Featuring Slow Moving Clouds, Zapho, Celaviedamai, Conchúr White, whoisdays,Trophy Wife, Papa Romeo, A.S Fanning, USNA, KEHLI, Blimp, Joexxvincy, Video Blue.
A lot of music from Ireland and Northern Ireland comes our way and every week, we listen through it all, sift the list down to a manageable list and share the best new tracks from emerging artists and some more established acts that deserve to be heard by you.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, follow our Spotify playlist or hit up the Irish section for individual track features.
1.
Slow Moving Clouds
The Long Lie
From Slow Moving Clouds’ third studio album Kolmas, due on Friday May 19th, lead single ‘The Longest Lie’ is an immediate clarion call, a rejection of the old ways of things, with affecting instrumentation of alt-folk music.
“The song taps into the sense of ideological upheaval currently being experienced globally. People are no longer accepting the old narratives justifying inequality and the song speaks to this sense of defiance.”
Slow Moving Clouds are Aki (nyckelharpa / key harp, vocals), Ultan O Brien (fiddle) and Kevin Murphy (cello, vocals).
2.
Zapho, Celaviedamai
Pay The Piper
Zapho has form in releasing big funk, soul, pop electronic R&B bangers, and this collab with rapper Celaviedmai is a slinky bop between the pair. It’s from Zapho’s forthcoming debut album.
3.
Conchúr White
Atonia
Armagh artist Conchúr White (pronounced Conor) steps up with the news that the singer-songwriter has signed to Bella Union for further releases, including a debut album.
‘Atonia’ is a lush song, leaning on singer-songwriter intimacy, inspired by the experience of sleep paralysis, while White experiences regularly.
“Those who know the sensation may feel there is a spirit / demon / ghost above them”.
4.
whoisdays
Everything (About her)
whoisdays, formerly stylised as Day_S, moves his music into the cross section of a Venn diagram that says “indie-rock”, “pop” and “disco” with ‘Everything (About her)’.
The song was co-written with Oisin Furlong (Thumper) and Chris Bubenzer AKA Benza.
“The song is about wanting only one person, no matter how many others come along or how much you know it won’t work.”
5.
Trophy Wife
Scully
Ruby Smyth returns to Trophy Wife project with a song inspired by Gillian Anderson’s X Files character, and a different sound than the funk-indie vibe of songs like ‘On The Phone’ and ‘Good Life’
I want to like this more but I find the mix a little on the fuzzy side for me (which may be the point), but the melodies remain strong.
“Scully is a song for people like me who are painfully self aware and hold emotions very close to their chest. It came to me one day while watching TV and contemplating the difference between the inner and outer world. Sonically I wanted it to be exciting and layered – focussing on conversational guitar lines, big rich harmonies and a driving beat throughout. It slaps – and Gillian Anderson is really hot so, there’s that too.”
Trophy Wife
6.
Papa Romeo
Already Day
Shimmery indie pop meets nu-jazz chill out vibes from Dublin five-piece Papa Romeo, who play The Sugar Club late Saturday night.
7.
A.S Fanning
Pink Light / Magic Light
Irish artist A.S. Fanning’s latest single harks back to a classic songwriting style and vocal. The Berlin-based artist’s song’s moving instrumentation evokes the inspirational experience of the title – “walking across a golf course in southern Sweden at 6am.”
“This is a song partly about solitude and isolation, though not intended in a negative way. I think it’s quite a meditative song. There’s some darkness in some of the lyrics but I see it as a song about switching off the negative and fearful thoughts and appreciating a moment of beauty.”
A.S. Fanning was formerly of the band The LAst Tycoons but has been solo for 10 years and has relesed two albums to date, most recently You Should Go Mad in 2020.
Mushroom Cloud is his forthcoming LP, out May 29th.
8.
USNA
Sympathy
We’ve featured a couple of big tunes from Northern Irish rapper / producer / instrumentalist Usna MacErlane aka USNA, most recently a wonky banger collab with Santino Browne this past January, that is nearing 1 million streams on Spotify.
‘Sympathy’ is another reminder that this guy is well worth keeping an eye on, and he has a new mixtape out called OOSHNA.
9.
KEHLI
Dead Body
Irish artist KEHLI is back with another big banger, this time featuring a guitar-driven melodic pop tune that was co-written alongside Conor O’Donohoe of Wild Youth, Oli Fox, Maple Goldrush and Aiden Halliday (Lewis Capaldi’s co-producer and co-writer).
KEHLI makes her London debut on April 27th at The Sebright Arms, and will also be performing at this year’s Great Escape Festival in Brighton next month.
11.
Joexxvincy
Dubflint
‘Dubflint’ stood out to me for its production inspired by Irish rap and music coming out of Flint Michigan, a unique twist which serves as a fine intro to Tallaght-based Joexxvincy and his forthcoming debut EP titled Council Baby on May 5th.
12.
Video Blue
Weatherspeak
London-based Dundalk musician Jim O’Donoghue Martin released his third album The Pull last November, and ‘Weatherspeak’ is the third song from the record, a hushed and taut guitar-lead alternative song in the vein of Fujiya & Miyagi, that now has a video set in a bar.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, hit up the Irish section for individual track features
For this and more Irish songs, follow the Nialler9 New Irish Spotify playlist.
