St. Bishop - Photo: Niamh Dolphin
Info: It's not even been a week since our last independent Irish playlist here on REMY but the singles are coming thick and fast from our local acts. This particular selection of tracks is a bit of a standout one for 2018 so far for me, familiar faces releasing some of their best singles to date, and very importantly, a good slew of new acts (to my ears at least) producing high end goods including Galway's Any Anything and Cork's Matthew Corrigan, aka Ghostking is Dead. Enjoy!
1) Dioscó na mbó - 'We Got Love'
What will they do next? Who cares!? Funk, soul, disco, electro maestros Dioscó na mbó's latest single is an absolute banger, hued out of some parallel universe James Brown-fronted Isley Brothers troupe, the duo have shared 'We Got Love' in the run up to Dublin Pride this weekend and it is a shortened version of the track which will appear on their forthcoming EP. Dayum.
2) St. Bishop - 'Good Intentions'
One of the best solo live performers in the country at the moment, Stephen Bishop releases the much anticipated follow-up to previous single 'Porcelain'. On 'Good Intentions' his smooth vocal intro leads us towards some nice grimey beats and his trademark high-pitched and dexterous range, you can never get enough of the 'slam' in his singles.
3) ROE - 'Hey Thomas'
Derry native ROE builds on the success of single 'Wasted.Patient.Thinking' which clocked up 13k plays on Spotify within 24 hours of its release. 'Hey Thomas' is an assertive and defiant response to those who judge others for a variety of reasons, but is tempered by her bubbly electro-pop delivery which hooks you in straight away with finger-clicks and light-hearted guitar rhythm.
4) Any Anything - 'First Time'
New Galway band Any Anything are comprised of musicians from former local acts such as an old favourite of ours Drown. Their debut release 'First Time' is hard to pin down, there's a small dash of retro sounds here and there but ultimately it's a great foray into a unique-sounding mixture of dream-pop and indie-rock. This could go anywhere on the next releases.
5) Marc O'Reilly - 'Solitary Ease'
Taken from O'Reilly's latest album, L'etre Politique, which opens with one of our Top 50 Irish singles from last year, the bone-crunching 'Enemy Of', new single 'Solitary Ease' sees the songwriter draw together a variety of sounds to create a whole. From ambient and wistful beginnings, the track blends into a pensive guitar-driven finale, showcasing O'Reilly's dual appreciation of both acoustic and electric guitar-playing which is a feature of the LP itself.
Ghostking Is Dead
6) Ghostking is Dead - 'Lucky Warrior'
I'm late to the Ghostking is Dead party, but better late than...new single 'Lucky Warrior' featuring Molly Annelle on additional vocals follows the Sweet Boy EP which was released earlier this year to much praise, which is also on the back of a number of years of self-produced releases since 2015. The new single bellows between dark synths and Corrigan's deep baritone vocal interludes, leaving me (a) looking forward to visiting his previous releases and (b) curious as to what's up next from the Corkman.
7) Level Heads - 'City Life'
The band that never stand still, Dublin's Level Heads cook up a rockabilly foot-stomper with 'City Life', just my own personal references in my head I'm getting Creedence, Joe Walsh and Clapton-era Yardbirds. From the psych-garage 60's opening rattle to the rock-pop chorus and the nailed on blues riffs, it's a whirlwind of classic rock sounds and helluva lot of fun.
8) Jafaris - 'Found My Feet'
'Found My Feet' is Jafaris' first single from his forthcoming album, and sounds entirely different to anything he has released to date. Starting with an in your face explosive start it shifts into a real smooth 70's soul sound, with the percussion rooted in traditional African instrumentation. It's a rock solid body-popping dance-inducing burst of energy, and for some reason reminds me of 90's dance act C&C Music Factory in its delivery.
A Winter Light - Changes
9) A Winter Light - 'Changes'
The next track is an interesting piece of work, part of a collaborative effort between artist Mark Garry and a collection of musicians, each of whom composed a song as a reflection of one of his pieces of art - turning the exhibition into a temporary recording studio. On the latest single from the album A Winter Light, the track 'Changes' is composed by well-known Irish actor Cillian Murphy who does vocals and performs instrumentation also.
10) Amerik - 'One'
Traditionally a bass-player for a number of Northern Irish bands, Adam Booth has undertaken a solo project of ambient electronica under the moniker of Amerik, with his very first single, 'One', released earlier this month. A cinematic build greets us courtesy of piano and soft shimmering plumes of sound, which are so slow in their rise that by the time the track has closed back to isolated piano you never even noticed it happening.
To listen to REMY's previous Irish Playlist, #029, go here! https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.com/2018/06/irish-playlist-Orchid-Collective-LARKS-Montauk-Hotel-Sub-Motion.html
10) Amerik - 'One'
Traditionally a bass-player for a number of Northern Irish bands, Adam Booth has undertaken a solo project of ambient electronica under the moniker of Amerik, with his very first single, 'One', released earlier this month. A cinematic build greets us courtesy of piano and soft shimmering plumes of sound, which are so slow in their rise that by the time the track has closed back to isolated piano you never even noticed it happening.
To listen to REMY's previous Irish Playlist, #029, go here! https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.com/2018/06/irish-playlist-Orchid-Collective-LARKS-Montauk-Hotel-Sub-Motion.html
