We sat down to have a chat with David Keenan before the release of his new album ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Bravery’ in The Library Bar at the Central Hotel Dublin. We talked about how he crafted the album, his intricate lyrics and how he creates the characters and scenes in his tracks.
‘A Beginner’s Guide To Bravery’ is out this Friday January 10th
You can catch David Keenan live at :
JAN 11th The Empire The Belfast Empire, Belfast, United Kingdom
Passionate, time stopping performances of a wholesome nature is the perfect recipe for a chilly December night. Belgian singer Tamino along with Kitt Philippa as support thawed our iced souls with warm dark toned, balmy tunes. The mesmerised audience were in good hands last night, as The Button Factory was shielded from the icy cold and wrapped in the comfort and emotive daze of singer songwriter bliss
Belfast singer Kitt Philippa began the defrost. Their quirky yet shy and sweet persona charmed all within the venue. Philippa’s voice drifts between captivating tones and hair-raising richness as they pour themselves into the songs, leaving the audience stunned. The crowd cheer and encourage Philippa , shouting “that was unreal”. Philippa sits at the keys swaying back and forth while the graceful melodies and elegant, raw musicianship blends with their superb vocals. There is a vulnerability to Philippa’s set and an innocence through the tracks that they rein and bridle with awe-inspiring confidence.
Philippa ventures from the keys to guitar. Playing mostly tracks from their newly released album ‘Human’ Philippa warmed our hearts with a spine-tingling voice and intensely rich musicianship. A cover of Jeff Buckleys ‘So Real‘ is a hit with the crowd as they encourage Philippa -whooping from the first gentle strum. An anecdote about Philippa’s brand of tea ‘Humanitea’ ( which actually sounds lovely and soothing) and the random sighting of a button on stage at The Button Factory before title track ‘Human’ brought a light-hearted end to Kitt Philippa’s wonderful set.
Philippa left the crowd touched and enthralled by their beautiful blend of melancholic depth and sweet optimism. It was quite a special performance.
Tamino takes a very casual approach to his set. Perhaps it’s the laid back banter from the crowd or maybe the chilled and relaxed vibes from Kitt Philippa’s set but he chats and jokes with the crowd between his performance. He stands simply with his guitar, a 6 foot something, slim young man adorned in dark attire. He wows everyone in the room with his maturity, rich vocals and the dreamy haze of his tunes. From a first listen you would be forgiven to describe Tamino’s sound as dark and sombre however like all good things, there is much more beneath the surface. There is something special about this young performer. His sound is unique and completely his own, in every way passionate, immense and naive all at once. He is becoming somewhat of a “ rock-star “. Much to his surprise members of the crowd are shouting “ I love you Mr. Tamino” – to which he just smiles replying “ I love you too, we just met though but I like your straightforwardness” while others are throwing roses on-stage and someone even threw their knickers.
Within the live setting Tamino’s tracks take on a richer more tantalising dimension. Even without his band at his side he confidently plays straight into ‘Persephone’ – just him and his guitar as he holds everyone’s hearts within his grasp. His rich velvety vocals slip between sweet falsetto and creamy depths that summon silence in the room allowing the beauty of his voice to lull and enchant at will. The crowd adore him singing every line to ‘Cigar’, ‘Tummy’ and ‘Sun May Shine’. Tamino stands, basked in warm golden or red lightning which ventures into blue tones as the dry ice creates a celestial quality to his silhouette. Not even a broken guitar string’s intrusive demand for attention hinders the show. Tamino simply explains that the string is broken, that he needs a moment to re-tune and the crowd wait patiently.
There are people from all over the world at this show as they take the opportunity between songs to ask him to do a gig in their country. The crowd remain silent as he begins to sing again. His deft, crisp… yet warm voice and sweet falsetto caress the atmosphere with tones of longing and tales of life. Tamino depicts romance, love, vulnerability and strength throughout his tracks and it’s his sublime timeless and unique delivery of these themes that grip the audience and submerges them in a magical dreamy haze. ‘Indigo Night’ in particular was outstanding live and ‘Habibi’ couldn’t have been more perfect. The crowd stood in suspense for that acrobatic falsetto. Tamino finished his set with an impeccable cover of Mac DeMarco’s ‘My Kind Of Woman’.
Tamino is in a league of his own. There is no denying his talent and vivid, poetic musicianship. His ability to create and weave fantastic melodies with rich exotic undertones shimmering throughout is outstanding. Tamino’s composition’s possess the potential to stir something within your very soul and in a live setting this ability is even more raw and potent. There were members of the crowd weeping from the emotion within his music. Tamino is an artist not to be missed.
Minutes To Midnight has released a video to his track ‘Love Field’ taken from his debut solo album ‘After 1989 – A Trip To Freedom’. After a long stint as an audio professional in the gaming industry, Simone (Minutes to Midnight) has now turned his focus into music production. After extensive experience working with other artists, arranging, co-writing, and mixing, M2M has decided to tell a very personal story of his in the medium of a concept album. ‘After 1989 – A Trip To Freedom’ is a thoroughly crafted concept, it’s the result of a personal journey through a painful family legacy during World War II, and the tumultuous decades that followed.
‘Love Field’ is another emotive display from Minutes To Midnight as he creates a chilling icy track with light piano twinkles and warm guitar jingles. The tune floats delicately on a lamenting tone as Simone builds its intricate parts softly to create rich qualities and diverse emotions throughout. With the drums adding a punch and bite between the rooted bass line there is a groovy almost funky jazz-like quality that creates a hopeful undertone. Simone coos over the smooth melody however the track is mostly instrumental with an audio clip depicting the events as they were reported at JFK’s Assassination. The superb build on the track creates tension as the guitars whine over the progressing backdrop. Its another striking track from Minutes To Midnight.
The video takes us through the arrival of JFK and his wife Jackie in Dallas before his infamous demise. Through a variety of black and white and colour video clips we see the joy, celebration and devastation created by one event as JFK is shot. The entire video tells this story in an honest and emotional way. Simone fantasises about waving at Jack and Jackie, or leaning over the window of a sixth floor, or being Abraham Zapruder, standing still while everything changes.
Wexford 21 year old Irish singer songwriter Daniel Furlong has released his second single ‘Safe’ following his debut single, ‘Spread My Wings’ which opened in the top 20 Irish tracks on iTunes in March this year, hit 20,000 streams and earned him the label “One To Watch” from Spin103.
‘Safe’ blends Daniel Furlong’s warm emotive musicianship with gripping tender instrumentation beautifully to create a comforting, passionate track. With lush string elements, driving soundscapes and rumbling rhythms Furlong builds the track beautifully to its intense and uplifting crescendo. Furlong’s emotive, comforting vocals coo passionately throughout the track as the lyrics tell the story of someone supporting a loved one during their darkest times. It’s a heart-wrenching rush of hope carried through a gripping soundscape of beautiful instrumentation. Another sensational and cinematic track from Daniel Furlong.
Speaking about the track Daniel says, “My inspiration for ‘Safe’ was a desire to combat that feeling of being alone and struggling in a dark place.I think most people can relate to a time when they needed a helping hand and I wanted to write a song that could empower people to reach out, open up and fight their way back.”
Minutes to Midnight has released a video to his single ‘Skinny Kid’. After a long stint as an audio professional in the gaming industry, Simone (Minutes to Midnight) has now turned his focus into music production. After extensive experience working with other artists, arranging, co-writing, and mixing, M2M has decided to tell a very personal story of his in the medium of a concept album. “After 1989 – A Trip To Freedom” is the debut solo album. It’s the result of a personal journey through a painful family legacy during World War II, and the tumultuous decades that followed.
‘Skinny Kid’ is a tender delicate number as Simone expresses emotional and harrowing themes through a bitter, icy piano and tense progressive soundscapes. With a steady beat pounding through weaving guitars and ominous rumble on bass, the track projects images of isolation and loneliness by means of sinister chilling twinkles and tender vocals. The haunting backing vocals and lamenting pines on guitar have a chilling element as Simone portrays this harsh experience with sublime instrumentation and vivid musicianship.
The black and white video allows a train journey to tell the tale of how a young man managed to escape Germany in 1945. With clips from the war mirroring more modern clips as footsteps lead us to what happened to one individual during the war.
About the album Simone said :“ Summer, mid-eighties. During a family dinner, after a glass too many, my grandfather let a story slip from his past. He told us how fascists captured and sent him to Germany, where he spent four years in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, on the outskirts of Berlin. The Nazis spared his life because of his craftsmanship as a shoemaker. In April 1945, a few days before the Allies stormed into the city, he managed to escape with a fellow Russian inmate. They crossed Europe and came back home. I grew up during the Cold War, obsessed by a shared feeling of impending doom. My very first trip was to Prague and Berlin, a few months after the collapse of the Wall. I watched a divided city as it still was, but didn’t dare to visit the camp. Many years later, I was able to put my resolve to the test. Present day. Once again, I’m back in Berlin, this time to finally see the Konzentrationslager. I’m on the S-Bahn train to Oranienburg. At each station, my mind goes back in time, to the tumultuous decades that preceded the 9th of November 1989, when people were able to cross the Wall. I’m thinking about the connection between my grandfather’s story and the convoluted menacing world order that came out of it. When I finally cross the steel gate of Sachsenhausen, I realise how this whole story is about being a prisoner. Whether in a concentration camp, behind a wall, caught within propaganda or fearing a nuclear holocaust.”
Dublin songwriter Rónán Connolly has released his new single ‘Between the Trees’. Rónán Connolly, has spent the last year making a name for himself in the Irish music scene frequenting open mics, doing pub gigs, opening for acts like Oscar Blue, Post Party and SUNDOWN. In the short time that’s he’s been performing he’s played venues across the city including The Workman’s Club, WigWam main room and basement, The Grand Social, and Whelan’s main room and upstairs. He’s also played locations further afield such as The Washerwoman, Killaloe, Co. Clare and two packed out Electric Picnic performances, one set consisting of his originals translated as Gaeilge at the An Puball Gaeilge Stage and one set at the ArtLot stage.
‘Between the Trees’ is a passionate display of Rónán Connolly’s meaningful and wholesome musicianship. The track swoons and cosies up with delicate guitar twinkles and a lulling emotive melody. Becoming more electronic the track veers from a romantic flutter to a rumbling spine tingling expression. With haunting backing vocals, strong beat and mystical guitar elements the song intensifies beautifully and organically to create a time stopping magical moment within the listeners imagination. Connolly’s warm, pure and comforting vocals ooze emotion and tenderness as he takes a wonderful gentle track and allows it to blossom into a powerful commanding number. Carrying both strength and feathery light delicacy with sombre bitter/sweet tones and sublime layering ‘Between the Trees’ is a remarkable single.
Birmingham singer-songwriter Thomas Noel is set to release his new single ‘Only Paris’ on November 1st. After starting out as a solo acoustic act, he recently decided it was time to make his sound bigger by having a full band behind him.
‘Only Paris’ is a buoyant energetic indie number as Thomas Noel spreads his passionate musicianship over a vibrant backdrop to create a charming coherent body of work. The warm jangly guitar adds a zesty spring to the track while the steady beat creates a foot tapping foundation. The song is based on two people facing the challenges and obstacles of young love yet finding comfort in the romance of Paris. Noel’s smooth vocals display this comfort as he coo’s and caresses the pop sprinkled melody with effortless charisma. The track drifts easily into the ears with a 60’s -esque Beatles vibe. With a catchy chorus and groove-infested bass ‘Only Paris’ takes Noel’s sound to new exciting heights .
Indie singer/songwriter Mark Hegan has released his new single ‘Every Minute After Midnight’. Hegan has garnered industry interest and plays from the likes of BBC Radio 1 (Introducing), BBC Radio 2 and Radio Ulster.
‘Every Minute After Midnight’ is a glistening uplifting track laced in Mark Hegan’s warm and rich musicianship. Vibrant twinkles of guitar flood the track with bright scintillation. A dynamic beat and sparkling soundscape rush adrenaline and heart racing emotion into the song. With lyrics about coming to terms with the self-destructive parts of your personality and learning to live with them, this track is empathetic while also remaining light and catchy. Hegans’ velvety vocals soothe through the soft melody with tender emotion as the vivid soundscapes swirl and rush around. The track follows Mark Hegan’s sublime passionate debut ‘Skyward’ fleshing out the emotive and lush sound that he is building.
Edinburgh singer songwriter Jonnie Wallace has released his new single ‘Aftershave’. Fleshing out his indie sound Wallace presents a vibrant guitar-driven number. With a nostalgic melody that cruises on 80’s hues through a sprightly backdrop this charming track is an honest, punchy ditty. Wallace’s warm deep vocals coo through the intricate guitar melody and exhilarating soundscape as this track rests easy on the ears and is designed for repeat plays. Those jangly guitar melodies and strides add a zing and bite to this wishful track. Wallace tells a story of youthful nights out, superbly and this golden heartfelt gem is a perfect portrayal of his tight and invigorating musicianship.
Essex singer songwriter James Burrage has released his new single ‘Good Karma’. This uplifting cosy track flows intensely on Burrage’s emotive and compelling musicianship. A steady, infectious, foot-tapping beat and rich percussion accompanies warm vibrant guitar jingles. This track gushes with sincerity and earnest tenderness. Burrage’s passionate vocals exude loving sweet tones as he coos and rasps over the delightful comforting melody. It’s an intimate indie folk number that is crafted to perfection. The subtle guitar whines create a breezy ethereal quality to the track as the melody and soothing vocals cushion the ears from the background whines creating a sublime contrast and intriguing listening experience. ‘Good Karma’ showcases Burrage’s fine ability to create sophisticated and moving tracks. It’s an emotive and powerful number to follow James Burrage’s funky swagger-dipped predecessor ‘Somehow’ which was released earlier in the year.
Stream ‘Good Karma’ below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
