Dublin four-piece The Riptide Movement are back with their eagerly anticipated new single ‘Fall A Little More In Love’. Co-produced in Attica Studios with Tommy McLoughlin (Villagers, SOAK), the track is an indie pop anthem with great lyrics and a tasty chorus – this feel good earworm is a real jam.
Hailing from Lucan, The Riptide Movement’s music has taken them all over the world from Main Stage at Electric Picnic to Glastonbury and Benicàssim. Their extensive recent ‘Something Special’ tour included a blistering headline performance at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. From busking on their native Grafton street to playing with the BBC Orchestra, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones, music has taken the band from Lucan to India, America, Russia, Australia and everywhere in between.
With six critically-acclaimed studio records to their name – most notably The RTÉ Choice Music Prize nominated, Gold selling, Number 1 Album ‘Getting Through’ – The Riptide Movement are renowned for their energetic live shows and soaring, guitar driven anthems, like ‘All Works Out’, ‘You & I’, ‘Elephant in the Room’, ‘Changeling’ and ‘Something Special’. They also released an environmentally conscious web series called “Plastic Oceans” in 2018.
‘Fall A Little More In Love’ the brand new single from The Riptide Movement, is available on all streaming platforms and digital formats from 21 August 2020.
Today, Walking On Cars have announced that they are no more.
After 10 years together, Walking On Cars have released their final EP for fans called ‘Clouds’ featuring the lead single ‘All The Drinks’. The EP is available immediately across all digital platforms.
Speaking today, Walking on Cars says:
“To all our fans, it is with sadness we say this, but today we announce the end of our journey together as a band. We have had the most incredible 10 years together. We started off writing songs in Dingle and ended up touring all over the world creating the most special memories. We have made so much music that we are so proud of and have loved every moment of performing these songs.
Without all of our fans, none of this would have been possible. You listened to our music, you came to our shows and you have given us so much encouragement throughout the years, we never would have dreamed of having such a special connection through our music.
We look forward to continuing this connection with you. We’re all working on various projects so stay tuned to our individual social media pages for any updates.
We’d also like to thank our management team at Seven7 who have helped us realise our dreams and have been a constant support to us. And finally a huge thank you to all our crew who have worked tirelessly in the background for years. We would have been lost without you.
It felt fitting to release one final EP as a thank you to you all. It is called Clouds and the lead track All The Drinks was the last song that we wrote together as a band so it felt just right that this would be the last track that we gave to you. We love you all and can never thank you enough for all the memories we have shared together.
Slán go fóil,
Pa, Paul, Sorcha and Evan xxx”
Over the last 10 years Walking on Cars have become one of the biggest names in Irish Music with their debut album ‘Everything This Way’ (2016/Virgin EMI) catapulting them to fame in Ireland and abroad. The album went on to sell a hefty 325,000 copies globally with the band touring and selling more than 100,000 tickets over an 18 month period.
Most recently, the band released their second album ‘Colours’ (Virgin EMI) in 2019 to critical and commercial success internationally, highlights include the album going to No.2 in the Irish Charts and the single ‘Monster’ being used as title track for critically acclaimed Netflix series ‘The Stranger’. The Colours Tour saw Walking on Cars play across the globe with shows in Australia, New Zealand, The UAE, Russia and mainland Europe as well as huge sold out Irish shows including a Dublin 3 Arena Show and Irish Independent Park, Cork – as well as headlining New Year’s Festival Dublin, broadcast live on national television.
Having racked up an impressive 50 million total global video views, Walking On Cars’ cumulative global streams have also clocked up an eye-watering, ear-trembling 200 million. Marking that international success, the band won a European Border Breakers Award for success outside their own country.
The course of their career saw Walking On Cars play shows from Dingle to Dubai, and everywhere in between. The band regularly performed on the main stages of some of the biggest festivals out there, including Isle of Wight, Rock Werchter, Rock Am Ring and Electric Picnic with sold out European tours and major Irish outdoor and Arenas dates – further reinforcing their position as one of Ireland’s most successful bands ever.
Tolü Makay is an Afro-Irish singer, born in Nigeria and raised in the midlands of Ireland.
Inspired by soulful artists across the globe such as Erykah Badu, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Asa, and Labrinth, Tolü has spent the last few years crafting her own sound and is now putting the finishing touches on her debut EP, ‘BEING’, due for release October 2020 via the Berlin-based label, Welcome to the New World.
Today, Tolü shares a soulful new single’Don’t Let Go’, which will feature on the seven track EP. Tolü takes us into her world in a vintage style music video, directed by Fiona-Louise Ntidendereza.
‘Don’t Let Go’ is a special song with incredible emotional depth, a song of empowerment that reflects on real trust in oneself. Flavoured with big brass sounds and gospel elements, it is a dramatic and complex track and yet it is a joyful ode to being ‘who you are or who you want to be’. Tolü says the song has served as a guide during difficult times and she hopes it helps others navigate their own path, transitioning emotionally from fear to hope.
“I’m pretty excited, and nervous, to share this first track from my debut EP, ‘BEING’. The project was born last year, at a transitional point in my life when I was working a full-time night shift for a multinational corporation. I was deeply stressed, and unhappy, lost.
The inspiration for this song ‘Don’t Let Go’ came about last year, about a week before my live performance at Whelan’s Ones to Watch. Whilst juggling the night shift and trying to rehearse for the show, I felt like giving up music, giving up on myself. Instead, I decided to quit my job and explore my own path. This song really gave me the motivation to keep going, I just kept singing it to myself.
In October I’ll release my first EP, ‘BEING’, a deeply personal account of my journey through struggles with mental health and finding myself. The album goes through the phases of how I felt moving from the midlands to Dublin, being wrapped up in a job I wasn’t happy in, and gradually learning who I am. The themes through the tracks begin with an awakening, followed by doubt, hope, and empowerment.
This is the truest form of my expressing my art. I want people from different generations and walks of life to be able to understand and relate with these feelings. I’m looking forward to sharing this with you.”
Today, Friday 21st August, God Knows will release the long-awaited Who’s Asking? (East Coast Remix) from his upcoming EP, ‘Who’s Asking? EP Vol II’, which is due to be released on Friday 4th September on Fly High Society.
The track, featuring the best MCs from the east coast of Ireland – Skripteh (Wexford), Nealo, Mango and Rebel P. (Dublin) – and produced by Fly High founder Sert One, will be accompanied by a feature video, directed by Dave Tynan (Dublin Oldschool). The video will premiere at 7pm on Fly High Society’s YouTube channel.
The anticipation for this remix of the EP’s title track has been building since the release of ‘Who’s Asking? South West Remix‘, from the first volume of God Knows’ EP series with Fly High Society was released in February. The South West Remix featured the cream of hip-hop talent from Ireland’s southwest coast: Denise Chaila, Hazey Haze, Citrus Fresh, Gavin DaVinci and Strange Boy Nature.
‘With Who’s Asking? (East Coast Remix)’, God Knows casts the net further in his quest to highlight the fact that Ireland is producing some of the most progressive, hard-hitting grime and hip-hop in the world today.
Pre-order ‘Who’s Asking? EP Vol. II’ on Bandcamp here.
Christy Moore is one of the most compelling and inspirational musicians Ireland has ever seen. Join him on September 19th at 8pm for a one-off exclusive livestream solo concert from the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Shot in HD on seven cameras, this promises to be an intimate evening with a musical legend.
Streamed live from the National Concert Hall to audiences across the world in Ireland, UK, Europe, United States and Australia this is Christy’s first livestream performance for fans around the globe.
Christy has a universal fan base and is frequently hailed as an Irish national icon. This exclusive performance will enable him to connect with his audience through the magic of those exquisite songs that have endeared him to fans of all ages for over 50 years.
Christy Moore has played an integral role in the evolution of music on this island. Aside from his long and productive solo career, he is a founding member of the iconic bands Planxty and Moving Hearts. His songs have travelled around the world with the Irish diaspora and wherever they are played they instil an invaluable sense of home and belonging. His powerfully relatable stories of the human condition resonate beyond the community.
His recording career includes more than 40 albums from ‘Paddy on the Road’ (1969) to ‘Magic Nights’ (2019). He remains one of the country’s most cherished artists.
For this special event, NCH is partnering with livestream leaders Dice to ensure customers have secure tickets and the best quality live-stream platform. From legends like Nick Cave and Björk to artists just starting out, thousands of artists are collaborating with DICE to stream their shows, you can read more here, Dice.fm
The event is supported by The Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht and The Irish Times as media partner.
CHRISTY MOORE SOLO LIVE FROM THE NATIONAL CONCERT HALL A Global Livestream Event 19 September 2020 Ireland, UK, Europe, 8.00pm BST / 9.00pm CEST U.S. East Coast, 8.00pm EDT US. West Coast, 8.00pm PDT Australia 8.00pm AEST September 20th
The concert will be streamed live online to exclusive ticket holders at the above times. It will be available to tickets holders for 24 hours following the performance.
Tickets €16.50 (limited availability) go on sale today Thursday 20th August 10am, available to purchase online only from Dice.fm.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Music Network announced the appointment of Dave Flynn as Musician-in-Residence for 2020 back in May. Since then, Dave has been collaborating online with musicians from the Guitar Training Centre in Dún Laoghaire and their tutor Ciarán Swift, to compose a new composition for guitar ensemble, Dún Laoghaire Guitars.
Audiences have been able to follow weekly video updates, insights, performances and playlists from Dave on dlr’s and Music Network’s social media channels.
The residency will culminate on Thursday 20 August 7pm with the online premiere of the new work ‘Dún Laoghaire Guitars’.
“When I was a teenager I regularly took trips into Dún Laoghaire town. The sounds I heard by the harbour, pier, marina and train station formed a musical picture in my mind that I vowed one day to turn into a piece of music. That day arrived when I was appointed Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Musician in Residence. For the residency I’ve composed a new piece, in two movements, called Dún Laoghaire Guitars. Eight guitars are used in the piece to create almost orchestral textures.
The first movement, ‘Dún Laoghaire Harbour’ uses special guitar techniques to evoke the sounds of creaking boats, sea-birds and the bell-like clanking of ship halyards. Meandering melodic patterns emerge out of this tone-painting, each in a different time signature. They move through a musical sea, like several boats running at different speeds.
The second movement ‘Dún Laoghaire DART’ imagines a train journey from Dublin city centre to Dún Laoghaire station. A rolling 8/8 rhythm moves the musical train forward. Looping melodic fragments hint alternately at Irish trad, Congolese rumba, jazz and classical minimalism, representing the diversity of passengers on board. The music gains momentum as ascending poly-rhythmic melodies build towards a joyous arrival at Dún Laoghaire station.
Originally this music was meant to be premiered in concert at the dlr LexIcon Studio. Covid-19 put a stop to that, but it won’t stop the music being heard. Over the past few months I have worked with Ciaran Swift and his students from Dún Laoghaire’s Guitar Training Centre to produce a video for ‘Dún Laoghaire Dart’. Before that you will hear ‘Dún Laoghaire Harbour’, which I recorded myself, over-dubbing all eight guitars.
When I finished the music I had the idea to set it to films of Dún Laoghaire Harbour and a Dart arriving into Dún Laoghaire. I found John Healy’s beautiful drone footage of the harbour and Stuart Moss’ wonderfully filmed Dart journey on Youtube. I’m very grateful to John and Stuart for allowing me to use their footage and to Ben Rawlins for putting the videos together with my music.
It’s been a very rewarding residency and I’d like to thank Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Arts Office, Music Network and the Arts Council for making it happen. Hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll be able to give the live concert premiere of Dún Laoghaire Guitars! For now I hope viewers enjoy the videos we’ve made for Dún Laoghaire Guitars.“
The dlr Musician-in-Residence scheme is jointly funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Arts Council and managed by Music Network.
The arts and culture sector is experiencing enormous challenges and a very real threat to its existence right now. A comprehensive and robust government roadmap for the sector is critical at this time if we are to successfully navigate through this crisis.
Contradictory statements released yesterday by the Department of Health and the Department Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has resulted in a lot of confusion and frustration within the arts community in relation to what is now permissible in terms of live music events and cultural activities.
Closer engagement with the sector by various Government Departments is vital at this time to ensure Arts and Culture forms a key component of the national Roadmap for Resilience and Recovery Plan, due for publication on 13th September. This would provide greater certainty to the many thousands of people working within the sector and at the very least allow them to plan forward.
Bitch Falcon are a name you will not forget, and a band who will not let you forget them. Today, 20th August, the lauded dream-grunge trio have streamed their new single ‘Test Trip’, taken from their forthcoming debut LP, ‘Staring At Clocks’, to be released 6th November.
In the words of frontwoman Lizzie Fitzpatrick: “I wrote this about running away from home. When I was young I would always pack my bags in a bid to manipulate my mother into forgiving me for something I did (too stubborn to just apologize). I linked this with manipulation in love. When the partner ‘tests’ each other by trying to leave, when they just want to be fought for. Really it’s a take on myself, rather than dealing with the situation, just packing your bags and running away (which is not the answer).”
Slightly grungy, slightly dreamy, the rockers have made great waves over the last few years, with acclaim from Dublin Inquirer, Irish Times, The Guardian, Paste Magazine and many more. The trio have played with Girl Band, Fontaines DC, Torche, Black Peaks, Pussy Riot and display touches of St Vincent, 2:54, My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies and Bjork all in one scintillating package.
Bitch Falcon were formed by frontwoman Lizzie Fitzpatrick in Dublin in 2014, and are mainstays of the festival circuit in both Ireland and abroad (packing out rooms in the US, Canada and Europe). Since these freshman days, the lineup has galvanised around the rhythm section of Barry O’Sullivan on Bass and Nigel Kenny on Drums.
From the early days of their first single, ‘Wolfstooth’ to their most recent release ‘Damp Breath’, an evolution in sound can be heard as the group perfect and refine their raw, fuzz-laced offerings over six singles and one EP.
There are few things conventional about Bitch Falcon, a band for whom otherworldly is a very fitting adjective – at least on record. The trio’s live show must be seen to get a true appreciation for what this band can do, from the high-pitched wails and infinite feedback of Lizzie’s guitar and soaring vocals, to the interplay between shattering bass and thunderous drums – there is very little left of any stage untouched. It’s a rare group who manage to be so ethereal and devastatingly heavy simultaneously – but then again, Bitch Falcon are an unforgettable name.
Artwork was created by Lizzie Fitzpatrick; mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Alex Newport (At The Drive In, The Mars Volta, Death Cab for Cutie, The Melvins, Frank Turner) and mastered by Magnus Lindberg.
‘Sarah Jane’ is Nathan Carter’s latest single, from a studio album which will be released just in time for Christmas.
When seeking inspiration for his latest single, ‘Sarah Jane’, Nathan Carter has gone to Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. The track is the first release from his forthcoming studio album.
“I’ve always loved Dublin and Grafton Street is one of my favourite places to visit.. I love a walk around, listening to the different buskers giving it a go and really enjoying playing to the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Some of them are just incredible and always so at ease with their music.
So when John Farry and I decided to write a feel good tune, which I think everyone could do with right now, Grafton Street seemed like the perfect place to start and those talented buskers playing on the streets provided the inspiration for this new song.”
The song is all about love at first sight, that lightning bolt moment when you see someone for the first time and you just know that she is `the one `….and they both have that shared love of music also.. It’s a really fast paced, catchy, happy song with a traditional twist, which I hope will make people feel good when they listen too.”
Congratulations to IMRO member April who this week signed a deal with EMI Records.
April is 21-year-old April Lawlor, who hails from a small town in County Kildare. Growing up in a musical household, she was shown her first steps by her Dad, who played in a Johnny Cash covers band in his spare time, encouraging her to write and record since she was a child. Her first musical outputs – demos she’d record and upload to Soundcloud the same day – began gaining powerful word-of-mouth momentum and led to her first European support tour with American indie-pop musician Alec Benjamin in late 2019. Taking inspiration from other artists with roots in bedroom pop, April’s music sits somewhere between Clairo and Gus Dapperton, with flashes of Lana Del Rey and Lorde. She cites her binge-listening of FKA Twigs and King Princess during lockdown as new influences which weave their way into Luna. Despite the hype, April’s ambitions remain humble. Mainly, she’d just like to play a gig. “The first EP came out at a weird time, I didn’t get to gig and connect with crowds but it honestly just made me more excited for when I can – and now, I will have 2 EP’s out by the time I can gig again!”
April hit the radar earlier this year with her striking first track, ‘The Impossible Task Of Feeling Complete’, followed by ‘New Conditions’ and her debut EP which has amassed over 7 million streams to date. Her mature approach to songwriting, teamed with sharp and reflective lyricism, clever pop hooks and intimate, striking vocals all helped capture the attention of BBC Radio 1’s Phil Taggart who named her debut track as his ‘Chillest Record In The World’. April quickly gained support from Annie Mac and was also featured as ‘Breaking Act’ in Sunday Times Culture, who called her debut, “a remarkable, sit-up-and-listen introduction…musically timeless.”
April has kept the momentum going, announcing her second EP for 2020 entitled ‘Luna’, and sharing blissful first cut ‘Forever (To Feel Like Tonight)’. On ‘Luna’, which is out October 23rd, April continues to document her evolving sound.
“’Luna’ is a step forward from’ New Conditions’ for me – I definitely feel like I’m maturing as an artist, and this EP feels more like me now than the last. I’m definitely still experimenting and finding my sound, I love so many genres it’s hard to just stick to one and it was exciting that I got to try different things this time. The EP overall is all about falling in love. Each song touches on the uncertainty you get when starting to feel strongly about somebody at the start of a relationship. You begin to wonder if it will last or if it’s just something to pass the time. ‘Forever (To Feel Like Tonight)’ fits into this idea as a song about wanting a particular feeling to last forever. When a relationship isn’t perfect but there are perfect moments that make it ok and it’s those moments you want to live in and never let them end.”
April’s creative resolve and self-sufficiency saw her overcome and embrace the limitations of a turbulent year to bring the four songs on Luna to life. Speaking of the writing process, she reflects “I had been going back and forth to London in 2019 and the start of 2020 before lockdown came along, so I had the basics of the songs on Luna all down with the producer I work with Fred Macpherson (Spector). Basically we worked over zoom calls during lockdown and produced the songs back and forth together.” says April, “During lockdown, I also revisited one of the first songs I ever wrote ‘Would You Let Me In’ with Kojaque on production which gave the song new life. I was very lucky to have had the songs written before lockdown because I had such a creative block.”
