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.
Chameleon & Lucy McWilliams
You Know
Producer Matthew Harris has worked with Malaki before and here, the Dubliner is back collaborating with Berlin-based Irish artist Lucy McWilliams under his new project Chameleon, on a moody shady duet.
2.
Neil Dexter
Loving You
Formerly of Spies, Neil Dexter has introduced his solo project with the ‘Loving You’, a song which immediately rings of Madonna’s ‘Ray Of Light’ with more shimmering band textures.
“A lot of the themes across my songwriting lean towards introspective self-reflection. With this song, I was thinking a lot about how we become so overwhelmed by daily stresses we struggle to enjoy the simplicity of a particular moment. This is especially relevant within relationships. ‘Loving You’ explores the guilt that often comes from not being more present for your partner and also, a guilt for being too hard on your past self. It’s me trying to remind myself not to let my worries get in the way of appreciating the wonderful people around me.”
3.
Darkroom Data
Groovatta feat. The System
Darkroom Data are Irish vocalist Gillian NoVa and Brazilian composer Márcio Paz, and ‘Groovatta’ is an intriguing dark electro pop song which features a sample of ’80s electronic band The System. The song was produced by Bob Lamb, whose credits include UB40 and Duran Duran.
4.
Lewwab
Come Through
There’s not much info on offer from Cork duo Lewwab, but luckily ‘Come Through’ with its Smerz-esque electronic tones speaks volumes for the pair. I love its silky production.
5.
Jack Murphy & Jena Keating
12:12
After premiering the R&B artist Jena Keating’s stunning single ‘Alone’, the artist has teamed up with fellow Corkonian producer and singer-songwriter Jack Murphy for a late-night wander of the mind.
6.
Hazey Haze
Thugger Vibes
The Limerick rapper shared two new tracks on Bandcamp. 40hurtz produces the second of the two ‘Thugger Vibes’ which has a unique ukulele sampled underneath’s Hazey’s gruff vocals.
7.
Eoin x Max Zanga
Find My Way
Max Zanga of Tebi Rex provides the cosign on a new track from Dublin rapper and producer EOIN. ‘Find My Way’ is about coming to terms with the end of a relationship and I hear Brockhampton vibes to it, while the artist says inspirations include Donald Glover, Dominic Fike, and Tyler.
“This song took over a year for me to finish, I just couldn’t find the right words to say. After my relationship ended, I realized that’s what I needed. The song is about being okay on your own, and now I am….” (EOIN)
8.
Louise Gaffney
Not Even Here
Known for her work with Come On Live Long and Dirty Dreamer, Louise Gaffney dropped a five-track EP last week. We’ve heard ‘Until’ previously, and the release’s opening track ‘Not Even Here’ is an exemplar of the artist’s frayed at the edges process:
‘This EP for me was more about getting feel and the texture right as opposed to being focussed on songwriting in the usual sense. I wanted to keep it more loose and open to interpretation, using how a breathy synth melody or using rough field recordings can be just as evocative as what a vocal is doing. For me it’s always been this battle between wanting to have a great vocal melody without over-directing the meaning with words and using the musical elements and production itself to tell as much of the story as possible. Everything is
deteriorated in the production. It’s taped and re-taped, disappearing around the edges. I wanted it to feel barely held together, that it exists in a fragile gravity where all of the elements, rattled samples and bits and pieces of it could easily fall apart at any moment’
9.
Alan Finan
Sunshine State
It’s been a while since we heard from Alan Finan. ‘Sunshine State’ is a song that swells with an arpeggiated notes of electronic production and intimate songwriting, that if I was to guess is about a school shooting in the Florida.
10.
Shadeemus
Butterflies
Having collaborated with Moiré on his recent album, Demigosh’s other London-based project with Scott Xylo and Adeemus has released a new EP of soft live band soul called Eden. The EP’s first track ‘Butterflies’ is an open-hearted spot of sunshine.
11.
Subrelic
The Read Feathers
Back to Cork now with the opening track from an EP from Subrelic, who are producers Duncan Lutz and Denis Clifford.
12.
Ama Millieir
Make it All Right Back
Longford-based Nigerian-born artist Ama Millier drops a vibey trap ballad, with production from Sahara.
