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.
Brame & Hamo
Retro Active
Sligo / Berlin duo’s latest EP Retro Active is a three-track release of quality. The title track lives up to its “breakbeat-infused-synth euphoria” descriptor.
2.
Patricia Lalor
Alone
14 year old Dublin singer-songwriter shows skill beyond her years on the dreamy new song ‘Alone’. It’s from a new EP called Do It Again out on July 24th.
3.
Breezy Ideygoke
Black Dùbh
Sim Simma Soundsystem cohort Breezy Ideygoke addresses irish racial injustice with memorable bars like “Buchalli dubh but got color on the kaftan You don’t think Black Lives Matter / Till your laying In Mater. / Black nurse black doctor / With the islands history burying children / There’s people in hiding direction provision / Who’s gone speak up speak out different / Seen a lot posting not much listening.”
4.
Jehnova
All In
Rapper Jehnova continues his streak of head-spinning grade A bangers with ‘All In’.
5.
Aislinn Logan
What Everybody’s After
Belfast artist Aislinn Logan trails a new EP Look, I’m Flyin’ on July 17th with the bright and confident pop of ‘What Everybody’s After’. It’s a song about enjoying “prismatic happiness” of a moment, a welcome antidote to how things are in the real world right now. Take your wins where you get them I say.
6.
Adam Garrett
Don’t Keep Up
Producer, Innrspace multi-instrumentalist and Uly/Nealo collaborator steps up to the plate with this beaut of a soft groove on Uly’s new andfriends label. The Toro Y Moi influence is a good shout.
7.
Luthorist
kxflip
More dense rap rhymes from Nuxsense’s Luthorist, to follow up the Amethyst Thoughts EP released earlier this year
8.
The Bonk
Fool Me Twice
Former O Emperor musician Phil Christie’s spindly improvisational experimental band The Bonk is back with a direct vintage psyj pop vocal-lead take on the project’s ’60s garage and jazz style. A new three track collection of music Songs For The Mean Time Vol.1 is out today.
9.
Demigosh
IBI
The Nigerian/Irish London-based Blackfish Collective artist is one of the most ambitous to come out of Ireland of recent times in how he approaches his music in a visual way through live costuming and visuals. The music hasn’t always worked for me but presented in this short-film form, there’s no doubt of the depth and creativity on display. The video explores Demigosh’s Yoruba cultural heritage, which addresses a popular misconception “that any kind of African spiritualism and pre colonial religion practices are evil.”
10.
banríon
Yesterday’s Paper
Dublin-based four-piece impress with this light and bright alt-rock track lead by Róisín Ní Haicéid’s indie-leaning vocals
11.
49th and Main
Catching Eyes
There’s very little to go on with this Irish electronic duo other than one of their latest tracks has over 188,00 plays on Spotify. It’s a jazzy-house number with augmented vocals.
12.
modernlove.
If You Wanna See Me.
Sparkling electro-indie pop in the style of The 1975 for the Drogheda band’s’ fifth single.
13.
Banba
Blue Note
Banba is a new experimental electronic duo, inspired by “natural elements, ancient Celtic culture, psychedelics” and ‘Blue Note’ has a laid-back smokey chilled jazz vibe going on.
14.
IMLÉ, Róisín Seoighe
Do Chuid Jeans
The eclectic Irish-language band IMLÉ tease their second album with ‘Do Chuid Jeans’, a track that features vocals from Róisín Seoighe alongside MC Muipéad. It’s still refreshing to hear some nuanced modern songwriting sung as Gaeilge. The song was mixed by Darragh Nolan (Sacred Animals). More of this.
15.
The Academic
Acting My Age
No one does catch indie pop from this country quite like The Academic.
