12 new songs from Irish artists you should hear
A lot of Irish and Northern Irish music comes Nialler9’s way and there’s little time to feature everything we think is worthy of a thumbs up or more ears. Every week, we collate the new songs from emerging artists 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.
Offica
Obito
The biggest drill artist to come out of Ireland so far is back with a new track that harks back to his previous singles ‘Face Reveal’ and ‘Naruto Drillings’ with the mask on show.
2.
Fizzy Orange
Randy’s Song
Loving this jaunty laid-back track from this Dublin five-piece Fizzy Orange. It’s got soul and a bit of a psychedelic vibe.
3.
Dark Tropics
Keep Searching
Dark Tropics are a Belfast duo Rio and Gerard whose music has had shades of retro-pop,moody balladry and indie sounds. The band’s third single is more of the vintage persuasion – inspired by “the vibrancy and romance” ’60s American music – and its piano-assisted yearning is of a classic variety.
“It’s about not wanting to be left behind and having the strength and resolve to chase a dream no matter what.”
4.
Papa Romeo
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Papa Romeo are a new five-piece band also rocking a laidback vibe with a song inspired by the Japanese cult band Yellow Magic Orchestra. The band feature Paddy Rogers, his brother Mark Rogers alongside Rob Nolan, Chris Wong (of Rob de Boer), Dan Coyne (of Cooks but We’re Chefs).
5.
Chósta
The Coldest Stare
Donabate electronic producer Conor Kelly’s latest Chósta track is a bit more disjointed and eerie than his previous work, and as the video by Rob Maguire plays into that:
The video, which was directed by Rob Maguire, plays into feelings of paranoia and insecurity. I would’ve been quite neurotic when I was younger, so we wanted to illustrate that sometimes you can be so wrapped up in your own anxieties that you judge and misread another person’s intentions. The video is largely inspired by 90s horror films. And yes, that is me getting chased through a forest by a masked man.
6.
Whozyerman?
All The Time To Kill
Paul Savage has picked up his musical output post-O Emperor with Whozyerman?. The project had a four-track EP last year and the lead single from a forthcoming album is a trip on a kraut-rhythm-assisted expanding psychedelic spoken word vista. The PR mentions Lemon Jelly, the once hugely-popular electronic duo as a touchstone for the track, and I felt that.
7.
VJ Jaxson
Red Pill
Vincy Jonathan Enagie, AKA VJ Jaxson mixes ultra-pop, soul and live band sounds on this latest single. VJ is a recent graduate of BIMM Dublin.
8.
Air Jackson
It’s Patchy
Irish electronic producer & DJ Air Jackson just dropped his The Beekeeper’s EP. The opening track on the release is ‘It’s Patchy’, a track which moves from featuring discombobulating distorted baby sounding noises until a progressive synth line comes into view, that allows Jackson to build an evocative noise around it.
9.
Ṣelu
Intentions (feat. Celaviedemai)
A light and bright tune of afropop proportions from Ṣelu with a sung guest verse from Celaviedemai, and produced by by Blk Box Music.
10.
SVEN
Frustration
One of the newer Diffusion Lab artists, SVEN’s music is R&B as with most of the label’s output but with more of an indie twist.
11.
IMLÉ
Ní hÉ
MC Muipéad and band are back with their Irish language project and news of a new album. ‘Ní hÉ’ features the vocals of Ríona Sally Hartman for the first time on record. The song was recorded at Windmill Lane and produced by Karl Odlum.
IMLÉ are:
Pádraig ‘MC Muipéad’ Ó Conghaile – Glór / Vocals
Ríona Sally Hartman – Glór & Pianó / Vocals & Piano
Cian Mac Cárthaigh – Giotár & Dordghiotár / Guitar & Bass Guitar
Fergal Moloney – Glór & Pianó / Vocals & Piano
Dave Hingerty – Drumaí / Drums
Karl Odlum – Synth
12.
ROOUE
Bad Blood
Ro and Lou are twin sisters Rooue who dropped the fine single ‘What You Want’ last year. ‘Bad Blood’ is produced by Diffusion Lab and written by ROOUE and a video for the song was just released.
“Bad Blood is about facing the realisation that a relationship has become unhealthy. This song describes the stages of denial. The premise of this song poses the question, are the issues in the relationships fixable or do they deep root into the partner’s blood?
We wanted this video to represent the stages of an unhealthy and abusive relationship. We worked on having a clean-cut look but with hints of blood and abuse. The recurring symbolism of darkness and blood tells the viewer that there is something transpiring within the story being told.
The metaphors and blood symbol represents that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to what people show in a relationship.”
