Rónán and Matteo performed an acoustic set for Our Indie Buddie Sessions.
Big Sleep are a Dublin based indie-alternative band who spent the last two years playing to packed out rooms of a steady-growing and dedicated fan base until the lockdowns came along. The four-piece formed when frontman, Rónán, entered a Battle of the Bands as a singer-songwriter. He reconnected with some old bandmates and was introduced to some new ones to form the current lineup: Matteo Poli on percussion, Evin O’Connor on lead guitar, Rónán Connolly on vocals and rhythm guitar and Dougie Sealy on bass.
Big Sleep create sun-kissed irresistible tunes laced in warm laid back instrumentation. Blending funky rhythms, supple drums and radiant guitar melodies the bands sound is luscious and oh so sweet on the ears. Rónán and Matteo’s performance highlights the band’s nostalgic hazy melodies through a soft acoustic set and it’s simply divine.
Colm O’Mahony and Jackie O’Mahony performed an acoustic set for Our Indie Buddie Sessions.
Colm O’Mahony & The Hot Touches are a Rock ‘n’ Roll band from Killarney Co.Kerry, Ireland. Their self-titled debut album, featuring eight all original songs, was released on June 5, 2020. The album is an examination of life by way of rock ‘n’ roll. With eight original songs, each written by O’Mahony, it explores issues such as love, loss, betrayal & defiance. The band have recently released their new single ‘Preacher’s Daughter’, taken off that album,
Colm O’Mahony & The Hot Touches’ songs are filled with wonderful heartfelt melodies, rich instrumentation and emotive lyrics. This striped back performance gives us a chance to see some of the bands beautiful indie tunes through an acoustic lens that highlights the sweet infectious melodies, Colm’s warm vocals and the talent this band have to offer. It’s a real treat.
Sarah Deegan of Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra performs an acoustic set for Our Indie Buddie Sessions.
Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra are a Dublin-based three-piece consisting of singer/guitarist Sarah Deegan, bassist Alice Grollero and drummer Danni Nolan, who came together about three years ago after meeting through gigging around the Dublin underground music circuit.
This talented three-piece have a poignant and passionate sound oozing brooding melodies and biting instrumentation. Sarah Deegan showcases the band’s magnificent indie rock sound and deft lyrics through this mesmerising and thoroughly enjoyable session.
Frontman James Konnanov of The Donaghys performed an acoustic version of the band’s songs ‘Hindsight’ and ‘The Midas Touch’ for Our Indie Buddie Sessions.
The Donaghys consists of Manchester trio James Konnanov on Guitar / Vocals, Scott Ripley on Bass Guitar, and Nathan Ripley on Drums. Having grown up in the same village, just playing in different bands, it took a chat after a local open mic night before the three-piece collaborated, taking only two months before they took their idiosyncratic brand of trans-Atlantic indie rock on stage. 2018 saw The Donaghys release their first E.P, Turning Heads featuring early singles such ‘Incandescent’, ‘Control’ and ‘She Can Fly’ – all tracks which made the setlist for the band’s raucous debut headline show at Manchester’s Castle Hotel.
The Donaghys new single ‘Don’t Mind Me’ is a jaunty passionate indie rock track doused in the dynamic musicianship the band has become known for. Boasting blazing guitar refrains, punchy drums, and driving bass lines, which are all backed by catchy sing-along ready choruses the band has a full-bodied, fiery sound that is sure to ignite a live audience. Keep an eye on these guys.
We are delighted to have James showcase The Donaghys’ fantastic tunes and strip them back to a wonderful acoustic set for our Indie Buddie Sessions. Check out the performance below.
Written and produced during lockdown, Spanish artist Rob Nar has released an acoustic version of his 2020 single ‘One From a Distance’. Having a strong influence from British culture and music from his time in the UK, Rob Nar’s music shows personal approaches to blending acoustic and electronic instruments. Now living back in Seville, he released his debut solo single which has been featured on several Spotify playlists, reaching 3K monthly listeners and a total of 15K streams since its release earlier this year.
Rob Nar presents a warm and heartfelt version of ‘One From a Distance’. The song is easy on the ears as emotive, comforting songwriting and an irresistible melody coat the track in bright, mellow tones. It’s an intimate tune with twinkling acoustic guitar, lush harmonies and a rhythmic pulse. Nar has created a well crafted wholesome track brimming with stripped back instrumentation to maximise the songs positive tone.
Rob recorded both versions of the track at his home studio in Seville. He explains:“The song shows a feeling about how we all are one, regardless of the physical place where we are, with the positive mood and the hope that we all can beat this and any future issues together.”
Australian songwriter Angie McMahon has announced ‘Piano Salt’ (Released October 2nd on AWAL), a riveting, stripped-down companion piece to last year’s debut album ‘Salt’. After a truly breakout 2019 which saw her win the Grulke Prize at SXSW for Best Developing International Act (previously won by Courtney Barnett, CHVRCHES and Jade Bird), release her debut album ‘Salt’ and open Hozier’s massive US tour; 2020 has of course had some different plans. The Melbourne, Australia-based artist adapted with a return to the instrument that helped her fall in love with music in the first place – the piano. The new collection finds her reimagining five fan favorites from her debut album ‘Salt’, as well as stunning piano covers of Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” and Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die.”.
Angie has also shared a live piano version of her hit ‘Slow Mover’, which has amassed over 16 million Spotify plays and was certified Gold on the Australian charts. This new version of ‘Slow Mover’ comes in conjunction with the news that Angie has received a Levi’s Music Prize, aimed to help promising artists stay afloat through the pandemic. The moving and beautifully presented rendition takes this jaunty track to a whole new level. Soothing and sombre the track takes an almost lullaby tone with McMahon’s warm vocals caressing the melody with a sweet tenderness. The graceful piano surrounds the song in an immaculate soothing soundscape as McMahon’s emotive vocals highlight her mesmerising songwriting. The piano version is a cooler and elegant rendition of the track and showcases just how versatile McMahon is as an artist.
About the ‘Piano Salt’ collection McMahon said : “ Piano is the first instrument I learnt and the one that made me first love singing,My favourite piano song when I was young was k.d lang’s cover of ‘Hallelujah.’ So this EP feels like a return to my piano-cover-loving inner kid. It’s been a really nice creative opportunity to recreate the feeling of some bigger songs off my first record, give them a new life, and cover some of my favourite songs too. It gave me something to do when we went into quarantine. The creative process also helped me shed some fear around sounding too cheesy on the piano, or too sad – I realised that doesn’t matter so much because I just love to play and sing.”
Frontman Gary Kingham from Reading quartet Mellor has kindly recorded an acoustic version of the bands tracks ‘Arms Length’ and ‘Delicate’ for us here at Indie Buddie to help relieve the boredom of the lockdown. The recordings add a new dimension to these catchy tracks. If you were planning to go to one of the bands shows before the Covid – 19 madness had them rudely reschedule this will satisfy those cravings for a live Mellor show, for a little while at least.
Mellor have received radio support from Abbie McCarthy, Radio 1; Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music; John Kennedy, Radio X; Charlie Ashcroft, Elise Cobain, Frankie Francis, Jim Gellatly and Scott McGerty from Amazing Radio to name a few. The band have also featured on Spotify’s Hot New Bands, Indie List and Transistor playlists as well as Amazons Best New Bands playlist, and Apple Music’s Breaking Rock & The A-List.
You can watch the acoustic videos for ‘Arms Length’ and ‘Delicate’ below
Norwegian cult pop icon Dagny has released a special acoustic version of her track ‘Come Over’. Dagny is one of Norway’s most exciting artists, live performers and songwriters with over 450 million streams amassed, sold out tours, and critical acclaim by everyone from Nylon and Billboard to The Guardian and Harpers Bazaar. Among her achievements this year, Dagny also co-wrote Katy Perry’s ‘Never Really Over’ – racking 300 million streams on Spotify alone.
Dagny takes her sparkling pop number and strips it back to create an elegant and wholesome acoustic rendition of ‘Come Over’. Lush harmonies lift the track into an ethereal atmosphere while the twinkling guitar embellishes the backdrop in warm delicate tones. Dagny’s vocals are allowed to shine through this version. She coos with a honeyed tone as her whispered rasp creates a sultry lull that caresses the smooth melody with a soft tenderness and vibrant bounce. This acoustic version is still wonderfully layered and cultivated adding cosy tones on electric guitar with the rich vocal harmonies and beautiful backing vocal coos. Dagny presents a charming and joyful version of ‘Come Over’ that is both clean, crisp, utterly charming and sweet.
Irish roots-rock artist Marc O’Reilly has released his new acoustic-duo EP ‘The Monique Sessions ’ featuring MOBO award winning Danish bassist Jasper Hoiby.The tracks were recorded live in one take at Monique Studios in Cork and captured on analogue tape by producer/engineer Christian Best ( Mick Flannery, Marlene Enright etc ). Marc met Jasper when they both performed on the 2nd album by MOBO award winners Kairos 4Tet at Peter Gabriel’s legendary Real World Studios and an impromptu jam at the album launch in London inspired them to record and perform live together.The tracks on the EP span O’Reilly’s four albums to date.
A wholesome and passionate EP ‘The Monique Sessions ’ displays just how potent Marc O’Reilly is as a musician. The songs take a new dimension through this acoustic setting as refined guitar work weaves between warm rasp laced vocals. ‘Steal Love’ begins the EP. O’Reilly gives a new lease of life to the song taken from his 2017 ‘Morality Mortality’ album as twinkling guitars and a light flurry on bass fluctuate and ripple in the backdrop.The pizzicato jumps on guitars playfully interject between the passionate vocal melody. O’Reilly masterfully provides layers, textures and oodles of emotion to this stripped back approach. The mystery and suspense provided in bluesy hued ’The Scottish Widow’ is impressive with an eerie yet unnerving, comforting tone adorning the backdrop in velvety rich bass lines. ‘Healer’ is the final track on the EP. A little more buoyant to the album version, it grooves its way with relentless foot tapping infectiousness.
‘The Monique Sessions’ EP takes these songs which span O’Reilly’s four albums and adds a richness and mesmerising new facet to the tracks beauty. The simplistic approach injects more life and texture into the tracks while the jam quality and rawness provide soul and passion that is just so sublime
Dublin indie artist Donal Quinn is set to release his new single ‘Bubble’ on November 30th. We sat down with Donal a few weeks ago for a chat and a little acoustic set where he performed the charming new track for us in The Sound House Dublin.
Watch the acoustic version of ‘Bubble’ below
You can follow Donal Quinn on his social media here
