A lot of 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 songs that pass our writers that deserve to be heard by you. For more extensive Irish coverage, follow our Spotify playlist or hit up the Irish section for individual track features.
1.
Kynsy
Cold Blue Light
Kynsy is a new artist who we’ve seen live over the last year (when, you know…) and ‘Cold Blue Light’ is the 23-year-old Ciara Lindsey’s first song to get a release.
Self-produced, written and played, the song has a throwback indie-rock style that grows into a dynamic all-consuming outro, with Kynsy’s vocal delivery informed by a not great New Year’s Eve experience at a party lifting the song above the din.
“Cold Blue Light is about the bullies we all encounter in life and looking for meaning in the darkness they create. I wanted to write a song that held some sort of balance between destruction and hope. It’s based on an encounter I had at a new year’s eve party where there was a guy spouting racist remarks at people and it was quite upsetting and stuck with me. The result was a rowdy pop song truck full of sticky anger and synth pop goo. The video was filmed just with a camera on a tripod in my back garden, I wanted it to be direct and simple so people could focus on the music.”
2.
Lighght
i spent €4000 to install a subwoofer in my headstone so you better dance on my fucking grave
Aside from having the best release titles around, the Cork producer Lighght’s experimental electronic big drum bangers are thriving on Bandcamp. His latest EP, mischievously titled Sorry I Can’t Go Out Tonight, I’m Too Busy Going In, does indeed contain “4 silly, fun and joyous bangers” something in very short supply.
i spent €4000 to install a subwoofer in my headstone so you better dance on my fucking grave, is not just the best title but the best example of it.
3.
Sinead White
Giant Spiders
Arachnophobes beware! After releasing her first song in five years a while ago, Sinead White’s ‘Giant Spiders’ is an evocative and sombre followup.
4.
Aby Coulibaly
Taurus
Dublin singer-songwriter Aby Coulibaly started by gaining some traction and listening on Soundcloud, and as a recent convert to writing original music, the strength of the R&B sway of ‘Taurus’ is impressive.
‘Taurus’ focuses on those early weeks after a relationship has come to an end where you take the time away to focus on developing your friendships and taking time away from dating. I was done with somebody and I just wanted to chill with my friends while I wasn’t exactly in my feels, I just wrote down how I was feeling and it turned out to really work”.
5.
NEOMADiC
S.O.S (feat Why-Axis)
Neomadic are back and are joined by Why-Axis for this wavey summer banger.
6.
Max Zanga
Many Manly Men
A bright bop from one half of Tebi Rex that hides the anguish in the lyrics concerning a sexual assault, toxic masculinity and the complexity of trying to be a good person in your own life.
7.
Odd Morris
Your Four Walls
Odd Morris return with an atmospheric rock song that is reminiscent of Interpol. Those drums do it for us.
8.
Dara Mac
Daisies feat. Elena
I’m really enjoying the bright melodic turns of this song from North Dublin multi-instrumentalist and producer Dara Mac featuring vocals from Welsh singer Elena. Foloe him on Insta.
9.
Moon Paw Print
‘Take Time (Tonight)’
Irish producer Moon Paw Print quietly released a short 8-track debut album called Dreams of Ü last week and this serves as a reminder to give his best song ‘Take Time (Tonight)’ another spin.
The album explores themes such as the nature of dreams; love, insecurities, and seeking to find beauty in life.
Inspired by the intensely vivid dreams many have reported experiencing during the lockdown, I attempted to capture this feeling by incorporating new dreamy sound palettes and manipulating/synthesizing vocal samples to unfold emotion and add a multi-layered narrative to the album.
Psychologists such as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud discuss the idea of dream interpretation – essentially dissecting our dreams (our subconscious) and then suggesting a search for meaning that can translate from the dreams into our waking life.
The album very much represents the subconscious and how close yet distant things appear and seem to scatter in our dreams.
10.
Jeff The Human
Breeze
After ‘Trenches’ which was featured in this column a few editions ago, ‘Breeze’ is another fine slice of evocative electronica. Insta.
11.
Samuel Powell
Sulphur
The B-side to recently-featured ‘Floating’ from Naas producer Powell now has a time-lapse video around the town. ‘Sulphur’ is as good as the A-side so we’re featuring it today. Get it on Bandcamp.
12.
Nina Hynes
Unfuck The World
A long-time favourite of mine, the Berlin-based Hynes remains a singular artist, ever-growing and moving on in her craft. ‘White Butterfly’, is leading to the release of forthcoming album Zap!, which you can hear ‘Go’ from.
13.
Sounds Of System Breakdown
Only Taking You Home
Like many of us, Sounds Of System Breakdown are pining for “heaving, muddy, festival gigs, sweat dripping off the big-top ceiling, warm Stella and hugs from strangers,” and this punk-funk ditty doesn’t help matters in fairness.
14.
Daragh
All Those Things
Smartly-produced Peter, Bjorn and John-esque pop from 23-year-old Oslo-based Dublin musician who titles his project simply, Daragh. He was previously part of a duo called Company Ink in Norway and this is his solo vibe.
