Month: September 2020

‘Birdsong’ is the fifth and final single from Limerick singer-songwriter Emma Langford, ahead of the highly anticipated release of her sophomore album ‘Sowing Acorns’. The track is a full-throated, acapella folk ballad featuring vocals from some of Langford’s musical peers: Ruth Smith, Alma Kelliher, Sive, Jess Leen, Cari Q and Niamh Farrell.

”I called on a group of women I find inspiring to join me on this song. It feels like a rallying cry – a protest song. I needed an army of mná.

‘Birdsong’ is a celebration of who we know we are deep down in the marrow of our bones, no matter what society tells us. You are who you are right down to your bones, and that person is fine, and nothing anyone says or thinks can change that.

I spent a lot of time when I was younger never quite feeling like I fit in, hating how I looked, how I felt in my own skin. This song is a rebellion against that.”

As her forthcoming album ‘Sowing Acorns’ was being pieced together, Emma made the decision each track would be a series of dedications, with a strong focus on the women in her life. 

“’Birdsong’ is a salute to the warrior women behind the Mise Fosta and Fairplé movements. Two advocacy groups who have been vocal in recent months around their own experiences of sexual assault and gender inequality across folk and traditional Irish music.”

Today she releases the music video, written, directed by, and featuring, Cork-based musician and filmmaker Jessica Courtney Leen. 

The video follows 11 year old Líla Courtney as she wanders, spellbound, through a historic ruin. Líla is the personification of our inner child, showing wonder, a sense of adventure, and unmistakable strength. 

Breathlessly she takes in her otherworldly playground, ascending finally to the ruin’s exposed rooftop where she launches into a powerful hardshoe Irish dance routine, created for this project with the help of her tutors at the Cabe Academy of Irish Dance. The video was shot, edited, and colour graded by Robin Guiton.  

Emma was approached by Jessica – who also features as a vocalist on the track – about creating the music video: “I closed my eyes and saw this video the first time I heard ‘Birdsong’. The beat that comes in at the end echoes everything we love about trad in Ireland. It’s uplifting, encouraging, and proud, and that really is what I felt was the backbone of this beautiful raw song” says Leen. 

“The inspiration for the video came directly from Emma’s lyrics, and the tribal feel of female empowerment throughout.”

The song is available to buy/stream on Bandcamp. Emma has also released a special remix of the track by Cork’s freezerRoom, a collaborative group with Graham White and Rory Dempsey at its core. 

Bandcamp Link: https://emmalangfordmusic.bandcamp.com/track/birdsong 

Web: www.EmmaLangfordMusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/EmmaLangfordMusic
Twitter: @ELangfordMusic
Patreon: www.patreon.com/emmalangford

Listen to Emma’s Music on Spotify

JYellowL announces this third single ‘Mademoiselle’ due out 4th September 2020. This is taken from his upcoming debut album ‘2020 D|vision’. 

‘Mademoiselle’ follows his first two singles ‘Jewels’ and ‘Doesn’t Feel Like’, they both garnered huge radio support in Ireland as well as placement on multiple Spotify playlists including New Music Friday, We Move, Breathe of Fresh Eire and New Eire. Apple Music also supported the track.  With growing support from the UK market, ‘Doesn’t Feel Like’ has landed itself ‘Track of the week’ on BBC1 Extra. 

Exciting news for the Irish rapper as JYellowL is confirmed to take part in BBC 3’s documentary ‘The Rap Game UK’. The documentary is showcasing rappers across areas within the UK and Ireland, giving MCs the exposure they deserve. They are putting the spotlight on young talent whilst putting their home town on the map.  The documentary will be aired this October on TV. 

JYellowL speaks about his third single ‘Mademoiselle’: 

“This is the kind of track that comes about when two artists are in their feelings! Chris Kabs sent me the instrumental and the title and I heard the words of the song through the chords. The song is about prioritising what and who really is important to you after a tiresome experience of trying to please everyone. It’s about giving roses to your role models, inspirations and loved ones while they’re around to smell them”. – JYELLOWL

JYellowL learned from his Jamaican grandmother how to be himself in a world that wants to force you down a particular path. Born of Jamaican and Nigerian parents and raised in Ireland, the Dublin-based rapper has drawn on all three origins to create a distinctly powerful sound that is radically individual.

A leading voice emerging out of the fierce juggernaut that is Ireland’s rap scene, this debut follows two groundbreaking EP’s and a string of headline performances, both in Ireland and internationally. His standout track ‘Ozone’ has surpassed 1.5 million views on Spotify and the single ‘Oh Lawd’, featured on the soundtrack of the ‘Normal People’ TV series, has already surpassed 1 million views. A self-driven artist and entrepreneur, his newly established JYellowL Records Ltd quickly landed a distribution deal with the international distribution company IDOL.

The lyricism JYellowL delivers cuts to the heart of issues that are at once deeply personal and urgent on a global scale, driving political change right now. With a degree in politics from UCD University in Dublin, he explores the social problems that both intrigue and disturbs him, from international conflict to economic inequality, unafraid to tackle subjects like racism in his music early on. In 2020, as protests erupted across the world, he spoke to a crowd of thousands at a Black Lives Matter in Dublin, envisioning a future Ireland that is radically inclusive and anti-racist.

As far back as 2017, his track ‘Cold In The Summer’ addressed the international crisis of racial injustice and the legacy of slavery, while voicing a defiant demand for change. VICE Magazine profiled him as a leading voice of Irish rap in their 2017 Music Issue, ‘on the crest of a wave of young artists in Ireland with an increasingly political bent’.

It didn’t take long cutting his teeth in Dublin’s burgeoning rap scene to make his rise. By 2018, JyellowL had released his groundbreaking debut EP ‘Bulletproof’ and was supporting Rap superstar NELLY on a 3-date Irish tour that November, followed by a sold-out Dublin show with ‘Money Trees’ hitmaker Jay Rock.

In 2019, his highly acclaimed ‘Me N Me 2’ EP followed, coming out at the same time as he took on a headline Irish tour, his first headline show in London, and performed a headline international concert at Steck Poppodium in The Netherlands. Named as one of RTE’s 2FM Rising acts for 2019, he released two singles – the catchy ‘Ozone’ and hard-hitting ‘Tek Time’, the latter of which featured on Spotify’s influential Who We Be playlist. Endorsements from Spotify solidified his position as one of Ireland’s most influential young artists, featuring on a plethora of editorial playlists.

JyellowL made his stamp on the Irish festival scene that summer with a series of knockout performances including Longitude, KnockanStockan, Body & Soul, Band On The Strand Festival, Red Bull Gaf Party, and an international headline slot at Delft Jazz Festival in Holland. He ended that summer on a high with a coveted headline slot at the ‘3 Made By Music Stage’ on the Saturday night of a sold-out Electric Picnic, one of the pinnacles of the Irish festival circuit.

This game-changing performance led to the next and most exciting part of 2019, with JyellowL’s single ‘Ozone’ selected to feature on the in-game soundtrack for the mammoth EA Sports FIFA 20. The curated playlist placed his track on the same level as hits by Anderson Paak, Major Lazer, Hot Chip and Skepta to name but a few. The success of 2019 peaked with a live performance and broadcast of ‘Ozone’ on Ireland’s biggest broadcast event of the year, RTÉ’s NYE party.

The new decade kicked off with JYellowL performing in the church at Other Voices Ballina, a unique space that artists travel to Ireland from around the world to perform.

His hard-hitting 2020 anthem ‘On The Estate’ released is another bold step forward in developing his sound while a string of wide-ranging collaborations has showcased the versatility of JYellowL’s sound and craftsmanship. He has worked with long-time collaborator Aaron Unknown on ‘Asylum’, American based wordsmith Mac Irv on ‘No Rivals’, as well as Irish RnB artist Aik J and Ari Noir on ‘Last Flight’ remix and ‘Alone’. He also made the soothing ballad ‘Blue Skies’ with electro-pop duo Siights and a thumping club banger ‘shock Em’ with Irish hip hop artists Evan’s Junior and Jordan Adetunji.

Mademoiselle is the third single taken from his upcoming debut album ‘2020 D|vision’. Already crowned as one of Ireland’s most exciting rappers in Ireland, 2020 is JYellowL’s year! 

Mademoiselle is out Friday, 4th September 2020

Varo are singers and fiddle players Lucie Azconaga (from France) and Consuelo Nerea Breschi (from Italy) who perform Irish traditional songs and tunes with arrangement influences from the Folk, Baroque and Classical traditions, weaving around the melodies with harmonies, drones and countermelody. The duo met in 2015 having moved to Dublin to pursue their love for Irish traditional music, and immediately started a fruitful collaboration. They travelled to Ireland along different musical paths, Lucie from jazz, classical music, and French folk, Consuelo from Irish trad, folk, and world music. 

The duo released their debut self-titled album earlier in January of this year, garnering praises from critics across Ireland and the UK, with The Irish Times describing the record as “delicious austerity of the baroque intertwined with the current Dublin traditional music scene”, Hot Press saying “Varo do magic things to traditional tunes […] is it too soon to talk about albums of the year?”, and Folk Radio UK stating “It is an exciting time for Irish folk music, and Varo’s accomplished debut should position them at the forefront of the scene.”

Today, they have shared a new video for a traditional song featured on their album, ‘Streets of Forbes’.

Varo tell us the backstory of this tune:

“We learned this Australian Folk song from June Tabor’s album ‘Ashes and Diamonds’ (Topic 12TS360). It tells the tragic story of Ben Hall, a farmer who was welcoming to bushrangers by providing them with food and a place to sleep when needed.

When the police heard of this, they arrested Ben Hall and while in jail, they burned his house down. When Ben got out of prison, he was made homeless. Left with nothing, he became one of the most well-known and beloved Australian bushrangers of the 19th century, until he was shot dead by police in 1865. It is believed that the lyrics may have been written by Ben’s brother-in-law John McGuire, who witnessed Ben’s corpse being paraded by police through the Streets of Forbes. 

When we first heard this song we were immediately struck by the vivid imagery portrayed by the lyrics.

We’re particularly interested in these traditional songs, denouncing injustices from centuries ago but still somehow relevant today.

We were very moved by what happens to this man, whose home is stolen and destroyed, as well as by the police brutality described in it, especially when looking at current stories and analogies that can be made throughout these events that happened 150 years ago and what you can see in the news today. 

As the song is about the last few days of his life, telling how he was planning an escape to a better life but ends up going slowly towards his own death, when arranging it, we went for something quite atmospheric and slow to emphasize the dramatic journey of the story. We added an instrumental part with vocal hummings as he falls asleep thinking he’s about to sail away but wakes up to the guns of the police.”

‘Streets of Forbes’ is track 6 on Varo’s debut album released January 2020, recorded by Christopher Barry (Ye Vagabonds, Junior Brother) from Ailfionn Studio, and mixed by John Spud Murphy (Lankum, Landless, Crash Ensemble) from Guerrilla Sounds.

Listen/buy the album at at: https://varodublin.bandcamp.com/album/varo

VARO have recently launched a fundraising campaign for an ambitious collaboration project, which will culminate in a series of live music videos, and a new album, featuring 12 of Ireland’s most exciting and exceptionally talented traditional and folk musicians on the scene: Ian Lynch (Lankum), Anna Mieke, Junior Brother, Landless, John Francis Flynn, Niamh Bury, Branwen, Slow Moving Clouds, Inni K, Alfi, Cormac Mac Diarmada (Lankum) & Ruth Clinton, Lemoncello. Support the project at https://www.varodublin.com/collaboration-project

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Riding high on the success of their recent single release ‘Survive’ which seemed to be an apt song for radios over the last few months and current single ‘Break the Silence’, True Tides are 3 brothers from Cork, Cian, Conor and Eoghan whose guitar driven synth pop has made them one of the most talked about acts in Ireland this year

 ‘Survive’, released in March 2020, hit the top 10 Irish radio charts, peaking at #7 after being playlisted on all major national and local radio stations across Ireland. Their single continues to receive regular airplay nationally with over 45 million airplay impressions on national radio and current single ‘Break The Silence’ looks set to overtake those achievements

The brothers made their national television debut in 2019 on the Late Late Show; had their single ‘Automatic’ reach the Irish top 20 radio play charts and received regular rotation on national and local radio stations for their other 2 singles; were playlisted on numerous Spotify playlists including New Music Friday UK; sold out their City Hall, Cork headline show with the 135-piece Cork Youth Orchestra and choir in December 2019 as well as supporting Picture This for their sold out show at INEC Arena Killarney and The Coronas at their sold out Olympia show in the same month; had their first UK television synch on E4’s ‘Made in Chelsea’ and played their first headline tour packing out venues around Ireland including Whelans, Dublin and Cyprus Avenue, Cork.

Last year they played the biggest stages around Ireland with their energetic live performances including mainstage Indiependence and supporting acts such as Picture This, The Coronas, All Tvvins, The Academic and Wild Youth at sold out shows in Independent Park, Iveagh Gardens, the Olympia, Cork Opera House, Ulster Hall Belfast, The Big Top Galway, Dolan’s Warehouse Limerick amongst others.

The band will play 2 fully seated shows on Friday September 11th in Cork’s Kino venue. 1st show at 7.30pm and the second at 9.50pm. These are both over 18s shows.

Kino is a former arthouse cinema now a theatre on Washington Street, Cork.

Both shows are limited to 40 people capacity and tables will be available to seat 2,3,4 or 5 people

Tickets €20 + booking fee per person from uticket.ie/event/true-tides-kino 

For more information on Kino Venue check www.kinocork.com

Adrian O’ Connell and Ropes of Sand have just released ‘Another Lie’.

How did someone from an Irish village end up making an EP with two very talented Italians? Well, living and working by the lakes in northern Italy, one hour outside Milan helps, and that’s where Adrian O’Connell is based. Usually being in such a beautiful place (with tons of mosquitoes) should be enough to keep anyone happy. But musically Adrian was lost; constantly writing and making demos, never making the jump into recording an album. On the verge of giving up, a friend led him to local studio owner Andrea Cajelli. The two quickly bonded over a discussion of music and movies at Twiggy music club in Varese. They entered Andrea’s appropriately named “La Sauna” studios for an initial 3 days. Despite Adrian’s fears he wasn’t ready, immediately things clicked. They worked for 10 months together producing Adrian’s first studio album (2019’s acoustic-based Hotel Europa). In a terribly sad turn of events, Andrea left this world far too early, but in yet another act of kindness, his friends came and helped finish the album. You can hear one of the first songs Adrian and Andrea made during their first 3 day session together, which luckily captures Andrea on drums, ‘All the Signs‘.

Following the album’s release, Adrian began to play live around the villages and lakes, and convinced Luca and Paolo, aka local indie-folk/rock duo “Ropes of Sand” to join him live. Check out their 2018 release ‘Lately‘ on Italy’s highly esteemed Edison Box label. Luca (bass/cello) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and arranger, heavily involved in the Italian underground music scene (appearing most recently on 2020’s well-received Transiti by Alessandro Rocca). Paolo (drums) was in Varese’s popular alt-country group Midwest and has collaborated on many other projects. The EP will be released by Limerick’s legendary Out On A Limb Records. It was recorded live and mixed to tape in La Sauna by the talented Mr Henry (Enrico Mangione), and David Ayers (Red Snapper, ex-Warp Recs) mastered it.

Adrian’s links to Limerick music goes back a while; an earlier moniker of his “Mr Creosote” was used for a split single with giveamanakick in 2002. giveamanakick were the powerful rock duo that led to the start-up of Out On A Limb. Before that, he recorded an acoustic song (‘Don’t Even Speak’) with Steve Ryan (ex-giveamanakick, now Windings, also on Out On A Limb and one of the label’s main driving forces today), as part of a radio session hosted by Steve. Adrian then formed the well-liked but release-shy Huts on Stilts, who recorded a blistering session with Jimmy Eadie (ex-Into Paradise, Ensign/EMI), the main song of which (Stumble) can be found here which lead to un-followed-up major label interest. Recently, Adrian has been playing live and recording with ex-Into Paradise frontman David Long (a nice coincidence); check out Underground Song (In Headphones, 2019). Adrian has been lucky to share the bill with acts ranging from Kings of Convenience, to John Grant, and lots of world-class Irish musicians. 

Steo Wall plays The Workmans Club on Thursday, September 10^th at 8.30pm, following the release of his new single ‘My People’, out 4th September.

Not everybody has access to such collaborators as Luka Bloom, Damien Dempsey, and Davy Spillane on their debut album. But when you meet Steo Wall for the first time, you quickly understand why such legendary musicians wanted to join him on ‘Where I’m From’. A sound bloke, quick to laugh, with a rich Dublin accent and the wit to go with it, Steo mixes traditional Irish folk with some contemporary Irish rap and brings the listener on a journey from the badlands of Dublin’s working-class housing estates to the beauty of Ireland’s west coast. Growing up in Dublin gave Steo a grounding in rap, “Though I was more Toothpick then Tupac”, he jokes. But it also saw him lose friends and family members to prison and drugs. Steo left Dublin for Co. Clare in 2012 and started working as a fish smoker in Lisdoonvarna. He quickly immersed himself in the vibrant local music scene of North and West Clare which is where he met his partner and the mother of his two children, Fair City actor Jacinta Sheerin.

Even before he launched ‘Where I’m From’ in the summer of 2018, he had caught the attention of Damien Dempsey, who calls Steo’s work, “Irish soul music,” and quickly found himself out on the road with Dempsey as the opening act on a nationwide tour. Steo has also opened for Christy Dignam and Joe Jewell from Aslan as well as Declan O’Rourke and Mick Flannery. In October 2018 Steo was asked to perform as part of the RTÉ Radio1 inaugural folk awards in Vicar Street and in 2019 he was asked to sing ‘Rainy Night’ in Soho as part of Ireland’s Favourite Folk Song airing on RTÉ TV. Since the launch of ‘Where I’m From’, Steo has headlined Doolin Folk Festival, K-fest, Feile NASC, and the RTÉ Simply Folk stage at the All Together Now Festival and continues to play theatres and venues across Ireland. When he is not out on the road performing Steo works as a music teacher for traveller men in Ennis and only paused when the Covid-19 shut down the music scene.

Speaking about his new track, Steo says: “’My People’ is a genuine folk song paying homage to all that have gone before me. These are a small few of the people who, not only carried the flame for travelling people, but also Irish folk music and culture. They inspired generations after them, me included. I don’t know if it comes across on the track, but my voice was trembling with emotion while recording this song. It genuinely felt like I was standing on the shoulders of giants.”

September 4th sees the Release of ‘Déjá Vu’, the second single from FiCat. The track is a melancholic ode to falling for an old flame, telling the story of a girl who although suffocated by her addiction to a former lover, is still intoxicated by the rush that the former lover induces. ‘Deja Vu’ begins with an ethereal, infectious melody that develops into a euphoric, soaring climax built around FiCat’s powerful layered vocals. The ending has a stunning choral feel to it.

Although originally from Dublin, FiCat’s musical journey  has taken her all over the world. Back in 2011 she recorded her first EP in country-music-mecca Nashville. There she honed her songwriting skills and then returned to Dublin to front Irish pop outfit Toy Soldier, earning acclaim for her, “soaring yet delicate,” voice (James Hendicott, GoldenPlec).

Seeking adventure, FiCat relocated to Berlin in 2015 where she revealed a darker edge to her lyrics as the frontwoman and co-writer with Coma 54. The band were very active on the live music scene in Germany, playing in Munich and Berlin. While in Berlin, FiCat’s melodic and vocal strengths lead her to work on music for large advertising agencies, writing melodies for some of the world’s leading brands including Coca Cola, Pantene, and Febreze.

Returning to Dublin full of inspiration, FiCat teamed up with producer Diffly. Her first release ‘All My Love’ was the perfect antidote to the recent dark times. Released last June, the summer dance track was played across 18 radio stations including RTE Radio 1, Beat FM and FM104. She even made the Top 20 most played Irish female artists on Spin1038 this summer. Eager to invite more joy into the world, FiCat has a string of upbeat singles ready to release throughout the coming months. She explains; “Myself and Diffly love pop music. We both share a love for the 70s and 80s music where soaring vocals and catchy synth hooks dominated the charts. Singers like Tina Charles and Stephanie Mills really knew how to infuse tales of heartbreak with happy hooks.”

‘Deja vu’ is the perfect second single and continues to build momentum for FiCat, adding another dimension to her pop repertoire. With a live show in Whelans to come, it seems there are only exciting times ahead for this new artist.

www.ficatmusic.com

The Business Blues Band are one of Ireland’s finest and longest performing blues bands. For over 33 years the band has maintained a hard-working schedule bringing the best in blues and rock to the country. Featuring Pat Farrell (guitar & vocals), Jim Tate (bass) and Grant Nicholas (drums).

The Business Blues Band was formed in 1981 by Pat Farrell, Tommy Moore, Don Baker, Errol Walsh and Fran Breen, all of whom were regulars on the Irish blues music scene. After a couple years of constant performing around the country the band released their first single in 1984, ‘Let Me In’ which was composed by band members Don Baker and Dave Murphy.