• Premiere: Feather Beds – ‘Headache Dreams’

    January 13, 2017 - By 

    Back in August of 2015, we premiered Ah Stop, a stellar, four-track EP from Dublin producer Michael Orange AKA Feather Beds. Seventeen months on, Orange has resurfaced with the news that he will release a new album, Blooming, later this year. To tide us over in the meantime, we’re very pleased to premiere its first single, ‘Headache Dreams’, a whirling, tripped-out surge of electronica summoning Porcelain Raft, Jape and Panda Bear. We’re big fans. Feather Beds should and hopefully will be massive. Have a first listen below.

  • Video Premiere: Saramai – Heavenly

    January 13, 2017 - By 

    Having popped up on the likes of Hard Working Class Heroes and Other Voices last year, Co. Meath duo Samarai straddle a wonderfully inviting line between longing chamber pop and straight-up balladry. The third track on their sublime Magnetic North EP, the ‘Heavenly’ distils the duo’s essence to a song conjuring the subtle, gossamer-like emotive power of This Mortal Coil’s ‘Song to the Siren’ and ‘Mysteries of Love’ by Julee Cruise. Currently working on a new single which they will release in the coming weeks with their eyes on a full-length album, Saramai play Dublin’s Workman’s Club on Tuesday for Syrias…

  • Premiere: Owen Denvir – Siren Song

    January 6, 2017 - By 

    Taken from an upcoming live EP, Motion Picture Soundtrack, ‘Siren Song’ is the first of five videos being released by fast-rising Belfast singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Owen Denvir on each Friday in the month of January. Featuring a five-piece choir, this first cut from the EP – recorded by Mike Mormecha and filmed by Dog Kennel Productions at Queen’s University – puts Denvir’s vocals centre-stage, making for a masterfully meditative tale of pain, solace and redemption. Have a first look at the video below.

  • Premiere: exmagician – Desperado (Remix)

    December 22, 2016 - By 

    Rounding off a busy year that saw them unleash their stellar, Bella Union-released debut album, Scan The Blue, Belfast’s Daniel Todd and James Smith AKA exmagician have bookended 2016 with the release of a wonderfully simmering High Noon remix of STB highlight ‘Desperado’. Following on from Jacknife Lee’s sprawling 18-minute remix of single ‘Job Done’ and the band’s own sublime re-imaging of ‘Tear On Let Off Steam‘, the track – which sees harmonies and rhythmic patterns come to the fore – is stripped back to its skeletal core, bursting forth with a subtly propulsive electro swagger. Dig it below. Photo for the…

  • Premiere: Strength NIA – 1956 Olympics

    December 15, 2016 - By 

    Their first single as Strength NIA, ‘1956 Olympics’ by the Derry band formerly known as Strength is a song inspired by ‘Creggan Shops‘ by Australian band The Shifters. Rory Moore, frontman from Strength NIA, said, “None of the Shifters have ever been to Derry or Northern Ireland for that matter but I believe they have written one of the finest Northern Irish songs to date. Our song is a response to the ‘Creggan Shops’ as I’m originally from Creggan and I felt compelled to write it after hearing this cynical pop gem.” Strength NIA will release their debut album next September. With all…

  • Premiere: Cal Folger Day – Song From A Party

    December 8, 2016 - By 

    Born in Washington D.C. and an occasional resident of NYC, Cal Folger Day has steadily established as one of the more idiosyncratic and consistently nonpareil musicians in Ireland over the last few years. Taken from her brand new four-track compilation 2016 singles, ‘Song From A Party’ is a song Folger Day says she, “wrote this song many years ago, which should be evident from the strength of my emotions about boys at parties!” Featuring footage from a Brooklyn house show shot by Cameron Kelly and Nick Lerman, the track – which conjures Julia Holter via the South – features features Nick Boon on…

  • Album Premiere: Fixity – The Things In The Room

    December 1, 2016 - By 

    Back in August we rather giddily shared two new releases from Cork experimental musician Dan Walsh AKA Fixity. Now, fourth months later, we’re very pleased to present a first listen to Walsh’s new, rather special four-track album, The Things In The Room. Recorded in Malmo in February, the release features Walsh on drums alongside Swedish improvisers, tenor saxophonist Emil Nerstrand (Brigaden/Heavy Water/The Nod), guitarist Nils Andersson (Ljom/Ava) and bassist Fredrik Persson (Sista Bossen/The Good Morning Spider/Leo Kall/Cassus). Comprises four pieces composed by Walsh explored in collective improvisation with other individuals, each performance was captured in one take with everyone in the…

  • Video Premiere: Cian Nugent – Lost Your Way

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    One of many gems to be found on his stellar third album, ‘Lost Your Way’ by Cian Nugent is a masterful tale that blends Loaded-era VU harmonic sensibilities with a breed of lyricism conjuring the personal introspection of Blood on the Tracks-era Dylan. Now, ahead of forthcoming European and UK dates (which are listed below) Nugent has unveiled Aoife Nessa Frances’ sublime, black-and-white video for the single. Here’s an exclusive first look. 25. Jan – Stockholm, SE / Obaren 27. Jan – Aalborg, DK / Northern Winter Beat 29. Jan – Copenhagen, DK / Huset w/ Promised Land Sound 30. Jan – Berlin, DE…

  • Premiere: Conor Mason – On The Surface

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Conjuring the wistful wanderlust of both Grandaddy and Villagers ‘On The Surface’ by Derry singer-songwriter Conor Mason is a song that “looks at feelings that arise when considering things that we can’t yet explain, the mystery of the unknown”. Taken from a forthcoming EP set for release at the end of January, it’s a real gem, too: mining solace from uncertainty, culminating in a call to recognise the beauty outside the static in our heads, it makes for a wonderfully crafted five minutes, revealing Mason to be a master of hook, harmony and heart.

  • Video Premiere: Son of the Hound – I.O.U.

    November 22, 2016 - By 

    Not an artist to get too comfortable in one guise, Belfast-based musician Michael McCullagh AKA Son Of The Hound resurfaced back in August with quite possibly the darn catchiest song we’ve heard from an Irish artist this year, ‘I.O.U’. Something of a curveball when compared with the Omagh artist’s previous, more trad and folk-leaning output to date, its 50s swagger and twang revealed yet another colour on McCullagh’s wonderfully varied sonic palette. Whether you missed it the first time around or fancy a fresh listen, check out the single via Colm Laverty’s brand new video for the track – culminating in…