• Premiere: Jake Wallace – Empyrean

    June 3, 2021 - By 

    As one-fifth of Belfast doom merchants Elder Druid, Jake Wallace knows a thing or two about the power of heft. Today, he offers a new vantage point to view his craft Taken from his debut solo EP, Lacuna – which is officially released via Black Tragick Records tomorrow – two-minute instrumental ‘Empyrean’ is a masterfully restrained effort that shines a light on the many hues of Wallace’s full-spectrum sound, Speaking about the EP, Wallace said, ‘The project came about as a result of lockdown and a few rainy afternoons in Belfast. I had never recorded any acoustic music at all, although I had…

  • Video Premiere: Skinner – Beer Me, Jim

    June 4, 2021 - By 

    Dublin musician and producer Aaron Corcoran aka Skinner has swiftly carved out a niche for himself in the Irish indie scene. Today, he underscores that promise with Gunge, a five-track EP melding slouching punk with a lo-fi jazz bent. A highlight is closer ‘Beer Me, Jim’. Written from the “perspective of a young Irish person in lieu of finding a path in a country facing high rents, growing social inequality and a future that is worse off than the generations that have come before,” it’s a sax-laced and decidedly earworming effort from the 23-year-old. Zoning in on the escapist ritualism…

  • Monday Mixtape: Lorraine Nash

    May 31, 2021 - By 

    From Crosby, Stills & Nash to Two Door Cinema Club, fast-rising Kerry multi-instrumentalist Lorraine Nash waxes lyrical about some of her all-time favourite tracks. Damien Rice – Delicate I find that there is nothing more comforting than finding a song that seems to perfectly mirror a situation you are in, or a feeling you have. When I first heard this, it was like Damien Rice had taken the words directly from my mouth. I love how a song can apply to so many people in so many different ways and that’s why I would prefer for people to find their…

  • Irish Tracks of The Week – May 28th

    May 28, 2021 - By 

    It’s safe to say it’s been another stacked week for world-beating Irish music. Here’s the very best of the lot, featuring Eimear Reidy & Natalia Beylis, Saint Sister, Tolü Makay, A. Smyth, Hazey Haze, Wyvern Lingo, NCW and more. Eimear Reidy & Natalia Beylis – Whose Woods These Are Whose Woods These Are by Eimear Reidy & Natalia Beylis Saint Sister – Manchester Air (Live) Tolü Makay – Aye A. Smyth – Tempt Hazey Haze – Thugger Vibes New Mud -Void Void by New Mud NCW – NCW On NCW NCW – NCW On NCW by Apartment Records Dani Larkin…

  • Ireland Music Week 2021 Applications Now Open

    May 24, 2021 - By 

    The application process for Ireland Music Week 2021 has opened. Organised by First Music Contact, the annual artist showcase will return – in one form or another – across October 5th to October 8th. Whether it’ll be an in-person or online affair is yet to be confirmed, pending COVID-19 restrictions. What is clear, though, is that you can apply to perform by going here and clicking “Apply to Play”. Applications must be made through a Breaking Tunes profile and the closing date for applications is Friday June 18th at 6pm. “Last year IMW was one of the first global events to…

  • Belfast Blues Legend Rab McCullough Dies Aged 72

    May 24, 2021 - By 

    Belfast blues legend Rab McCullough has passed away. The guitarist, who had performed with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher, died followed a cardiac arrest last week. He was 72. In more recent years, McCullough was a much-loved presence at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall. Each Thursday night, he and his band would treat locals and visitors alike to genuine musical mastery and, on countless occasions, some singular magic. In a statement, the Empire said: “As you all know, Rab played every Thursday, come rain or shine, in the Empire Basement. Students, music lovers and casual drinkers alike could be found marvelling at…

  • Mdou Moctar To Play Belfast and Dublin

    May 24, 2021 - By 

    Trailblazing Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar will play Ireland next year. Off the back of the release of his stellar new album, Afrique Victime, the Niger-based musician plays Dublin’s Sugar Club on April 8 and Belfast’s Ulster Sports Club on April 9 as part of a forthcoming European tour. Tickets are on sale here and here. Check out Mdou Moctar’s recent Tiny Desk concert below.

  • Billie Eilish Set For Dublin and Belfast Shows

    May 21, 2021 - By 

    Billie Eilish is set to play three Irish shows next summer. As part of her Happier Than Ever, The World Tour, the 19-year-old will play Belfast’s SSE Arena on June 3 and Dublin’s 3Arena on June 4 and 5. Fans can register now through Sunday, May 23 at 11:59pm PT here for the Verified Fan presale. Registered fans who receive a code will have access to purchase tickets before the general public on Wednesday, May 26 at 12pm local time through 10pm local time.

  • Gary Numan Set For Irish Return

    May 18, 2021 - By 

    Gary Numan will make his return to Ireland next year. The London electronic pioneer, who will release his nineteenth studio album Intruder on Friday, will play Belfast’s Ulster Hall on May 21 and Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on May 24 2022. Priced at £32.50 and €34.50 respectively, tickets for the shows go on sale on Friday, May 28 2021 at 9.30am Check out Numan’s new single, ‘Saints and Liars’, below.

  • Premiere: Niall McDowell – Do You Think I’m Pretty?

    May 18, 2021 - By 

    In the summer of 2019, Belfast artist Niall McDowell marked his arrival via ‘Valentine’, a candid and homespun five-minute statement of intent. Following a string of equally promising releases including ‘You Have My Heart’, new single ‘Do You Think I’m Pretty?’ is a vivid snapshot of an artist swiftly on the rise. A self-proclaimed “chaotic ode to the moments within a relationship that are too specific to call out, in fear of seeming too much,” the song – his first song to be played with a full band – is a wonderfully wistful that bears the imprint of artists including…