rofi_james
Rofi James Official Website: www.rofijames.com
Rofi James Instagram: www.instagram.com/rofijames