Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff

NEW MUSIC: Of Monsters and Men

2012-02-10T16:35:00.004Z

Here's a gang who haven't been featured on Rarities before. Of Monsters and Men are a six-piece indie-folk band from lovely Iceland, who in 2010 won Músikilraunir, the country's annual music competition.

Of Monsters and Men have already had major success in the United States since their song 'Little Talks' was recorded live over the 2010 Iceland Airwaves festival by Seattle-based radio station KEXP. In August 2011, the song was also debuted on Philadelphia station Radio 104.5, and quickly went into heavy rotation due to an overwhelmingly positive response by music listeners. This led to the band picking up a record deal with Universal Republic Records.

The mild-mannered six pack released their EP, Into the Woods, on December 2011 and are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album, set for release later this year. 'Little Talk' is the first official single from Of Monsters and Men and is available to download now on iTunes. Check out the stunning new video below.

Follow Of Monsters and Men on Facebook here.

The Purple Sessions Re-launch in Boyle's of Slane

2012-02-09T18:36:00.002Z

Presented by the Last2Leave Music & Video Promotions in association with 2UIBestow, a music blog independently run by Peter Nagle, The Purple Sessions will once again bring a fine selection of music to the intimate and charming venue Boyle's, located in the heart of Ireland's original rock village, Slane.

Re-launching on the evening of 24th February with a line-up that includes Dublin band The Riot Tapes, Waterford's Marc O'Reilly, up and coming Cork singer-songwriter Polly Barrett and Meath native Rory Bowens, The Purple Sessions will also provide an excellent opportunity for bands to purchase a high quality mastered ‘In Session’ video, which will give the acts a solid platform to reach new audiences through YouTube and other video streaming sites.

For more information on The Purple Sessions, have a look-see here. To find out more about 'In Session', try here, and for more on the 60-capacity venue of Boyle's in Slane, have a gander at this.

Check out Peter Nagle's brilliant Irish music blog, 2UIBestow, here.

Lana Del Rey Unveils Tracklisting for Forthcoming Album

2012-01-11T12:56:00.004Z

2011 wonder and 2012's most heavily-tipped One to Watch artist, Lana Del Rey has just recently revealed the tracklisting for her highly anticipated album Born to Die.

Having generated a colossal amount of internet and media buzz with one of 2011's finest singles, 'Video Games', the singer has been propelled into the spotlight in the last number of months. Her new album will feature the above-mentioned track 'Video Games', as well as the album's title track and a feast of other singles already available on YouTube, including 'Off to the Races' and 'Blue Jeans'.

Media speculation regarding her manufactured image and music aside, this lady's "debut" should be a cracker.

Born to Die drops January 30th.

Tracklisting:

Born To Die
Off To The Races
Blue Jeans
Video Games
Diet Mountain Dew
National Anthem
Dark Paradise
Radio
Carmen
Million Dollar Man
Summertime Sadness
This Is What Makes Us Girls

Rarities' Top 20 Song Picks of 2011

2012-01-03T15:33:00.002Z

The songs that were on repeat on MyPod in 2011...

20. Charlene Soraia - 'Wherever You Will Go'

19. Adele - 'Someone Like You'

18. The Horrors - 'Still Life'

17. Foster the People - 'Pumped Up Kicks'

16. Anna Calvi - 'Blackout'

15. Laura Marling - 'Sophia'

14. Noah and the Whale - 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N'

13. James Blake - 'The Wilhelm Scream'

12. St. Vincent - 'Surgeon'

11. Feist - 'How Come You Never Go There'

10. Fleet Foxes - 'Helplessness Blues'

9. Florence + the Machine - 'Shake It Out'

8. The Black Keys - 'Lonely Boy'

7. Lykke Li - 'Get Some'

6. Lisa Hannigan - 'Knots'

5. The Staves - 'Mexico'

4. Ryan Adams - 'Lucky Now'

3. Bon Iver - 'Holocene'

2. James Blake - 'A Case of You'

1. Lana Del Rey - 'Video Games'

Rarities' Top 30 Album Picks of 2011

2012-01-01T16:34:00.004Z

This year has been an incredible year for music, both in our homeland and abroad. Here's a list of my personal favourite releases of the last twelve months. These are the albums that, at one time or another (or constantly!), gave me solace and smiles in 2011.

30. Austra - Feel It Break

29. Beirut - The Rip Tide

28. The Antlers - Burst Apart

27. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?

26. Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!

25. Gemma Hayes - Let It Break

24. The Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

23. The Horrors - Skying

22. Jape - Ocean of Frequency

21. Tom Waits - Bad As Me

20. Adele - 21

19. Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials

18. ASIWYFA - Gangs

17. Foster the People - Torches

16. Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm

15. Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

14. Noah and the Whale - Last Night on Earth

13. Wild Beasts - Smother

12. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See

11. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

10. Feist - Metals

9. The Black Keys - El Camino

8. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

6. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

5. Lisa Hannigan - Passenger

4. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Rain

3. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

2. James Blake - James Blake

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
(Stream the entire Bon Iver album here)

Happy New Year, everyone!

SETLIST: Mick Flannery - Dolan's Warehouse, 28th December 2011

2011-12-30T22:34:00.001Z

On Wednesday night, Mick Flannery played a stellar gig at Limerick's Dolan's Warehouse. The Blarney stonemason treated fans to songs from both his debut concept album, Evening Train, and his sophomore offering, White Lies, as well as a selection of new tracks from his forthcoming third studio release.

Mick's trademark husky voice was as captivating as ever; powerful, gravelly and almost pained, it really is something you have to hear live to appreciate fully. He moved with ease between piano and acoustic guitar, with his trademark self-deprecating wit keeping the audience entertained throughout.

As an extra special treat, Mick had brought along Shane Fitzsimons on bass, who added a particularly stunning sound to the incredible set. Shane has most recently worked with Lisa Hannigan on her Passenger album and live tour.

Mick Flannery's new album is expected to drop in early spring. For more see www.mickflannery.com.

SETLIST

Take It On The Chin

Boston

Smiling Girl

Do Me Right

Who Loves Who

Tomorrow's Paper

Red to Blue

Up On That Hill

Near Or Far

Ships in the Night

Safety Rope

Heartless Man

Wish You Well

Wait Here

Tender

Get That Gold

What Do You See

In The Gutter

Encore

Arise Now

Rebel

Christmas Past

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: Charlene Soraia's 'Wherever You Will Go'

2011-12-12T19:20:00.004Z

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: A feature paying tribute to rare songs, great b-sides, fantastic covers and bonus tracks, or anything else that catches my eye, or my ear rather.

I haven't mentioned Charlene Soraia on Rarities before. To be honest, I hadn't heard of her or sampled any of her music until I was going along in the car with my friend Claire and her gorgeous take on The Calling's 'Wherever You Will Go' came on the radio.

Soraia, who is know for her cover of the song, is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter based in London. Having picked up her first guitar at the age of five, Soraia is musically self-taught and already has three EPs under her belt. She has just released her debut studio album, Moonchild, a beautifully rich alternative-folk affair that will surely cement her as one of the finest new talents for 2012.

Soraia's version of 'Wherever You Will Go' is a fine example of when an already great song is taken and carefully moulded into something even better. With it's moving piano accompaniment and this lady's pure and emotive tones, Soraia's rendition is simply stunning.

Feast your ears:

Charlene Soraia plays Dublin's Sugar Club on 29th April, further information on which can be found here. Stalk Soraia on Facebook here.

INTERVIEW: Bell X1

2011-11-27T15:03:00.005Z

To say Bell X1 are a busy and committed bunch of lads would be like saying bears like to deposit excrement in wooded areas. Ireland's favourite homegrown band have been on the music scene for well over a decade now, entertaining their flock of fans with their energetic and experimental live performances. As well as touring extensively the world over, the band have spent their twenties laying down tracks in the studio (they have five studio albums under their belts to date), making countless TV appearances, both at home and abroad, and raising an abundance of dough for charitable organisations. This year they met the co-creator and President of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, when they performed live from the roof of the Facebook building in Dublin, and are notably famous in the US for having their track, 'Eve, the Apple of my Eye', played over a scene from hit teen drama, The O.C., where two hot young ones locked lips. Not bad for a bunch of lads from Kildare, eh?

2011 saw Bell X1 release their fifth studio album, Bloodless Coup, a collection of great songs which showed the band experimenting with a more electronically infused, atmospheric sound. Regarded by many as their best work to date, the album is brimming with infectious rythyms, buzzing synths, lush balladry and a generous helping of the same irresistible toe-tapping quality we have come to love from the boys.

Despite being completely tied up in their recent US tour, Paul Noonan et al were kind enough to answer a few questions for me in honour of Birthday Week on Rarities. Well, in fairness, they are rumoured to be awfully nice guys; they once bought my friend Laina's Mam a cup of coffee after one of their gigs. True story. Anyway, here's what the lovely and talented lads had to say for themselves.

Elaine: Obviously there has been a shift in the band - with Brian leaving just over three years ago and the addition of Marc and Rory – but there’s definitely a more electronic feel to the last two albums you have released. Is there was a particular influence that's taking your music the way it's gone lately?

BellX1: Marc and Rory had been playing in the band for a few years and it became obvious from early on that the spirit and invention that they brought to the table live would be an exciting thing all around for what would become BC [Bloodless Coup]. With the change of direction, to be honest, we've never really been a band to consciously manipulate a song, or album into a preconceived shape. We try to serve the song and let the music that we've been listening to, trickle into and influence our music. The degrees of change from album to album is somewhat blurred when you're in the middle of the process.

Elaine: Bloodless Coup was recorded differently in that all five of you guys went into the studio and played through the songs once the red button was pushed. Was everything pretty much locked down before you went into the studio with no time for arsing about?

Bell X1: We had made every album up until BC with some degree of the 'patchwork quilt' approach. When we were doing takes on these early records, there were always parts that we had to imagine when recording. We'd realise those parts afterwards. With BC, we were a five piece band that spent more time in pre-production. Working out keys of songs, arrangements, tempos etc. We wanted to capture the 'band live in a room' energy. We tried to make as many decisions as possible before the hitting the studio. In saying that, some songs such as 'Nightwatchmen' actually changed considerably from pre-production once under the microscope of the studio. One never really can be sure.

Elaine: How did you find working in that way with Rob Kirwan?

Bell X1: Considering he's a Man U fan, he is actually quite the dude. Rob came on board from pre-production. It was shocking to us procrastinators just how quickly we were getting through the basic backing tracks with Rob. Rob didn't feel the necessity to force his stamp on any song. He allowed the band to breathe and would get what he wanted from you. A Gent.

Elaine: There’s a distinctive voice in your songs. There's always a very Irish voice and a touch of really dry humour, while some songs, like ‘Sugar High’ and ‘Reacharound’ are quite political. Is that something that comes through naturally or is it a mission of the band to capture the “Irishness” or speak out about our brown envelope culture, for example?

Bell X1: Is it the new rebel song? Political commentary with a hint of 'Irishness'. Relayed in the same blunt manner in which our leaders screwed us. Perhaps it's because us Irish have a certain 'way with words'. There is also the long standing tradition of Irish songs being musical stories. Perhaps this has been absorbed by osmosis.

Elaine: During some of your live performances you’ve lashed a bit of ‘Hey Ya’ into ‘I'll See Your Heart’, and you guys have regularly sung bits of the Beatles, Talking Heads, Johnny Cash, Flaming Lips (to name a few), in the middle of your own songs. And there's often some little tribute to someone in the bits of songs you do. Is it a conscious decision to do this or is it just that you randomly hear songs that fit really well within your beats and think, “Yeah, let’s throw that in there”?

Bell X1: It's fun to cro-bar a tune that's rocked your world into your own songs. It can breathe new life into a song and bring it to funky town. It's great watching peoples reaction when we segway into an interpretation of a cover.

Elaine: On December 17th you guys are doing a charity gig for the Capuchin Day Centre. You’ve done work for Oxfam before (The Cake Sale album) and for various other causes (the Bam orphanage for example). Do you feel a responsibility to do that kind of thing?

Bell X1: I think it's more important than ever nowadays for everyone to do what they can.

Elaine: How do you choose what to commit to?

Bell X1: The midnight at the Olympia gig is for Capuchin Day Centre on Bow street in Dublin. It's where Rocky (of 'Rocky took a Lover') for many years received food, shelter and support. These guys at the Capuchin Day Centre are really on the front line with helping people in similar situations to Rocky.

Elaine: You guys have been doing this for 12 years now (apologies for hinting at your age!). Does it all still feel as exciting now as it did back then? Are you still having as much fun?

Bell X1: Yes, we're still having a ball. Living the dream baby! It's work too though. It's still really inspiring touring in new and exciting cities and all the time playing to a growing audience. There is always new unchartered territory.

Catch Bell X1 live at The Big Top in Limerick on Friday 2nd December and at the Olympia, Dublin for a special midnight show on Saturday 17th December. For a full list of upcoming Irish tour dates, get yourself over to www.bellx1.com.

A massive thank you to my friend, Bell X1 Superfan Laina O'Neill, for her help with this interview. If the band were ever to award a fan the title of Gig Frequenter/Stalker, Laina would win hands down.

WIN: Tickets to The Workman’s Club New Year's Eve Extravaganza!

2011-11-27T11:57:00.003Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winner, Brian Power.

This week my music blog turn two! For the final competition in honour of the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have a pair of tickets for The Workman Club's incredible New Year's Eve festivities up for grabs. With performances from Le Galaxie, Funeral Suits, Tieranniesaur, Last Days of 1984 and many more, this will be a memorable and fun-filled way to ring in 2012.

The Workman's Club has had an incredible year. From Anna Calvi to Villagers, Rubberbandits to Gold Panda, as well as tucking a 1st birthday firmly under their belt, the Dublin venue has knocked out gig after banging gig. So (in their own words), in order to give their last 12 months a farewell party worthy of a decade, they've planned a New Year's Eve extravaganza "so downright dirty and sweatily delightful that even the most lascivious of Romans would be appalled". And, with thanks to the lovely folks at The Workman's Club, you and a significant other can be there too!

Festivities kick off in the venue from 8pm on Saturday December 31st, with the amps up high and the lights down low as the band take to the stage for back to back live performances.

To be in with a chance to win, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

2. Then either "like" the relevent competition post on Facebook (find it on Rarities' page here - you may have to scroll down) OR email your name and contact telephone number to elaineDOTkirwanATgmailDOTcom with "NYE Competition" in the subject line.

Competition closes at midnight on Monday 5th December. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified the following Tuesday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

And don't forget to enter Rarities' other competitions for Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, O Emperor, Mick Flannery and Declan O'Rourke tickets, all of which can be found here.

For more information on this event see www.theworkmansclub.com or find these folks on Facebook here.

WIN: Tickets to See Mick Flannery Live!

2011-11-25T15:50:00.003Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winner, Claire Ryan.

This week sees my music blog turn two! For Day 5 of the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have a pair of tickets for Mick Flannery's upcoming gig at Dolan's Warehouse on Wednesday 28th December.

To be in with a chance to win, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

Competition closes at midnight on Sunday 4th December. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified the following Monday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

And don't forget to enter Rarities' other competitions for Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, O Emperor tickets and Declan O'Rourke tickets, all of which can be found here.

Read my interview with Mick Flannery here.

Here's 'In the Gutter', taken from Mick's 2007 debut album, Evening Train. For more information, news and tour dates see www.mickflannery.com.

WIN: Tickets to See Declan O'Rourke Live!

2011-11-24T10:25:00.004Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winner, Erica Mitchell.

This week sees my music blog turn two! For Day 4 of the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have a pair of tickets for Declan O'Rourke's upcoming gig at Dolan's Warehouse on Saturday 3rd December.

To be in with a chance to win, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

Competition closes at midnight on Wednesday 30th November. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified the following Thursday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

And don't forget to enter Rarities' other competitions for Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan and O Emperor tickets, which can be found here.

Here's 'Whatever Else Happens', taken from Declan's 2007 album Big Bad Beautiful World. For more information, news and tour dates see www.declanorourke.com.

Limerick's Local Musical Talent to Feature on Charity Compilation Album

2011-11-23T19:20:00.004Z

Limerick is rife with some brilliant talent at the moment, with a feast of bands enriching the music scene with their sounds. Keith Kelly of local music blog Indie Limerick has decided to pay homage to Limerick's musical talent by creating a compilation album encompassing a selection of songs by the city's best known and most loved bands.

In 1990 an album was put together by the Limerick label Xeric records, which included music by many of its local bands. Now Keith aims to recreate the magic of the great compilation with a new album, New Reindeer Age, which features some of the original cohort of music talent and also showcases some young, unsigned bands that are relatively new to the scene.

The 22-track CD will be launched on Saturday 3rd December in Dolan's in Limerick, with a number of the bands featured on the album performing live on the night. A press night will also be held in O'Connells Bar on Little Ellen Street in Limerick tomorrow night. Money raised from New Reindeer Age will go towards the wonderful work being carried out at the Limerick Learning Hub, an organisation that is carrying out invaluable work with the youth of the city.

A limited number of copies (500) will be available to buy at the album launch and in various places throughout the city, including HMV, Dolan's, O'Connell's Bar, Aubars and many more.

Bands featured on the album are:

202s

Animal Beats

Birdthistle

Brad Pitt Light Orchestra

Dead Red Light

dREA

Eamonn hehir

Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters

Fred

Hermitage Green

Keith Forde

Moscow Metro

Peter O'Malley

Protobaby

Randolf

Seneca

Siobhán O'Brien

Supermodel Twins

Theme Tune Boy

Vertigo Smyth

Walter Mitty & The Realists

Windings

Be sure to go along to the launch night and pick up your copy of the album to support a good cause and keep the Limerick music scene alive and kick-assing. For further information on the album, visit its Facebook page here.

WIN: Tickets to See Lisa Hannigan Live!

2011-11-23T12:35:00.003Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winner, Liam Ryan.

This week sees my music blog turn two! For Day 3 of the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have a pair of tickets for Lisa Hannigan's upcoming gig at Dolan's Warehouse on Sunday 18th December.

To be in with a chance to catch lovely Lisa live, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

Competition closes at midnight on Wednesday 30th November. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified the following Thursday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

And don't forget to enter Rarities' other competitions for Bell X1 and O Emperor tickets, which can be found here.

Here's the brand new video for 'Little Bird', taken from Lisa's sophomore studio album Passenger. For more information, news and tour dates see www.lisahannigan.ie.

WIN: Tickets to See O Emperor Live!

2011-11-22T15:32:00.003Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winners.

This week sees my music blog turn two! For Day 2 of the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have two pairs of tickets to give away for O Emperor's last gigs of 2011; one pair for their appearance at Triskel Church in Cork (with support from Hush War Cry) on December 16th, and another pair for their Button Factory gig in Dublin (with support from Katie Kim) on December 17th.

To be in with a chance to win, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

Make sure to state which gig you'd like to attend (either Cork or Dublin) in the comments section below the Facebook post or in your email.

Competition closes at midnight on Tuesday 29th November. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified next Wednesday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

You can read my recent interview with O Emperor here. For more on the band see www.oemperor.com.

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: Markéta Irglová & Sean Rowe Sing 'Birds'

2011-11-21T20:50:00.002Z

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: A feature paying tribute to rare songs, great b-sides, fantastic covers and bonus tracks, or anything else that catches my eye, or my ear rather.

Currently taking a brief break from collaborating with The Frames' Glen Hansard as one half of music project The Swell Season, Markéta Irglová has spent the last number of months working on her debut solo album Anar, which was released on October 19th on Anti Records.

The Czech singer-songwriter has been spending the last number of weeks on tour with folk singer-songwriter and musician Sean Rowe, and recently collaborated on a duet of 'Birds', written and originally performed by the legendary Neil Young. Rowe's gritty yet soothing baritone offer a poignant take on the song, while Irglová's stunning vocals compliment him perfectly.

With thanks to NPR, you can check out their moving rendition here.

Adele to Release Live DVD Later This Month

2011-11-21T20:46:00.003Z

Recorded during the period when she was soaring high on the wave of success with her sophomore album 21, Adele will release Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a concert film and live album recorded at the historic London venue, on 29th November.

The DVD features the full 90-minute performance, plus special behind the scenes footage shot throughout that day, as well as an exclusive live CD of the entire show. This is the first time all of Adele’s best loved songs from both her debut and sophomore releases will be included on one CD. It will also include her stunning takes on Bonnie Riatt’s 'I Can’t Make You Love Me' and The Steeldrivers' 'If It Hadn’t Been For Love'.

According to the folks at NPR, one of the performance's most powerful moments comes when Adele performs her heartrending rendition of Bob Dylan's 'Make You Feel My Love' as a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

Watch the emotional clip below:

WIN: Tickets to See Bell X1 Live!

2011-11-21T14:15:00.005Z

This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered

and congratulations to our winner, Marie Phelan.

This week sees my music blog turn two! To kick off the birthday celebrations on Rarities this week, I have a pair of tickets for Bell X1's upcoming "Live at the Big Top" gig at Limerick's Milk Market on Friday 2nd December, with support from Jape (find the event on Facebook here).

To be in with a chance to win, just do the following:

1. You must be a fan of Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff on Facebook;

Competition closes at midnight on Sunday 27th November. The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified next Monday morning via Rarities' Facebook page.

Good luck everybody!

Here's the brand new video for 'Sugar High', taken from Bell X1's 2001 album Bloodless Coup. For more information, news and tour dates see www.bellx1.com.

Video: Fionn Regan Sings 'North Star Lover' with The Staves

2011-11-20T22:14:00.001Z

I found a lovely treat for you all to feast your ears on this evening: Mercury Award-winning singer-songwriter Fionn Regan's recent performance of 'North Star Lover' with Rarities' new favourite all-female band, folk trio The Staves.

The Staves, made up of sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, joined Fionn Regan in May for his one-off solo show at the Slaughtered Lamb in Swords, Dublin, bringing their distinctively British folk sound to the venue.

In the below video, Fionn performs 'North Star Lover' accompanied by the girls in the Workman's Club, Dublin. The song appears on 100 Acres of Sycamore, Fionn's thrid studio album and the follow-up to his critically acclaimed sophomore release, The Shadow of an Empire. The video is directed by the brilliant Myles O'Reilly, whose talent can be seen in the latest videos for songs from Lisa Hannigan's new studio album, Passenger, and in the video for James Vincent McMorrow's 'We Don't Eat'.

Blending Fionn's pure vocals and his atmospheric and mesmerising sound with The Staves' beautifully layered and lush harmonies, this performance is stunning:

For more on The Staves see my post here.

Rarities Turns Two: Gig Ticket Giveaways

2011-11-20T21:30:00.002Z

This week sees my blog hit the (hopefully not so) terrible twos! On 23rd November 2009 I wrote my very first post for Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, speaking about my love of sounds and tipping James Vincent McMorrow as the next big thing in Irish music.

This week, in celebration of Rarities' birthday, I will be giving away a number of tickets for upcoming gigs this December. If you'd like to be notified of these competitions and be in with a chance to win, make sure you are a fan of my blog on Facebook for all the details on how to enter.

You can find Rarities here.

Tell your friends and stay tuned!

NEW MUSIC: The Staves

2011-11-10T10:28:00.003Z

Photograph by Thomas J Speight

Here on Rarities, I am all about the female voice in music. From female singer-songwriters to female-fronted bands, lots of talented ladies have caught my eye since I started this blog over two years ago, and this next bunch of new faces is no different.

The Staves are Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, three sisters in their early 20s from Watford in the U.K. Some things to note about these lovely ladies: They went to school with Rarities favourite, indie-pop songstress Kyla La Grange (read my posts on her here); they have provided backing vocals for recent albums by the likes of Tom Jones and Fionn Regan; they were the support act for the brilliant Mumford and Sons on their US tour; and legendary producers Glyn and Ethan Johns (who have spent heaps of their studio time with folks like the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon and Laura Marling, to name just a few) were such big fans of their sound that they both independently tracked them down and decided to share production duties on their forthcoming 2012 debut album, the first time the father and son have done that. Impressive stuff, no?

The Staves have been compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny and, of course, Laura Marling as a result of their gentle folk sound and quiet Englishness. Their music consists of beautifully layered three-part harmonies, a lush acoustic accompaniment and intelligent lyrics that will lead you to believe these ladies are far wiser beyond their years. A truly compelling listen.

The Staves visit Ireland later this month to play Academy 2, Dublin. Tickets for this 26th November gig are on sale now from Ticketmaster.ie. The band will soon release their new EP, Mexico (on 12th December to be exact) and just this week unveiled the video for the EP's title track on their YouTube channel. Sit back and enjoy 'Mexico' in all of its lovely glory; it's very special:

For more on The Staves, their music and dates for their current Ireland and U.K. tour, visit their Facebook page here.

NEW MUSIC: Washington

2011-11-09T22:04:00.002Z

Here's another new female face for Rarities: Megan Washington, who records and performs under the single moniker Washington, is an indie-rock singer-songwriter and musician from the land Down Under.

Currently based in Melbourne, Washington has five EPs to her name and released her debut album I Believe You Liar in her home territory in July of 2010. That same year she won two 2010 Aria Music Awards (for Best Female Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year) and received a further three nominations (Album of the Year, Best Adult Alternative Album and Single of the Year for 'How to Tame Lions').

Washington visited our lovely land just last week, when she played Whelan's on Thursday 3rd November. While she is currently working on her second studio album back home, Washington has also just released I Believe You Liar in Ireland.

The album is a beautifully crafted debut offering, brimming with blossoming arrangements and infectious indie-pop hooks. With lyrics that make it an intriguing personal affair, and unusual highlights that keep it just on the right side of fun, I Believe You Liar is a collection of intelligent and accessible songs that hint at a bright future for this talented singer-songwriter.

For more on Washington, visit her official website here or stalk her on Facebook here.

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: James Vincent McMorrow's 'Higher Love'

2011-11-09T21:12:00.002Z

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: A feature paying tribute to rare songs, great b-sides, fantastic covers and bonus tracks, or anything else that catches my eye, or my ear rather.

It's quite rare that the same artist feature in a feature two times in a row, but I suppose if anyone was going to do it, it would be James Vincent McMorrow.

Earlier this year, McMorrow recorded a track for a new album created by the Sound Training Centre in Temple Bar. Silver Lining, which aims to raise funds for the Irish charity Headstrong, is made up of contemporary Irish artists covering hits from the year 1986. It features artists such as Bell X1's Paul Noonan, Heathers, The Cast of Cheers and R.S.A.G. Stream snippets of songs from the album below:

Silver Lining by Sound Training Centre

For the album, McMorrow recorded a stunning version of the classic song 'Higher Love' by Steve Winwood. This stripped-down and chilling rendition showcases McMorrow's beautiful and haunting falsetto perfectly. Check it out below.

Read my 2010 interview with James Vincent McMorrow here.

Details of Other Voices 10 Announced

2011-11-09T19:09:00.001Z

December 2011 will mark the 10th anniversary of the brilliant music TV series Other Voices, one of this country's finest productions.

Other Voices 10 will take place, once again, in the beautiful town of Dingle in Co. Kerry from Thursday December 1st to Sunday December 4th 2011 and will be hosted by internationally acclaimed Irish actor Aidan Gillen. While the unique and eclectic line-up of artists will remain unannounced ‘til nearer these dates, the tenth instalment of the Other Voices musical adventure promises to be both exhilarating and challenging, with a raft of Irish and international musicians set to make the annual pilgrimage to Kerry.

Other Voices was born in Dingle in December 2002, was presented by Glen Hansard, and featured sets from Mundy and Damien Rice. Over the years the increasingly impressive line-up has swelled with even more homegrown talent and a host of international music acts. Those who have graced our screens as part of the show include Mick Flannery, Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow, O Emperor, Snow Patrol, The National, Florence + the Machine, Elbow, Noah and the Whale, Jesca Hoop, The xx and many, many more.

This year, the ticketing system for Other Voices has changed. Due to the confined seating in St. James’ Church in Dingle, only a handful of tickets were ever made available for music fans to purchase. This time around, all tickets for the show will be made available through competitions on the Other Voices Facebook page, radio, print media or online sites across Ireland.

Also new this year is the introduction of a brand new festival by the community of Dingle to run alongside the Other Voices events. Feile Na Soilse will be a four-day celebration of the culture, music, food and community of Dingle, with open air Farmers Markets, Other Voices Music Trails, Christmas Carol Choral Competitions, Treasure Hunts, a Children’s Lantern Parade, Santa ‘Under the Sea’ at Oceanworld and a huge range of activities for grown-ups and kids alike. For more information on the festival log on to their Facebook page here.

Visit the Other Voices Facebook page to keep up to date on all Other Voices news, announcements, line-up additions and the chance to win precious tickets to the wonderful events in lovely Dingle!

Christina Perri to Play Olympia Theatre, Dublin

2011-11-09T15:54:00.001Z

I first heard of Christina Perri in the summer of 2010 when I was travelling across the lovely US of A and stopped off for a spell in the lady's hometown of Philadelphia. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter is currently riding high on the success of her debut album lovestrong, which was released in May of this year, and has also experienced a massive surge in popularity thanks to her brilliant single 'Jar of Hearts' and its appearance in Season 2 of US TV show Glee.

Perri recently announced that she will visit Ireland as part of her 2011/2012 lovestrong tour. The gig was originally planned to take place at The Academy, Dublin, but having sold the venue out in a little over a day, the January 22nd show has now been moved to The Olympia Theatre.

Extra tickets, priced at €19, went on sale this morning from Ticketmaster.ie. All previously purchased tickets are valid for the new venue.

For more on Christina Perri see www.christinaperri.com.

FREE Covers EP from Benjamin Francis Leftwich

2011-11-09T14:22:00.001Z

Any of you who have attended any of Benjamin Francis Leftwich's live shows will know that he is a big fan of performing his own renditions of songs from his favourite songwriters.

The 21-year-old York singer-songwriter, who released his debut album, Last Smoke Before the Snow Storm, this summer, has put together a little EP of five songs he says he is very fond of. The five-track EP includes Benjamin's covers of Kings of Leon's 'Pick Up Truck', Killers' 'When You Were Young', Bruce Springsteen's 'Atlantic City' (a live favourite of Benjamin's), Arcade Fire's 'Rebellion' (video included below), and Tom Petty's 'Won't Back Down'.

Get your free dowload of the EP here.

Benjamin will be touring throughout Europe in January/February of 2012 with the brilliant Radical Face. A full list of tour dates are available here.

Read my recent interview with Benjamin Francis Leftwich here.

O Emperor Announce Three Final Dates for 2011

2011-11-09T13:54:00.005Z

With a nomination for this year's Choice Music Prize for their debut album, Hither Thither, an appearance at the prestigious SXSW showcase festival in Austin, Texas, and a string of stunning performances with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under their belt, O Emperor are a band who can put 2011 down as a big success.

To close their great year, the band have announced three final dates in venues across Ireland, which will see them treat fans to material from their forthcoming second studio album.

The Waterford quintet will take to the stage at Triskel Church in Cork (support from Hush War Cry) on December 16th, The Button Factory, Dublin (support from Katie Kim) on December 17th, before making their final 2011 appearance at The Forum in Waterford (support from Katie Kim and Solar Taxi) on December 28th.

Read my recent interview with O Emperor here. For more on the band see www.oemperor.com.

VIDEO: Lisa Hannigan - 'Little Bird'

2011-11-08T22:45:00.057Z

Director/Artist/Filmmaker Myles O'Reilly (also known as the gent behind the musical guise "Juno Falls"), is doing some beautiful work with Lisa Hannigan at present. As well as documenting various stages in the production of the lovely lady's sophomore album release, O'Reilly has recorded various diary teasers of her live shows, videos of pre-production recordings at her family home in Baltimore and studio sessions with her band in Wales, as well as touring shennanigans and general happy times in the Hannigan camp.

O'Reilly was also responsible for the nautical-themed first video for 'Knots', the first single to emerge from Lisa's second studio album, Passenger, as well as the official video for the song, released a month later (included below), which saw the singer-songwriter withstand a paint assault of epic proportions.

Last month Lisa unveiled O'Reilly's video for 'Little Bird', the latest track to surface from Passenger. The simple yet stunning video sees Lisa submerged under water while mouthing the beautiful words of the tender song.

Watch Lisa break the world record for holding her breath under water below:

Lisa plays Limerick's Dolan's Warehouse on 18th December. For a full list fo tour dates see www.lisahannigan.ie.

Mick Flannery to Headline ReVoiced Church Sessions

2011-11-08T22:24:00.004Z

Following the success of his show in St Iberius Church in Wexford this summer, Rarities favourite Mick Flannery is set to headline another four ReVoiced music sessions in churches across the country.

Along with Irish folk songstress Lisa O'Neill and Wexford-based singer-songwriter The Man Whom, Mick will perform at St. John's Priory, Kilkenny (24th November), the Green Church, Dundalk (26th November), and Dublin's Unitarian Church, located on Stephen’s Green (27th November), with a fourth date to be revealed in the coming days.

According to ReVoiced promoter Barry Ennis, “The one-off concert with these artists in Wexford was such an outstanding success that everybody thought it would be a shame not to introduce the exact same concept into other churches. The country is really well populated with wonderful churches whose natural acoustics make them a perfect setting for performances by artists of the calibre of Mick Flannery, The Man Whom and Lisa O’Neill, and we are already looking to continue this series into 2012.”

Tickets, priced at €20 (inc. booking fee), are available from www.tickets.ie. For more on Mick Flannery see www.mickflannery.com.

INTERVIEW: Hermitage Green

2011-10-18T15:39:00.012+01:00


Hermitage Green L-R: Daragh Griffin, Darragh Graham, Barry Murphy, Daniel Murphy and Felix Jones

Lately, just the words "Hermitage" and "Green" uttered together in the same sentence is enough to drive any young one into a ridiculous fit of hysteria. For a band that, in the last year, seemed to have come out of nowhere, Hermitage Green are now very much dominating Limerick's live music scene, more often than not leaving masses of adoring girls breathless in their path. Having met with the lads last week, however, I can certainly see that this talented five-piece band (made up of brothers Barry and Dan Murphy, Daragh Griffin, Felix Jones and Darragh Graham) are about much more than good looks and throwing out a mean cover version. In an interview that veered more in the direction of a casual and often hilarious chat, I spoke to Hermitage Green (minus Dan and including a very quiet and hobbling Felix!) about making their own music, taking on new challenges, and having an awful lot of craic along the way.

Elaine: We might just kick off at the beginning, lads. How did you all come together and start playing music?

Barry: Well, Dan and I are brothers, obviously, so we used to play together when we were younger. Darragh [Graham] and I lived above and below each other in an apartment in Annacotty and we became friends and started playing a bit of trad together. Felix moved down from Dublin and actually moved in with Darragh. Felix played the bodhrán, Darragh played the banjo, and we just started messing around. Daragh [Griffin] and Dan were mutual friends and used to play in the house together and mess around. My other brother owns The Curragower pub over on Clancy Strand and on a Tuesday night we used to be over in the back room there and just mess around. Six or seven of us would just play, have a jamming session. One night there was a game on up the road and a few people were in - and normally it would be dead on a Tuesday night - and they asked us to play in the bar. So we went out and played a few songs and from then on we started playing regularly in the bar, and then just started getting a few other regular gigs around town. We were asked to play Nenagh's in Adare and had to pull together a setlist for that; that was more or less our first gig. We just threw something together and it kind of just snowballed from there. Nothing was really planned or anything...

Darragh Graham: Yeah, we never really chased anything...

Daragh Griffin: We were lazy!

Darragh Graham: It just kind of took its course and we just ran with it.

Elaine: I read online that the band name came from the Murphy brothers being bitter about not having a green to play on growing up! Is that true?

Barry: Yeah, it is! The name of our estate is The Hermitage and we never had a green. We used to just play on the road but tried to build a green. There was this old field at the back of our house and we tried to cut the grass and the weeds and all that shite. My Dad made us cut it with a hedge clippers because he wouldn't give us his lawnmower. We got it down lowalright but it was like falling on knives! Yeah, so we just just jacked the idea, but we did have "Hermitage Green" painted across the wall. And I always just liked the word "hermitage" and we were looking for a name for a while...

Felix: I still think we should have went with "Felix and the Hot Rods"!

Darragh Graham: We were at it three months - I'd say it was three months...

Barry: It was ridiculous!

Darragh Graham: It was ridiculously long. We just couldn't come up with a name.

Daragh Griffin: We came up with a name at one stage and we told the crowd in Adare. I think it was "The Troubadours" or something like that, and we went out the next night to play having changed our name to "Hermitage Green" and the lad out there had a heap of posters up all over the place for "The Troubadours"! We were like, "Aaaah...actually...by the way- meant to say it to you..."

Elaine: Is it also true that you guys are self-taught musically?

Daragh Griffin: I'm self-taught, yeah.

Felix: I had a couple of lessons but nothing really...

Darragh Graham: You get a few pointers there but nothing...

Elaine: No formal lessons as such?

Darragh Graham: No, no weekly lessons as such; nothing formal like that.

Daragh Griffin: I would actually started on piano; that would have been my first instrument. I would have taken a few lessons on that but would have taken guitar on then myself. And it was the same job; I would have gotten a few pointers along the way but nothing formal really.

Elaine: Is it nine instruments you play between you all?

Daragh Griffin: I think it's about that, yeah.

Darragh Graham: You could probably add another one now; the harmonica! [points to Felix]

Elaine: Ah brilliant; I love the harmonica!

Darragh Graham: Yeah?

Barry: Guitar, bodhrán, djembe...

Daragh Griffin: Stomp box!

Darragh Graham: Tamborine! The new Felix 2012! Shaker, banjo...

Daragh Griffin: Dhol [drum], didgeridoo...

Elaine: Jesus...

Darragh Graham: Xylophone...remember that xylaphone?

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, it's a mixed bag!

Elaine: If you could sum it up, how would you describe your sound?

Barry: I like Dan's one!

Elaine: What's that?

Barry: The bastard child of Susan Boyle and Daniel O'Donnell!

Daragh Griffin: It depends on what you're talking about really; is our originals or the covers?

Darragh Graham: Our originals though...

Elaine: Yeah, go with your originals.

Daragh Griffin: The originals...it is a tough one like. Majorly influenced, personally, by John Martyn. He'd be my Number 1 influence pretty much.

Darragh Graham: But they don't sound like John Martyn, though.

Daragh Griffin: Ah there's one that does...

Darragh Graham: Which one?

Daragh Griffin: 'Live On'.

Darragh Graham: 'Live On' maybe, yeah.

Daragh Griffin: But they don't really sound like John Martyn, no.

Darragh Graham: The rest of them don't sound like 'Live On'!

Daragh Griffin: I know...fuck you like!

Barry: Definitely your guitar playing is like John Martyn.

Daragh Griffin: Yeah. That's my major influence anyway. We're definitely not aspiring to sound like anyone in particular, like to sound like this band or that band. There are bands we like, like Arcade Fire or Mumford and Sons, but we don't aim to sound like anyone specific. Every song has kind of been quite different to the last one. There's about nine or ten songs written at this stage, and with them we've brough bits and pieces together, so it's a bit all over the place to be honest with you!

Elaine: So a real mixed bag then?

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, pretty much.

Elaine: You guys play a wide range of songs, from traditional numbers to more contemporary songs, so you appeal to quite a large audience. How is it going from playing to a bunch of auld lads one night to playing to a bunch of students in The Scholars [pub on University of Limerick campus] the night after?

Darragh Graham: It keeps it fresh. If it was the same every night you'd just get sick of it.

Elaine: And do you have a preference?

Darragh Graham: They're so different...

Daragh Griffin: It depends on the mood. Some nights you're in the mood for a big gig and you want a big crowd in front of you, and other nights you're praying there'll be about ten people there you'll sit down really calmly and listen to you, and you'd be delighted with that. It really varies.

Darragh Graham: Some of my fondest gigs were in the early days when we were in The Curragower and, do you know the bar?

Elaine: Yeah, I do.

Darragh Graham: Well we were just in the corner and there'd be one table free, one table busy, and one or two in the far corner taken up. You could hear a pin drop sometimes and we would just really enjoy it. There was no fuss at all; it was just chilled and relaxed. But then again, Elaine, if you were to ask us what were our Top 3 gigs, all three would be thumping gigs!

Elaine: What I like about you guys is that when you take on a song that isn't your own, you don't just rehash someone else's work; you really make your performances authentic and unique. Is this a principle you apply when taking on all of your songs?

Daragh Griffin: Pretty much, yeah. I don't think we'd ever try to do a song the exact same.

Barry: Because we're an acoustic band as well- and we tend to pick songs that aren't acoustic- they're always going to sound different.

Daragh Griffin: And the other thing is, half the time we just don't learn them right! We just turn it on, start to play along and just figure out our own version of it. And then we might add in or take out a small bit. It's just learned that way...like I don't think any of us have ever used tabs or anything like that.

Darragh Graham: Yeah, you see most of us learn by ear, so things maybe get lost in translation as well. It's half that but it's half...like I don't think I would call it a principle, but that's just the way it seems to have happened for us.

Elaine: You have a really varied set list, going from playing songs from bands like Elbow to a song from Timbaland, and then you might go from Mumford and Sons to playing a rendition of 'The Auld Triangle'. How do you pick these songs?

Barry: With the Timbaland track, Dan used to play that himself on the guitar.

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, he called down to me about three Easters ago and just started playing it in the corner.

Barry: He was playing it before we ever had a band!

Daragh Griffin: And I asked him how he came up with it and he said, "generally if I just hear a song..." Remember when we did 'Sweet Dreams' properly? We used to stand in the kitchen and play it!

Elaine: Brilliant!

Barry: Yeah, we had a synthesizer for a while and we used to do 'Sweet Dreams'. We used to turn off all the lights in The Curragower and get the candles...that was one of the best gigs. We were all acoustic and then would turn techno for four minutes!

Darragh Graham: Lately though it's kind of been, if a song suits us... Like at the start it was, "Yeah, we'll try that, we'll try that", but lately it's more that if there's a three or four part harmony in there, or if there's a bit of a folky kind of sound to it...

Barry: I think the harmony thing is what we look for mostly though, isn't it?

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, it's definitely what we look for if we're looking at doing a cover. What's the new one? It was performed by Soggy Bottom Boys, it's called 'Man of Constant Sorrow'. We kind of picked that because it has really nice harmonies, which you kind of have to really search for sometimes. That's why 'The Auld Triangle' and the Fleet Foxes ones suit. They're challenging but they definitely make things more interesting because they have a three or four part harmony. When it goes right it's unbelievable, but when it goes wrong it's an absolute nightmare! You're kind of wearing your heart on your sleeve by playing them, but it definitely makes it more interesting for us. It wouldn't make it fun for us if everything we played, we played perfectly easy...

Darragh Graham: Yeah, plus there's no real lead singer as such. Daragh and Dan sing, and then Bar's always singing something as well, so the fact that there's harmonies in there means the three of them can sing at the same time.

Elaine: The one I'm particularly interested in asking you about is Florence and the Machine's 'Cosmic Love'. That is quite a demanding female vocal that most male-fronted bands wouldn't touch! What made you guys choose to take on that song?

Barry: That was Dan again. I don't know when he did, but he definitely came up with that himself.

Darragh Graham: I remember at the time it was very popular and then he said he reckoned he could do it.

Barry: He was in a house with a bunch of lads and one of them, Fintan, was obsessed with her...

Elaine: With Florence?

Barry: Yeah. I remember Dan saying, "Everyone's gone mad into this fucking Florence and the Machine", and he didn't like it at all. Then one day he just started playing that song and all of a sudden we were like, "Ah...we like it!"

Elaine: The next question was kind of aimed at Dan...

Barry: Ah sure go on; I can speak for him! I'll just have to make my voice sound a lot deeper, like this [speaks in a low, monotonous, Dan-like tone..!]

Elaine: Haha, okay! So, some of the songs you choose to play, the guitar parts and the riffs are quite technically challenging., for example the Rodrigo y Gabriela numbers. Are these songs chosen deliberately for that reason?

Barry: He loves a challenge. He's said that in a few interviews. The bigger the challenge, the better it is for him. He has unbelievable thickness. We live together and I wake up some mornings and all you hear is a metronome going "tick, tick, tick, tick" and he's there with this new song, this Rodrigo y Gabriela number and it's got a lick in it. And he reckons if he gets this he can pretty much nail everything your man can do. And it's just like this [mimics the sound of a guitar lick], over and over again. I swear, I am listening to this sound for the last month! But it just gets faster and faster, and he could just literally sit there for hours and hours doing this. When we were growing up, we'd come home at lunch time from school and I'd be in watching telly or playing the computer and Dan would be in on his guitar. And he was 11 or 12 years of age.

Darragh Graham: I remember asking him one time, because he's quite accomplished, "Man, how much time did you used to put in?" and he said there was a year, 6th Year in school, and he just couldn't handle the Leaving Cert, and he said he would spend six hours a day on his guitar. [Looks to Daragh Griffin] And you would have done that level too, at one point, wouldn't you?

Daragh Griffin: Not quite six hours! I had a life!!

Darragh Graham: I think he just got to a certain level and when you're at that level then, you just want a challenge, so I'd say that's where he's going with it.

Barry: I actually thought him to play the guitar.

Elaine: Did you really?

Barry: Yeah...he was better than me after two weeks.

Elaine: Really?!

Barry: I'd say so, yeah! That's my claim to fame right there!

Darragh Graham

Elaine: Coming back to your own music now; who's the songwriter of the group?

Barry: [Motioning to Daragh Griffin] This man here.

Daragh Griffin: That's myself.

Elaine: Where's the inspiration for the songs coming from, Daragh? Is it a Rubberbandits thing where you're going around our lovely Limerick looking for material?

Daragh Griffin: Haha, it's not quite on that level! But it is funny that you say it, because you do find yourself in situations these days where you're kind of looking around and thinking, "That's make a great song". The last one I wrote was about sitting down on the Sunday of Electric Picnic. Those weekends I kin dof come full circle; I was depressed and dying and I was sitting on the ground, with Dan actually. We were after watching Gemma Hayes, Dan fell asleep and I was kind of looking around me. And it started getting sunny and everyone around me was happy out and I was sitting in a field at Electric Picnic and I thought, "What the fuck is wrong with you; will you cop onto yourself?!" So I kind of cheered up a bit and saw these purple and red flags and it kind of inspired me, so I came home and wrote a song about Electric Picnic and that whole trip, and called it 'Red Flags'. So inspiration can come from different things like that. It can come from anywhere. I had a number of ideas in my head when I first started writing songs, like of things I wanted to do. I wanted to make up a story; basically just take this completely fictional story and put music to it. And we've a song called 'Gibson' and that's where that came from. 'Live On' was essentially the first song I'd written with the band. We had been playing for about six or seven months and I had the guitar part for about two or three years and I wanted good lyrics to put with it. I got writing one day and I kind of wrote a verse, and I was happy enough with it. Then the rest of the song is actually about overcoming writer's block, writing a song and then getting to the last verse and being really happy with it. It just kind of went from there really. So that was the first song I ever wrote and it's just kind of gone on from there...

Darragh Graham: Explain 'Golden Rule' to her!

Daragh Griffin: 'Golden Rule'? 'Golden Rule' was...

Darragh Graham: In The Office [pub in Limerick].

Daragh Griffin: 'Golden Rule' came about in The Office, yeah. We were in there one night; I don't know who I was with...

Darragh Graham: We were playing a gig, man!

Daragh Griffin: No, it wasn't during a gig; it might have been after a gig or something.

Darragh Graham: No, it was.

Daragh Griffin: No, it wasn't, man.

Darragh Graham: You said it to me right after the gig!

Daragh Griffin: You sure?

Darragh Graham: Yeah.

Daragh Griffin: I don't think so, man! The way I remember it anyway, I was out one night and we were standing around having a pint or whatever, and there was this girl who was all kind of looking over and smiling...

Elaine: I'd say you guys get a lot of that somehow...

Barry: Awwww...

Daragh Griffin: Ah...I don't know about that! I'm convinced it wasn't after we played though...

Darragh Graham: Oh yeah?

Daragh Griffin: Yeah. So I went over and said, "Hello, how's a going", or whatever, and she was like, "Ah...I've a boyfriend!"

Elaine: Haha, burn...

Daragh Griffin: So I was like, "Good luck to you so, love. You've just been winking at me there for the last five minutes..." So that's where 'Golden Rule' comes from.

Darragh Graham: Her boyfriend was standing right behind you.

Daragh Griffin: Haha, right yeah. So 'Golden Rule', the lyrics are basically about not wasting your time on these kinds of girls, and girls don't be looking at every lad in the club and just be waiting for them to come over.

Darragh Graham: It's one for the lads.

Daragh Griffin: And then Barry shifted her for me anyway... Ah no, only joking... She told him to fuck off!

Elaine: So you guys supported The Stunning a fortnight or so ago in The Big Top, and you've played with Mumford and Sons before too, right?

Barry: Jammed with Mumford and Sons...

Elaine: Jammed...right. What were they like actually?

Barry: Legends...

Darragh Graham: Really nice guys.

Elaine: I think I was there...that was the Dolan's Warehouse show, yeah?

Barry: Yeah, that's right.

Elaine: So if you guys could pick any one band to support; if you could just horse all your stuff into the back of someone's tour bus and take off for the summer, who would it be?

Barry: They're a fucking serious bunch of lads; I would love to go off with them.

Darragh Graham: They're great craic as well...

Barry: Great craic...good laugh on the piss...great music. Other than that, I wouldn't have a clue. I'd go away with anyone to be honest with you! Anyone that's up for the craic!

Darragh Graham: I'd say them anyway; definitely. I really like their music...

Barry: Maybe Iron Maiden.

Elaine: Yeah, you could sing them to sleep at night...

Barry: Yeah! Definitely Mumford though.

Elaine: That was a savage gig as well.

Barry: Absolutely savage...

Elaine: Am...is it true you confused Marcus' girlfriend [Carey Mulligan] for Laura Marling?

All: Haha, yeah!

Barry: I did do that...

Elaine: What, you just rocked up and were like, "Laura, I love your music..."?

Barry: Haha, no... One of my mates was there and he was calling the band "Mumford and Brothers" or something. He hadn't a clue who they were and he was like, "Róisín [his wife] was onto me...has one of these lads a famous girlfriend?" So I said Marcus did, and I knew who Laura Marling was. I was going to see her in Cork but she had cancelled that gig a few weeks before. And I knew he was going out with her, but I knew in my head it wasn't her because it didn't look like her. So I said, "Yeah, that's his girlfriend down there", and my mate said his wife would like a photo of her and if I minded asking her for one. And I met them at Electric Picnic so I was like, "Sure I know them, I'll go down", thinking I was great. So I stroll down and say, "Laura, how's a goin'? I'm Barry..." And she said, "I'm Carey".

Elaine: Did you feel like a right knob?

Barry: I just froze; I didn't know what to say. You could see she was really pissed off, and I just tried to laugh it off. And I could see my mate coming over from behind her with the camera held up, and I was like [does a cut-throat gesture], "No, no...stop!" And then I met them in Dublin later that week and Marcus was like, "Thanks so much for the other night...yeah, thanks for making my girlfriend cry". He said they had a big massive fight.

Elaine: I wonder if she really did cry...

Barry: Apparently they did have a big fight though.

Elaine: In fairness though, they nearly overlapped.

Barry: They did! And they're both small, and blond, and famous.

Elaine: Laura Marling is brilliant though; I love her music.

Barry: She's class.

Elaine: She gets around too though.

Darragh Graham: Does she?

Elaine: Well, she was with Charlie Fink from Noah and the Whale. He produced her first album and she sang on theirs, and then she broke up with him and was with Marcus Mumford, who I may have produced her second album. And apparently they all knew each other growing up and were friends. She's gotten around the group...

Barry: Good on her!

Elaine: Well maybe Carey's here to stay anway; they're engaged.

Barry: G'way!

Darragh Graham: Are they?

Elaine: They are.

Darragh Graham: I saw her recently...is she in Drive?

Elaine: She is, yeah. That is a brilliant film.

Barry: I saw this horrific film a few weeks ago that she was in, one about organ donors...

Elaine: Oh the one with Keira Knightley, is it?

Barry: Yeah, the one she got nominated for an Oscar for.

Elaine: Yeah, that was a little bit shite. But Drive was incredible.

Felix: Does he drive stolen cars in that one or something?

Darragh Graham: No, he does bank jobs and things like that; he's the driver. It's quite Quentin Tarrantino.

Felix Jones

Elaine: So, speaking of getting around, you lot do too...

Barry: Yeah, we're complete hoors...

Darragh Graham: Some of us, yeah...

Elaine: Total hoors altogether! I mean around the country and that. Have you any funny stories from the road for me?

Barry: Jesus...

Darragh Graham: Well, we went up to Galway for the Oyster Festival, and we ended up going up the night before, because we don't really get out ourselves together that often. So we ended up going to this beer house- that's what it was called, actually, The Beer House. They had all these different kinds of beers and we started going for the strongest ones...

Barry: This was at 9:30pm now. And none of us remember even leaving this place at 11pm.

Darragh Graham: Yeah, so we went in at 9:30pm and around 11pm we left, but none of us can remember leaving, or going to three other pubs, followed by a club and then Supermacs, followed by another club...not a thing. And then we woke up the next morning, having stayed in a hostel, and I kind of rolled over and looked around and he [pointing to Daragh Griffin] was missing, Dan was missing, and you [pointing to Barry] were up and gone in search of your phone?

Barry: I'd lost my phone, yeah.

Darragh Graham: So I was just lying there on my own...

Elaine: Except for the tiger in the bathroom, stripper had just left the room...

Barry: Dead children everywhere...

Darragh Graham: So he was just wondering aimlessly around town and Jess, our manager, was going absolutely nuts. She was on the phone calling everyone, trying to find the lads, trying to get me out of bed. She drove my car, because I wasn't capable of driving yet, and we headed down towards the gig...

Barry: This gig was at 12 o' clock now...

Elaine: Oh jesus...

Darragh Graham: And I just see him [pointing to Daragh Griffin] and Dan just strolling down the street with a breakfast roll and a Coke, or something. They were still langers, with stains all down their tops; two disgraceful looking yokes...

Barry: We all had to go change before we could play; we were a state!

Darragh Graham: I don't know how we played that gig...

Barry: We played this gig drunk, right? And there was this dance floor in front of us; they had set up this dance floor as a playground for children. There was kids playing giant Snakes 'n' Ladders and Dominoes; it was so bizarre! It was like Alice in Wonderland or something!

Elaine: Sounds like a bad dream!

Darrah Graham: Yeah, it was like, "Is this real life?" We stumbled through the gig and as soon as we finished it, the second we finished, there was this massive brass band setting up by the side of the stage. So the second we finished, this massive sirens came on and just blew our heads off and we just couldn't handle the sound of them either.

Barry: Other than that we haven't been too wild, have we?

Darragh Graham: Kilkee night maybe?

Barry: The gigs tend to get messy afterwards, a few of the good gigs.

Darragh Graham: There's been one or two disasters of gigs, where one or two lads will show up absolutely hammered. I remember one time, actually, Paddy's Day...

Barry: Ugh, don't mention the P word...

Darragh Graham: See Daragh [Griffin] does the sound, right?

Daragh Griffin: Why'd you let me do sound this night, man?

Darragh Grham: Because none of us have a fucking clue how to do it! So he did it, right? It was pluuged in down here [leans down to his feet], and he as tapping away as he was playing. But kept hitting off the plug and everytime he did the whole sound system would just go down because the plug would fall out. And he'd be like, "Don't worry lads; I'll get this". And with his guitar- he's a lefty, right? So he'd reach down, swipe across the sound desk and turn all the levels and that, and then plug it in and we'll start playing again and all you can hear is Daragh [Griffin], you can't hear him [pointing to Barry]; it was just a disaster!

Daragh Griffin: There's a picture actually taken 20 minutes after the gig that I got an awful slagging for. It was just up in the back room with my Dad, friends, and I'm just asleep. That was the night after we got to jam with Mumford and Sons. We played with them and then went down to Pier One and then went home. And I got up the next day and went straight to the pub. I was in The Curragower by about 1pm and I was trying to ring the rest of the lads to please come in and take my out of there!

Darragh Graham: That's one of the best things about doing this; it's great craic playing gigs.

Barry: Arthur's Day was brilliant. We were inside in Fla's [pub in Limerick] and it was mental. Brilliant craic altogether.

Darragh Graham: Another time we went down to Kerry, actually, in the early days. It was the first time we went out of Limerick and that was brilliant fun as well.

Barry: That was last February, yeah. That gig would still be in the Top 3 I think.

Darragh Graham: Yeah, we were just in this tiny little pub, ceiling was just above your head. Everyone that was there was just thumping off the ceiling and there was just a really good buzz...

Barry: People dancing on tables and everything.

Darragh Graham: Yeah, that was the party after. It was great craic.

L-R: Daragh Griffin, Dan and Barry Murphy

Elaine: Is there any rivalry between the Murphy brothers?

Barry: Oh we kill each other.

Elaine: Do ye really?

Barry: Absolutely kill each other. We've been just living with each other, been in each other's faces 24/7. Daragh [Griffin] moved in last week so we're just in a little Hermitage Green bubble. He's kind of the referee of the house now. So, yeah... Dan has got little brother syndrome.

Darragh Graham: He's not here to defend himself though.

Barry: It's hard to believe, but there's four years in the difference between us. He looks ten years older than me...

Elaine: I thought he was older.

Barry: Ha! I love it! Put that in the interview there...

Elaine: What, that he looks shocking old?

Barry: Yeah, "Shockingly, Daniel is older..."

Darragh Graham: Ah, Daniel dyes his hair as well...

Elaine: Does he?

Darragh Graham: Yeah...Just for Men.

Barry: Every night before we head out, the sound you hear coming from the Hermitage Green bus is [mimics the sound of a hairdryer], and that's Dan inside blowdrying his fringe...

Felix: He does sunbeds as well...just to top up his tan.

Darragh Graham: But yeah- that's Dan!

Elaine: And would the rest of you not move in as well?

Felix: Maybe one day, yeah.

Barry: We'll be sharing beds at that stage.

Elaine: You should get a little Volkswagen camper van like Lisa Hannigan...

Barry: I have one! Brilliant!

Elaine: Haha, have you?

Barry: Yeah, and it's green! I'm just getting the tyres sorted on it now. It's a 1979 Volkswagen camper.

Elaine: Lisa Hannigan's is a deadly little yellow one and she's got this sunflower on the front of it...

Darragh Graham: Cool...

Barry: I'm gonna get a H and a G on it.

Elaine: The girls will spot ye a mile away so!

Barry: It wouldn't get us very far though.

Felix: Like the last time we broke down...

Barry: Yeah, we went to Kinsale a while back and broke down half-way there. I was like, "Fuck"", but then this bottle of beer comes through from the back seat. We all just start drinking.

Elaine: Long-term, what are your plans? You're obviously putting an album together, yeah? Are you gonna go with an EP first or release a full-length?

Barry: We don't really know yet.

Daragh Griffin: We're unsure.

Barry: We're gonna put some new videos up on YouTube now, videos we just did today. And another one then in two weeks time. We'll see how they go down and try put something together then. We haven't really set out a plan.

Daragh Griffin: We're probably gonna try do both because the first set of covers went down so well as videos. So we always planned to do the originals as videos. I think it'll be the make or break of us really. I'm kind of...I'm optimistic about them going down well, the originals. But they will make or break us. On top of that then we're going to try at least do a decent demo and send that off to different people. We kind of have maybe ten or eleven written and have two or three half-written. I figure if we get a decent pot of twenty to pick out of, that'll be brilliant.

Elaine: And beyond that, just world domination...

Daragh Griffin: World domination!

Barry: We're looking at going somewhere for New Year's; maybe New York...

Elaine: Maybe you'll get an invitation to the Playboy Mansion.

Barry: Yeah.

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, infest the place with Hermititis...

Elaine: Nice...

Barry: We're going to Florida for Paddy's Day next year, for ten days. We're going to Fort Lauderdale...

Elaine: For Spring Break!

Barry: Yes! Found out that the other day...

Felix: Is it?!

Darragh Graham: Is it Spring Break?

Barry: Yes!

Felix: Crackin'!

Barry: Yeah, so if we get to New York at New Year's and then onto there. And then next summer, we'll travel, travel, travel...

Darragh Graham: The way it started off it just kind of happened. We won't be going mad, busting our balls trying to get somewhere.

Daragh Griffin: Ah go on- try it!

Darragh Graham: Hopefully something will just fall into place.

Barry: What happened to "Once September's over, it's all music"?

Darragh Graham: Yeah, but I'm going to do it for enjoyment.

Elaine: But you're going to play over [in Florida and New York], right?

Barry: Oh yeah.

Darragh Graham: We've four gigs lined up in Florida in ten days.

Barry: Yeah we're playing the 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and we hope to do a similar thing at New Year's. That's the most exciting thing going on with us at the moment, you know, besides playing the Lodge [UL-associated night club at the Kilmurray Lodge Hotel in Limerick] in an hour!

Elaine: Wow...might get some knickers thrown at ye so!

Barry: Duuuurty knickers! A pair of GAA ones...

Darragh Graham: We'd an even better one last night; we'd a chicken fillet thrown at us!

Elaine: A chicken fillet?

Darragh Graham: Yeah, you know those fake boob things?

Elaine: Oh yeah, I know what they are...

Barry: Haha, do you?

Elaine: Well, I don't wear them or anything! So, did you get one across the head or something?

Daragh Griffin: Yeah, he tried to catch it in his mouth...

Elaine: Was it warm?

Barry: Haha! It was!

Elaine: Nice...

To find out more about the lovely lads in Hermitage Green, follow them on Twitter here, visit their YouTube channel here, or stalk them on Facebook here.

Lisa Hannigan Announces Irish Tour

2011-10-14T09:50:00.006+01:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love getting Lisa Hannigan news first thing in the morning! It really does make my day so much more lovely. Rarities' favourite lady has just announced a string of Irish dates in the wake of the release of her sophomore studio album, Passenger, which dropped in Ireland on 7th October.

The tour kicks of in Cork's Savoy Theatre on 9th December, running right through to 23rd December, when Lisa will take to the stage at Whelan's. The singer-songwriter will play Dolan's Warehouse in Limerick on Sunday 18th December, a veunue she consistently packs out with her stunning live performances.

You can read my review of Lisa's last Dolan's Warehouse gig on the blog here.

For full details of Lisa's tour, visit her official site here. Pre-sale tickets are on sale from her website now.

NEW MUSIC: Hannah O'Brien

2011-10-12T14:51:00.006+01:00

Another new face to the female singer-songwriter category for Rarities is Limerick's very own Hannah O'Brien. With a beautifully pure voice and an utterly adorable charm, this lovely lady is definitely worth sticking on that "One to Watch" list.

Hannah O'Brien is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Castleconnell who just last year won Limerick's Live 95fm's Talent Search. I first heard Hannah play live when she supported Fat Baby Panda at a recent Limerick gig, and I was completely blown away. She recently recorded a video for Balcony TV and just last week supported John Spillane in Dolan's in her hometown of Limerick.

As well as offering her audience a sampling of perfectly chosen covers, including a stunning version of Damien Rice's 'Cheers Darlin'' and an acoustic take on Britney Spears' 'Toxic', Hannah also has an abundance of self-penned musical gems that are a testament of her talent. Her music boasts a heavy acoustic guitar influence and is brimming with a nostalgic blues-like feel, while her more upbeat numbers are just full of fun. In particular, 'Five' (included below) and 'Heartbeat' are two deliciously infectious toe-tapping tracks that will have you smiling long after you step away from one of her live sets.

Keep it posted to Rarities for updates on Hannah and her live shows, and in the meantime check out her brilliant performance of 'Five' for Balcony TV:

Find out more about Hannah by visiting her Facebook page.

NEW MUSIC: Lana Del Rey

2011-10-09T12:16:00.007+01:00

Here's a new face to Rarities, a lady with a voice many of you will already be very familiar with at this stage. With her name strewn across blogs, websites and social media forums the last few weeks, Internet sensation Lana Del Ray has a sound that will hang in your head and completely break your heart.

Lana Del Ray seemed to come out of nowhere. Not so long ago, very few sets of lips would have uttered the 24-year-old New Yorker's name, but more recently Del Ray's debut song 'Video Games' has already attracted over 1.8 million views on YouTube, becoming this year's single of the year even before its official release. In fact, her debut offering boasts such an allure that it lead to the singer's first UK show to sell out in just 30 seconds.

And rightly so. 'Video Games' is utterly mesmerizing and everything a fantastic song should be; it's big, it's stirring, it flows beautifully thanks to a completely spellbinding melody and it is the perfect piece of evidence of the talent of its creator.

Del Ray's voice is the main attraction of 'Video Games'. Her vocals have a clarity and purity about them, yet they are also brimming with a sultry, seductive and old-timey feel. The songstress' videos have the same quality about them, enhancing the feel of her songs. 'Video Games' and Del Ray's other YouTube favourite 'Blue Jeans' are infused with home movie stills, dialogue clips and hints of film noir, and feature people dressed in 50s fashion with retro hair, classic motorcycles, skateboards and American fastfood joints, all adding to that old movie, classic Hollywood feel. The video is just dripping with a sweet and aching nostalgia. It's genius.

Just as hot a topic these last few on blogs and forums across the web is the subject of Del Ray's "authenticity". A quick Google serach will swiftly alert you to the fact that this pretty singer is not who she claims to be. The young New Yorker is actually called Lizzy Grant (apparently the name "Lana Del Rey" was made up by “a series of managers and lawyers”) and she has tried to make her way in the music world before, releasing an album on iTunes in January 2010 produced by David Kahne, known for his work with Paul McCartney, The Strokes, and Regina Spektor, among many others. When the release failed to garner any attention, a determined Miss Grant went back to the drawing board only to re-emerge as the big bouffant-haired, big-lipped seductress we see pouting out throught the camera at us today.

So, of course people are going to ask questions. We are naturally going to be intrigued with this "new" talent and be curious about her musical past. These days it's quite common to look behind a person's art to determine what their life is really like. We yearn to know where our new favourite music stars come from. And yes, delving into Del Ray's biography will lead us to wonder about her "authenticity", but in all fairness, when has pop ever been 100% authentic? Regardless of the fact that she has tried her hand before and failed, and has launched herself upon the music scene again with a completely different sound; regardless of the fact that she changed her name, her image and is now rumoured to be the proud new owner of a set of cosmetically-enhanced lips, the story of the lives of artists should never detract from the quality of their art. And Del Ray's art is damn good. The stunning voice, the clever lyrics and the enchanting arrangements nestle themselves under your skin and leave you yearning for more. I really don't give a damn where this lady came from or that she was here before; I just care that she came back and brought this beautiful and nostalgic music with her. 'I adore 'Video Games' and could happily listen to Lana Del Ray all day long.

'Video Games' and its b-side 'Blue Jeans' will be available digitally on October 9th and will be released as a single in the UK and Ireland on October 16th. Del Rey is currently working on another full-length album, but unfortunately we'll have to wait until early next year to hear it. Oh, and if you're thinking of trying to track down her debut LP don't bother; the release, dubbed Lana Del Rey, has since been deleted. Interesting, no?

Find out more about Lana Del Ray at www.lanadelrey.com.

ON MyPOD: Benjamin Francis Leftwich's 'Shine'

2011-10-08T17:40:00.002+01:00

Currently on repeat on my iPod is a gorgeous little number called 'Shine' by Rarities' favourite Benjamin Francis Leftwich.

The 21-year-old York singer-songwriter recently announced that 'Shine' would be the next single release from his debut studio album Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, which he released this summer. The song, brimming with a delicate, enchanting melody and Leftwich's tender vocals, also includes some sweet guitar lines and infusions of female harmonies. 'Shine' will be released on November 7th.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Shine by Dirty Hit

Leftwich plays Dublin's Sugar Club on 2nd November and the Stiff Kitten in Belfast on 3rd November. For further tour dates, visit his official website here.

Read my recent interview with Benjamin Francis Leftwich here.

Trevor Hall Unveils Video for New Single 'Brand New Day'

2011-10-08T17:21:00.001+01:00

I have been a fan of American singer-songwriter Trevor Hall's laidback melodies and smooth baritone for a few years now, and was delighted when I learned a few months back that he was due to release a new studio album.

Everything Everytime Everywhere dropped August 23rd and stayed true to Hall's signature sound, his raspy yet soothing vocals wrapping themselves around catchy numbers infused with reggae tones.

Recently Hall unveiled the video for the first single from his new album, which you can check out below. He is currently travelling around the US on a nationwide tour, details for which you can find here.

Ryan Adams Offers Full Streaming of New Album Online

2011-09-27T16:09:00.001+01:00

After months of being teased with in-studio performances of new tracks from his forthcoming thirteenth studio album, Ryan Adams has delighted fans by announcing a full streaming of the record online.

Ashes and Fire, due to drop on 10th October, is Adams' most soulful and sparse album yet. Brimming with beautiful melodies, hushed tones and utterly gorgeous lyrics, this stripped back affair is a truly lush addition to the singer-songwriter's extensive back catalogue and was well worth waiting for.

Hear Ashes and Fire in full here.

The album features Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' organist Benmont Tench and guest vocals from both Adam's wife, Mandy Moore, and Norah Jones, who Adams has previously worked with on ...Featuring, Jones' 2010 compilation album. Ashes and Fire was produced by Glyn Johns, who has worked with the likes of The Who and The Rolling Stones, and who is also the father of fellow producer Ethan Johns, who previously worked with Adams' band Whiskeytown back in the late 90s.

In case you missed them, here are Adam's recent in-studio performances, along with a brilliant acoustic version of 'Let It Ride' from 2005's Cold Roses:

Kyla La Grange Unveils Official Video for New Single 'Heavy Stone'

2011-09-27T12:52:00.001+01:00

Young London-based singer/songwriter Kyla La Grange has recently unveiled the official video for her brand new single 'Heavy Stone', which will be dropping as a single on Chess Club Records on 17th October.

'Heavy Stone' follows on from her brilliant and driven singles 'Walk Through Walls' and 'Been Better', and is a powerful track that is a perfect example of all that is stunning about La Grange. From early days performing at Communion folk nights around the UK, Kyla has been steadily building a strong following and is now putting the finishing touches to her debut album which is due in early 2012.

'Heavy Stone' is set to be released as a double a-side single along with another new track 'Lambs'. For more information on Kyla La Grange, see my earlier posts on her here.

Blink-182 Stream Brand New Album Online

2011-09-27T12:38:00.001+01:00

They just released their new studio album, Neighborhoods, yesterday, but Blink-182 announced today that they are currently streaming the release in full on their official website.

Neighborhoods is the band's sixth studio album, their first collection of new material in eight years. The album was recorded following the band's 2009 reunion after a four-year hiatus.

Listen to the tracks from Neighborhoods here: www.neighborhoods.blink182.com

Blink-182 have just embarked on their reunion tour, which is due to go on through 2012. For a full list of tour dates, visit here. Here's the band's new single 'Up All Night', which was released online last month:

COMFORT IN SOUND: Nirvana's "Nevermind" (A 20th Anninversary Special)

2011-09-24T23:45:00.002+01:00

Comfort in Sound pays homage to some of my favourite albums of all time; albums that I return to again and again for both their greatness and their ability to make me draw on memories of times gone by...

Nevermind, the second studio album from Nirvana, was released exactly 20 years ago today, on 24th September 1991. At that time, I was eight years old. Now, granted, I was listening to a lot of great music by that time - The Eagles, The Beatles and Michael Jackson, for example, formed part of my daily soundtrack - but I was yet to discover the Seattle grunge scene. It wasn't until I was ten and was visiting my cousin's house that I heard the bass line for 'Come As You Are' and was hooked. He copied the entire album onto a cassette tape for me that very night and I went home, put on my father's headphones, sat on the sitting room floor by his stereo and took the sound of Nirvana in. I've been a fan ever since.

No one ever expected Nevermind to be as big of a success as it was. Despite Kurt Cobain's huge longing to have Nirvana's music moved outside of the restrictive confines of Seattle, the band and the album's record label were stunned when Nevermind climbed the American charts in January 1992 as a result of the popularity of its opening track and lead single 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', knocking Michael Jackson's Dangerous from the top spot. At that point in time, the album was selling on average 300,000 copies a week. 'Come As You Are' was released in March of 1992, with 'Lithium' and 'In Bloom' being released in July and November respectively.

On its release, Nevermind was met with mostly positive reviews from newspapers, magazines and music critics alike, but to teenagers the world over it was so much more than a successful sophomore effort by an up-and-coming Aberdeen rock band. It didn't have quite the same effect on the innocent and sheltered 10-year-old me, but in the months (and years) to come I would realise the full extent of its now almost immortal status. Nevermind, for so many, was an exhilerating and liberating album. Its angst and rage-filled songs, seeping with the inner frustrations of the youth of the 90s, really shook people, right down to their Converse sneakers and Dr Marten boots. Nirvana's sound was authentic and honest, and for many teenagers, it stood out from anything they had heard before. That perfect combination of underground, alternative grunge and relatively mainstream appeal, along with lyrics that questioned and condemned the hypocrisy of the world and the alienating effects it could have on them, made the album something that young people needed at that time; there was a comfort in its sound. They could identify with it.

Nevermind propelled Nirvana to international fame. Within six months of its release the album was everywhere - playing constantly in record stores across America, and streamed across radio stations and music channels - and Kurt Cobain went from being a troubled youth struggling to get his music heard, to one of the most recognisable faces in music. People everywhere, regardless of what they were into or what way they dressed, loved Nirvana. Nevermind had a universal appeal that, in a rare instance in music at that time, allowed the underground to seep overground.

Six months after I had heard Nevermind for the first time, Cobain was found dead in the space above the garage in his home on Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle. Although I was a massive fan of the album by this time, you have to realise these were the days before Google and MTV (well, in my house anyway), so an 11-year-old Irish girl had limited resources to fulfill her morbid curiosity. But I continued to listen to that album, almost obsessively. And In Utero, the album that followed it. And I guess it was really from that point on, six months after I heard that bass line of 'Come As You Are' for the first time, that I truly became aware of the impact Nevermind and Nirvana had on our generation. So much so, that it is now impossible to mention the word "grunge" without conjuring an image of Kurt Cobain, or to throw Seattle into a sentence without thinking of Nirvana.

Twenty years later and the imprint that has been left behind is more apparent than ever; Nevermind, unlike so many other albums that came before it and have gone by after it, is still an authentic and exhilerating listen, still has a massive effect on people, and is still one of the very greatest albums of our time.

It would just be plain weird to not close this special "Comfort in Sound" feature with this video, as obvious and predictable as that may be:

NEW MUSIC: Valentina

2011-09-20T15:57:00.002+01:00

Here's another new face and voice to add to Rarities' long list of female singer-songwriters: Citing influences such as Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush and Carole King, London songstress Valentina is causing quite a stir on the music scene since the release of her debut EP Weights in April.

Recorded during the break-up with her then boyfriend and co-producer of the EP, Blue May, Weights is a deeply emotional and painfully honest portrayal of Valentina's journey from youth into young adulthood. Touching on themes of first love, loss and infidelity, this collection of songs is a vivd and heartfelt glimpse into the soul of one very talented lady.

Dripping with captivating melodies, beautiful piano laments and bittersweet lyrics, Weights is a hugely impressive first offering that showcases Valentina's amazing voice and musical talents. Definitely one to watch!

Latest tracks by Valentinamusic

Valentina - Heart Of Glass by facultydigital

Weights is out now on iTunes. Find out more about Valentina at www.valentinamusic.co.uk.

Arctic Monkeys Release Saucy Video for 'Suck It and See'

2011-09-20T11:55:00.001+01:00

In the run up to the single's release, Arctic Monkeys have unveiled the video for 'Suck It and See', the title track and third single from their 2011 studio album.

Directed by Focus Creeps and featuring model Breana McDow as the fesity girlfriend of a rough and ready biker (played by the band's drummer Matt Helders), the saucy video makes for an interesting and daring accompaniment to 'Suck It and See'.

Check it out for yourself below. The single drops October 28th.

Grunge Revival: Pearl Jam Twenty Hits Cinemas Today!

2011-09-20T08:58:00.003+01:00

It's a week of grunge anniversaries on Rarities folks! In celebration of Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary, today sees the release of the band's highly anticipated film and soundtrack, Pearl Jam Twenty.

Created by award-winning writer and director Cameron Crowe, and carved from over 1,200 hours of rarely and never-before-seen footage, as well as recently shot interview and live footage, Pearl Jam Twenty is the definitive portrait of Seattle grunge legends Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam Twenty chronicles the years leading up to Pearl Jam’s formation and the chaos that ensued following their rise to stardom. According to those behind the film, Pearl Jam Twenty will also focus on the band's "step back from center stage, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them- giving way to a work culture that would sustain them".

Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, the film hits Irish cinemas today for a one-time-only showing.

In conjunction with the film, the band is set to release the Pearl Jam Twenty soundtrack, comprised of 29 rare and unreleased tracks selected by Cameron Crowe. In celebration of its release, you can now stream the soundtrack in its entirety below:

Pearl Jam Twenty Soundtrack by pj20

And here's the intimate video for 'Thumbing My Way', featuring Eddie Vedder and co. sitting down for a stirring acoustic rendition of the 2002 'Riot Act' concert favorite:

Dolan's Nirvana Nevermind 20th Anniversary Gig

2011-09-19T22:48:00.003+01:00

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, a bunch of Limerick musicians have decided to get together this coming Saturday night to pay tribute to one of Seattle grunge's most influential albums. Members of Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters, The Hip Neck Blues Collective and friends have joined forces for a one-off performance of Nevermind from start to finish, as well as a selection of Nirvana favourites. It will be a night of celebration that no Nirvana fan should miss.

Support on the night comes from Theme Tune Boy (Niall Quinn from The Hitchers) plus guests to be confirmed.

Doors open at 9pm on Saturday. Tickets, a recession-friendly €6, are on sale now from Dolan's website.

Villagers Unveil New Animated Video for 'Cecelia and her Selfhood'

2011-09-19T22:08:00.001+01:00

A long-standing fan favourite of their live shows, Villagers' brilliant song 'Cecelia and her Selfhood' has finally been committed to tape.

Conor J. O'Brien and his band have also just unveiled the new video for the track, a beautiful and spellbinding animated short by animator Adrien Merigeau. As detailed on Villagers' official website, the film "charts the development of a young man as he navigates his way through an impressionistic landscape in search of an elusive monster which is intent on destroying his childhood home. Lost and confused for the most part, he nonetheless uncovers the beast; a creature whose origins are both terrifying and liberating". Check out Merigeau's stunning work below.

Villagers play their very last Irish show of 2011 this Wednesday night at Dolan's Live @ the Big Top. Tickets for this unmissable performace are still available from Dolan's own website and from Ticketmaster.ie.

Villagers - Cecelia & Her Selfhood from Domino Recording Co on Vimeo.

PJ Harvey Releases A Brand New Track

2011-09-19T21:41:00.002+01:00

Following a stunning Electric Picnic performance earlier this month, and in the wake of being awarded the 2011 Mercury Prize for Album of the Year for Let England Shake, her eight studio album, PJ Harvey has unveiled a brand new track, 'The Last Living Rose'.

Taken from her acclaimed 2011 release, this new offering further proves why Let England Shake is the fastest selling record of Harvey’s already impressive career.

For more information see www.pjharvey.net/home.asp.

Florence and the Machine Unveil New Single and Album Details

2011-09-14T14:16:00.003+01:00

A few weeks back, Florence Welch gave us our first taster of her brand new material with the the track 'What The Water Gave Me'. Today it has been revealed that her forthcoming second studio album, the follow up to her phenomenal 2009 debut Lungs, will be called Ceremonials and will be released on October 31st.

Florence's sophomore record will be released in two formats according to her Facebook page, both deluxe and standard, and the tracklistings for each are available here.

The first official single to be taken from Ceremonials will be the utterly gorgeous 'Shake It Out' (due for release on October 2nd), which you can check out below.

'Shake It Out' will recieve it's first radio play from Zane Lowe on his Radio 1 show tonight at 7pm, which you can listen to via the BBC website, and Florence will also be joining him for an exclusive interview.

For more information on Florence and the Machine visit www.florenceandthemachine.net.

Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out by ListenBeforeYouBuy

The Ambience Affair Debut Album Video Teaser and First Single

2011-09-13T10:19:00.001+01:00

Artwork by The Ambience Affair bandmember, Yvonne Ryan

Having taken Yvonne Ryan on board last year, Jamie Clarke and Marc Gallagher, otherwise known as The Ambience Affair, are back on our earwaves with a brand new single.

Lush and layered 'The Fallen', which you can stream (courtesy of Nialler9) below, is the first single from the band's forthcoming debut album Burials, which is due for release on Bluestack records on 14th October (available on download from 28th September). The album was produced by Ian McNulty and recorded in Chart House Studio in Portsmouth, England, and is The Ambience Affair's first release since their 2010 EP Patterns.

The Ambience Affair - The Fallen by Nialler9

Irish media and production company Souljacker have been working with the band again for this album. Souljacker were responsible for the brilliant video for The Ambience Affair's 'Devil in the Detail', which won them the Best Music Video award at the inaugural Digital Socket Awards earlier this year. Souljacker, made up of writers/producers/directors Brian O’Brien and Sean Smith, have created a video teaser for Burials, which you can also check out below.

The Ambience Affair // Burials from Souljacker on Vimeo.

Check out The Ambience Affair live at the following venues throughout October:

20th Oct – Auntie Annies, Belfast

21st Oct – The Spirit Store, Dundalk (Support from Henrietta Game)

22nd Oct – Cyprus Ave, Cork (Support from Katie Kim)

27th Oct – Kellys Bar, Galway

28th Oct – Workman’s Club, Dublin (Support from Katie Kim)

For more information on The Ambience Affair, visit their Facebook page here. Find out more about Souljacker and their work at their official website here.

Noah and the Whale Unveil Video for 'Waiting For My Chance to Come'

2011-09-12T10:59:00.002+01:00

Noah and the Whale took a trip down the docks to film the video for the most recent track to emerge from their 2011 album, Last Night on Earth. The stylish, retro-themed video for 'Waiting For My Chance to Come' sees the band's frontman, Charlie Fink, fill out a fine suit once again as he and his boys strut their way around the waterfront.

Check out the video below:

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: James Vincent McMorrow's 'Like the River'

2011-09-05T18:45:00.002+01:00

RARITIES, B-SIDES & OTHER STUFF: A feature paying tribute to rare songs, great b-sides, fantastic covers and bonus tracks, or anything else that catches my eye, or my ear rather.

James Vincent McMorrow performs at St Canice's Cathedral. Photograph property of Kilkenny Arts Festival.

The very first time I saw James Vincent McMorrow play live - back in March of 2010 in the wake of the release of his debut album Early in the Morning - the Dublin singer-songwriter stunned the small crowd in the intimate Upstairs venue at Dolan's to silence with a performance of a track called 'Like a River'. McMorrow also performed the song at his recent St Canice's Cathedral gig as headliner of this year's Kilkenny Arts Festival. Since both of these performances, his version of the song has stuck in my mind as one of the most beautiful live covers I have ever heard.

'Like a River' was written by American singer-songwriter Mark Kozelec and featured on his music project Sun Kil Moon's third studio album, April, which was released in April 2008. The album included four bonus tracks which were later released as a separate 12" vinyl EP in January 2009 by Caldo Verde Records and Vinyl Films. This EP, entitled Tonight the Sky, included an alternate version of 'Like a River', as well as two previously unreleased live tracks.

The song stood out on April as a memorable highlight, its stunning melody and heartfelt lyrics reminiscient of Neil Young in his times of Harvest. In 2010, McMorrow featured his cover of 'Like the River' on his 4-track selftitled EP. McMorrow's beautifully soulful voice wraps itself warmly around the song's words, turning it into a gentle and wistful folk ballad. With his vocals carrying softly over a delicately-picked acoustic guitar, McMorrow offers up an utterly gorgeous cover version that even Kozelek himself, I'd imagine, would be a fan of.

Judge for yourself:

Read my 2010 interview with James Vincent McMorrow here.

Listen to the First Track from Ryan Adam's Forthcoming New Studio Album

2011-09-04T00:36:00.002+01:00

I was always of the opinion that Ryan Adams could do no wrong. He almost threw me off in 2010 when he released his heavy metal concept album, Orion, but thankfully his acoustic show at the Olympia this year made me fall in love with him all over again.

Last week I was reminded of the reasons why I am a Ryan Adams fan, when I heard the below song for the first time. 'Lucky Now' will be the first single released from the singer-songwriter's forthcoming thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, and features one of the most beautiful melodies I have heard this year. Everything that is great about Ryan Adams is encapsualted in this stunning musical gem.

Ashes & Fire is set to include 11 further tracks, and will feature Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' organist Benmont Tench and guest co-vocalist Norah Jones, who Adams has previously worked with on ...Featuring, Jones' 2010 compilation album. The new album was produced by Glyn Johns, who has worked with the likes of The Who and The Rolling Stones, and who is also the father of fellow producer Ethan Johns, who previously worked with Adams' band Whiskeytown back in the late 90s.

Ashes & Fire is set for release on October 10th.

Lisa Hannigan's New Video for 'Knots' and Free Download of 'A Sail'

2011-09-03T23:54:00.001+01:00

Lisa Hannigan obviously has a huge grá for the sea. From the title of her debut album (Sea Sew) to her appearance on the soundtrack of the water-themed Ondine (her songs 'Lille' and 'Braille' were featured in the film), it's clear the lovely lass has a lot to say on the subject. And now Lisa has unveiled the video for her new song 'Knots', the first to emerge from her sophomore studio album, Passenger.

The video, which was directed by Myles O'Reilly, also just happens to be filmed on a boat off of West Cork. Ondine's fillming location, Castletownbere, must have left its mark on her then... Watch the video for 'Knots' in full here.

Passenger, the highly anticipated follow up to Lisa's Mercury and Choice Music Prize nominated debut, will be released in Ireland on October 21st. Here's the album's setlist:

01 Home
02 A Sail
03 Knots
04 What’ll I Do
05 O Sleep
06 Paper House
07 Little Bird
08 Passenger
09 Safe Travels (Don’t Die)
10 Nowhere To Go

Subscribe to Lisa Hannigan's newsletter on her website here and receive a free MP3 of Passenger track 'A Sail'.

NEW MUSIC: Marcus Foster

2011-09-03T23:53:00.004+01:00

I first mentioned Marcus Foster on this blog when I wrote a post on Communion Records' (the independent label founded by Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett, producer Ian Grimble and Kev Jones) double album, The Flowerpot Sessions, which featured the singer-songwriter's stunning tones.

London-born Marcus Foster was six years old when he first began to play the piano. He became quietly obsessive about music when he discovered his father's collection of Bob Dylan records, and during his teenage years spent hours in his room listening to the likes of Tom Waits and Van Morrison while his peers were out mourning the death of Kurt Cobain.

By 14, Foster was playing the blues in West London dives, and by 18 was being eyed-up by music labels such as EMI for his old voice and even older-seeming soul (perhaps a result of him having also had his head stuck in the work of Jack Kerouac as a teenager). But he turned them down, being in no great rush to give up his education. Clever boy. He took a degree in Fine Art, specialising in sculpture, and finally an MA from the Royal College of Art, where his work was discovered and snapped up Charles Saatchi. And he was not the only one who was impressed by the young artist: Foster's degree show was subsequently exhibited across Italy and Greece. Talented boy too.

His MA completed, Foster then returned to music. By 2008, things had cranked up several gears, and he got his first major break contributing a song to the Twilight soundtrack, a film his childhood friend, Robert Pattinson, had just landed the lead role in. The song, entitled 'Let Me Sign', was sung by Pattinson in the film and led to much hype after the film's release. Foster also contributed two songs to the film Five Dollars a Day starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, which helped to light a fire under his name and create an awful lot of premature excitement (considering the young singer-songwriter was yet to release an EP).

By the middle of 2010 Foster had already racked up over a million hits on his MySpace page, while his Twitter account was followed in the tens of thousands. It prompted record labels to court him, and he eventually signed to Communion Records. Foster's debut release, the four-track EP Tumble Down, was finally released in April of this year. Rich with maturity, languor and melancholy, the tracks lead you to believe that the voice behind their words has been doing this for years. Hard to believe this guy is still only 24 years old.

Marcus Foster - Tumble Down (free download) by Stayloose

This September sees the release of Foster's debut album, Nameless Path. He is also kicking off a UK tour this autumn with The Pierces, the dates for which you can find here.

Nameless Path drops 26th September and will be preceded by the new single ‘I Was Broken’ on 19th September. This utterly gorgeous song is accompanied by the video below, which interestingly enough features Twilight's Kristen Stewart in her music video debut. The things a lady will do for her fella...

Rachael Yamagata Releases the Video for New Single 'Starlight'

2011-08-19T19:48:00.001+01:00

Rachael Yamagata recently announced that she is putting the finishing touches to a brand new release, the much anticipated follow up to her fantastic sophomore studio album, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart. Produced by John Alagia, who worked with her on her 2004 debut album Happenstance, the new album (due to carry the title Chesapeake) will be self-released by Yamagata this coming October.

The singer-songwriter's fantastic new lo-fi single 'Starlight', taken from the forthcoming album, is quite a departure from the delicate folk sound we associate with Yamagata. Directed by Laura Crosta, the video for the song flashes between two different worlds; one featuring an old style circus and carnival filled with empty carousels, ferris wheels, games and fire-blowers, and the other featuring a stunning and sultry Yamagata on a boat lined with twinkling lights.

Check it out for yourself below:

Bon Iver Unveils the Official Video for 'Holocene'

2011-08-19T09:51:00.002+01:00

This video really makes me want to go to Iceland!

Just yesterday, National Geographic posted the world premiere of the latest video from Bon Iver on their website. Taken from Bon Iver's self-titled album, the follow-up to 2008's critically acclaimed For Emma, Forever Ago, the video for 'Holocene' was shot entirely in Iceland by Australian photographer and director Nabil Elderkin.

On his desire to shoot in Iceland, Elderkin told National Geographic: "[Iceland] is the most magical place in the world. It looked like Mars to me, so I always wanted to shoot there. When Bon Iver gave me the reigns on this video, I knew it had to be filmed there."

The stunning video was filmed on the east side of the island, in the region of Vik.

Snow Patrol Premiere the Video for New Single 'Called Out in the Dark'

2011-08-17T12:54:00.001+01:00

It's been quite a while since we've heard anything from the lovely Gary Lightbody and his boys, but Snow Patrol are finally back on our earwaves, having spent the last couple of years writing and recording their sixth studio album, Fallen Empires.

Just this morning, the group premiered the video for their brand new single, 'Called Out in the Dark', which was shot by Brett Simon (The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age) and choreographed by Noemie Lafrance (Feist). You can check out the entire video below. Is it me or does this track have a noticeable Bell X1 sound to it?

Snow Patrol's EP featuring ‘Called Out in the Dark’ will be released on September 4th and will also include the band's forthcoming album's title track ‘Fallen Empires’, ‘I’m Ready’, and ‘My Brothers', a song that was written for Irish award-winning director Paul Fraser’s film of the same name.

Fallen Empires is expected to drop later this year. The group is also currently preparing themselves for a tour of the UK and Ireland in early 2012. For more information see www.snowpatrol.com.

GIG REVIEW: Agnes Obel at the 2011 Kilkenny Arts Festival

2011-08-13T11:31:00.002+01:00

I go to a lot of gigs and, while the vast majority of them are great, there are a few that definitely leave a mark. And, on very rare occasions, there comes along a gig that is so very special, that it completely stuns you and leaves you in awe of the performer before you. Thursday night, I experienced one of those rare moments.

The Kilkenny Arts Festival this year has been incredible. From the Irish and international visual art to the classical music; the theatre and dance events to the jazz, world & traditional Irish music performaces; from the literature and film to even the street events; this year's festival has certainly pulled out all the stops. But one of the highlights for me, without a doubt, will always be Agnes Obel's St. Canice's Cathedral performance.

Obel is still somewhat of an unknown to many people in Ireland, but since the release of her debut album, Philharmonics, in 2010 and even more since her performance in support of Fleet Foxes this summer in Cork, people are discovering just how incredibly talented this Danish singer-songwriter and composer is. However, it was clear that all those who attended Thursday night's show were all avid fans who had come out in eager anticipation of Obel's performance. And they weren't disappointed. In what was a stunning and sublime show, Obel gracefully worked her way through a collection of her finest songs from her debut album, casting a spell over her entire audience.

With Annie Ostsee, an immensely talented Berlin-based cellist, by her side, Obel silenced the crowd with her captivating compositions and beautifully pure vocals, which carried through the spectaculor venue with ease. Instrumental pieces, of which there were three, were delivered with passion and emotion, and were executed with percision, while Obel's more well-known tracks, such as 'Riverside', 'Just So' and her album's title track 'Philharmonics', proved to be perfect crowd pleasers. Obel's cover of John Cale's 'Close Watch', a favourite of hers to play live, was played at a faster tempo than it appears on the album, but was stunning all the same. Throughout all songs, Obel and Ostsee's harmonies were lush and layered, accompanying each other perfectly and soaring hauntingly throughout the cathedral.

Between her songs, Obel amused the crowd with short facts about her songs' meanings and their creation, in one instance revealing that her song 'Beast' was written for the men out there who needed to learn how to "control their tempers". A soft-spoken, graceful and utterly gorgeous lady, Obel is completely enchanting to watch live, and her songs are filled with such genuine emotion and are performed so beautifully, that it is almost impossible not to fall in love with her. And I'm sure almost every single man there on the night would agree with me.

You can read my recent interview with Agnes Obel here. For more on her music, see www.agnesobel.com.

All of the photographs used throughout this post are the property of the Kilkenny Arts Festival.

INTERVIEW: Ann Scott

2011-08-13T10:10:00.003+01:00

Today Gemma Hayes will take to the stage at St John's Priory in Kilkenny as part of the city's annual arts festival. Opening the show, and accompanying her in her performace, is Dublin-based singer-songwriter and musician, Ann Scott. The talented Meteor Award nominee is a highly original singer-songwriter who is celebrated for her wonderfully unusual sound and passionate live performaces. With her experimentation with unusual melodies, lyrics and ideas, and her impressive collection of work, which includes three studio albums and as many EPs, Ann's performace at the Kilkenny Arts Festival is certainly one not to be missed.

Last week I caught up with Ann for a chat about her music, what it's like to work with Gemma Hayes, and what we can expect to hear from her in Kilkenny today.

Elaine: Ann, you have a lot of releases under your belt now and have done countless gigs. Are the nerves completely gone now?

Ann: The nerves gone... Well, for me, I'd have more nerves performing than I would recording. You get a different kind of nervousness with recording, but it's one that you can live with. You can teach yourself not to worry too much. But I do think if you don't have a bit of nerves then you so stop trying. Most people who get nervous, as long as they can channel it into something that helps. I actually think you need to have a few nerves; as long as their not completely shot!

E: One thing that stand out about you, Ann, is your immediately identifiable voice. When did you first realise you could sing?

A: Well, I suppose I started singing in school with choirs and various things. Singing was kind of easy enough with a bunch of people when you're a kid. You're not going out there on the stage saying, "this is my voice" or "these are my words; I have something to sing about". It's kind of a different thing. For me, it was quite a while before I got my head around the whole music side of things. I'm not formally trained and I used to just pick up things by ear. And later on I used to just love Saturday afternoons, sitting around with a guitar; just daydreaming and singing and playing badly! Whatever was in your head was just coming out; the neighbours just loved me! Yeah, so it just kind of progressed then into a kind of verbal diary, if you like.

E: What kind of music would you have listened to growing up?

A: Well, when you're a teenager, I suppose, you're still growing up, aren't you? You haven't really quite developed your tastes. I used to listen to Wham!! Now, I don't know if you should print that! Madonna- I used to love Madonna. Although I think it was more her outfits than her music. But the music was great. Some of the early Madonna hits, they don't really get much better than that in pop. But I suppose anything and everything really.

E: You released your first album in 2003, Ann. How has your sound grown or developed between the release of your debut, through to the release of your sophomore record We’re Smiling and right up to last year’s Flo?

A: It definitely changes. I think even physically, as you grow up, your voice changes, because it's very much a physical part of you, you know? It's often tied up in how you feel and who you are, who you think you are; all of that stuff. And all that is naturally going to change, and can do so very quickly. And you're always being influenced by what you hear; what goes in goes out as well. But I think I've probably got more control over what I do now and, I don't know, I suppose you go through phases where you're more abstract and other phases where you want to be more specific about things. But it just changes.

E: You mentioned there that you're influenced by things around you and that affects your sound.

A: Yeah, that's right.

E: In your music you experiment with unusual melodies and lyrics. Where do the ideas or inspiration for your music come from? Would you say these come from your own experiences and what you see going on around you?

A: Definitely. For example, I remember when I wrote a lot of the earlier songs and I was living at home with my parents. You don't want to make too much of a racket, so I tended to write small songs, kind of quietish ones. And when I was in a bedsit it was the same. And then you'd have times where you'd have some time to yourself and you'd write something that's a little but bigger. Or if you're going through a phase where you're a bit more extroverted and you're more sociable and out more; I had a period like that in my early 20s. It was around the time I first started writing and some of those songs would be a lot louder and harder. Yeah, where your head's at definitely does influence it. As does reading a lot of books. You know, you might narrate things a little nit more. It's funny, I was in Annaghmakerrig recently - Annaghmakerrig is a place you can go in Monaghan, a writers' retreat...

E: Yes I've heard of it; a friend of mine, Sarah, has been there and has told me all about it.

A: Okay, well I went there in February do a bit of writing and, funnily enough, they have there a whole room that's dedicated to musicians. But, because there's so many people there who are writers - we used to have dinner at 7pm everynight - I must have fed off them slightly. The song I ended up writing had no chorus, it was all verses! So, I blame all the writers there for that...

E: Haha! Well it is supposed to be a fantastic place.

A: It is, it's great.

E: What do you make of the Irish music scene as it is currently, Ann?

A: Well, from what I see - and I'm not out all the time going to all the gigs - but from what I have notived, there's a lot of really, really great young bands around, brilliant bands and they're making great music. What was I going to say about that...? God, I just haven't taken my proper vitamins this week! But yeah, they just really seem to have it together, which is great.

E: With regards the Irish music scene, as a songwriter and performer, you must find it to be quite small and full of certain groups or collections of people who help each other out on recordings, tours etc.

A: Yeah, definitely.

E: In such a small environment, how do you ensure that, in working with other people, you maintain your originality and stand out from the crowd?

A: Well...I suppose everything you experience in music is going to have an impact on you, whether you like it or whether you don't like it, or whether you're into it or not. You do have to be careful about what radio station you listen to! I'm lucky in that some of the people I've worked with or some of the people I've collaborated with, I've really admired them and they have talents which I think are quite different to mine. I think you're born with what you have and you are what you are regardless, so there's only so much you will pick up. Everything will tweak you some way but you're you, you know? So I think everyone has to concentrate on those things they have that are unique to them. It's good in this country because there is so much talent and it's so varied. I don't think there's too many people hear who sound the same. I mean, the music you hear that's all the same is all the auto-tune guys. Some of the R 'n' B stuff out there is gret, but there is a tendency with the songs in the Top 10 to really be the same. A lot of the heavily-driven record company stuff, they've narrowed it down to this particular sound that they want because it seems to be a successful formula. So everything does start to sound the same. But when you're working in a scene that's organic and you're working with someone because you like what they do, it's great. You might have similarities, but you're still very different, so no one's being forced into a trap and I think it all just grows out the way it should.

E: You’ve toured with, and have supported, many acts. I last saw you play with Gemma Hayes here in Limerick and you will also join her for this year’s Kilkenny Arts Festival. What’s it like playing with Gemma?

A: Ah it's great. Gemma is one of these grand masters now! With regards my music changing and having more control over what I do, Gemma is a great person to watch or a great person to play with because she's a perfectionist and every detail, for her, has to be perfect. So it's a great experience. Gemma is one of the people, as I mentioned, I'm really lucky to get to work with. She's someone I like and would admire musically and it's great to go around with her. At every radio interview she will always come out pitch perfect. It's just very good to be with a musician you admire, you know?

E: And you both seem to have a bit of craic as well; there seems to be some good onstage banter between the two of you!

A: We do have a bit of craic. I mean, sometimes it's like the black swan and the white swan...have you seen that Black Swan film?

E: Haha, I have!

A: There's been a few moments where we've tried to murder each other and drag the corpse of the other off into a room...ah I'm only joking! Ah it's all good fun. You couldn't do it if it wasn't because you're in such close quarters with someone, you know? That's the thing; if you really admire someone for their music but have a clash of personalities, it's very difficult to work

E: When you are touring with other people, like Gemma, for long periods of time, how do you ensure that you don’t lose focus in your own work?

A: Well I don't think I have to do anything. The thing with music is that, a lot of people would say that they don't choose music; music really chooses them. I think if you were to really lose focus while working with someone else, it might be because you were losing focus anyway. Otherwise your natural instinct is going to pull back and tell you do your own stuff. Ans also, what I find is the more you collaborate, the more objective you are when it comes to sitting down with your own music. It's like the equivalent of having a holiday; you're still flexing all your music muscles, but when you come back to finish a song, or something, you've had a break from it, so you're objective about it and have renewed your energy for your own work. I found with the album Flo, I did that in quite a solitary way, that record. I spent lots of hours just on my own with the piano or just on my own with the guitar, just on my own mixing it, and I loved doing it, but at the same time it wasn't much craic really. It wasn't a whole lot of craic! I mean, having done it I'm really glad I did, and it's probably the favourite album of mine that I've made, but it definitely wasn't the most enjoyable to make. So having completed that album, I was completely ready to get into a room with some other musicians. It's so much more true that way. It's like tennis; you need two people to play tennis. You can play tennis on your own up against a wall, if you like, but it's a completely different game. I think more of the magic happens when there's two or three or four, or even a choir or a whole bunch of people pooling in with their ideas. Do you know Katell Keinig at all?

E: I do; she's fantastic.

A: We're working on a project together that will hopefully become an album.

E: Ah brilliant...

A: Yeah, well we were having a songwriting session recently and I might get stuck on a song for five months at a time, but in all the work I've done with other musicians in the past there hasn't been much co-writing of songs, as such. Sometimes there's instances where you just jump in the car and go off and play a gig, but in terms of actually co-writing music together... Having done the whole album on my own, it was great to go and work with Gemma, play on her album and come up with parts with that, and it's going to be great to do this thing with Katell. Where I'm stuck on a song for five months, in just five minutes she'll come up with this thing that is the perfect answer to it, you know? So, yeah, I'm really excited about doing all that stuff and I think the more I do the quicker I'll get back to my own music. And I'm going to try and do a record this year and have it out next year.

E: What do you like to do when you’re not playing music? What are your other interests?

A: Am...I like cooking but I'm not very good at it! But I like it. I like gardening but I am really quite bad at that! I like growing things but they always only get to a certain point before they wilt and die. I like just being outdoors really.

E: Just to talk about the Kilkenny Arts Festival, where you will open the show and also play with Gemma on stage, what can people expect from your performance?

A: I suppose a mixture of some old stuff and some new stuff, really.

E: Great, and will there be anything from next year's release that you mentioned? Have you started work on any of those songs yet?

A: I have one new song from that album that I might play...but only if I'm feeling brave. If I'm brave!

E: It might depend on the crowd as well!

A: Yeah, it might. Those Kilkenny crowd...ah I'm only joking!

E: Have you and Gemma anything special up your sleeves that you can let us in on?

A: Black swan, white swan...

E: Haha!

A: No, no...I couldn't tell you, Elaine; if I did it wouldn't be a secret!

E: Okay, fair enough. Well, Ann, thanks so much for speaking with me...

A: Thank you too!

E: My pleasure. And I'm really looking forward to hearing both you and Gemma in Kilkenny.

A: Great- see you there!

For more on Ann Scott, see www.annscott.net. You can read my recent interview with Gemma Hayes here.

A full programme of events for the Kilkenny Arts Festival, including dates, times and venues, can be found here, and you can follow the festival on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.

Lisa Hannigan Announces Album Release Date and Unveils New Track 'A Sail'

2011-08-11T12:29:00.001+01:00

I love getting Lisa Hannigan news first thing in the morning; it makes my tea break so much more lovely! Rarities' favourite lady has been working on her second studio album, Passenger, for some time now, and had been updating her Facebook page regularly with videos of her progress. Recently the singer-songwriter announced that the album, the highly anticipated follow up to her Mercury and Choice Music Prize nominated debut Sea Sew, will be released in Ireland on October 21st.

24th October will see the album's release in the UK, while those in the US will be lucky enough to get their hands on it on September 20th. Lisa made the following statement on her Facebook page regarding the US release date: "Just to explain, the reason the record is coming out a month earlier in the states is because we already work with ATO records, so they are ready to go. It's taken us a little longer to get ourselves sorted for everywhere else. Just in case anyone was wondering x"

Luckily for us, Lisa also unveiled one of the tracks from her forthcoming album, which you can have a listen to below. Those of you who have seen Lisa perform live on her recent Irish tour will no doubt already be familiar with this gorgeous gem:

INTERVIEW: Cian Nugent

2011-08-11T11:47:00.002+01:00

One of the main things I loved about listening to Cian Nugent's new album, Doubles, for the first time was that I literally knew nothing of its creator. I could just take the album for what it was and let the music stand for itself. Don't get me wrong; I knew who Cian was (I had heard some of his earlier EPs and various music blogs and online magazines have been talking about the composer for weeks in the run-up to the release of Doubles), but I hadn't yet gone in search of detailed articles on the man behind the beautiful music. And, even if I had, I don't think I would have uncovered many of them, considering Cian seems to be somewhat of a quiet presence amid all the hustle and bustle of the music world. Of course, I made a mental note to ask him about that later.

Ireland's music scene is brimming with some exceptional talent at the moment. Now more than ever, bands and singer-songwriters are being celebrated for their talents and above all else, their individuality. There is no requirement for them to fit into certain genres or niche markets anymore, making our music scene a diverse and exciting environment with a vast range of choice for every kind of music fan.

Cian Nugent is someone who immediately stands out from the crowd, however. A composer and steel guitarist whose talent seems to know no bounds, the young Dublin man is without a doubt a master of his craft. Doubles is Cian's first widely available album, and showcases perfectly what he is all about. Boasting a huge and compelling sound and compositions that are cinematic in their delivery, the album takes you on a musical journey through a range of emotions, rising and falling through light and dark in its 45 minutes.

Doubles is divided between two tracks, each clocking up over twenty minutes each in length. The first, ‘Peaks & Troughs’, showcases Cian’s stunning and intricate fingerwork, making it a highly ambitious piece of work. Besides the introduction of some synth near the track's conclusion, 'Peaks & Troughs' remains a solo affair, rising to ominous, heavy strums before eventually fading to hushed and gentle picking. As the vast abundance of notes become more sparse, easing themselves out under Cian's capable hands, beautifully moving melodies emerge, which carry the listener along on their lush and captivating tones.

For the album's second track, Cian is accompanied by a band on brass, percussion and woodwind. 'Sixes & Sevens' continues to emphasise that strong, obvious guitar line, but opens itself up to allow Cian's other musical interests and influences to filter through. With eerie moments, unpredictable changes in tempo and flourishes of sound that are almost orchestral at their peak, 'Sixes & Sevens' never ceases to draw the listener in.

Tonight Cian plays St. Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny in support of Dutch singer and composer Agnes Obel, as part of the city's annual arts festival. Last Friday evening I got the opportunity to speak with him; well, once his sweet little dog would allow me some of his time! Here's what Cian had to say about his new album and what we can expect from his Kilkenny Arts Festival performance.

Doubles

Elaine: Okay, Cian, let's start with your new album, Doubles. You've received some fantastic praise for it so far. How do you feel about the reception you've gotten?

Cian: It's great! There's been a great reception. I guess, because it kind of took a really long time to make, I kind of wanted to get people to really hear it, you know? Some people work quickly and kind of get an album out there and leave it do what it does, but for this I kind of wanted to get some reviews and stuff like that. But yeah, it seems to be really good. Some people kind of picked up on things that I had thought of this record, while others went in a whole other direction. That's what's interesting about this. And it's pretty fun reading the reviews...

E: I was just going to ask if you read them! Do you look up what people say about the album?

C: I have been reading them, but I know that someone wiser than me probably wouldn't. It's funny to see when someone gets the same thing as you do and it's also funny to see someone get something completely different from it. So, yeah; my ego can't stop me from looking at them!

E: Haha! I just wanted to ask you as well, besides the recent reviews of Doubles, there isn't a lot of information out there on you, Cian. When one of my friends, Peter, heard I was interviewing you, he even said he hoped I didn't ask you too many questions and you didn't give too much away because he likes that you're a bit of an unknown!

C: Haha! Really? Yeah, I guess there's a couple of things floating around the internet, but there isn't too much on me! And that's not me attempting to create any kind of mystique or anything; it's just the way it has been. It's funny; yesterday I saw a review- it was on a website called "Dusted"- and the first line, initially, was: "Not much is available on the internet about Italian guitarist Cian Nugent"...

E: Haha! That's brilliant!

C: ...So I guess there really isn't that much on the internet if people are thinking I'm Italian!

E: That's very interesting indeed...

C: Yeah, so people are saying the same thing, that there isn't much available, but there are a few reviews and things. But I do kind of feel, like, why clutter up what is supposed to be music with too much person, you know?

E: Okay. Well, Cian, I love Doubles; I think it's fantastic. You make such beautiful music...

C: Thank you very much!

E: Listening to the album, for me, it feels like a musical journey. You move between different moods; it's melancholic, eerie and ominous, yet through to the second part you have feelings of hopefulness and these uplifting moments...

C: Yeah, that's right.

E: Where did the ideas for these two songs come from? Did you have very specific images in your head when you were writing them?

C: I think...Well, what you were saying there, it was an attempt at the beginning with the structuring of it. I remember when I was recording it, it was really exhausting recording it, the second piece. I recorded my parts in an afternoon, so we did the second piece first and the first piece second, if you know what I mean? So it was quite late in the evening and I think we did two or three takes of it. Maybe two takes actually. And I remember after the first take feeling a little bit sick and thinking it was a bit of an exhausting one. And it was kind of intended to be; to be a bit heavy, that one. And with the organs at the end and that. That was kind of the intention, to start off with the difficult one and then, if you make it that far, you kind of earn the lighter atmospheres. We did want to finish it with something that left you... I mean, you do want a narrative to something, you do want an ending, if you know what I mean. And that was kind of the idea, you know, to finish on a kind of bittersweet tone. The structuring kind of came in later. I didn't initially intend the pieces to be so long, but when I was starting there were snippets of things and it was just a matter of seeing what worked together. And that's really what took the longest; the structuring of the pieces and making sure things flowed, what worked together and what didn't, chopping and changing parts in and out. That continued right up until it was finished really, in terms of adding in all the new kinds of instruments and that sort of thing. But with writing it, it was a kind of thing where I said, "I want to make people feel sad now, I want to make people feel happy now". It was a thoughtless process; it was more about the sort of music I wanted to play. And I find in making music that you have to have two sides: one being the kind of feeling; experiencing music and not being too critical- because if you're too critical you end up with nothing. And then you have to come in at some stage and ask if what you're doing is any good. And I think it's a balancing act of these two things; letting yourself off the lead and doing something, and then coming back and looking at it and asking if it works. So it's sort of a mixture of those two parts, I think. And that's the challenge of it.

E: You mentioned that it took a long time to make this record. How long exactly did it take before you were happy to let it on off out there?

C: Well, it took quite a long time. I remember I played in America about three years ago and I remember talking to a label there at the time, after I had played a gig. At the gig I think I played the second piece from the album in its entirety and I remember talking to him after the gig and telling him that piece would basically be the second part of the album, but it'll be with a drummer or a band or something. I kind of had an idea for it. But yeah, three years ago I think both pieces were pretty much finished, so I suppose it must have been three and a half or almost four years ago that I first started on it. So back then I had the bones of the guitar parts but then I needed to work with the other instruments and things. And I also thought that getting to play them in a really convincing way kind of took a long time. I wanted to be able to really deliver what I wanted, just not letting the written music down in the playing of it. I also think it was a matter of me working on my own; me being the only person who was getting me going. You kind of get... I rememer recording it the first time - we recorded it twice - and I really hoped we had gotten it. And then we could edit the recordings for a while. But I realised then it wasn't really as good as it could have been and I remember getting a bit disheartened by it then and going, "How am I going to do this? We tried it once and it didn't work". So after a while it took a while to get the enthusiasm again. That's part of the thing about making music on your own- the drive to do it. David, the drummer, was a great help at pushing me to do it. I do think it's easy to slip into that mentality but it's knowing you can do it, even though it might take however long.

Doubles by Cian Nugent

E: Now that you have mentioned playing on your own, let's talk about that versus playing with the band. Obviously there is added sound of the band on the second track, and the introduction of strings and percussion, but do you have a preference for the manner in which you perform and record your music?

C: I think there's definitely things to like about both approaches. I find gigs are an interesting way to get a feel for both. Before your gigs you don't know how you're going to feel about it, but while doing it and after doing it, you do. It's kind of like an education. You might think, "Oh, that was actually much better than I though it was going to be" or much worse than you thought it was going to be! At the moment I'm of the opinion that there's something to fall back on while playing with a band, and more recently we've been working with about six other people. It's a really nice feeling that you can get a kind of collective energy going; that's a great feeling. But at the same time, playing solo there's a sense of danger, and that danger can be quite exciting. So I don't think I've decided on a preference for one or the other and I think that's the way to be. I don't want to get too fond of either one. It's best to try both.

E: You list a whole host of influences on your MySpace, page and your album does boast quite a range of influences I feel, two things that lead me to believe you have quite a vast range of music tastes...

C: I guess so, yeah...

E: So, rather than ask you to list a bunch of your influences, can you tell me about the first piece of music that made you feel like music was what you wanted to do? What music is particularly memorable for you?

C: Hmmm...well I think there were a few different stages for me growing up. I think the first band I was really into was Oasis, when I was about six or something. It was when they were really big and they were definitely the first band I liked of my own choosing. But with Oasis it just was listening to what I liked really; it didn't exactly make me want to play music. I would think what made me want to play music the most was probably the White Stripes when they first came out, which probably doesn't sound at all in keeping with what I'm doing now. I remember in 2001, when their album, White Blood Cells came out. I remember listening to that and thinking, "Yeah, I want to make music". White Stripes were probably the first band whose music I learned to play on the guitar. I really like the way [Jack White] played guitar and that was more or less what first inspired me to play music. From there I kind of listened to a lot of garage rock bands. I remember going through interviews with them and them saying what bands they were influenced by and then buying Captain Beefheart albums and Velvet Underground albums. And through listening to that primitive rock and roll thing I realised that was what I really wanted to play at that age. And I never really kind of got around to doing it, and I think it's maybe something now that I would kind of love to come back around to and do. From there I kind of got into a lot of guitar players, like blues guitar players. I really liked Doc Watson, who I guess is more of a kind of bluegrass player. I remember him and this live album he had with a song called 'Deep River Blues'. He kind of does this syncopated thing with his thumb, like finger picking. And he's got this kind of rhythm with his thumb. It's got a really good feeling to it, like he's showing how he plays this particular song, and I remember listening to that and thinking that guitar playing sounded just amazing. And listening to him slow it down so we could hear how it was played was great because I saw that I could potentially play like that. I thought it sounded great and thought, "I would love to do something like that". And that was another moment for me where I thought I could do that and I wanted to do it, and it was a really exciting feeling. And the thing that you like the sound of becomes that thing that you're doing, even if it's not in as good a way. There were a couple of moments where you actually get that sense of power and think you can actually do something and get a sound that you really like. After that...I guess it was hearing John Fahey for the first time. Hearing John Fahey was diffferent because I liked listening to guitar players who are quite conventional but I wasn't into music that was that conventional, so I think it was John Fahey who brought the different things I liked in music together. And I thought, "Wow...this person's making kind of weird music but is using traditional techniques or conventional techniques". I remember having this feeling, getting this feeling of being permitted to do something by hearing that, that I could make weird music with an acoustic guitar. I remember feeling that was exciting.

Photograph by Cait Dalkey

E: You mentioned "weird" music just there, Cian. Obviousy the music you make is very different from the abundance of indie and pop-rock music that's out there at the moment and, in the broader sense, it's not "radio friendly" as such...

C: No, it's not.

E: Would you consider mainstream success something to be important to you? What is the most important thing for you when it comes to your music?

C: Hmmm...well, I think what mainstream music - and this sounds like I'm disapproving of it, but I'm not and I love a lot of mainstream music - is that it's kind of everyday music, if that makes sense? It's music that you're listening to while you're doings...

E: Like a soundtrack to your day, maybe.

C: Yeah, exactly, like an accompaniment to your life, whereas with the music I've been making, it's more of an attempt to exist in its own merit, and the ambition was that people would kind of listen to it as something in itself, rather than listening to it while you were, I don't know, cooking or something. Actually, I quite like the idea of people listening to it while cooking! Perhaps it's an over ambitious idea, but I would like it to be more like a film or something like that, that it would hold your attention rather than letting your brain slip off. I think it's a different approach, but I do really like that kind of "everyday" music. More recently I've been listening to things like Canned Heat and Steely Dan; just 70s music that's more kind of enjoyable music in a pop sense. I guess the most important thing for me with my music is for it to continue to interest me, keep me occupied, keep me doing something, keep my mind from rotting; I think that was always the overall ambition. I think that this album as well is kind a one-off. I think in the future I'd like to make music that's kind of...I don't think I know the work verbally, but what sticks in my mind about Doubles is that it's kind of half awake, half asleep. I think the effect it has on me when I listen to it is that it kind of leaves me paralysed; the first piece anyway, the second piece to a certain degree. It makes me a bit lulled and it just kind of washes over me. I think that was a particular aesthetic of that project, and now I think I'd like to move on to something that's a little bit more awake. But I guess the main ambition at the moment is just to keep me feeling excited and interested.

E: Great! Okay, can we just talk about the Kilkenny Arts Festival for a minute? You're playing the second week of the festival in support of Agnes Obel; are you a fan of her music?

C: I'll be honest with you, I haven't heard a whole lot of her music but I'm really looking forward to hearing it live. When we booked the gig I check out some of her stuff, but then I said I'd save it and hear it live, and I thought that'd be the best way to do it. But yeah, I've not heard a lot of her music.

E: For those who haven't heard you play live before, can you just tell us a little bit about how you approach live performances? Just to give us an idea idea of what we can expect in Kilkenny.

C: Okay, well for the Kilkenny gig it's just going to be a solo acoustic guitar show. I'll probably play some short ones and then go into some of the longer ones. At the moment I'm kind of doing a mixture of the older stuff that I've been doing quite a while and some newer ones. In terms of my approach a gig...my own gigs that I tend to enjoy are the ones that you can get into and kind of remove yourself enough from the situation and just sort of experience it from a removed position. To me, that's kind of my ideal gig, where I can kind of not be too aware that I'm doing it, but also feel that I'm doing a good job. When it works, it's great, but obviously with playing gigs sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work, and to a degree it's just left up to the stars or something.

E: Well I'm really looking forward to hearing you Cian, I can't wait...

C: Well thank you!

E: And thank you so much for speaking with me; it's been a pleasure!

C: Thank you, Elaine.

For more on the brilliant Cian Nugent, visit his MySpace page here or his Facebook page here.

You can read my interview with Agnes Obel here. A full programme of events for the Kilkenny Arts Festival, including dates, times and venues, can be found here, and you can follow the festival on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.

GIG REVIEW: James Vincent McMorrow at the 2011 Kilkenny Arts Festival

2011-08-08T21:37:00.006+01:00

Photograph property of Kilkenny Arts Festival

If the Catholic Church (or any religious order, for that matter) had James Vincent McMorrow sing at mass on Sundays, people would have no problem getting out of bed. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd be lining up from the early hours to fill out the pews. Last night, in the spectacular surroundings of St. Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny, McMorrow took to the venue's beautifully lit alter steps for a truly wonderful performace as the headliner for this year's Kilkenny Arts Festival.

McMorrow has proved over the last number of months that he is one of the best things to happen to Irish music in a very long time. Since the release of his incredible debut album, Early in the Morning last year, James Vincent McMorrow has been a name on everyone's lips, both fans and critics alike. The Dublin singer-songwriter has gone from strength to strength, stunning people with his live shows, which have included performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Dublin's Peppercanister Church and the Mitchelstown Caves, and has been garnering huge critical acclaim both at home and abroad. His performance on Later...with Jools Holland also set tongues wagging in the U.K., providing an excellent platform that any of today's singer-songwriters would be thrilled with (just look at what that performance of 'Someone Like You' did for Adele).

Last night, McMorrow's unquestionable talent and captivating charm were crystal clear for all to see, presented on the alter of St. Canice's Cathedral like an ethereal gift. His fragile and deeply soulful voice silenced the entire crowd, as he effortlessly moved his way through a 90-minute set that included a fine pick of songs from his incredible debut album. Fan-favourites such as 'This Old Dark Machine', 'Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree' and 'Sparrow and the Wolf' in particular drew a great response from the congregation of avid fans, while numbers like ''We Don't Eat' and 'Down the Burning Rope' left people stunned. At one stage he moved away from the microphone but it made little difference; his haunting sound still carried through the venue with ease.

Photograph property of Kilkenny Arts Festival

McMorrow's set was also intertwined with utterly gorgeous renderings of some of his own personal favourite songs, including Midlake's 'Roscoe' (video included below), Chris Isaak's heart-rending 'Wicked Game', and Sun Kil Moon's 'Like the River', a song which provided McMorrow with the perfect opportunity to praise its creator, Mark Kozelec, who will close the Kilkenny Arts Festival with a performance next Sunday night.

As well as having a great onstage charm that keeps his audience amused and interested throughout his sets (last night he recounted tales from the road, as well as little anecdotes about the everyday and the mundane), McMorrow has a presence that is nothing short of mesmerising. His songs are filled with such deep and genuine emotion, and are executed with such perfection, that it is impossible not to be swept up in his sound. McMorrow ended his set with a performace of 'Red Dust', a song he released on the Dublin label Any Other City Records late last year. He also revealed the track is going to appear on his second studio album, which McMorrow hopes to begin work on in December, news that everyone in the cathedral (and beyond, no doubt) were delighted to hear.

I have seen James Vincent McMorrow perform live four times and have never come away from one of his gigs feeling anything less than complete and utter awe. Last night was no exception.

And for (more of) your listening pleasure:

A full programme of events for the festival, including dates, times and venues, can be found here. Follow Kilkenny Arts Festival on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.

Laura Marling Unveils the Video for Forthcoming Single 'Sophia'

2011-08-08T20:25:00.002+01:00

London folk songbird Laura Marling has just revealed the video for her forthcoming single on her YouTube page. 'Sophia', another mesmerising track boasting Marling's instantly recognisable, gorgeous folk sound, begins as a slow, finger-picked number and eventually swells to a bright and infectious little gem.

'Sophia' will be the first official single to be released from Laura's third studio album, A Creature I Don't Know. The album was produced by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne) and drops September 12th.