Cork band The Burma have recently recorded and filmed a live 15 minute set in Windmill Lane Studios.Since the release of their first single, ‘Quicksand’, the band has gained extensive national airplay and have received over thirty thousand plays across streaming platforms. The Burma have landed support slots for acts such as The Academic , The Strypes and Delorentos and have performed at festivals such as Vantastival , Doolin Folk Fest and Whelan’s Ones to Watch.
The Live at Windmill Lane Recording Studios, Dublin set is a collection of the bands infectious well crafted tracks as they showcase their live vigor along with some slick and wonderfully melodious tunes. The lush textures within their tracks are heightened by psychedelic moments meticulously blended with sharp guitars and pummeling drums which creates a full bodied sound. The melodies these guys produce hook you from the start and of course they pack this 15 minute set with their most delicious melodies so far. ‘Phoney Personality’ and ‘Buried Alive’ would be the pinnacle moments for me however this set has something for everyone: jaunty guitars, rich rhythms and oodles of passion and energy. The Burma are an impressive live act and a band well worth checking out and adding to your playlists.
Watch the The Live at Windmill Lane Recording Studios, Dublin set below
Soda Blonde have announced their newest single ‘Love Me World’ will be released across streaming platforms on September 24th alongside the band’s first live-streamed launch show. In celebration of the single release, the band will perform an exclusive launch show to be streamed from a secret location in Ireland’s capital on September 23rd.Tickets for the show are available now through this link https://sodablonde.veeps.com/stream/events/a517ce36fc67?ffm=FFM_4e10739c3f6fff7dafe6a81f48e253d2.
The single follows the band’s second EP ‘isolation content’ released in May this year. The EP saw support from BBC Radio One’s Huw Stephens, Janice Long of BBC Radio Wales and Ireland’s biggest stations RTÉ Radio 1, Today FM and 2FM.Soda Blonde emerged from the ashes of internationally acclaimed band Little Green Cars; whose debut album saw them sky rocket to number one in the Irish album charts. The band is fronted by singer-songstress Faye O’Rourke with Adam O’Regan on keys and guitar, Donagh Seaver O’Leary on bass and Dylan Lynch on drums.
‘Love Me World’ is an enticing example of the brooding sultry musicianship of Soda Blonde. The bubbly beat coils and simmers beneath wispy synths and sumptuous funky bass grooves while luring electronics unfold into a dark, slow jam that intoxicates and intensifies with each progression. Faye O’Rourke’s luring vocals coo over the velvet-textured soundscape with passionate longing while the rippling electronics exude an eerie, sinister tone. There is a glimmer of innocence expressed by twinkling keys and lush harmonies which creates brief sweet moments within this smouldering gem. This silky chic alternative pop number is another reason to love the musical prowess of Soda Blonde.
About the track Faye O’Rourke said “Love Me World’ is a song about acknowledging the darker moments of wanting to be loved by everyone. The idea of bending to fit the zeitgeist in the pursuit of acceptance and love.'”
Darkroom Data have released their new single ‘Hydrogen’. Darkroom Data is the retro synthpop science project of Irish vocalist Gillian NoVa and Brazilian composer Márcio Paz. The duo have been writing and recording together for two years, developing a synth heavy sound that is lofi, synthpop at the core.
‘Hydrogen’ is a retro synth pop number generously dipped in the rhythmic and atmospheric musicianship of Darkroom Data. With pulsing beats puncturing the sugary rush on synths the duo create a chilled airy atmosphere while the sultry lull on vocals, coo and caress the ear worm melody. The song builds becoming more effervescent and heavy allowing the electronics to fuzz, creating darker undertones to this 80’s – esque tune. Darkroom Data have a tight and cohesive sound that is well crafted and layered to create a fluid, groovy listening experience. The track exudes moments of dynamic synth explosions which will coax you up to dance. ‘Hydrogen’ is a modern love story set to retro beats, ethereal synths and lush pop melodies and is a fine example of the compelling sound of Darkroom Data.
Singer-songwriter Elina Filice has released the music video for her most successful single yet, ’Thinking of You’ which has over 215k streams on Spotify.The video features several distinct locations in Toronto as well as vibrant colours, quick cuts, and creative camera work by Toronto-based filmmaker Phil Kim. The video is co-starred by Ally Cantalini. Born to Canadian parents, Elina spent her formative years in Singapore before moving to Canada to attend University. In September 2017 she moved to Dublin to pursue music more seriously, and completed two diplomas at BIMM Dublin. She has released an EP and several singles, and has gigged extensively both on her own and with her band, the Kicks. She founded Red Vine Music, a coaching and consulting service that helps artists and creative businesses with digital marketing, social media, and content strategies.
’Thinking of You’ is a cool slice of indie pop doused in hip hop elements as Elina Filice takes the listener down a lyrical rabbit hole of thought- provoking content. Her vocal delivery is similar to a scribbling of thoughts on paper or stream of consciousness. The jaunty mellow backdrop creates a chilled easy listening accompaniment while a zesty, funk-filled guitar radiates a sun kissed hue over the buoyant beat and jazz infused piano refrains. With sweet backing vocal coos, infectious vibrant chorus and intriguing storytelling, ‘Thinking of You’ marks Elina Filice as an artist to keep an eye on.
The video follows Elina on an adventure from Kensington Market, to the Island Ferry, to Toronto Island, and then finally back home to the bedroom.
About the track Elina says, “The song discusses themes of movement, travel, and adventure, so I wanted to capture that by shooting different scenes across the city.The song is verbose, rambling, and nostalgic, with thoughts and memories swirling and haunting. I wanted to capture that with the scenes cutting forward and back in time. I want viewers to wonder if the scenes with Ally are happening in real time or if they’re memories and flashbacks, and the journey is really happening alone.The video is pretty gay. It’s a little nerve-wracking to be this gay on camera, but… this is my life, this is my friends’ lives. Queer visibility is important, and as a creator, honest content like this is my way of fighting to normalize queerness and queer love. I think it’s important to recognize that feeling safe enough to be openly out, let alone shooting a music video like this, isn’t possible for a lot of queer people around the world.Queerness, especially between women, is usually blatantly oversexuallized, so I wanted the scenes between myself and Ally to be intimate and loving, and not at all sexual. There’s enough of that on the internet.”
Graham Mitchell has released his new single ‘I Don’t Have To’. Graham Mitchell is a singer songwriter from the town of Raheny on the Northside of Dublin. Having cut his teeth live on the local pub and club circuit, he recently finished up solo shows with major Irish artists like Damien Dempsey alongside two sold out shows last year in Whelan’s and the Workman’s Club.
‘I Don’t Have To’ is a catchy ditty, laced in Mitchell’s hearty songwriting and infectious indie rock. With jaunty guitar refrains, cheeky lyrics and buoyant rhythmic section the track will have your foot tapping in no time. Mitchell’s warm vocals melt upon the vibrant melody creating that fun energetic summertime atmosphere. The sheer sing-along upbeat tempo and shredding guitar moments make this track instantly likeable and light hearted. Graham Mitchell is growing his sound and refining his lyrical content superbly. Looking forward to hearing more from this up and coming artist.
Diamonds in the Dark have released their debut self-titled EP which was recorded between Liverpool’s Motor Museum studio by producer Loic Gaillard and 2flystudios in Sheffield with former Arctic Monkey’s producer Alan Smyth.Diamonds in the Dark have grown from a two-man songwriting project to a six-man energetic live act. Already gaining recognition from UK radio, the Merseyside band have been championed by Dave Monks on his BBC Introducing show. Dedicated to this release, Diamonds in the Dark spent a year perfecting their music and recording in different locations surrounding a live gig schedule.
A full bodied, cohesive body of work – ‘Diamonds in the Dark’ EP is a whirlwind journey through multiple genres and refined songwriting. Through five tracks the band explore themes of detachment, surrealism and romance within a number of styles including alt-rock, dream pop, psychedelia and 80s synth driven music. Shredding guitars, brawny drums and beefy bass grooves create the bands alternative rock assault with the aid of epic builds and punchy moments in ‘Getaway’ and ‘Bliss’.The blending of genres makes the EP fresh and engaging as each track holds its own character with powerful vocals and catchy melodies creating that earworm hook throughout each song. The contrasting 80’s synth driven ‘Humble Remarks’ gives a danceable disco vibe to the EP while the indie pop swoon of ‘Berlin’ wisps the tone of the EP into a romantic nostalgic daze. With twinkling guitars, steady beat and melancholic melody this track is quite the bittersweet gem. The band bring the EP to a close with ‘I Love The Way’. This dream-pop, indie-infused number is an emotional power ballad set to an ethereal backdrop with twinkling piano, 60’s – esque vibes and lush harmonies – it’s a sublime end to an eclectic EP.
Diamonds in the Dark present a powerful EP brimming with emotive tunes and sublime musicianship. Looking forward to hearing more from them.
Liverpool’s POLAR STATES have released their new single ‘Sellotape The Skies’. This is the bands second single recorded remotely during lockdown, working from their bedrooms, following, ‘2020’ which was championed by Huw Stephens and featured on Spotify’s Hot New Bands and Fresh Finds (Global). Since their formation the band have had strong support from Radio 1 including a feature on the best of BBC introducing playlist, entered Spotify’s Viral 50 Chart, and have played a number of major UK festivals, supporting Wolf Alice, The Japanese House, and Clean Cut Kid.
‘Sellotape The Skies’ is ethereal, anthemic and surging with gripping indie vibes. With raw biting guitars rushing through an intense sonic build the track erupts with kinetic adrenaline and invigorating indie rock. The soaring guitars flourish and ricochet off the buoyant punchy drums while the rooted bass lines create that hip coaxing groove.These guys always pack oodles of passion and youthful energy into their tracks and they have out done themselves with this new release. Exuding a catchy uplifting melody and smooth emotive vocals ‘Sellotape The Skies’ has that blood rushing state of suspense that is sure to spark something within the listener. The band build tension superbly through the verses before the powerful anthemic chorus bursts with jubilation of epic proportions. Robust and packing a hefty punch ‘Sellotape The Skies’ is a joy to listen too.
On the song and the experience of recording remotely, vocalist Paul Tong commented: “When I was a kid, I used to think Sellotape could fix anything. It even held my BMX together at one point, till someone stole it. I guess when you don’t really understand a problem, you think it can be fixed so easily. ‘Sellotape The Skies’ is like my way of going back to that simplicity.I wrote it at 3am in my bedroom in a bit of a hazy state. I woke up the next day and was like, ‘where did that song come from?’ It didn’t have a chorus for a while, and was more just like a big poem. It sat around unfinished for months, but we went back to it during lockdown and recorded remotely from our bedrooms. It’s weird releasing a song that we’ve never actually played together from start to finish. The lads were like, ‘we’re gonna get sued for this title’, but then we figured The Kinks sung about Coca Cola and they got away with it. “
Just A Jester has released his new single ‘Painted Lady’. Just A Jester is the solo project of Tim Whitaker. A musician of many talents and with an impressive music background, he plays/ records all of the instrumentals and takes responsibility for all engineering/production. After releasing the “Clear Blue” E.P. in Oct 2018, he secured global radio play and has since added 8 other singles to the Just A Jester project, 6 of which have reached the top 10 in various independent chart shows. Tim has recorded at Peter Gabriel’s studio “Real World”, where some of Peter’s band assisted with bass, sax and drums. Also Tim has had over 10 years of success with ‘The Whitaker Brothers’, a music project with his brother Simon. Their song ‘Good Love’ is still played on Planet Rock to this day and they previously supported Van Morrison at the Ivor Novello Song Awards, not to mention having played Glastonbury Acoustic several times.
‘Painted Lady’ is a sweet sun kissed tune set to a laid back groove, lush instrumentation and delicate musicianship. The smooth reverb vocals caress the dreamy melody while the buoyant rhythm and chiming guitars create little bursts of scintillation through the ethereal soundscape. There are psychedelic elements blended between the tender pop melodies to create quite the vibrant infectious track. ‘Painted Lady’ is another enjoyable release from the impressively talented Tim Whitaker.
Joe T. Johnson is back with his second single, ‘Friends’. The Bristol based Indie / Folk singer-songwriter recorded the track in a couple of wildly productive days. The song was produced by Lewis Bradshaw and mastered by Pete Maher (Patti Smith, Jack White, Rolling Stones, The Killers).Joe performed multiple times at Glastonbury Festival 2019, made his first international TV appearance and with his band ‘Hush Mozey’ performed at Bristol 02 Academy plus numerous plays by Steve Lamacq on his BBC 6 Show.
‘Friends’ is a sweet retro-hued ditty which showcases the smooth melancholic musicianship of Joe T. Johnson. With lush backing vocals, dreamy melody and Joe’s velvety warm vocals the track is a delicate rosy glow of indie pop. The song subtly builds as the 60’s toned guitar drifts through a catchy refrain providing a dash of edge to the smooth melody while the supple beat adds a sway like tempo. It’s an organic and delightfully laid back track from Joe T. Johnson. Looking forward to hearing more from this guy.
Isaac Butler has just released his highly anticipated new single ‘Change The Past’, produced by Philip Magee (Kodaline, The Script, The Academic), today. The release comes hot on the heels of recent radio hit ‘Paranoid’ which has racked up 4.86M impressions to date and broke into the Top 50 of the Overall Airplay Chart – at the time the only self released single in not only the Top 50 but the only self release in the Top 100 – as well as climbing to 13 in the Top 20 of the Irish Airplay Charts.’Paranoid’ was also chosen as ‘Song of the Week’ on 2FM’s Breakfast with Doireann and Eoghan and as the Select Irish ‘Track of the Month’ for June.Isaac Butler’s show at The Sound House is now rescheduled to 11 March 2021, with all original tickets valid for the new date. It is his second headline gig, having sold out his debut in Whelan’s last November and follows a jam-packed festival season in 2019, which saw Isaac Butler play a host of dates around the country including Electric Picnic and Kaleidoscope.
‘Change The Past’ builds on Isaac Butler’s cinematic pop as he continues to perfect his musicianship by spreading emotive earnest lyrics over synthesisers and lush melodies. Lamenting piano introduces the track which then blossoms into a smashing pop banger. With twinkling guitar, biting electronic soundscapes and trademark backing vocal hooks the song maintains that epic live audience sing-back the lyrics aesthetic we have come to know from Butler.
The passionate yearn of his vocal delivery distinguishes him from other aspiring songwriters as his velvety tone can croon like the best of them, however it’s in his hair raising dynamics for the mighty chorus where the power in his vocals truly shines. Butler captures timeless relatable moments within his songs whether it is candidly detailing the breakdown of a romantic relationship in ‘Paranoid’, that sense of freedom in ‘Young Forever’ or the gut twisting emotions which surface if one asks themselves the question “what if I had done this differently? ”- in ‘Change The Past’; Butler gives his unique view on these universal thoughts and emotions.
The track displays Butler’s knack for catchy dreamy melodies as it swoops and swirls sonically into an intense crescendo and an ending that will surely give you goosebumps. Isaac Butler is quite the impressive singer songwriter. His ability to create emotive music which is relatable to anyone who hears it is admirable. ‘Change The Past’ is another elevating and impressive track from Isaac Butler.
Speaking of ‘Change The Past’ Isaac Butler said: “I recorded the song in the Mill Studio’ with Phil Magee. This is the second track we’ve done and he’s become a great friend and mentor to me. He’s been so important in shaping my sound and I can’t thank him enough. He’s also just the nicest man in music. Doesn’t matter who you are/what you’ve done, Phil treats everyone the same. A legend in the Irish music scene!”
Watch the lyric video for ‘Change The Past’ below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
