Info: As we approach the end of 2019, the independent Irish releases don't appear to be stopping any time soon. REMY's latest selection of singles from the last two weeks provide a nice balance between mellow and high-energy electronic choons, enjoy!
1) The Redneck Manifesto - 'Djin Chin'
It's great to have new music from iconic Dublin outfit The Redneck Manifest, last time I saw them live their debut album Thirtysixstrings had just been released, in 2001. I'm all over new single 'Djin Chin', it has two strands, up-beat percussion and mellow guitars, both knitted together perfectly with an electro twist. This track, in parts at least, wouldn't be amiss on St. Germain's Tourist album, but there are so many enjoyable switches throughout to enjoy, The Redneck Manifesto oozing creativity like never before.
2) ZAPHO - 'Do Like I Do'
The first two times I listened to 'Do Like I Do', the debut single from Dublin's Ele Breslin, I liked it. Two listens later I'm hooked, ZAPHO is cool without trying, mellow and grooving without burning the cake and has dropped a really, really brilliant pop-infused debut. How about that brass too?
3) 1,000 Beasts feat. Marybeth - 'Trust Me'
This is what happens when you put one of Ireland's most care-free producers and multi-instrumentalists together with a rock-solid 90's soul vocal that's to die for. Cian Sweeney and Marybeth have concocted a very gratuitous electro-pop n' dance-floor filling banger. Sometimes as well the entire package reminds me of Lady Gaga (who, by the way, I am a huge fan of).
4) Molly Sterling - 'Stripped Down' (Live)
It just clicked with me with the release of Molly Sterling's live version of 'Stripped Down' that there are three different experiences to be had with this artist. The first is her studio releases, which you think are bare and become consumed by very easily. The second is the stage performance, it doesn't feel live because you are lost in it, and the third is her live releases, where you listen and think, so this is what was happening when I saw Sterling on stage. It's all magic either way, and 'Stripped Down' has never felt so much in pain.
5) Buí - 'I Think We Could Do Better Too'
Definitely one of the most interesting acts to cross my ears over the last year or so, I have a lot of time in my music head for Belfast's Buí. 'I Think We Could Do Better Too' comes from their forthcoming sophomore LP due out soon. The track rattles through 2 minutes and 23 seconds at a disorientating speed and has all of it's raw-rock ducks nicely in a row.
Buí - 'I Think We Can Do Better Too'
6) ELKAE - 'Sold'
Dublin act ELKAE has been quietly making ripples in the Irish scene in the run up to debut single 'Sold'. If you like, disco, funk, pop, soul and / or all of them mixed together, you should love ELKAE's sound. 'Sold' delivers the feel-good in spades, it's smooth, cheery and suave all at once. She could blow up in 2019.
7) Kid Trench - 'Fire Away'
One of the most mysterious acts since I started the blog, Belfast's Kid Trench is a bit of a ghost, so little known about him, less distraction from the music. 'Fire Away' is drastically different to his previous output which was ambient strong. Here we get an outrageous vocal, 4-ply 80's electro balm, and a sledgehammer of a pop chorus. I haven't felt like this since 'Alive & Kicking'.
8) ROCSTRONG - 'Ching Ching Ching'
I'll never forget the first time I heard ROCSTRONG's 'Go Head' on SoundCloud, Ho-l-y shit, have to see this guy live, then did. Then did again. After a brief hiatus he's back, and 'Ching Ching Ching' sounds like the lead track to a hit album. Rock drums, ultra soul-pop vocal, humming guitar, bass, electronics that harp back to the less manic moments of The Prodigy's Music for the Jilted Generation or Massive Attack's recent jams. The ROC is back, get ready.
ROCSTRONG - 'Ching Ching Ching'
9) Pale Lanterns - 'Driftwood'
Northern Irish songwriter Darragh Donnelly, aka Pale Lanterns, sounds very attuned to the fine balance between riding the wave of popular sounds within his genre (coarse touchpoints would be The War on Drugs and maybe a little Justin Vernon) and blitzing off on ones own path. Yet, 'Driftwood' veers off into an authentic mixture of downtempo Tycho-esque guitar spurts, and pretty expansive ambient instrumental passages. He's good at dropping little moments of glory into a pretty wide spread too.
To listen to our last Irish independent playlist, go here! https://thebestofmusicandfilm.blogspot.com/2018/11/irish-playlist-sleep-thieves-all-tvvins-mannerly-hoods-deep-sky-objects-awkward-z.html
