Month: January 2020

Isaac Butler has released his eagerly anticipated new single ‘Young Forever’ – produced by Philip Magee (Kodaline, The Script, The Academic) – on the 31 January 2020. It follows previous singles ‘Moon Song’ and ‘Rescue Me’ which have racked up 1 million streams on Spotify.

Recently named as one of Her.ie’s “Ones To Watch” for 2020, ‘Young Forever’ follows a jam-packed 2019 which saw Isaac Butler play a sold out headline show in Whelan’s and a host of festival dates around the country including Electric Picnic and Kaleidoscope.

Speaking of ‘Young Forever’ Isaac Butler said: “I was delighted to get the opportunity to work with the incredibly talented Irish producer Philip Magee on ‘Young Forever’. To me the song is about a time in my life with no worries and no responsibilities and I really feel we captured that feeling of freedom.”

As well as gearing up to head back into the studio, Isaac Butler is set to take to the stage for his second headline show at The Sound House, Dublin on Friday 3rd April having sold his debut headline show in Whelan’s last November.

Isaac Butler’s debut single ‘Moon Song’ went on to great success being picked up by German TV show “The Bachelorette”, appearing on the show which broadcasts to over 2 million viewers per episode. Since writing his first song at age 12, and going on to record it for a children’s charity CD, his first love has been music, complete with a passion for writing and performing his own original work.

‘Young Forever’ the brand new single from Isaac Butler is available across all digital platforms NOW!

2019 saw COLUMBIA MILLS release two singles from their highly anticipated sophomore album ‘CCTV’ which is due for release later this Spring. ‘Strange Game’ and ‘Who Am I Supposed To Talk To Now?’ garnered huge radio support here and in the UK including John Kennedy Radio X, RTE Radio 1, Ed Smith (Today FM) choosing COLUMBIA MILLS as his Play Irish Artist of the week and ‘Recent and Decent’ on Today FM, Dan Hegartys (2FM) Track of The Week, and heavy rotation on Paul Mc Loones Today FM show, as well as heavy airplay across all national and regional radio stations. COLUMBIA MILLS just released ‘UNDERSTAND’ (31/01/20), the third single from ‘CCTV’

‘Understand’ is a song about coming to terms with watching a friend self-destruct. The frustration of realising the warning signs were there when given the benefit of hindsight. Could I have done more or is it possible to save somebody when they fall into this mode?  Fiachra Treacy

Constant musical development has marked the journey of Columbia Mills since the band’s inception in 2014. Brothers Fiachra and Uisneagh Treacy found like minds in Ste Ward, Paul Kenny and Mick Heffernan in Bray, Meath and Dublin.

Their mission statement was to merge electronica, dance and pop while fostering a spirit of inclusion always evident at the long-gone club in Dublin’s docklands from where they took their name.

Never Gonna Look At You The Same and other songs on their debut EP Factory Settings smelled like prime Mary Chain but 2015’s EP The Perfect Day found them transitioning from the Reid brothers’ influence to more beat-driven cacophonies on its title track and the quietly epic History.

On 2017’s debut album, A Safe Distance To Watch, they transitioned again. One of its stand-out tracks, This City Doesn’t Feel Like Home To Me, reflected the disappointment lead singer and principal songwriter Fiachra felt with Dublin after arriving from Bray in pursuit of a musical career; a city that was said to prize its artists, now prices creativity beyond its boundaries.

With new member, Ken McCabe on keyboards/electronics, Columbia Mills’ burgeoning fanbase will be in no way surprised that the tracks on their sophomore album, CCTV (due for release in 2020) sees continuing evidence of that constant music development.

The new songs reveal a band who have truly found their voice but also the hands to fashion the sound to which they’ve aspired. You will sense that and soon cherish what you hear. They, meanwhile, will be plotting their next move. Words by Danny McElhinney (Mail On Sunday)

Dublin based artists Ryan O’Shaughnessy and Zapho are set to release their first collaboration ‘100 Ways’ on the 31st January 2020. Combining their skills and resources as songwriters and producers, the two have crafted a song with a distinctly 90s influenced neo-soul/electro feel. Lyrically ‘100 Ways’tackles one of the most universal topics of conversation: the gradual decline of a long-term relationship.The song is about figuring out the new dynamic of being without the person you love and learning there’s a hundred ways to deal with it, a hundred ways to untangle the life you created together without resorting to enmity.

Ryan O’Shaughnessy started his professional life at the age of eight as an actor before venturing into the music industry aged 17. In 2012 he performed his self-penned track ‘No Name’ on Britain’s Got Talent and was subsequently signed to RCA in London. After a number one album and a successful British and Irish tour Ryan decided to set up his own label and studio, Bayview Records. In 2018 Ryan represented Ireland with the track ‘Together’ at Eurovision in Portugal, and successfully used the project to raise awareness for gay rights globally.

New to the Irish music scene, Zapho (Ele Breslin) is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter-producer. In 2019 she released two singles, ‘Do like I Do’ and ‘Water Me’ and recorded her debut album. ‘100 Ways’ is the first of multiple collaborations in the works for 2020.

Ryan and Zapho explain the origin of ‘100 Ways’: ‘We wanted to make the type of music that we care about and actively listen to: pop with an alternative twist. This song was made from start to finish in seven hours at the Bayview Songwriting Camp sponsored byIMRO, who have supported both of us on various projects over the years.’

The release will be followed by a dance concept music video that was shot in Berlin in 2019. It was directed and produced by Berlin native Valentin Braun and features performances by dancers Ruby Wilson (UK) and Austin Fagan (Canada). Ryan and Zapho wanted to create a mainstream video with a queer aesthetic that would visually represent Zapho as a queer woman and Ryan as a an LGBTQ+ ally, and the finished product is a beautiful imagining of the song.

Ryan & Zapho :
‘We wanted to make the type of music that we care about and actively listen to, the perfect form of pop with a bit of an alternative twist. We referenced some of our influences like Tom Misch, Mahalia, Jorja Smith, and Masego to name a few. This song was made from start to finish in 7 hours at the Bayview Songwriting Camp sponsored by IMRO Ireland who have supported both of us on various projects over the years. It was the perfect space to immerse yourself in your work in a cabin by the countryside, surrounded by like minded musicians who were there to be creative and collaborate. We loved the song so much we decided to team up and independently release the track through Bayview Records.

100 Ways tackles one of the most universal topics of conversation, referencing love and the ending of a relationship. In a breakup you never go from a hundred to zero, in a relationship that’s not meant to be, there’s a gradual decline. The song is about figuring out a new dynamic of not being with the person that you love and learning there’s a hundred ways to deal with a break up. A hundred ways to untangle the life you created with another person. It’s a universal message that we can all relate to having been through break ups, both parties hoped the break up would be amicable as portrayed in both the song and the accompanying music video’.

https://www.zaphomusic.com/

Mayo singer-songwriter Liam Geddes releases his first single of 2020 entitled ‘Too Young For Love’. This catchy pop tune is a true earworm. Its catchy melodies and chant-like chorus’ aren’t incomparable with likes of Lauve or Imagine Dragons.

Liam, like many others, has had a long road in finding his place within the music industry but has cemented his place in the Irish music scene and indeed further afield, as one of the most exciting new artists. Recent times have seen his latest single playlisted on RTÉ 2FM,with unrelenting national radio support from other major stations like Today FM where he was made ‘Homegrown Hero’. 

2019 saw the Irish writer embark on a tour that saw him play shows in London, Boston, New York City, Dublin, Belfast, and Galway. ​

Picture This lead vocalist, Ryan Hennessy, discusses their new single ‘Winona Ryder’, “I think everybody has experienced that star stuck feeling at least once in their lives.  When you meet a celebrity or somebody you really look up to, it almost doesn’t feel real and it sets your heart racing and stomach tumbling and you don’t really know how to act. ‘Winona Ryder’ is a song about getting that feeling but not with a celebrity, instead with a girl. This happened at a time where I had given up on love and companionship. I was reminded that it still exists.  Someone can unexpectedly walk into your life and turn it upside down in the best way through grace, beauty, and recklessness. ‘Winona Ryder’ is a celebration of the nervousness and edginess bestowed on you by someone you are in awe of.”

Kicking off 2020 with the release of ‘Winona Ryder’, Picture This set up to release their third studio album.  More information coming soon!

The band also took to the stage last night in Birmingham as special guests on the Jonas Brothers SOLD OUT arena tour through Ireland, UK and Europe.

The tour makes a stop at Dublin’s 3Arena, this Friday 31^st Jan. Dates below.

Tour Dates supporting Jonas Brothers (UK & EU):

• Wednesday, Jan 29 – Birmingham
• Friday, Jan 31 – Dublin
• Sunday, Feb 2 – London
• Monday, Feb 3 – London
• Wednesday, Feb 5 – Glasgow
• Thursday, Feb 6 – Manchester
• Saturday, Feb 8 – Antwerp
• Monday, Feb 10 – Berlin
• Tuesday, Feb 11 – Kolin
• Thursday, Feb 13 – Zurich
• Friday, Feb 14 – Milan
• Sunday, Feb 16 – Madrid
• Monday, Feb 17 – Barcelona
• Tuesday, Feb 18 – Perols, France
• Thursday, Feb 20 – Amsterdam
• Saturday, Feb 22 – Paris

Picture This also recently announced a headline stadium sized tour this Summer across Ireland, as follows:

Tour Dates:

Jun 26                    Cork, Ireland                      Irish Independent Park
Jun 27                    Co. Dublin, Ireland           Malahide Castle & Gardens
Jun 28                    Belfast, Ireland                  Ormeau Park

Eurosonic’s top pick of 2020, THUMPER catapult into 2020 unleashing a brand new lively single, ‘Ad Nauseam’, streaming from Friday 28th Feb. 2019 saw them release three singles, ‘(You’re Bringing Me) Down’, ‘In My Room’ and ‘AFL’, all of which received extensive UK radio support from Steve Lemacq, Huw Stephens, Daniel P. Carter, Kerrang! Radio & Radio X, as well as several Spotify playlists including New Music Friday, The Rock List and even a feature on E4’s Made in Chelsea. 

“‘Ad Nauseam is a cautionary tale about repetition and vanity. The echo chamber of ego, a never ending horror show for an audience of one. The song deals with an interaction that has the protagonist narrowly escape being eaten alive by a starving internet date.” – Lead vocals & guitar Oisin Furlong

This lively single offers a blistering 218 seconds of trashing lead vocals that wrestle with raw, roaring ego as this raucous anthem thunders from fractious chorus to pared back periods of brutal honesty. Throbbing bass lines haunt ‘Ad Nauseam’, hardly pausing for a breath, before being backed up by fresh, punchy, guitar. 

Last summer THUMPER released their debut EP ‘Out of Body Auto-Message’ (produced by Daniel Fox of Girl Band) to a sold out show in Dublin’s Lost Lane, before embarking on a 3 month festival tour which included key slots at Primavera (Barcelona), Knockanstockan, Body&Soul, Electric Picnic and many more.

The latter half of 2019 saw the band complete their first headline tour of the UK, inc sold-out shows in London and Bristol, before finally return to Dublin for their second homecoming sell-out of the year in The Grand Social. This year anticipates rampant success for Dublin’s noise-pop sextet, from performing at The Netherlands infamous Eurosonic festival, alongside a headline UK tour, topped off with performances across Belgium, Germany and France. 

Pre-save THUMPER ‘Ad Nauseam’ for a chance to win an official band t-shirt >>> https://presave.io/t/adnauseam

After 10 years together as a band, SPIES have announced that their February 15th show in Whelans will be their last. They have also shared a new mix of their song ‘Constancy’ by producer Rían Trench (Solar Bears). Since their 2013 single ‘Distant Shorelines’, the band have been working with Trench who featured as the mix engineer on their 2018 single ‘Watchman’. This is the first of two remixes done by Trench for the band with a remix of ‘Young Dad’ coming on the 11th of February. 

Speaking on their decision to end the band, the members have this to say – 

Dear friends, families, and fans,

We have decided to call it a day as SPIES.  

The five of us have had an amazing time playing music together over the last 10 years but we feel the time is right to move on.  

There are no hard feelings, we are still very close friends, but with members spread across different countries and with our lives moving in different directions we felt it made sense to make this show our last. 

We are really proud of all of the music we released, in particular our album Constancy and look forward to making music individually and together in different projects. 

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who worked with us, encouraged us, listened to us, and came to our shows. Thanks also to the artists that influenced us, our families, better halves, and friends who supported us over the years. It has always meant a lot. 

Come join us for a dance in Whelans next month. 

Michael, Conor, Neil, Jeff, & Hugh xxxxx

LIVE

On February 15th, SPIES will play their last ever show in Whelans, joined by special guest Rachael Lavelle. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.