Featuring Aby Coulibaly, King Kong Company, Bobby Fingers, Meryl Streek, Fia Moon, JyellowL, Bon Voyage, Slow Moving Clouds, Luunah, A Lethal Black Ooze, Malik, Tabitha Smyth, D12 Inc.
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.
Aby Coulibaly
Patience
Aby Coulibaly keeps on climbin’ higher, and ‘Patience’ might be her best tune yet.
“Patience is a song about escapism & being in your own world. Feeling different, like an alien or that you don’t fully belong somewhere. Sat in a coffee shop window, watching a world go by that you don’t feel part of.”
Live Dates :
28 May – Radio 1 Big Weekend, Dundee
3rd June – Forbidden Forest
17th June – Body & Soul Festival
7th July – Otherside Festival
27th August – All Points East
7-9 July – Otherside festival, Slane
27 August – All Points East, London
2.
JyellowL, Evil Genius
F**k Em All
This new one from JYellowL? It slaps. It’s a collab with the UK production duo Evil Genius.
3.
King Kong Company, Bobby Fingers
The Machine
Waterford band King Kong Company have enlisted the diorama Youtube sensation and ex-Rubberbandit Bobby Fingers for their new track, a 90s-indebted dance track with Bobby pointing fingers, vocally speaking. This one will be a fun festival buzz this summer, no doubt.
Video by Shane Serrano.
4.
Tabitha Smyth
Sad About Nothing
A super impressive debut in the form of Northern Irish artist Tabitha Smyth and the pop-centred songwriting of ‘Sad About Nothing’.
The song was produced by Kris Platt and Daniel Ball (formerly frontmen of Blue Americans),
“I wrote Sad About Nothing for those trying to glue back the pieces of an old relationship. It’s a song about working through hurt, forgiving and asking the person on the other end to understand things from your perspective.”
‘Sad About Nothing’ is the first single from a debut EP out soon.
5.
D12 Inc.
I Need
A new Dublin rap collective called D12 Inc. has formed from the scene featuring Kadillac, Nonchalant, Mickzart, Absentee, Lukemen, Curtis and Copypoc, with the name based from their home of Vision Lab studio in Dublin 12.
‘I Need’ sets out the style of each member well as an intro, on a hook-filled beat by Mickzart.
D12 INC plan on doing everything in-house: writing, engineering, producing, photography, DJing, editing and even acting. There’s a podcast too called Bar For Bar.
6.
Meryl Streek
If This Is Life
Dubliner Meryl Streek has followed up his 796 album with another jab at Irish establishment, this time with help from longtime collaborators Molly Vulpyne, Phil Wyer, with guitars by Pete Holidai from Irish punk band The Radiators From Space.
The tune has a MBV-esque sonic tone to it, and features a sample of Irish academic and author Rory Hearne speaking about the Irish housing crisis, and
The music video was shot in barber shop The B Club in Drumcondra, and directed by Peter Kingston. Vulpyne and Holidai also feature.
It’s written about the current state of Ireland and how the housing crisis is affecting families across the country on a massive scale. The eviction ban has been lifted and the landlords are evicting families onto the streets once again, with 11,754 people living in emergency accommodation at the start of this year and no sign of it getting any better. That includes 1,609 families, with 3,431 children in homelessness. 55% of them are single-parent families and we’ve still got the same corrupt government turning a blind eye and not admitting their mistakes. It’s an absolute joke, and people need to start speaking up about it.”
Meryl Streek live dates:
23.05.23 – Liverpool – Kazimier Stockroom
24.05.23 – Sheffield – Yellow Arch Studios
25.05.23 – Glasgow – SWG3
26.05.23 – Newcastle – Star and Shadow Cinema %
27.05.23 – Dot to Dot Bristol
28.05.23 – Dot to Dot – Nottingham
29.05.23 – Manchester – YES
30.05.23 – Brighton – Green Door Store
31.05.23 – London – Corsica Studios
7.
Fia Moon
Back To Me
A fine pop song with a memorable chorus is Fia Moon’s M.O. and ‘Back To Me’ is no different.
Originally written in 2018, the song is a lesson in persistence, as Fia pushed past missing files and corrupted files to finish the song with Dublin mix producer Ruadhri Cushnan and Ashley Krawkewski to get it to its finished state.
“‘Back To Me’ details the journey of losing yourself to a relationship, before coming out the other end and finding yourself in a more confident, self-assured place. It’s Fia’s letter of resilience for everyone who has gone through heartbreak and healing. The inspiration for the track came from a feeling Fia had been fostering for quite some time, that her relationship was failing but a sense that a more confident, empowered version of herself would rise from its ashes. “I had this awareness that the old, strong, confident, empowered me was still there somewhere” Fia says.”
Fia Moon
8.
Malik
Cease Fire
Malik aka Malik the Melanated Militant is a Gliders (TraviS, Elzzz) member wwho debuted here with ‘No Simp-Athy’ a few weeks ago, and the Art Of War EP has since dropped, confirming Malik as a new name you should know on the Irish drill scene.
‘Cease Fire’ has a cinematic mood to its drill soundscapes but the whole EP is worth a go.
“The Art of War” serves as Malik’s introduction to his upcoming project, “Melanated One,” providing a glimpse into his creative vision and serving as a crucial stepping stone towards his larger goal. Through this project, Malik shares personal experiences that depict his migration story, shedding light on a narrative often overlooked in its profound entirety. As an artist of Nigerian origin raised in Ireland, Malik embraces an authentic portrayal of the world and his surroundings. He dedicates time to delve into the intricate details of the communities and individuals who have influenced his journey. Deliberating on the energy, time period, and trajectory of the tape’s creation, Malik chose the name “The Art of War,” reflecting the rising tensions both globally and within local communities, notably the recent war in Europe.
9.
A Lethal Black Ooze
Something On her Mind
New Dublin band A Lethal Black Ooze debuted here in March with the garage punk ‘I Like To Feel Alright’.
The band, consisting of Andy McGurk (formerly of Spies), of friends – so far – M(h)aol’s Jamie Hyland and Iain Faulkner, and ‘Something On Her Mind’ was made by Andy and Ian in a rehearsal space, and inspired by The Doors.
During the writing of the song, drummer Iain Faulkner states:
‘Myself and Andy were rehearsing by ourselves when Jamie wasn’t available one day. I had been watching The Doors live at The Hollywood Bowl a few days previously and felt really inspired by the drumming. I had this 6/8 blues shuffle stuck in my head and just started bashing it out. Andy had just turned on his amp and started playing a rhythm over it and within a few short minutes the song had taken shape.”
Iain Faulkner
‘Something On Her Mind’ is the second of four singles from their upcoming self-titled EP A Lethal Black Ooze dropping later this year.
10.
Slow Moving Clouds
Pearl River
Slow Moving Clouds’ third studio album Kolmas was released last Friday, and it’s to these ears, the finest music that melds Finnish and Irish traditional textures with a winder landscape of alt-folk music yet.
‘Pearl River’ is a trad-rooted song from the record, that stood out to me on my first listen.
Slow Moving Clouds are Aki (nyckelharpa / key harp, vocals), Ultan O Brien (fiddle) and Kevin Murphy (cello, vocals).
Slow Moving Clouds tour dates
Thurs 1st June – Whelan’s, Dublin
Fri 9th June – The Dock, Carrick-On-Shannon
Sat 10th – Doolin Folk Festival
Sat 17th – Linenhall, Castlebar
Sun 25th – The Hot Spot, Greystones (with Cormac Beatnach and Martin Dunlea)
11.
Bon Voyage
Higher Power (2023 Rework)
Arveene and Shamon Cassette have returned to their acid hip-arthouse project Bon Voyage so you can sense summer is in the air.
Originally released in 2020 just before the great pause, ‘Higher Power’ re-emerges with a tougher skin on this 2023 club rework.
12.
Luunah
I’m Not There
A Cork band last featured here in 2020, Luunah popped up on my release radar last Friday with this sprightly indie pop tune.
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.
