Month: May 2020

Christian Cohle’s debut album ‘Holy Trouble’ is set to be released in 2020, with the second single ‘Ghost’ released on May 22nd. 

Some of you will have Christian Cohle on your radar, and some may be hearing this name for the first time. Either way, 2020 is the year Christian Cohle has emerged onto the Irish and international music scene. Debut single ‘Breathe’ was released on Feb 21st and was a major success, catching the attention of writers and bloggers worldwide, gaining nearly 40K organic streams on Spotify, while also getting great radio support. ‘Breathe’ was premiered by Irish national broadcasters 2FM with DJ Tara Stewart supporting the track heavily, as well as being played by Ed Smith on TodayFm, RTE Pulse and “Across The Line” on BBC Introducing.

“The Dublin electro-pop artist, who released his debut single ‘Breathe’ on February 21, is already earning comparisons to legends like James Blake and Apparat. . . We’re already tipping him for major international stardom.” Hot Press 

‘Breathe’ was accompanied by a stunning music video directed by indie film-maker Tristan Heanue, who has recently swept up the country with his recent short ‘Ciúnas’, winning multiple awards and long-listed for an Oscar. The track and video premiered online in the U.S by The Music Ninja, and recieved notable press from the UK and U.S, Euphoria Mag , Vents Mag , Aupium , Come Here Floyd. The single was also picked up from many other blogs around Europe i.e Germany, Sweden, France and Poland.

Breathe, was received with great enthusiasm in Cohle’s home country of Ireland, getting Track of the Day from Hot Press and also going onto their A&R Department column noted to be a “name you can expect to be hearing a lot more of” as well as support form Nialler9, Goldenplec, The Last Mixed Tape and more.

Cohle will release his second single ‘Ghost’ building on the momentum of his debut, on the 22nd of May.

Christian Cohle’s debut album ‘Holy Trouble’ is set to be released in 2020. Now we see Cohle return with his second single ‘Ghost’, a hypnotic synth pop anthem, with his vocal style drawing similarities to Hayden Thorpe of Wild Beasts, or James Blake.

Exploring dark themes and sounds, Cohle conjures up an alluring and introspective realm, using modern electronica, driving rhythms and howling vocals. 

On ‘Ghost’ Cohle says, “‘Ghost’ reflects an inner spiritual turmoil, when you find yourself in a state of collapse and the grasping for meaning that happens afterwards. When I was writing the lyrics , I kept seeing a falling tower, which became the motif of the song for me.”

Cohle has a full album ready, to be released when he sees fit. (Orig plan before virus came – Sep/Oct 2020) 

Cohle produced all tracks on his forthcoming album including ‘Ghost’, alongside engineer and co-producer Michael Heffernan (Dermot Kennedy, Gavin James, Æ MAK, The Script).  

Cohle performed at the prestigious Ruby Sessions on the week of his release of Breathe, and was set to play with his band upstairs in Whelan’s at the end of March, as well as another show at Lost Lane, however with the Corona Virus, it has had to be cancelled until a later time.

Cohle will also be supporting Columbia Mills, at the Button Factory on the 18th of September 2020 with his band. 

The plan was to build his live for 2020, however all is up in the air with the virus shutting everything down. 

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With an adventurous spirit and a passion for charting the road less travelled, Beoga have shown that Irish traditional music can take fresh new directions. That world-facing potential was proven by the popularity of their collaborations with Ed Sheeran on his all-conquering ‘÷’ album. Those two songs – ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Nancy Mulligan’ – have been streamed over a billion times on Spotify alone.

Now Beoga build upon that growing profile by sharing their new single ‘In A Rocket’, a collaboration with Lissie. The track previews their new mini-album ‘Carousel’, which follows on May 22nd. It finds the band focusing on creating attention-grabbing hooks with a mix of rootsy instrumentation and elements of electronic pop production.

With vocals from Lissie and a topline written by James Bay, ‘In A Rocket’ blends Beoga’s Irish-fuelled rhythms with Lissie’s midwestern folk-pop as it looks ahead to better times to come. “Spent too long in this lonely room,” Lissie emotes, “Kicked out the locks, going to run with you / Sun’s waiting on the other side.”

Beoga commented “’In A Rocket’ is about growing, escapism and losing yourself. The idea of getting away from it all in your own metaphorical rocket, whatever that may be.

Lissie brings a special midwestern vibe to this song that really brought it all to life for us. We wanted this song to take you away to somewhere positive and daydreamy for a few minutes. It seems apt with all that’s going on in the world at the minute.”

Lissie added: “It’s such an honour to lend my voice to this uplifting song by Beoga. I feel like the words and meaning couldn’t be more perfect for these strange and uncertain times we are living in.  Also, to have the release coincide with the first hopeful signs of Springtime feels appropriate. There is a lot of strength, resolve and optimism in this song!”

‘In A Rocket’ is the third taster to preview ‘Carousel’ following ‘Matthew’s Daughter’ (featuring Devin Dawson) and ‘Make A Mark’ (featuring Ryan McMullan). Uniting the worlds of American and Irish contemporary folk, the former features lyrics written by Ed Sheeran about his wife Cherry and is already Beoga’s second most streamed track at Spotify. Meanwhile, ‘Make A Mark’ shows their growing flair for merging the worlds of Irish trad and modern pop.

Other featured vocalists on the mini-album include Beoga’s old friends Foy Vance and Niall McCabe. Meanwhile the Grammy-nominated producer Jonny Coffer has helped the band’s fresh fusion of sounds to flourish.

The ‘Carousel’ title was chosen to reflect Beoga’s experiences over the past two years. They’ve navigated the murky waters of the music industry, signing and then escaping two recording contracts before teaming up with AWAL. It’s been a long and frustrating experience, but looking back they realise that they’ve been more creative than ever before. In addition to ‘Carousel’, they also have the bones of a further two or three albums in place. Everything’s set up for Beoga to reach a whole new audience.

Beoga will follow the release of ‘Carousel’ with an Irish & UK headline tour later this year.

In the wake of the release of her new album ‘breaded crickets’, Leah Sohotra releases her second single ‘The Wolf In The Sheepskin Hood’.

Leah is a singer/songwriter and single mother of two living in Blarney Co Cork. She’s been on the Cork scene musically only since 2017 and in October of 2019 was invited to play musical support for legendary artist Andy Irvine at the Cork Folk Festival.

Originally from Vermont, and having lived in Ireland for eight years, her imagery draws heavily on rural American and Irish landscapes. Her work also draws from classical literature and folk tradition, nursery rhymes and epic poetry and therefore the subjects are often animals and mythical creatures.

Following the death of a close childhood friend, Leah spent over ten years in a very controlling relationship and mourning the loss. The songs are heartfelt reflections on her long silence during that period of mourning and call forth to an audience that wants to share and listen to something that evokes a raw intimacy and artistry with its lyrics and rhymes and is tied into playful melodies.The delicate arrangements are created by multi-instrumentalist Martin Leahy who, through his mastery and experimental tastes with acoustic and electronic sounds, creates a moody aural landscape that crosses many genres from Appalachian Folk to Industrial Punk and Americana/Jazz/ Rock and Blues. Martin features on the album playing well over a dozen different instruments. The album also features guest vocals by the highly acclaimed songwriter Mick Flannery who also co-wrote one of the tracks.

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Marty Mone made his debut onto the Irish & UK music scene in 2014, with his single ‘Hit The Diff’ amassing over 10 million views on YouTube. He went on to produce 2 successful full-length albums, and his discography has brought him over 23 million YouTube views to date.  

Following the success of ‘Truck & Roll’ which premiered in February 2020, and a tour across New Zealand and Australia, Marty Mone is proud to announce an official re-release of his inaugural track, ‘Hit The Diff’.

‘Hit The Diff’ is widely regarded in Ireland as a Country Folk anthem, and is the single that put Marty Mone on the map. It became a viral sensation overnight, amassing over 4 million Spotify streams and 10 million YouTube views.

Five years later and the track is still packing out dancefloors on a night out in town, and even had someone name a racehorse after the single. As a result, Marty has decided it’s time to give it the 2020 refresher it deserves.  He completely re-recorded and mastered ‘Hit The Diff’ adding a bigger mix of genres giving it a more rock EDM feel. 

The track will also feature a brand new music video.

Marty’s fame as a YouTube sensation is growing stronger by the day. With 4 songs with over 1 million views and a combined view on his channel of over 23.5 million, Marty shows no signs of slowing down.

“I knew at the start of the production process for this album that the record as a whole was going to sound totally different to anything that I’ve ever created or released to date. It had to be. I think subconsciously, I wanted to create a really unique record that pushed the boundaries a little bit. Not so much formulated pop structured songs, but more going with the flow and letting the tracks be what they want to be, when they want to be it. Every song written was a complete blank canvas. I really did have no idea where each one was going to go.

I’ve made something that I’m really proud of which is important to me. It can get quite heavy and upbeat when it wants to. I wrote a lot of it whilst touring the last record at festivals etc – so I was in that frame of mind. I was more hands on and in depth this time around too in terms of mixing etc. I didn’t know when to stop at points! Back and forth, back and forth.

But it’s done now, and I will have more news soon on a release date etc. For now, here is the first single.“

‘So Much To Give & Live For’ is the first single taken from the new, upcoming album from Limerick electronic music singer, songwriter and producer Proper Micro NV (Rory Hall).

‘So Much To Give & Live For’ is a real go with the flow sort of track. It started off as something totally different, then changed, then settled. Then changed again. It kind of sums up the direction of the album as a whole. It’s vocally experimental with a lot of chopping and altering. “I think its my favourite song on the new record and I’m so proud that I’ve managed to make this kind of track – something that is actually quite free-form and relatively expansive, but also something that could work on a weird dance-floor.“

James Vincent McMorrow has returned with his first new music in three years, and now shares the video for his new track ‘Headlights’ (available on Columbia Records). A platinum-selling artist who has independently clocked up over 750 million streams, reached #1 in his home of Ireland, and seen his music travel everywhere from Drake’s ‘Views’ to ‘Game Of Thrones’, ‘Headlights’ acts as the first preview of McMorrow’s upcoming fifth studio album. Having been announced for Latitude and as a headliner at this year’s Somerset House series – James has formerly sold out the likes of The Roundhouse, Sydney Opera House, and a residency at Dublin’s National Concert Hall – revised touring plans will also follow soon. 

An always-unpredictable, multi-faceted talent, ‘Headlights’ nonetheless has the feel of a brand new chapter for James Vincent McMorrow. From its arresting opening (“who’s there for you / laying in the dark?“) to the track’s propulsive beats and soaring, gospel melodies, it’s the sound of an artist and producer making the boldest yet most direct music of his career. “I wanted ‘Headlights’ to start in a plaintive humble place and finish in this huge place,” says James, who also adapted the community-in-chaos theme of his latest material for the track’s visuals.

Speaking of the ‘Headlights’ video, James says, “When it became impossible to create our original idea for the Headlights video, we embraced the chaos. No grand plans or aspirations, simply capture life in as natural and unforced a way as possible. We shot what we wanted when we wanted, and because Emma was on the other end of the camera, what we captured was a genuine representation of me coming back, for probably the first time. Unadorned and honest, not curated or edited to present any vision I think you might have of me. For people who might think me opaque, you know my music but you might not know me or what I am, this video is for you. Thank you to Tom Speers and his team at Smugglers for helping create this video.

Thank you to Emma for shooting it. Thank you to my daughter Margot for making me interesting to watch on camera.”

Over the last decade, James Vincent McMorrow has established himself as an artist of signature style. On his own intuitive terms, James’ bigger-picture approach to each project may vary, but the idea of doing exactly what you need to do (and at exactly the right time) remains a constant. He has emerged that rare modern act who’s as integral to the worlds of hip-hop and textured R&B as he is the singer-songwriter roots of his early days. Behind McMorrow’s instantly-identifiable voice was a heartfelt, sometimes-cryptic storyteller – who, on ‘Headlights’, also appears to have come to understand himself on a deeper level. Produced by James alongside the likes of Paul Epworth, Lil Silva, Kenny Beats and Patrick Wimberley (Chairlift), songs for his forthcoming album were recorded between McMorrow’s home of Dublin, LA, and London. An eclectic, deliberately-chaotic modern pop record began to take shape, around which James also became a dad. “I have more responsibilities, people and expectations around me than ever, and the world is constantly telling me to change and grow as a person,” he says. “But I don’t feel any more responsible or capable than I did when I was 18 years old. This record is about embracing the idea that it’s okay to not have things figured out.”

For an artist who resists easy categorisation, ‘Headlights’ is not about life suddenly making sense. It’s about making peace with the fact that nothing does, and finding what you need (the joy, the fearlessness, and the creative freedom) in even the glare of the ‘Headlights’.

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ZASKA’s newest track, ‘My Whole Heart (feat. Tolü Makay, God Knows & The Isolation Choir)’ will be released on 22 May and is available for pre-save now.

The song was recorded in isolation during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland this past April by 16 artists including Tolü Makay, God Knows (Rusangano Family) & The Isolation Choir with Wyvern Lingo, Faye O’Rourke (Soda Blonde), Jess Kav (BARQ/The Waterboys), Gemma Dunleavy, James Smith (Gypsies On The Autobahn), Danny Groenland (Danny G and the Major 7ths), and more.

A listening party on Zoom for fans is planned for Wednesday 20 May and an online single launch party will stream on Saturday 30 May. Watch @zaskamusic socials and zaskamusic.com for more information.

Isolation collaboration

Max Zaska is well known for his collaborations, so when he wrote ‘My Whole Heart’ in late March he called on his community of musicians to help him bring it to life. With non-essential travel at the height of the Coronavirus lockdown restricted to 2 km  from home, it was impossible to gather everyone together to record in the usual way.

Instead, Max produced the song remotely, from his cottage in the Kildare countryside, relying on voice memos, emails, and messaging to instruct and coordinate the group effort. Each person recorded their part at home – from Limerick to Dublin – in isolation, with the equipment they had on hand. The individual tracks were mixed in 3 different locations to produce the final recording.

“Forget everybody else, who you wanna be?”

‘My Whole Heart’ is an uplifting song that encourages people to live without regret and be their authentic selves. Zaska explains further, “The Coronavirus has reminded us that life is fragile. All those plans that you wanted to ‘do someday’ can disappear in an instant, so seize the day and live life to its fullest now. Even in the face of a pandemic you can find joy and take steps to build the life you want.”

The video for ‘My Whole Heart’ pulls from the 16 artists’ at-home recordings and scenes from candid Zoom calls. Add in heartwarming scenes of people coming together in isolation and healthcare workers celebrating, and the video captures moments of happiness and encourages people to stay positive. The video was directed by Max Zaska and edited by Archie Hadden.

Sonically, Zaska explores modern electronic soul in “My Whole Heart” with choir and synth-drenched choruses that draw from Kanye West and Tame Impala, while the lo-fi verses show influence from Daniel Caesar and Yussef Dayes.

‘My Whole Heart’
Featured Vocals:
Tolü Makay
God Knows (Rusangano Family)

Known for feel-good neo-soul that blends modern funk, jazz, and R&B, Max Zaska is the guitar-wielding songwriter at the helm of a supergroup of Irish talent. ZASKA’s revolving roster draws players and rising stars from across genres in the Irish music scene and included Hozier as the band’s original vocalist. You can find more information at zaskamusic.com or follow @zaskamusic on social media.

Irish/Hungarian duo Soul Circle return with stunning new single ‘Better Off Without You’.

‘Better Off Without You’ follows the acclaimed single ‘Prism’ that was released while the duo was on tour in Dubai/Abu Dhabi in December 2018. 

‘Better Off Without You’ takes their distinctive sound into exciting new territories, Melding seamlessly Electronic, Alternative, Rock, Punk and Soul. An edgy mix of electronica psychedelic sing along alternative rock. 

Speaking about ‘Better Off Without You’, guitarist Phil De Brún said, “‘Better Off Without You’ is an anthem for anyone going through change of any description, be it a bad relationship or not. Whatever obstacle is in your way in life, stopping you from reaching your full potential, you must remove it and move on, to find the happy life you deserve, and also in the context of the pandemic, it’s an anthem to move forward with.

They really enjoyed making the video with Rotor Videos and would definitely recommend working with them to other artists. It’s a great music video for summertime, full of color and energy to get you pumping for the long summer nights ahead.“

Soul Circle is made up of the once in a lifetime vocalist Zuzi from Hungary and mind blowing guitarist Phil from Ireland. They have been together since 2016 having toured hard in Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Czech Rep, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and India. They have amassed over 600 gigs since 2016 around the world, winning over all kinds of new fans. Their last gigs were in Hungary in January 2020, before Covid struck.

‘Better Off Without You’ is out now on all major platforms distributed by Ditto Music.

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Dublin quartet Inhaler have just released their brilliant new single ‘Falling In’. Another triumphant step forward for one of the breakthrough bands of 2020, the is available now, Weds 20^th May.  “’Falling In’ is a song about the battles that we all have with our own ego,” says frontman Elijah Hewson.

Following the expansive indie-rock of ‘We Have To Move On’ and the jubilant pop of ‘Ice Cream Sundae’, the 80s grooves and soaring melodies of ‘Falling In’ showcases new shades of Inhaler’s sound. Produced by long-term collaborator Antony Genn, ‘Falling In’ is taken from their forthcoming debut album which they are currently working on. The band worked with renowned filmmaker & former Jesus & Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart (Paul Weller, The Horrors, The Libertines) and Antony Genn on the song’s video, which was shot entirely over Zoom with each member in isolation.

Four friends who formed the band while they were still at school, Hewson, Robert Keating, Ryan McMahon and Josh Jenkinson bonded over a love of similar groups, taking in The Stone Roses, Joy Division, The Strokes, The Cure, Interpol, Depeche Mode and more. They have amassed a diehard fanbase and their tracks have been streamed over 25 million times globally. These songs about finding your way as a young person in the world are connecting on a universal scale. On a UK and European tour at the start of the year, they sold over 10,000 tickets and played to ecstatic, sold-out crowds.

Falling In documents how their lives have changed over the past year, a reflection on the pitfalls of success.

“I think being a young band on tour,” says Hewson, “and seeing our music connect with audiences from different parts of the world has opened our eyes to the excitement and exhilaration of life and being up on stage and feeling wanted and loved can be a very powerful drug. We are just beginning to encounter our own egos and becoming aware that allowing it to be in charge of who you are can be your downfall. You can cut yourself on its sharp edges and bleed to death if you’re not careful. We want to meet our egos head on, shake their hands and give them a hug. We are not afraid of them… we know we need each other. Your ego can be your friend, but you need your mates to make sure it doesn’t boss you around.”

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Other Voices ‘Courage’ has garnered a fantastic global response since it began on the 23rd of April, with 886,858 views to date. They are thrilled to announce that one of Ireland’s most loved and celebrated musicians Glen Hansard will be joining them from the National Library of Ireland this Thursday. 

Glen Hansard has an extensive history with Other Voices having performed on and presented the first ever series and played on the show multiple times in the intervening years, he is a lifelong friend of the show. Glen initially came to fame with his band The Frames one of the most loved Irish bands ever. His song ‘Falling Slowly’ which was featured on the soundtrack for the film Once which he also starred in, won an Oscar in 2008.  He has since become an immensely successful solo artist worldwide and has released four albums to critical acclaim. 

For the duration of the series artists will be asking the viewer to donate what they can to a charity of their choice. Glen Hansard has chosen Safe Ireland, a charity that offers a range of services to women and children experiencing domestic violence https://www.safeireland.ie/get-involved/donate/  

To date, ‘Courage’ live streams have featured performances from Ye Vagabonds, Sorcha Richardson, Caoimhín Ó’Raghallaigh, Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi, Lisa Hannigan, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Steve Cooney,  Denise Chaila and Colm Mac Con Iomaire. The project has gone from strength to strength, with 886,858 views worldwide.

THURSDAY MAY 21ST: 

Episode of three Other Voices ‘Courage’ TV series will air at 23:30 on RTÉ2 . Renowned folk musician Rhiannon Giddens and her musical partner, multi-instrumentalist Franceso Turrisi stun with songs from their acclaimed 2019 album ‘There Is No Other’, recorded in Whelan’s Dublin. This is music for the heart and the head. Courage is a project that delivers inspiring performances from brilliant artists to the public during the COVID-19 crisis, supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Intel Ireland and RTÉ.