The Rupees have released their new single ‘Mother Said’.The Rupees and their music has been showcased on BBC Radio 1 (Huw Stephens), BBC Radio 6 (Steve Lamacq), and Sky Sports (Soccer AM). The band have played Reading Festival, Glastonbury and Bristol Harbourfest, supporting bands such as Blossoms and The Growlers and selling out numerous headline shows,
‘Mother Said’ is a powerful indie ballad as The Rupees saturate their emotive songwriting in raw biting indie rock. With sharp guitar cutting into the dramatic soundscape the track has an anthemic rock ballad atmosphere. The song builds becoming more epic as the drums kick in while a bass rumbles throughout. Displaying strong growth the band pack a punch with this melancholic tune as they forge another whopping single for us to indulge.
Amahlie have released their debut album ‘Sentimental Animals’. Amahlie is a collaborative indie folk project brought to us by songwriter ‘Lucca Cardoso’, and an all-star cast of global musicians to bring his vision to life. While Amahlie is centered around Lucca’s intimate songwriting, his international bandmates provide orchestral flourishes and imaginative arrangements to give each song a sense of wonder and purpose.
‘Sentimental Animals’ is a mellow ambient album chiming with the sweet supple musicianship of Amahlie. Soft melodies drift upon intimate wispy soundscapes allowing each track to effortlessly flow into the next creating the ultimate easy listening experience. The album has a soothing quality as each song tells the story of a person who falls in love but is destroyed by their own anxieties. From the honest account in the elegant piano ballad ‘Avalanche’ through to the lush twinking guitar and innocent melody in ‘The Abyss’ Amahlie lays bare all the emotional twists and turns in a relationship.
The songs lift the listener up in a wave of passion and moving emotion through expressive and refined musicianship. Through meaningful songwriting, warm guitar moments, intricate bass and immaculate keys the songs address the complexities of life in an atmospheric and ethereal manner. The arrangements are airy and light while packing in oodles of emotion and tenderness causing a soothing cushion for the mind.
With folk elements glimmering through the plucked delicacy of ‘Two in the Morning’ Amahlie showcase another graceful aspect of their angelic indie soundscape. From the start right through to the last track ‘Wake-Up Call’ ( with its cosy glow on guitar and simplistic arrangement ) Amahlie take us on a journey of incredible happenings and intense realisations through the medium of evocative and magical musicianship. ‘Sentimental Animals’ is a wonderful album to treasure.
SODAPOP has released his new single ‘Looking Like That’. SODAPOP is the artist project of Kane Nania, a Santa Barbara, CA native who spent two years abroad working on songwriting and production. He lived in Thailand for 7 months and Serbia for a year in an effort to save money so he could focus solely on music. The first two singles released have picked up traction, landing on Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Bedroom Pop playlists,
‘Looking Like That’ is a catchy laid back gem which drifts effortlessly along SODAPOP’s luscious musicianship. His bedroom pop is infectious and upbeat as he lavishly spreads intricate danceable rhythms over sweet melodies while synths and zesty guitar refrains shimmer and sprinkle the track with sun kissed radiance. His smooth vocals are honey to the ears as he coos the catchy melody over a bubbling indie backdrop. ‘Looking Like That’ is meticulously layered and well produced with relatable songwriting. The mellow earworm melodies display just how talented Kane Nania is. ‘Looking Like That’ is a polished lustrous anthem, sure to brighten anyones day.
About the track Kane Nania said : “While I was living in Thailand honing my skills as a writer, I adopted this mindset that I felt a lot of the locals had, perhaps as a result of the Buddhist influence. For me it’s the idea of not letting negative outcomes in your life affect you too much emotionally. After leaving that beautiful country, I felt that mentality start slip away. This song is mostly a reminder to myself to not worry too much about the past (or the future). You hear that all the time, but the catharsis of writing this song helped me really reestablish that frame of mind.”
Jack West has released his new single ‘Forever’. The song was recorded remotely from Virginia, New York, Rochester and Seattle using ProTools and Logic with fellow band members and co-writers keyboardist Abe Nouri and drummer Matt Bent (both graduates of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Jack’s hometown) – along with Barrett Jones [Nirvana, Foo Fighters], who produced West’s debut album ‘For the Record’.
With a nostalgic 90’s alternative pop melody combined with an indie doused backing ‘Forever’ is a tune to treasure. The song shows natural growth and maturity to West’s sound as he builds the track slowly allowing it to blossom into a sweet indie pop delight. With light twinkling guitar and buoyant beat this track flows smoothly into the ears with subtle bursts of jubilation bubbling beneath a dreamy soundscape. West’s vocals are charming and confident as he warmly coos over the earworm melody. The track maintains a soaring guitar refrain that provides an ethereal quality to the song as West surges adrenaline, emotion and youthful bliss into this exceptionally crafted track.
Jack West is building his sound superbly bending and blending his rock origin into a sound that is truly special and passionate. Keep an eye on this dark horse.
Miles Graham‘s brand new single ‘Give It Up Now’ has been selected for the latest national Bank of Ireland television and radio ads, in addition to him announcing a live London show which will see him play The Grace, London on the 19 November 2020. His EP ‘All The Right Things’ is out now across all digital platforms.
Miles Graham’s latest track ‘Don’t Change’ resulted in him performing the single live on BBC Radio 5 and a stunning version of Dido’s Thank You, and picking up further airplay from BBC Introducing. It accelerated a fresh stage in the Irish singer-songwriter’s career, having previously scored international dance hits alongside Don Diablo and L’Tric, as well as being playlisted on BBC Radio 2 for his breakthrough moment ‘I Can’t Love You Again’.
The ‘All The Right Things’ EP was recorded in London with producer Paul Herman(Emeli Sandé, Dido, Corinne Bailey Rae), with string arrangements from the renowned Sally Herbert(Plan B, Usher, Duffy,Ellie Goulding, Florence + The Machine). It is a pop and retro-soul filled EP boasting Graham’s refined and passionate musicianship. Miles Graham uses deep grooves, intricate soundscapes and mellow guitar lines to create a unique collection of tracks. He is a truly unique and passionate artist with potent song writing sure to have you hooked with one listen.
I caught up with Dublin singer-songwriter Isaac Butler to chat about his recently released new single ‘Paranoid’ and how he’s keeping busy during lockdown.
‘Paranoid’ is a great track filled with summer vibes, rich instrumentation and Butler’s sweet musicianship however the lyrics have a melancholic tone that candidly details the breakdown of a romantic relationship. Hindsight gave Butler an easier perspective on the tracks theme providing him with the ability to take an upbeat stance musically on the topic
“It wasn’t a difficult song to write, no. I think it’s because it is brutally honest. I wrote it in like half an hour. I wrote it on an acoustic guitar.It’s a really simple song structurally.It’s brutally honest so I mean I wasn’t really looking for places to take the lyrics from and Its probably the most personal song I’ve released so far. Definitely the most honest. I wrote it about something that was so far back in my past so I wasn’t still personally affected by it. It was a nice song to write because it was so autobiographical.
I’ve listened to so many interviews of great songwriters and artists that I love. Brandon Flowers of The Killers is one of them and he says that something happens to him and then he has to take time to almost process it. Like say something happens the day before and you write a song, maybe sometimes that happens for some people but it doesn’t for me. An event might happen in my life or to a friend or to me and I would come back to that like six months later and that’s when the song seems to come because you write it from a place of hindsight. It’s not like you’re really happy about something that happened yesterday or you’re really sad and you write a super happy song or a super sad song, you have that time to reflect and get every angle into it. It’s funny because you listen to the song first and you think ‘oh ! It’s a happy summer song‘ but if you put it under the microscope and listen to the words and take away the production and stuff it’s actually really cynical which I love about it.
My favourite songs are the songs that are angry or sad songs that sound happy. You know the Shawn Mendes song ‘My Blood’, it’s super upbeat and even production wise there’s big guitar parts and it’s quite rocky with a festival feel but it’s a song about anxiety you know, it’s a dark song and it sounds great. The 1975 are so good at it.A lot of their songs sound really happy but their lyrics are actually almost shocking at times which I think is really interesting.That’s kind of what I try to do.I think it went well.”
‘Paranoid’ has an insanely catchy, electronic vocal hook that just sticks in your head all day. Butler told me how he came up with the hook and the process of making the features the track pivots around
“The day I wrote the song I demoed it up with Robert Grace, he produced the song.He also helped me write it. From the get go we had that hook, the do do do do and that’s actually just me talking into a mic and he kinda messed with it on the computer and we built the entire song around that. I like to call it catchy but I think it’s getting quite annoying for people.I think it’s one of these songs that doesn’t leave your head so people are loving it at the moment but I’m gonna fear for my email and my messages in like 10 months when people are sick of it and want me to shut up.Its funny but I love it. The electronic production was definitely a decision we made early on “
This isn’t Butler’s first time writing a vocal hook or melody that sticks firmly in your head. His knack with earworm melodies feature in nearly all his releases in some shape or form and he clearly has a talent for writing tracks that appeal to his listeners considering his previous releases ‘Moon Song’, ‘Rescue Me’ and ‘Young Forever’ have together racked up over 1 million streams on Spotify so far.
“ I really love having a hook. As of late I tend to write songs around a melodic hook or a chant. When we spoke last, when I released ‘Young Forever’ we talked about the ‘oh oh oh’ and I started with that for that song and I have another song coming out called We Were Alone and I wrote it around a line that said and ‘we were alone oh oh oh oh’, you know I love writing around a chant. For me the whole thing about doing this is doing it for the live show. Which is a bit bleak because there are no live shows now but I love creating that atmosphere in a room or at a festival or wherever, so people can hear something and by the time the second chorus comes around they know it.For me going to gigs, that’s what I love. Just being able to sing along. I don’t always do it and I don’t feel like I have to put in something like that but if I can I do like to do it.”
Even with the covid-19 lockdown Butler has still managed to record a music video for ‘Paranoid’. It hasn’t been easy for artists trying to create content and learning new IT skills while dealing with cancelled shows and festivals this summer. Butler’s headline show at The Sound House is now rescheduled to 9th October 2020, with all original tickets valid for the new date. It’s a difficult time to navigate through but Butler has taken it in his stride.
“ Well normally I would have my good friend Peter Barnes who has done every video so far, but I can’t meet him now unfortunately. So I shot it yesterday in my room. I won’t give too much away but it’s me in my room and there’s gonna be three of me in the video. It’s like three little Isaac’s interactions with each other. It could be dangerous but no it’s good. It’s fun and I shot it on my iphone and I did it myself with help from my family.It’s funny the Covid thing has forced me to learn how to do some of the stuff on my own. I would have alway gone to Peter, let’s say and he’s still editing the video for me but I shot it myself. Even all the graphics for ‘Paranoid’ and the promo graphics for before the song came out I did myself and that was just because I was forced to learn how to do it, which is great!
I felt kind of terrible about things at the start of this because I had to postpone a headline show and had all my festivals cancelled, I had a Kodaline support slot lined up for June for one of their Olympia shows. It would have been amazing, it would have been my first time in the Olympia in front of a sold out crowd. You know it’s a similar kind of music, I think the crowd would have enjoyed it, I would have loved it obviously. So that was a bit of a kick in the teeth but listen everyones in the same boat and I’m in no way complaining but it was definitely a bit of a blow because I’ve spent the last two years building and then when things finally started to happen I’m swept under my feet a bit and that was tough to take but I’ve been productive in other areas. The live shows are gone but I’ve been writing loads, creating content and figuring things out. I’ve got a new logo made , I did my first brand collaboration with River Island and that was really cool. I did some live streams with you guys. I did one with Hot Press. I’m keeping busy you know but I’m buzzing to get back out playing live. I’m excited because all of these new songs I just want to test them out.”
So here we all are in a crazy lockdown pandemic and Butler is whacking out wonderful live and acoustic versions of his tracks on his social media with a sublime Ukulele version of Paranoid most recently. He is becoming quite the tech savvy pro at it at this stage. His content is to a very high standard with wonderful background settings.
“Oh I’m not tech savvy at all. I should be but really I’m not. I’m living at home and I’m the eldest of five so I have two sisters and two brothers and I’ve got my mum and dad here so they are all keen to help.It gets them off the couch.We’ve got a little stone sort out-house thing at the back and it’s really lovely for the live streams. It’s nice for me and keeps the content fresh so I’m not just in my room or whatever. It’s nice especially in the long evenings when the sun goes in a bit and I put up fairy lights and candles and it creates a nice little atmosphere.”
One perk to being able to do the live streams is that fans still get to hear some exclusive unreleased songs. There are a lot of comments from fans during Butler’s live streams asking what songs he will release next. At the moment Butler is focusing on Paranoid but is thinking of which of his many unreleased tunes is next to be released.
“ It’s tricky. I mean ‘Paranoid’ came out about three weeks ago.I’m still going to let that one breathe. It’s funny because you put in so much effort for the pre-promotion for a song and then you put it out and it’s out and you have to then keep going after it. As in let’s say for my first release ‘Moon Song’ nothing really happened for 3 or 4 months and then it got picked up by a TV show so there is all that kind of stuff, especially because in the initial push on ‘Paranoid’, people seem to like it and radio really like it which is great. It got 2fm track of the week with Eoghan McDermott and Doireann which was amazing and it also got selected for FM104 Select Irish for the whole month of June so that also kicks in next week.So I’m just going to see how that goes and ride that little wave for a little while.The video is going to be out hopefully next Friday, if not the Friday after, so that will be an extra little push.
I’m going to let Paranoid breathe a bit. Yeah I have songs ready, it’s just about picking which one. People seem to like ‘Good Enough’. See this is where it’s tricky for someone trying to establish themself..do I put out another song that’s like Paranoid or do I put out another song that I love, it’s tricky to know. There’s loads of new people liking Paranoid so do I stick to that style for the next one? To be honest, I think no. I think I’ll put out the music that I love and that I think is great. It’s quite difficult now to really establish yourself with the whole streaming world. You know the way people are releasing singles instead of albums and EP’s. I think that is great because you can play around with different sounds like what I have done with Paranoid.
Paranoid is a really different song to Young Forever. It’s nice though it leaves doors open.It means I can mess around with things. I was always thinking do I have to be confined to one particular sound or genre and I just don’t think you do anymore. With the singles I think you can bring out two completely different songs and it not be weird. I write lots of different types of songs and I don’t think I should suppress that. If I write a pop song I shouldn’t be afraid to put synths behind that or if I write a band song like Young Forever I’m not afraid to put out a song like that.You can do it all live so why not? You do run the risk of confusing people but I don’t really think it’s an issue. If I think about it too much I will freak myself out. But it’s going really well and I’m going to just keep going.
So what has Isaac Butler got planned for the rest of lockdown?
“Well the rest of the never ending lockdown, I dont know. I’m going to keep going with the Paranoid stuff. I’m doing a couple of writing sessions a week whether its myself or with other people just to keep building my live reel of songs so when I need them they are there.I don’t think I’ll ever be scrambling for songs because I have spent the last three years writing and I do have a lot of songs that I believe in and I think will see the light of day eventually but yeah I think my plans for now are just keep going as I am and look towards maybe doing some sort of gig like a social distance kind of Covid gig in September/October. Have you seen the Gavin James Drive In thing he is doing? Obviously Gavin has that massive audience and he is like super established and I’m a huge Gavin fan so I’ll probably go to that but I think I’m definitely toying with the idea of that but to a smaller scale.There are people who want to come to a show so I want to do one. Even if it’s like 20 cars in a car park. Something like that could be cool.So I’m putting my attention to that.So basically, keep the Paranoid dream alive,then the follow up song figure that out and sort the campaign for that and then maybe look towards doing an outdoor gig somewhere”
Isaac Butler is a singer songwriter who writes catchy, heartfelt tracks and it’s great to see his live streams present his wonderful tunes through the perfect medium that is his voice and guitar (or Ukulele at times). I’m sure when everything is back to normal his live shows are going to be hot topics of discussion. If he pulls off that drive in show I will be there for sure!
We sat down to have a chat with Isaac Butler in The Library Bar at Central Hotel Dublin. We talked about how he crafts his songs and his inspirations as well as how he likes to conduct his shows. Isaac also performed two acoustic tracks for us ‘Young Forever’ and ‘Good Enough’ check them out below.
Isaac Butler has just released his eagerly anticipated new single ‘Young Forever’ – produced by Philip Magee (Kodaline, The Script, The Academic). It follows previous singles ‘Moon Song’ and ‘Rescue Me’ which have racked up 1 million streams on Spotify. ‘Young Forever’ follows a jam-packed 2019 which saw Isaac Butler play a sold out headline show in Whelan’s and a host of festival dates around the country including Electric Picnic and Kaleidoscope.As well as gearing up to head back into the studio, Isaac Butler is set to take to the stage for his second headline show at The Sound House, Dublin on Friday 3rd April having sold his debut headline show in Whelan’s last November.
‘Young Forever’ boasts Isaac Butler’s heartfelt songwriting as he drenches a climactic sing-along chorus in anthemic soundscapes. With a pulsing beat driving the adrenaline-filled tension the track builds beautifully into its wholesome chorus. It’s a cinematic burst of musicianship that is sure to spark careless indulgence in all who hear it while creating a freeing sense of euphoria. With ethereal guitars and exhilarating backing vocals ‘Young Forever’ is quite the catchy radio-ready gem.
Speaking of ‘Young Forever’ Isaac Butler said: “I was delighted to get the opportunity to work with the incredibly talented Irish producer Philip Magee on ‘Young Forever’. To me the song is about a time in my life with no worries and no responsibilities and I really feel we captured that sense of freedom.”
Dublin soul-infused pop-funk sextet Toshín have released their new single ‘Knock Knock’, taken from their upcoming debut EP ‘Get Your Life’ which is set for release on the 14th of February. Over the last few years, Toshín have played some amazing shows and festivals including Beat Yard festival (2019), Electric Picnic (2019), Body & Soul Mainstage (2019), and Music Makers Festival UK (2019). They have played headline shows in the Workmans for a single launch, Sin E for their 3rd birthday party, alongside Munky in Lost Lane, and alongside Shookrah in the Kino in Cork.
‘Knock Knock’ is a soulful passionate number that boasts the exquisite first rate musicianship of Toshín. This band have a tight, chic and polished sound brimming with emotion and power which translates superbly in this elegant and classy track. The song builds beautifully from a soft emotional and delicate intro to a funky outburst as the band keep the track intriguing throughout. The majestic twinkling guitar weaves gracefully with a lamenting tone while the rich rhythm, brass elements and jazz tonality inject a dash of sass into this tantalizing track. With lush harmonies the band pack oodles of gusto, emotion and instrumental prowess into ‘Knock Knock’. The guitar melodies in particular are outstanding – they flood the track with tender, vaporous and intoxicating characteristics while subtly sweetening each component and melodious fragment at the same time. Tosin Bankole’s vocals rein in the vibrant instrumental backdrop with compelling control. Her vocals display rich depths and warm tones for the powerful chorus while cooing softly and soulfully through the verses. Her vocal control is mesmerising and lifts the track into diva heights. This is one very talented band with music which can ignite the soul. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.
About the track Tosin Bankole said : “Knock Knock for me is about struggling through a bad mental health episode. The song has a darkness to it, not just lyrically but also within the music. It has some more upbeat sections, however, that represent how music got me through those bad times. It’s a really therapeutic song to sing live!”
Toshin will be embarking on an Irish Tour between February and March to promote this new EP. Their tour will culminate in a headline show in Dublin at the Grand Social on March 12th.
Sheffield’s based four piece indie rock band The Rosadocs have released their new single ‘Concrete’.The live reputation of the band is growing fast, with good reason. So far they have sold out not only their own shows but have played alongside The Pigeon Detectives, Twisted Wheel, Glass Caves, Vida, PLANET, Oddity Road and Louis Berry. The Rosadocs have recently sold out their hometown headline show at the 500 capacity Sheffield O2 Academy 2. After playing Festival slots at Tramlines (Main arena) and YNOT? and support slot in Leeds on The Sherlocks upcoming album tour. The Rosadocs have announced their fourth headline show in Sheffield to follow on February 15th 2020 at the 900 capacity Leadmill.
‘Concrete’ presents The Rosadocs’ vibrant indie sound complete in all its youthful bliss. Intricate sweet guitar lines blaze and flicker throughout providing a zesty electrifying burst of adrenaline through the punchy rhythmic backdrop. The track flows smoothly through the passionate melody and laid back tempo creating an effortless cruising listen. ‘Concrete’ is catchy and builds superbly to the blistering chorus as the lush backing vocals and melty melody are charming and instantly likeable. With warm raspy vocals and a radiant energetic wall of sound The Rosadocs flesh out their dynamic indie rock and channel it into a heart thumping anthem. These guy are ones to keep an eye on.
Stream ‘Concrete’ below
Author : Danu
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
