The Dublin 12 duo mark two years of their debut album Custard Cream Dreams with a cinematic clip shot in Airfield and Crumlin.
Two years ago Mickzart and Kadillac released their debut album Custard Cream Dreams, a record about growing up in Dublin 12 and watching the area change as they went from boys to men. They’re now sharing a video for ‘The Joy In Your Eyes’, one of the album’s fan favourites, and the opening track on the record. We featured the pair in our roundup of new Irish songs in August.
The video
The song is in two halves. The first is about the innocence of childhood and how quickly it goes, and the second, the half the video follows, is about adulthood – “Used to feel that joy, now it’s feeling like Mountjoy”. The video shows Mickzart and Kadillac on the other side of their troubles but still remembering where they came from.
It was written and directed by James Flynn, who worked on the production of an interview with the pair about the album in 2025. He took to the record, especially ‘The Joy In Your Eyes’ and ‘Tony’, and later approached them with his idea for a video. He assembled a crew and shot it in August, mostly in Airfield and in Crumlin, where the pair are from. It’s the third video from the album, after ‘Red Brick’ and ‘Sundrive’. The first had a VHS nostalgia look and the second a colder, present-day feel, while this one is shot in 4K and is their most cinematic yet.
Custard Cream Dreams
The album deals with adolescent joy, gentrification and personal growth, all with plenty of Dublin humour. Crumlin features heavily, as does its rival Kimmage, which represents the gentrification and corporate aspects of Dublin by contrast.
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Mickzart and Kadillac are both artists and producers from Dublin 12. They didn’t know each other growing up and have been making music together since around 2022. Since the album, Mickzart has released One For The Heads with Willhouse, which he describes as a love letter to hip-hop. Kadillac has put out a run of self-produced singles that lead towards a solo album.
Credits
Song: Mickzart and Kadillac, featuring Ṣelu
Music producer: Mickzart
Starring: Mickzart, Kadillac, Lissette Kinahan and Micah Switzer
Director and editor: James Flynn
Video producer: Magdalena Skalska
Director of photography: Ashley Casey
1st assistant director: Niamh Curtis
1st assistant camera: Rachel Kendrick
2nd assistant camera: Cian Conachy
Gaffer: Malachaí Ó Ciardhubháin
Spark: Roza Eleftheriou
Art department: Bryce Manoovaloo and Faye Langen
Data management: James Murray
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
