‘Life Without Colour’ is the debut EP release from 20-year-old artist Maikoh Webbe. Written as an expression of his journey with mental health issues, bullying, loneliness and addiction, ‘Life Without Colour’ is a powerful portrayal of real-life experiences. This four-track EP was written, recorded, mixed and mastered from Maikoh Webbe’s bedroom.
‘Life Without Colour’ is a poignant collection of tracks that blends grunge vibes with earnest songwriting to create a wholly consuming listening experience. Heavy guitar and pounding drums provide a powerful foundation for strikingly mournful vocals in ‘Suffer In Silence’ while ‘How Does It Feel?’ flows with bittersweet emotion and heartbreaking lyrical content as Webbe’s sombre vocals croon “tell me how it feels to be loved, to be wanted, to be anything but haunted” over a building backdrop of biting guitars. Webbe balances heavy lyrical content with lighter tones and glimmers of hope throughout the EP. This is especially noteworthy within ‘Everyone Dies In The End’ and showcases the artist’s honest vulnerability and deft musical prowess. ‘Life Without Colour’ is a heartfelt body of work from Maikoh Webbe.
Irish born singer-songwriter Megan O’Neill has recently released her highly anticipated new single ‘Wildfire’. Megan O’Neill’s songs have received great attention over the past year – including her recent single ‘Ireland’, which hit over 400,000 views on social media during release month. The video was also picked up and shared by none other than Olivia Newton-John as well as being added to the RTE Radio 1 playlist for three weeks running. Megan O’Neill released her second full-length studio album last year (March 12th, 2021) – titled ‘Getting Comfortable with Uncertainty’. This much-anticipated album follows her last release, ‘Ghost of You’ (June 2018) which hit #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts in the UK and Ireland, and two EP’s previous to this (‘Coming Home’, 2015 and ‘Stories to Tell’, 2017).
I caught up with the singer-songwriter to discuss her new single, what we can expect from her upcoming EP, ‘Time (Thought You Were On My Side)’ and, the excitement and anxiety surrounding the return of live shows.
‘Wildfire’ marks a shift in O’Neill’s sound. It’s a cinematic, powerful song that ventures from folk to indie and electronic to create a wholly consuming and hair raising anthem for listeners to enjoy. We discussed what sparked this musical change in direction.
“I guess for me it was a lot of time spent over the course of the last two years exploring different sounds and styles that I liked. I think with music, we’re all so busy, whether it’s gigging or preparing the next record or collaborating, that there isn’t a lot of time to just sit and explore. So having that time throughout the pandemic led me to try writing in different styles, with different sounds and collaborating with new people and then eventually discovering this new sound and style that I loved. So that’s where Wildfire was born from.”
The track is a passionate and heartfelt tune filled with uplifting tones and beautiful imagery as O’Neill croons, “ We got that love that lets you burn it down, So you can re-grow, When the summer’s gone Like a wildfire, like a wildfire “ over a building backdrop of soft keys, pulsing beats and suspenseful electronics. O’Neill explained to me what inspired the lyrics.
“So it was actually an idea around prescribed burns, which is when farmers set fire to their agricultural land in order for it to become healthier and grow better crops the year after. I thought that was such an amazing visual of actually setting fire to something in order to promote healthier growth. So, when I heard that idea of prescribed burns, I was like, oh, that’s cool. I really want to try and make that into a song somehow. So myself and Richey McCourt, who I co-wrote this with, we were exploring ideas and I brought this up and we compared that to life rather than agriculture land and used that visual of sometimes [you] need to burn down parts of life whether that’s relationships or ties or where we’re based or any of these things with the human experience in order to grow from there.”
O’Neill recently released a touching video for the song that depicts the moving relationship between a grandfather and grandson. This uplifting story adds a new facet to the meaning behind the song.
“This is always the funny thing about when somebody else hears your songs, they can interpret it in a completely different way. Lucas [Mac Diarmada], who was the director for the video, and produced the video with me, he had this totally different idea when he heard the song of what it was about and that’s it, you’re always listening to something from your own perspective and your own life experience and then gathering from it what you will – what it means to you. So he got this idea that it’s all about picking each other up to a certain extent, which he wanted to visualize with this Grandfather/Grandson relationship. I just loved that idea that it was not an entirely different thing than what I wrote about but a different relationship than what I wrote about, but still human to human and somebody close to you in your life that was trying to help you out of a situation and so it was a collaborative molding of both of our ideas.”
‘Wildfire’ is the first glimpse of O’Neill’s upcoming EP ‘Time (Thought You Were On My Side)’ which is set for release on the 8th of April. The singer-songwriter told me what can we expect from the EP.
“The EP takes on that style of Wildfire. Wildfire is the introduction to the new sound, I suppose what feels like a new era for me as a songwriter and an artist. Stories for me will always be the focus of my songs and my songwriting. I have to tell a story. So all the songs are still based around stories, that will come across lyrically, but with more pop elements in the production. It’s five tracks, one of which you’ve already heard with Wildfire, and they were all recorded and written during the course of the pandemic. We recorded them last summer. I’m really excited about the songs. It’s very different than anything I’ve ever done before. So it does feel like a new beginning. But I’m really really proud of the sound and the style and I think it’s a left turn for sure from what I’ve done before but the response so far has been great.”
‘Time (Thought You Were On My Side)’ is a great name for an EP. It provides food for thought while remaining relatable as it alludes to many types of scenarios as well as the inevitable concept of ageing and how we all at times feel as if time is running out in our lives. However, this EP takes its name from elements within the collection of songs.
“One of the tracks is called Time. Another lyric in the song is “thought you were on my side”. I just came up with a name for the EP after we recorded everything. I was listening through all the master tracks and I already knew what the messages were but I suppose I was listening to all the messages collectively and what they could say. That song is really personal to me. It’s probably the one that was the hardest to write and record. So I “thought you were on my side” can be referred to a lot of different themes in the song. It can be referred to people, can be referred to obviously time, as a concept. It can be referred to people in your life or your career or just all these things where you’re thinking that you have time or you have this person with you or you have these opportunities or any of those things and then you’re thinking that these things are on your side, that these things are with you and then they’re taken away. I think that was a big theme with the pandemic for an awful lot of people, we all thought we had loads of time, be that in relation to anything whether that’s getting older or time with people or time to travel or time to work. So I suppose it was a running theme in the songs. But it’s also a thought directed at multiple themes.”
O’Neill is a professional artist who provides a first-rate standard across all she does. This applies to her poetic songwriting, rich musicianship, beautiful visuals and artwork. The cover of ‘Time (Thought You Were On My Side)’ is the perfect example of this. We discussed how difficult it is to choose artwork that does justice to a collection of songs
“I always find that part so hard. A lot of visual things will come up for me when I’m writing and recording and working on the songs but picking one visual for every song that’s got to cover all bases is really hard. But we worked through abunch of different ideas and you can also get lost in that regard and spend, you know, a year trying to decide on the right cover. Eventually you just have to say, Okay, that one fits and just have to go with that. Because you could overthink it forever. It is a really hard thing, though, to pick one that will cover all bases.”
Like all musicians of this generation, O’Neill has the influence of streaming platforms that give artists huge exposure however they do not generate a lot of revenue for musicians. We discussed this paradox.
“Oh, yeah. So overwhelming and really frustrating because making records isvery expensive and everything that goes into them. That’s not even talking about when you start preparing for live shows and you’re buying instrumentation and with this next level for me, which is this new sound, it requires new instrumentation when you’re playing live so everything is expensive. When you’re putting it out and not really seeing a lot of return because of streaming platforms, it is hard. It’s also really hard to get recognized on those streaming platforms, getting selected for the right playlists and getting the right attention. You’re directing all of your traffic towards Spotify, and then it’s kind of a one-sided relationship. So yeah, it’s incredibly frustrating and it’s overwhelming and life, in general, is overwhelming at the moment. You’re trying to navigate all these different streaming platforms, constant influx of information from every source you look at. Then knowing what the right next step is in terms of releasing and how to release and where to release and where to put your money and where to direct your traffic. It’s just endless options, really. So I think the whole world at the moment feels a bit overwhelming to navigate, when it comes to online and releasing music.”
O’Neill was able to tour Ireland and the UK last October/November. She explained to me how exciting it is to be able to plan for shows again as well as her plans for the rest of the year.
“Oh, definitely. I think that’s something that we were all really missing throughout the last two years is being able to plan something and get excited about it. That excitement was gone, because even if you were planning to go and see a friend and travel, there was no real guarantee that was going to happen. So it’s a great thing for all of us to have back. In terms of shows this year, it’s still a little bit hit and miss because an awful lot of shows are rescheduled from last year. All of the festivals will kind of be rescheduled acts from last year in Ireland anyway. So there’s still a little bit of a backlog to get through. But in general, yeah it’s fantastic. We’ve got a show coming up next week in London and then a couple of bits in the summer and some touring which has yet to be announced. But all of that is great, to actually be able to plan for it. Also, there’s so many things I now have to think about. I’ve gotten used to being in my studio just creating songs for the last two years. Now there’s, a whole world out there that I need to open up to. So it’s really exciting. It’s also a little bit scary.”
“It’s very overwhelming and also very overwhelming on my bank account. But yeah, re-entering the world … I think that’s gonna take some adjusting as well. I have always really loved playing live. It’s always been a huge part of my career and then that was gone the last two years. There’s a part of me now that’s anxious around live gigs and anxious around touring. I did a tour in October, November last year of the UK and Ireland, which was amazing, but there was a ton of anxiety around that whole experience because it was just all of a sudden foreign and there was so much to plan and if anybody got covid then the whole thing was pulled last minute. There was a lot of money on the line and planning and people depending on it, and all of a sudden that comes back as pressure, you know, so re-entering that whole world is a little bit uncomfortable. I think it’s that for a lot of people because it’s all of a sudden the unknown, whereas two years ago, obviously, Covid was the unknown. So it’s weird what we’ve kind of all adjusted to.”
“So, the EP is out on the eighth of April, very exciting. Then we’re just gonna do singles after that. So a single every two months, and they’re all in the works at the moment. So I don’t know if they will form a second EP or if it’ll just be standalone tracks, that’s yet to be decided. But yeah, this year, will be predominantly focused on releases. There will be shows dotted around but the shows are actually not the focus of this year more of the focus is the recording and the writing and getting the songs out there. Also, there are some exciting shows that I have yet to announce and some exciting projects as well that I’m working on at the moment that I’ve yet to announce, but in general, it’s gonna be a lot of songs this year. Yeah, very excited.”
Megan O’Neill is an exciting and diverse artist who captures heartfelt emotion through passionate and evocative musicianship. Looking forward to hearing much more from this songwriting treasure.
‘Better Light’ is the new single from Manchester-based Indie songwriter Louis Cross. Written as an expression of the effect that his disability has had on his life, ‘Better Light’ reminds us to be mindful of invisible disabilities. ‘Better Light’ is the first single to be released from his upcoming EP, a project which will discuss his experience in various situations and the role that his disability played in these experiences. ‘Better Light’ was recorded at EVE Studios in Stockport with Tom Welsh (Bass), Simon Gibson (Lead Guitar), and Ageliki Georga (Backing Vocals).
‘Better Light’ is a fine display of musicianship from Louis Cross. Surging with jangly guitar moments and buoyant beats Cross creates an expressive soundscape that boasts bright indie elements, warm vocals and sweet melodies throughout. The song is a charming display of Cross’ eloquent lyrics and energetic musicianship.
Rory & The Island is set to release his new album ‘Centre Falls Apart’ on March 11 on new Irish indie label Voices of the Sea. This is his fourth studio album since going solo in 2008. I caught up with Rory Gallagher to discuss the album in-depth as well as touring and his plans for the year.
Rory recently released his new single ‘Call My Name’ which was taken from ‘Centre Falls Apart’.The song features beautiful string elements that are a refreshing addition to the song and elevate the soundscape while adding a traditional undertone.
“ I had released it two years ago but because of the pandemic, and it was before I even started doing Facebook live gigs, it was one of those that got lost in the mix. I didn’t properly send it out to radio or press or anything and it just did nothing and maybe didn’t sound as good as it should. So I just did a revamp and a remaster. The strings we recorded in Abbey Road, believe it or not two years ago [ with ] Sean Magee from Fermanagh who was gigging with me at the time, a brilliant Irish trad player. He did the violin part and the cello was done by a guy who was a resident musician in Abbey Road in London called Ian Foster. We basically, figured it out within an hour and I had the melody roughly in my head. We just gave it a little bit of a traditional Irish lilt and Ian Foster on the cello was delighted because he got to play up the neck of the cello a little bit and imitate what Sean was playing with that more Irish fiddle lilt on the actual notes. So he enjoyed the project and we actually got it done in maybe 40 minutes, which is amazing for a string piece. So I decided to turn that up in the new mix. It’s one of those songs that, you play it and everybody sings along, but just to make it more sonically interesting it did need little things, not just strings – there’s background guitar, there’s a low drone, a lot of reverb, a distant kick drum and little things just to add production value, as they call it.”
‘Call My Name’ is a celebration of the few people in life who you can call at 1 am on a rainy night if you are in trouble. This appreciation of the special people around you is a running theme on the album. We discussed how Rory wrote some of these songs in lockdown where he experienced deep moments of contemplation and missing friends and family.
“ I think apart from ‘Call My Name’ and ‘Little Fire’, they were all written in the last year. I wrote about 35 songs during the lockdown and these are the ones that, apart from ‘Donna Don’t Take My Summer’, I decided to put right bang in the middle of this album a little bit of levity because even though it’s a quite melodious album, a lot of the lyrics are quite deep. It’s a bittersweet album and a lot of it has to do with the anxiety that everybody was feeling during lockdown. I tried to write the lyrics in a way that even really obvious lockdown songs like ‘Miss This’, you could listen to it in 10 years, [ and ] it still might make sense that it’s like part of your life that’s gone.”
“I try my hardest to make it timeless [ lyrics ]. Apart from ‘Donna Don’t Take My Summer’ which is like a little breath of fresh air in the middle where it’s just like a homage to late 70s, early 80s Pop Music. I like the way that the likesof The Beatles used to do that on albums where, you would have a really deep album like ‘Revolver’, but right in the middle of it, they throw in something like ‘Good Day Sunshine’ or ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’. So just as it’s getting a little bit too John Lennon deep, this little jokey ray of sunshine comes into it. So that’s what I did.”
“But the rest of the album you’re right, it was actually the company Voices of the Sea, Shea McNelis said to me, why don’t you just put out a really strong body of work that’s artistically solid and has a lot of depth because you’ve got the songs there. I would have probably put 16 tracks on the album and I would have probably put in a few more joke songs and he’s like, you don’t need to do that, because that’s the kind of stuff that works well live and it’s just a bit of craic. But why not have a body of work that, in 20 years, you put it on and you go oh you know, every song was really well thought through. That’s hopefully what it is.”
Throughout the album, Rory subtly blends elements of folk, pop and indie to create an expressive soundscape that is a joy to listen to again and again. One feature that stands out within the songs is the warm guitar moments, particularly in ‘Surely There Is More To Life Than This’ and ‘It’s Been a Good Day’. The album is an excellent display of Rory’s musical prowess and eloquent songwriting.
“I think that’s probably because a lot of the vocal melodies would be quitesimilar in the style that I’ve written… I feel I do have a direct writing style now. I totally agree with you, that was my fear that it sounds too choppy, but when I did compile the songs and listen, I was like no. I reference The Beatles, you know, even though it’s so cliche, but they can go from like ‘Helter Skelter’ to ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ and it still sounds fine on the same album you know, that’s such a tricky thing to do. I’m glad you feel that I’ve gone in the right direction, in the right ballpark.”
“ I remember [the lyric] it’s Been A Good Day for a change, I think, that was a double meaning where it’s like, this is a good day to change your life and then obviously, with depression, it’s been a good day, for a change, you know, – so that bitter sweet thing is running through it. I think I wrote that chorus on acoustic with a capo then I remember thinking, you know, I think this could be heavier. So I remember just going from acoustic to a Telecaster and plugging it into amplifier and turning the amp up and going, this is it you know, just thinking this is probably not going to work on an acoustic EP or whatever. These negative thoughts were coming in and then I was going well what the hell, it doesn’t matter people know that I was in The Revs. They know that I also do rock music. So why not? It’s that kind of thing where it’s bordering on 80s rock a little, you know, ACDC type verse, slightly Smashing Pumpkins as well. It’s got a feelgood factor to the rockyness of it”
The title track, ‘Centre Falls Apart’ is the darkest we see Rory go on the album. Featuring a piano refrain that adds a hint of jazz between the darker indie soundscape, Rory blends R&B elements into the song to give it a little extra punch. Even his vocals take a more gritty tone to the usual velvety charm we are used to.
“Yeah, I sang that one through a distorted guitar amplifier. I put the vocals through a guitar amp just to give it that kind of a White Stripes thing where it’s quite lo-fi, because when I first had it in mind, when I was writing it, I thought it would be cool to write something that has an R&B swing and I was thinking of No Diggity, Blackstreet and that heavy piano. That’s probably where I got the vibe of that one from [ I ] was thinking I would love to write something like that. But I remember when I first started listening back to the track in the studio, I was going oh my god, this is slightly moving into Maroon 5 zone, how can I de- Maroon 5 this track. So I started running things through really heavy compressors and distortion and I got it back on track to where I wanted it to be, it was kind of more like what the White Stripes would do with the James Bond track. You know like you say with elements of jazz where it would have a very distant piano. Instead of the microphone being close to the piano pull it to the other side of the room and crank up the compression a little bit so it gives it that 1950s Miles Davis type, you know, distance on the piano mics and just little things like that you have to be aware of. Even if your song is strong, if you recorded it too quickly and don’t think it through it can just end up in a horrible place that you didn’t want it to be.”
Rory has quite the reputation for flawless live performances. It’s almost guaranteed that the live version of the songs are going to be just as enjoyable if not more so than the recorded tracks. Much to my delight a live version of ‘Give Me Some Good News’ features on the album and it is simply divine.
“ I remember listening back, I had about seven tracks done and I’m starting to feel guilty about how multitrack they all were when previous EPs I’ve had out it’s just been acoustic and vocal. I was thinking, if anybody listens to this album, it’s the first thing of mine that they’ve listened to, I would like to showthem, this is where I come from. It’s just acoustic guitar, vocal and a vibe in front of a live crowd and that’s what I’ve loved doing for the past 15 years. It’s so easy these days because you have USB connections on most desks so you can actually take it out and you’ve got the multitrack and then you go back and you listen the next day and you go oh god, that’s awful. But I remember listening to that one and it’s funny because it was recorded in the middle of the pandemic in Glasgow and it was one of those gigs. Is it going to happen? Is it not? It was a sold out gig but only half of the room came in. So that’s why you can hear the crowd on the microphone, but it’s quite sparse. But it has something, just melancholy I think about the actual delivery of the song. Probably if the room was packed, it would have been a little bit too hyper. I probably would have used the kick drum more. So I think it just had a little quality to it”
“I wouldn’t be professional at recording myself, especially like an outside broadcast. So if you are doing an outside broadcast you’d probably normally put four mics in the room and pick up the crowd properly. But I think I onlyhad one microphone on stage turned around facing the audience, which is not the way to do it at all, but it’s just so that it wasn’t completely dry. Because obviously if you’ve got the mic right up to your mouth, and the guitar is going into the desk, you’re not really going to pick up anything so it was a bare minimum pick up but just enough [ that ] it seems like I’m playing in a coffee shop.”
‘Little Fire’ is perhaps my favourite track on the album. Rory’s warm voice coos atop a sweet melody with ukulele accompaniment and soft whistle feature. The track is beautifully arranged and beckons repeat plays.
“That one was probably before ‘Call My Name’. That’s the oldest track. I wrote it just after Aiden was born. My son and my mother wrote, a little poem called ‘Little Fire’. So I just took the title and the first line and maybe another line that she had, and I remember, because I was in the sitting room a lot and you’ve got the crib there and I had a ukulele because it’s not as loud as the guitar. I was practicing ukulele and just this little melody came into my head. Probably when I was just in the middle of the day time with Aiden when he was a tiny baby and I was just singing it. It all seemed to fall into place quite quickly, and I had been listening to a lot of ukulele performers. I don’t know, if I could play it as well now because I’d been playing so much ukulele at the time, that it just flowed so nicely but yeah, I think for a lot of people that stands out for them as a favorite, so I’m honoured. I think that was recorded in maybe two hours because it’s just ukulele and Hammond organ and a double track vocal and maybe that’s the magic of it, that it’s just so pure.”
Rory is set for an album launch in Dublin and Galway on the 11th and 12th of March. We discussed what fans can expect from the shows.
“It’s gonna be very feel good. I can’t wait to get on stage again. The last Opium gig I did there was 300 people there. I think there’s even more this time so hopefully the crowd sing as much as I do. That’s what’s been happening the last seven or eight gigs since I’ve come back and it’s amazing because people were watching me for two years, they know the songs so well. I’ll be throwing in some of the new stuff on the album. They might not know those but I think 80% of the set, the crowd will be singing, which is exactly what I’m going for. I’m gonna go for that escapism – communal crowd where the crowd sing louder than the singer. That’s what it’s gonna be hopefully.”
Like most musicians during the pandemic, Rory and the Island began live Facebook gigs every week and opted for “escapism” in his shows making them very colourful, upbeat and quirky as opposed to holding a mirror up to the depressing situation. Rory & The Island gradually built up 30,000 facebook followers with some of his shows averaging up to 50k views on FB watch playback during the week. The Facebook live gigs are still going strong.
“Yeah, I think it’s because I actually started to enjoy the format towards theend. There’s a lot of people that watch my gigs that are in different countries and a lot of people that, maybe still might have a bit of social anxiety and I’ve gotten into the habit of just having a bottle of red wine and converting the phone onto the television and having a great night. A lot of the people in the group, they got to know each other in different parts of the world during my performances so they like to catch up among themselves while I’m playing which is lovely to see that there’s like a little community there with three or four hundred people. I don’t see the need to completely stop it and to just be sitting in your spare room, doing something like that and to wake up the following morning and check and there’s a couple of hundred euro in the tip jar, it’s really nice. It’s a little bonus, and the practice and to communicate with people around the world, in New Zealand and Canada. It’s just a thing now, I suppose. Until there’s only 20 or 30 people watching I’ll keep at it.”
Rory can finally plan for future shows and we discussed the relief this brings as well as what fans can expect from Rory & The Island in the coming months
“Yeah, that’s the great thing. There’s bookings coming in already for as far ahead as October/ November. So I’m trying to not overplay, I made that mistake before where you go back to the same city, three, four months later, and it’s just too soon, so just trying to space things out, you know, seven or eight months and so far so good. There’s no cancellations and tickets are selling and everything’s good and hopefully get a couple of the summer festivals [ that] are starting to come in now. I’m going to keep the Facebook Lives going as well, because I don’t want to be a travelling musician all the time. I’ve got two little boys in the house and I want to have some Saturdays with them as well, some weekends and just who knows, maybe the fact it’s [the album Centre Falls Apart] getting a proper commercial release, this album might connect. Just see how it goes, playing it by ear.”
‘Centre Falls Apart’ is a glorious collection of songs bursting from the seams with bittersweet melodies, warm tones and comforting textures. Each track is a joy to listen to again and again and showcases Rory’s deft musical talent, beautiful songwriting and exquisite musicianship.
‘Centre Falls Apart’ is set for release on the 11th of March. For more you can follow Rory and the Island on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/RoryandtheIsland
Early bird tickets are available at €35.00 plus booking fee per day until 21st March
Full price €45.00 plus booking fee per day
Tickets on sale now from Tickets.ie
SoFFT Nights welcomes patrons back to the beautiful surroundings of Dunderry Park, Co. Meath this June 4th and 5th. This year, the festival will offer a shuttle bus service from Dublin to the festival with just a 50-minute journey, bus tickets are available to purchase for Saturday and Sunday.
Creating a unique experience with nature, SoFFT Productions brings a careful selection of the best musical talent. They also aim to bring a brand new experience to their well-being activities such as Astronomy Talks, Bat Walks, Music For Young Children, Shamanic journeying, Reggae yoga, Sound Baths, Active Imagination Workshops, Site-Specific Theatre. Reconnect with nature, nurture and nonsense!
SoFFT Nights never disappoint and deliver a wide variety of music and activities to suit all tastes. Having attended the festival last year I was blown away by the fun and enjoyable atmosphere at the festival and with the fantastic lineup announced today it’s looking like a festival not to miss.
Speaking about the upcoming event at Dunderry Park, Festival Director, Natasha Duffy said:
“We put on the very first festival in the midst of covid in October 2020 and over the course of 2021 put on another ten festivals in very difficult positions. Sometimes it felt like Forrest Gump and Captain Dan hanging on for dear life in the storm but we got through it! This year our motto is nature, nurture, and nonsense and we really mean that! One of the most exciting elements for me is the new sensory space for people with neurodiversity that might want to take a break from the busyness of the festival and have a super chill break out space, this goes for kids of all ages as well!'”
Bio: Coming off the back of their hit single ‘Champagne Butterflies’, Wild Youth are back with a fresh new indie-pop sound, with ‘Seventeen’. Having taken time out with family & friends during the pandemic, the guys spent time reflecting on the simplicity of their younger days and are back with this impressive single. Co-written by Conor O Donohoe & JC Stewart, and produced By Tristen Evans (The Vamps), Seventeen is the 1st single to be taken from Wild Youth’s upcoming EP.
Track: Seventeen
Why We Like It: This shimmering slice of indie-pop surges with emotion, nostalgic melodies and cinematic musicianship. Delicate keys flutter through a suspenseful rush on drums while supple guitar chimes throughout. The track is a joy to listen to and oozes heartfelt passion and a wonderfully bittersweet melody. ‘Seventeen’ is a breathtaking new single from Wild Youth.
Bio : Alt pop sensation Bobbi Arlo has unleashed her highly anticipated new single ‘Parasite’. ‘Parasite’ marks the start of a new musical journey for Bobbi Arlo as she embarks on what promises to be a very exciting and hectic 2022.
Track: Parasite
Why We Like It: ‘Parasite’ presents the refreshing alternative pop sound of Bobbi Arlo through a chilled R&B perspective. The artist injects irresistible melodies into an intoxicating electronic backdrop while icy keys and pulsing beats create a contrasting push-pull effect. Filled with pristine vocals and lush backing vocals atop dark bubbling soundscapes the track is an enjoyable, musically immersive gem that showcases Arlo’s wonderful ability to create evocative music which exudes swagger, sass and earnestness all at once. Love it.
Bio: Alexis Kings have released the Metta remix of their song ‘Velvet’. Alexis Kings’ delivery is that of quintessential British rock & roll with a contemporary undertone made up of catchy hooks and melodic vocals. The band consists of Brendan Aherne (Vocals) and Fabio Bocca (Drums). Taking aspects of each member’s influence and fusing each style with elements of Country, Soul, Hip-hop and Funk sitting on top of a solid Rock n Roll base, they aim to create a sound distinctive to Alexis Kings.
Track: Velvet Metta Remix
Why We Like It: Metta puts a new spin on this swaggered single to create a chilled groove-rooted rendition for listeners to indulge in. Utilizing biting electronics and shimmering synths weaved between muggy beats and 70’s-esque disco elements this remix is a glitter ball of infectiousness that will repeat in your head for days. Press play and enjoy.
Bio : Tipperary artist Culleton has released her new single ‘Broken Mirror’.
Track: Broken Mirror
Why We Like It: It’s an enjoyably intoxicating display of alternative pop filled with bubbling hip hop moments and rich intricate production. Culleton presents a haunting and enticing tune that revolves around eerie twinkles on keys while asphyxiating beats punctuate the track’s airy soundscape. For the verses, Culleton’s raps break up the sweet vocal lulls that adorn the chorus in ghostly coos – the effect is a sublime, contrasting assault on the senses. Filled with enthralling textures and dark undertones ‘Broken Mirror’ is a thrilling new single from this talented artist.
Bio: Bullet Girl have released their new single, ‘McViolence’. McViolence follows the band’s highly acclaimed previous single ‘The Hunt’. Where their previous single took on corrupt politicians, this time the band take aim at a culture of violence and toxic masculinity within groups of young men. The song was inspired by an unprovoked attack on two of the band members from a group of teenagers in their hometown.
Track: McViolence
Why We Like It: This thrilling tune is a swirling hotbed of post-punk angst and riveting musicianship. The band create a backdrop of sharp guitars and driving bass lines while pounding drums lay down a lean mean foundation that builds and intensifies to a glorious mammoth crescendo. ‘McViolence’ is an excitingly savage new tune from Bullet Girl and a sterling display of this band’s expressive sound and boundless talent. Prepare to be amazed.
Pauric O’ Meara has released his new single ‘Wait For You’. O’ Meara is an independent Pop/Rock singer-songwriter from Co. Tipperary, based in Dublin.He has been making his mark on the Irish music scene for quite a few years, starting off by supporting bands such as Hermitage Green and Hudson Taylor, to putting on 2 successful headline shows of his own in Dublin in The Soundhouse and Workman’s Club, as well as making his Electric Picnic Festival debut in 2019.O’ Meara started to gain the attention he deserved with the release of his EP ‘Looking Forward to Hindsight’ at the start of 2020 and a single release in ‘Techno or RnB’ with each track gaining radio and online support. This has carried into 2021 with his most successful release to date ‘Final Say’, and his latest release ‘All Alright’ being supported nationally and internationally, as well as two sold out shows in Winthrop Avenue, Cork on Nov 26th and The Workmans Club Dec 10th to cap off another successful year of growth. O’ Meara has an upcoming Irish Tour with MCD which will see him play his biggest Irish shows to date in Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork as well as making his UK Debut with a headliner booked for the summer.
Beautifully emotive and surging with lush melodies and supple instrumentation, ‘Wait For You’ is a glittering example of O’Meara’s expressive musicianship. Pulsing beats create a suspenseful backdrop while soft twinkles on guitar and rippling soundscapes flicker throughout highlighting O’Meara’s poetic lyrics and velvety smooth vocals. Atop a surging instrumental backdrop, his voice beautifully flutters from warm croons to delicate falsetto “I’ll wait for you, you’re coming back to me”. ‘Wait For You’ isa joyto listen to again and again and is a fine display of O’Meara’s deft musical prowess and poignant songwriting.
Having experienced their fair share of heartbreak, Bison Hip share their wisdom with their debut single ‘This Time’. Bison Hip were formed by long-time friends during a lockdown Zoom call in 2020. Built on the backbone of true Scottish grit, the ethos is clear: real musicians, real instruments, no click tracks, culminating in a unique blues-rock sound with real-life stories.
Filled withsubtlejazz hues and dynamic rock elements ‘This Time’ is a satisfying listening experience. The song is well crafted and easy on the ears with delicate keys coating the backdrop in sweet tones while a tight buoyant rhythm creates a foot-tapping groove. Showcasing smooth vocals, sharp guitar embellishments and a shredding guitar solo ‘This Time’ is a charming debut from Bison Hip.
Shane Codd has delivered a knockout anthem with his take on LYRA’s most recent single ‘Lose My Mind’. I caught up with LYRA to talk about how the infectious remix came about, the exciting return of live shows and what she has planned for the rest of the year.
“Originally when I wrote the song, I knew that it had that dance vibe naturally in it already. Then I decided why not go full dance on it and get a remix done and what better man than Shane Codd. He’s Irish, he’s amazingly talented. So we just kind of said, Hey, do you wanna do a remix? he was like yeah”
This remix is the perfect summer bop and is a fresh take on LYRA’s fantastic single. Shane Codd is an exciting artist who is on the rise. His previous hit single ‘Get Out My Head’ achieved a Top 10 smash on the Official UK Chart as well as a Top 10 hit in Ireland. Amassing over 125 million Global Streams and achieving 2 x platinum status in Ireland. I wondered if LYRA experienced a mix of intrigue and nerves when Codd agreed to remix the track and did she worry that she wouldn’t like it.
“I was, but Shane’s very good that way. He sent me a few mixes and I’d send back some notes about what I preferred and how I heard it going and he was like, okay, cool, I’ll change this bit, I’ll change that bit. He was just so good at letting me creatively be involved in it with him.”
The cover art for the remix is fierce and tasteful with an animated character of LYRA in the foreground. LYRA explained to me where the concept for the cover art came from.
“We decided we wanted to do an animation video. So that video is actually coming out like a lyric animation video. It was just something different, doing the remix was different so I just thought let’s have some fun with it and do an animation.”
“I was like, can I have that body? Please? That butt is so big I was like Yeah, I’ll have that”
‘Lose My Mind’ was released in 2021 and announced a more dance-infused tone to LYRA’s sound. This catchy bop reached # 16 on the Irish Airplay Chart, went No # 1 on Irish Homegrown Chart , reached # 4 Shazam Chart and # 2 on the Irish Artists Breakers Chart – a brilliant achievement for this talented artist.
“ It was nice to put something out because with covid and everything I just wanted something a bit more upbeat. I wanted to show people a different side to me as an artist, so it was nerve-racking to put it up but the reception was amazing”
At the time of our interview, LYRA was on a train down to Cork after attending the Indiependence launch last week in Dublin. We discussed how it felt now that shows have returned and she can finally book shows and plan for the year.
“Yeah, it’s amazing because like you said, you can plan. I’ve starting planning my outfits and setting, staging, lighting and stuff. Whereas last year I was planning half-heartedly, I was like oh, what if it won’t go ahead whereas now, it’s going ahead let’s get the costumes made, let’s get this, lets get that. We can just go for it.”
LYRA has a wonderful eye for fashion and every costume she wears on stage is well thought out and planned making her a vision on stage. We discussed the outfit she wore for her performance on New Year’s Eve in Dublin Castle where she performed her song ’ We are Beautiful’.
“Thank you. I made that myself at home in my mom’s kitchen nearly glued myself to the kitchen table a few times but yeah it was nice to make it. I was like why not I have the time”
LYRA has a talent for writing uplifting, dynamic tunes and her performance of ‘We are Beautiful’ captured the tone and feeling of everyone at the time.This appears to be a running theme with the artist; she performed her song ‘New Day’ at the pilot festival in Kilmainham and that perfectly captured the tone of everyone at the time as well. So it was no surprise that her performance of ‘We are Beautiful’ was what everyone needed to end 2021 and kick start 2022. It’s an exciting year ahead for LYRA, filled with new releases and compelling performances in the coming months.
“More releases are coming which is great. I can’t wait for people to hear my new music because I just love it and doing a lot of festivals so you’ll probably see me popping up everywhere, which is great. Yeah, it’s gonna be bigger and better this year. Definitely.”
LYRA is a diverse and compelling musical artist who is always pushing her sound to the next level. She has a talent for creating exhilarating tunes for listeners to indulge in and the production wizardry of Shane Codd provides us with a fresh take on LYRA’s dazzling songwriting and immersive musicianship.
Stream ‘Lose My Mind’ Shane Codd remix below
Author: Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
