• Watch: Everything Shook – Bed Stain

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    Almost a year on from the release of their debut EP, Argento Nights, Dublin experimental electronic trio Everything Shook have returned with new single ‘Bed Stain’. Propelled by warping, skittering synth lines and chopping rhythms, the track – recorded and mixed at 6611 Studios in Brooklyn, New York -finds Robyn Bromfield, Jessica Kennedy and Áine Stapleton in dauntless spirits, both audibly and visually. A song about “mistakes, regret and the morning after the night before”, the video for the track – directed by the band – “unfolds between two locations, juxtaposing sombre scenes of the morning with flashbacks of disenchantment, discord…

  • Watch: Wake America – Silly Boy

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    Whilst perhaps currently more recognisable under the guise of Best Boy Grip, Derry singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eoin O’Callaghan also makes music as part of Wake America. Seemingly born with the knack of a million burrowing melodies at his disposal, O’Callaghan’s latest single under the Wake America moniker, ‘Silly Boy’ (or “City Boy” as we occasionally/wrongly hear) makes for a synth-soaked, deceptively simple four-minutes. Written, produced, mixed and mastered by O’Callaghan, ‘Silly Boy’ will be available on Limited Edition 7″ vinyl from March 4 via Amelia Records. Pre-order your copy here.

  • Stream: Ciaran Lavery – Return To Form

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    At the risk of (really) repeating ourselves, Ciaran Lavery is easily one of the country’s most naturally gifted, hugely endearing singer-songwriters. From his days in Captain Kennedy up until the present day, we’ve seen the Aghagallon songsmith silence the most bustling venue with the the slightest of syllables and all but seduce innumerable crowds with his brilliantly charming badinage. At the root of all that is Lavery’s extraordinary grasp of the human condition, masterfully bolstered by an enviable harmonic grasp and compositional flair that continues to blossom unabated. The latest – and quite possibly greatest – manifestation of that is his new single, ‘Return To…

  • Stream: Michael Mormecha – Family

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    Long one of the country’s more indomitable and fiercely individual musicians, Michael Mormecha is best known as the frontman of quintessential NI alt-rock band Mojo Fury. But rather than ever been bound to either that realm or moniker, Mormecha has pursued his music-making thus far with an idiosyncratic wanderlust via many collaborations, his work as Clown Parlour and – more recently – his own sounds, under his very own name. Having very recently launched a Pledge Campaign to ensure its release, the proverbial seeds of Lofi-Life, the forthcoming debut solo album by Mormecha, were first openly sown a couple of years now. Forever…

  • First Acts Revealed For Sea Sessions

    February 17, 2016 - By 

    Ireland’s self-proclaimed “biggest beach party”, Sea Sessions returns to Bundoran, Co. Donegal from Friday 24 to Sunday June 26. With it’s unique marriage of surf and music, the first acts set to play this year’s festival include Primal Scream, Tinie Tempah, Bad Manners and a host of Irish acts including Ciaran Lavery, August Wells and CC Brez. Festival director Ray O’Donoghue says “We think this line-up is the strongest yet. We’ve got the legendary Primal Scream. They’ve been on the festival radar for years and it’s great that we’ve finally booked them. Tinie Tempah is a mega star with a…

  • Stream: Shrug Life – Making Progress

    February 16, 2016 - By 

    With varyingly mind-numbing electioneering currently frying a good portion of the island’s collective head, Dublin indie-rock trio Shrug Life want your vote… … of confidence pertaining to the release of their excellent new single, ‘Making Progress’. One of our 16 For ’16 acts, the Danny Carroll-fronted maestros set out with the following Five Point Plan in mind: 1. Danny (lyrics, vox & guitars), Josh (drums) & Keith (bass) write song. 2. Get song recorded & mixed by Fiachra McCarthy (HEFTTRAX). 3. Get song mastered by Mark Chester. 4. Get artwork designed by Sean Conroy (deadl.ie) 5. Release song via online platforms. They have succeeded and…

  • Watch: J. Cowhie – Long Way Home

    February 16, 2016 - By 

    Formerly known as GOODTIME/Goodtime John, Dublin “alternative electronic experimental folk” singer-songwriter J. Cowhie has played shows and toured with (deep breath) Bonnie Prince Billy, Smog, Mount Eerie, Cass McCombs, White Magic, Television, Midlake, Bright Eyes, M. Ward, John Grant, Warpaint, Grandaddy, Richard Hawley, Múm, Richard Swift, Little Wings, The American Analog Set, Micah P. Hinson, Mark Kozelek and Giant Sand (to name a few). An artist of wonderfully subtle persuasion, he has re-emerged with the soothing groove of new single ‘Long Way Home’. Taken from the forthcoming album, Veil, its rather charming video was shot and edited by John B. McKenna. Veil is released via RITE…

  • Album Premiere: Heliopause – How Can We Laugh After This…

    February 15, 2016 - By 

    Released ten years to the day since performing his first ever show, How Can We Laugh After This… by Belfast’s Richard Davis AKA Heliopause is an exquisite electro-acoustic release confronting creativity, self-questioning and mental health with a refined, incisive delicacy that goes some distance in revealing the musician’s rejuvenated prowess. His 13th release to be self-released via Bandcamp, the 12 track album was mostly composed using Ableton Live, in which his usual backbone of acoustic guitar is replaced in favour of a baritone electric. Occasionally shaped by literary influences including Mysterious Stranger, the final novel by Mark Twain and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, Davis’ lyrics…

  • Premiere: Monster Monster – The City’s Ours

    February 12, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of its release on March 11, we’re pleased to present a premiere of ‘The City’s Ours’ by Dublin alt-pop duo Mick Stuart and Ríona Sally Hartman AKA Monster Monster. Taken from their debut EP of the same name (released last year and recorded with UK producer James Lewis) the lead track is a rousing battlecry of urban abandon and collective immunity. Check out the video for the single and forthcoming Monster Monster tour dates below. Tuesday, March 1 – Ruby Sessions, Dublin Saturday, April 9 – Brewery Corner, Kilkenny Friday, April 15 – Boyles, Slane Thursday, April 21 – Róisín Dubh, Galway Saturday, May 14 –…

  • Watch: OCHO – Vines

    February 11, 2016 - By 

    Set for release via Cork’s Feel Good Lost tomorrow, ‘Vines’ by Dublin act OCHO is a masterfully creeping, all-too-short burst of wonderfully subdued electronica. Accompanied by a phenomenal, cunningly claustophobic DIY video by the band (hands down one of the best we’ve seen in a while) it is OCHO’s first release since 2012’s debut LP ‘Young Hunting’. With live dates in the pipeline, the single is out digitally via Feel Good Lost tomorrow and on 12″ with a Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area) remix via Dublin’s Bodytonic later this year.