Elina Filice returns from a busy 2021 (a well-received sophomore EP and over a million total Spotify streams) with new single ‘Don’t Let Me Fall’. The song was written and recorded by Elina in her home studio and co-produced by Viscose. Elina Filice is gaining attention for songs that defy genre and interactive live performances. Her music is soulful and melodic while being influenced by blues and spoken word. Born to Canadian parents, Elina spent her formative years in Singapore before moving to Canada to attend University. She then relocated to Dublin where she worked extensively in the music industry and founded Red Vine Records. Elina is a strong advocate for queer rights and visibility, and regards music as a powerful tool for the queer community.
‘Don’t Let Me Fall’ oozes dark undertones and asphyxiating electronic pulses as Filice showcases a mature and more sinister side to her songwriting. The song broods and simmers within mellow guitar lines and icy soundscapes for the verses ( creating a cold and isolating atmosphere ) while the intricate beats and funky guitar hooks in the chorus create a danceable and energetic listening experience. The track is a joy to listen to and is a fine display of Filice’s deft musical prowess and diverse sound. Filled with lush textures, pristine production and sharp lyrical content ‘Don’t Let Me Fall’ is an enticing and kinetic new single from this talented artist.
About the track, Elina says, “We’ve all been in the situation or know someone who’s been in a relationship or friendship where someone is relying on you for their stability. It’s incredibly scary being stuck in a dark tango with someone who you care for but are unable to help. What they threaten to do if you leave them leads to a toxic and painful cycle.”
Clare artist David Hope has released his new single, ‘Moon and Back’. The track is taken from his forthcoming new album ‘And the Sea’. With earnest lyrics drifting atop a bittersweet, nostalgic melody, ‘Moon and Back’ is a passionate new song from Hope. His velvety vocals tenderly croon poetic lyrics creating a sombre yet soothing atmosphere for listeners to immerse themselves in, “Goodbye, such a sweet and simple word, yet a dagger to the heart, tears your world apart… I love you to the moon and back and everywhere beyond and in between, though every nightmare and every dream”. Showcasing a minimalist approach with just delicate keys twinkling between warm guitar, subtle instrumental builds and warm vocals, ‘Moon and Back’ is an enjoyable relaxing gem from David Hope.
Award-winning composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Fitzpatrick, aka Badhands, is set to release his second album ‘Far Away’ on Friday, 1st April 2022. I caught up with Fitzpatrick to talk about the album, writing during the pandemic and plans for his upcoming full-band album launch in Whelan’s main room on Saturday, 9th April 2022.
“It’s not really a concept album, most of the songs were written a few years ago. So I guess if there’s any consistent themes, it’s just from the nature of whatever was going on at the time, but no there’s definitely no real kind of overarching concepts to it.”
‘Far Away’ is a sublime easy listening experience as Fitzpatrick ventures between classic rock and indie with some pop sensibilities. ‘Quiet and Still’ is a fine example of this. Oozing elements of classic rock, country and an irresistible melody, the track pivots around an ominous beat while twinkling guitar flickers throughout.
“That song, it’s so long since I’ve written it. I wrote that about four or five years ago. This is the thing with this album, I was supposed to have it done and out really before covid hit. Then it was a nightmare trying to finish it off during covid. So, there was a couple of songs that I rewrote, like ‘Wasted’ which I would have written the lyrics for during Covid. So there’s, a couple like that, that I kind of feel [ are ] a little more current to me. Funny, a couple of songs on it now, I wrote them so long ago I can barely remember much about them, which is very strange. It’s a very strange thing to just be releasing it now, you know”
“When I was trying to finish off the album early in covid I got quite disillusioned with it. I was listening to it and I [ was ] just like these songs don’t really mean anything to me now. It was such a strange time I was like, what’s the point of any of this? I just took a break from it. I ended up doing a different project, a concept piece about the oceans, which was a five-track EP and I got really into that then, recorded and released it after about a year. Then when I came back to the album, it did have more of a freshness and I was into it again, and I finished it. It was around this time last year, [ I ] probably finished it and it did seem a bit more fresh to me again. Then we did a gig last year and playing the song live with the band again, you know, gave it a new lease a life. So thankfully, I did fall back in love with it after a period of really just being disinterested, kind of disinterested in anything I was working on at the time, it was a strange spell.”
“It was weird, funnily enough at the start of it, I was really productive. I was writing a lot. I was working on stuff and I really thought it was having quite a positive effect on my work and productivity so for a while that seemed like a benefit. Then there was spells, like this time last year, January, February, March last year, I just found it impossible to work. I couldn’t do any of those I was just absolutely lethargic and drained so it was just a real funny up and down experience. unlike anything, I’ve ever experienced. Well, unlike anything any of us have experienced before, I guess.”
The album was recorded chiefly at Ailfionn Studios, with musicians Chris Barry, Tom Cosgrave, Aoife Ruth, Ken Mooney, and David Tapley. We discussed how these talented musicians bolstered Fitzpatrick and helped him with any difficulties he went through.
“I’ve been really lucky, it’s pretty much that core band now, Chris, Tom, Aoife and Ken and then there is also David Tapley from the band Tandem Phoenixso he’s been pretty much full time in playing as well. They’re all just amazing musicians and they bring their own unique elements to the party. I’ll go in with a song and then – take that song ‘Quiet and Still’, for example, really just hinges around this delayed bass thing, you know, which Tom came up with so as soon as we went in, he just started doing that and then suddenly the song was just built around that because it’s like a heartbeat, you know, it just suited it perfectly and that was just something he came up with in the rehearsal room. I love that, it’s great when somebody else adds something and suddenly it changes you know. The song is suddenly a completely different beast when that happens”
Each song exudes warm melodies that are soothing to the ears. But there is a dark, ominous undertone that broods throughout the album.
“I think, especially with lyrics, I find a lot of the lyrics I write seem to come from maybe a place of anxiety or something like that. I think when people write often, for whatever reason, different aspects of their personality come out. So a lot of the time whatever you’re writing doesn’t necessarily define youor sum you up as a person. I guess the darkness in the song probably has something to do with, being anxious or self-conscious about things. So even something that I’m writing that might be a love song or something, always seems to have an undercurrent of just tension or anxiety in it. I guess that’s where that comes from. I tried to balance that with the music because say a song like, ‘Wasted’ would be one where the lyrics are extremely downbeat, but the music contrasts with it. It’s pretty upbeat. So, yeah, it’s always trying to blend that so it’s not just depressing or just miserable. I’m generally a fairly cheery person, but I think if you listen to the lyrics on my music, you probably wouldn’t think that”
The piano is a prominent instrument on the album and Fitzpatrick manages to convey many emotions and textures with just the piano alone. Fitzpatrick explained how he wrote some of the songs on piano.
“I used to write mainly on guitar. I think, for the most part, I tend to write everything on piano. Well, it’s a mix. I might start writing something on the piano and then I’m sitting down with a guitar and coming up with bits on that. But yeah, I think now for the most part it’s usually on piano and especially now we are just close to finishing a third album. We went in with the band in January. It was actually just after I’d watched the, The Beatles Get Back and I loved it so much. I got onto the band and they’d all just watched it as well and everybody was just really keen to get in and do something. So I just booked thestudio even though I hadn’t fully finished the songs and really knuckled down and tried to get the thing finished. Then we went in and I did this one really piano-based. I was playing just a grand piano and we did it all live in the room and it was great. So the new album is especially piano-led on a lot of the songs”.
There are plenty of memorable moments on the album filled with passionate, evocative musicianship and poignant songwriting. However, the dark and theatrical elements are intriguing aspects in Fitzpatrick’s songs and a theme we continued to return to when talking about the album. ‘Atlas’ is a perfect example of this. It has a Tom Waits ‘Little Drop Of Poison mixed with Nick Cave Red Right Hand Vibe’. Fitzpatrick expresses this wonderfully through ominous piano and intoxicating soundscapes.
“ Yeah, I’m a big Tom Waits fan. Actually, ‘Atlas’ was one that I did right at the start. In fact, I have quite a vivid memory of writing that. It was, I’d say maybe a week into the covid hitting and lockdown. So I can really remember that specifically, I was just in my room all the time with the piano. I remember writing that song at that stage. So I guess it was a bit of an ominous time. It was a mix of things going on that probably inspired that one”
Lyrically the tracks are deep, well thought out and profoundly expressive. Fitzpatrick explained to me he strives to express genuine deep thoughts through his music.
“Yeah, I never really set out to write any particular lyrics. A lot of the time I wish I could write about certain things or certain types of songs but anytime I tried to do that …it just never works. I think you can hear that in music when you hear a song from an artist or something. You can just tell maybe it doesn’t seem totally from the heart or genuine and that’s what I’ve felt anytime I’ve set out to write a specific type of song. So I just stuck with whatever comes really and that’s why that I feel sometimes you know the lyrics I’m writing, I find sometimes this is a bit repetitive or this is a bit depressing or something but it’s just…I find with the lyrics, anything that I write, that hasn’t come natural tends to be pretty, pretty bad for the most part.”
‘So Alive’ is quite different to the other tracks on the album. It’s more experimental and psychedelic and the track sits snugly between ‘Atlas’ and ‘They Know You Better’. On hearing the album each song holds its own and warrants its place while blending superbly into the album’s aesthetic. Fitzpatrick explained how he struggled to decide on the tracklist order.
“It was in some respects. Yeah, there was a couple of tracks I found hard to place like ‘So Alive’, ‘Quiet and Still’ the last song [Take Me Far Away] which were I guess just a little bit more understated well not so understated its got strings on it. It felt more understated than some of the other tracks and I tend to find them harder to place, I guess than the ones that have a lot of you know, gusto or something in them. But I always had it in mind for ‘Atlas’ to flow into it. So in that respect, I at least knew that those two songs would go one after the other. So that was at least some help. For a couple of the guys in the band that would have been one of their favourites. That would have been one I wrote on guitar just with that picky riff or whatever. Initially, it was quite a stripped-down piece, which I had toyed with but then you know, as is often the case, less is more but then you just keep adding more. Then suddenly it’s like, throw a lot of strings on there and you’ve got this big, psychedelic orchestral thing but I was happy with how it turned out”
Fitzpatrick has a launch for ‘Far Away’ with a full band show in Whelan’s main room on Saturday, 9th of April and he told me what fans can expect from the show.
“Well, probably a lot off the upcoming album for sure. I’d say that will be the dominant one. I think we will try and do one or two off the one [album] that we just recorded and then a couple of hits off the first album. Now we are playing with the six-piece band for the bigger gigs, it’s great. Aoife who plays in the band she does keys and violin and she’s really great. When she switches over to violin she has a lot of weird effects and stuff. She’s a bit like Warren Ellis, [Nick Cave and] The Bad Seeds. So that’s always a nice aspect. But yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. I look forward to actually arranging some rehearsals and getting everyone in because it’d be rare that the six of us all play together. That would be a thing for, you know, a show like this or whatever. But you know, for the most part of doing other gigs it’d be a four or five-piece set up so it’s great. It’s great to get to play with a full complement, but it’s rare enough.”
‘Far Away’ is a musically rich and deeply immersive album. Each track is a joy to listen to and highlights the expressive sound, refined musicianship and eloquent songwriting of Badhands.
Nathan Mac has released his new single ‘Broken & Beautiful’. In 2012, Nathan injured his back during a Circus performance. This led him on a journey away from his dreams of performing as an acrobat, & towards his passion for songwriting. 10 years later, he reflects on the influence of that injury: “We are more beautiful for the breaks we suffer along the way. They add to our depth. They prove that we’ve gone out there & risked something.” ‘Broken & Beautiful’ is the 6th addition to Nathan’s debut album: Start of Something Blue. The song also features in his upcoming Circus-Musical film: Learning Curve where he returns as an actor and aerial acrobat! Both the album and film are set for release later this Summer.
Filled with lush melodies and evocative lyrics ‘Broken & Beautiful’ is a cinematic alternative pop gem from Nathan Mac. Mac croons tender lyrics “Broken and Beautiful, treat yourself carefully. Stitches and gold, use your pain to relate to me. The stories I’ve told, they decorate my body. And I wanna show you, every scar suits us perfectly” over a building backdrop of bubbling beats and ethereal synths while subtle instrumental undertones ( alongside elegant piano ) blend between electronic and string elements. ‘Broken & Beautiful’ is well crafted and highlights the expressive musicianship of Nathan Mac in all its Glory.
AJ Wander has released his new single ‘When You Say I Love You’. The song is one of several tracks recorded in London and Barcelona with producer Brad Mair (Dean Lewis, Jamie Cullum, Kygo) which will culminate in AJ Wander’s first EP due in late 2022. AJ Wander’s debut single, ‘Time Out’, was written soon after an explosive breakup and represents the moment that he realised he had to let his first love go. This single has garnered over 4M streams in just over one year.
Whipping up stirring emotion through elegant piano and a fist-clenching chorus, ‘When You Say I Love You’ is an emotive new ballad from AJ Wander. The track exudes hair raising tension throughout as it broods at first before kinetic electronics push the soundscape to cinematic heights. Oozing conflicting emotion, Wander’s warm passionate vocals sing earnest lyrics amidst gripping instrumental builds and a lush, catchy melody. ‘When You Say I Love You’ is beautifully arranged and highlights Wander’s compelling musicianship and expressive songwriting.
Speaking of the single AJ Wander said: “When You Say I Love You is about someone falling for you too fast and that desire to go along with it just because you don’t want them to experience rejection. Eventually, you arrive at a realisation that pretending to be in love is not healthy, so you choose to be honest, but telling them that you need to slow things down is an emotional minefield.”
FYA FOX has released her new single, ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’.FYA has gained major support across Irish national & regional radio stations along with plays on BBC Radio 1, ‘Track of The Week’ features on RTE 2FM, Spin South West and Today FM just to mention a few. Support from HotPress tipping FYA as “2022 Ones to Watch” along with support from Record of the Day. FYA collaborated with Richy McCourt over a zoom call during lockdown, from there the track was produced by Matt Weir & Si Fransis.
‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ is a masterful display of alternative pop from FYA FOX. The song blends dark undertones with chiming keys while bubbling beats surround the song in danceable grooves. Venturing between lush pop sensibilities and R&B tones the track is a fine example of FYA’s diverse, compelling sound and expressive musicianship. Enhanced by rich percussion and spacious soundscapes, FYA’s immaculate vocals ooze emotion and tenderness as she coos vulnerable lyrics “take me for granted, my kindness for weakness.. you hit me where it hurts“. ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ is a joy to listen to again and again. The track highlights the artist’s mesmerising vocals and talent for creating emotive earworm melodies – simply stunning.
About the track, FYA FOX said: “This song came from my experience of people expressing their opinions and doubts of me as an artist in the music industry”.
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.
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.
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.
