Hey Lana Del Ray, there’s a new girl in town.

02-Sep-2015 By Ciara Sheahan Leave a Comment

This year over sixty bands played at our youbloom Dublin music festival. You name it, we had it. Indie rock ‘n rollers, heavy metal moshers, earnest singer songwriters, feisty folksters and electro pop synth wizards. Hidden in amongst this treasure trove of unsigned talent was a wee lassy from Cavan. She arrived unassumingly at the youbloom tv pop up studio in Musicmaker. Herself and the inimitable Paul Cox, he of Cavan TV fame were ready to shock and awe us.

Aine Cahill stunned the room into silence as soon as the first note of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” hit.
She’s twenty and writes all her own songs. She’s a shimmering little songbird with powerful polished vocals and a penchant for writing tales of glossy melodrama.
Believe it or not, this is the girl who couldn’t get into the school choir. At Loreto College, Cavan they was told her she wasn’t good enough. She never sang at all till she was sixteen. Her pivotal moment happened when two pupils sitting at the school piano were struggling to hit the high notes of an Adele song. Aine walked over and started singing. She hasn’t stopped since. She did a music course in Cavan five years ago, just as she started writing her own material. She gets inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Melody Gardot, Lana Del Ray, Marina And The Diamonds and Lady Gaga.

We discovered Aine in June. Since then she has been chosen by 2FM to play at Ireland’s biggest festival Electric Picnic. She’s playing three stages over three days. She’s performed her new single “Black Dahlia” live for Ian Dempsey on national commercial Irish radio station Today FM. She wowed crowds at the boutique Ballinamore Fringe Festival. She’s turned up at secret gigs and is set to headline her own gig at Whelan’s in Dublin on September 27th.
Here’s a link to her new song “Black Dahlia”. A tale of Hollywood murder mystery from the 1950’s. If chocolate was sonic, it would sound like this… (but that’s just my opinion).

Morals and Music: Where Do You Draw the Line?

26-Aug-2015 By Shannon Duvall Leave a Comment

Last week’s apology by rapper and world famous record producer Dr. Dre to the women in his life he has “hurt” has stirred a hot debate in the music world.

Dr. Dre. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Dre issued the expression of remorse publicly when the release of the much-anticipated film Straight Outta Compton, which chronicles the early history of his former rap group NWA, was followed by the publication of a story by Dee Barnes, a journalist who says she was assaulted by the rapper in 1991.

She’s not the only one to blow a whistle on Dre; several women have have alleged that they, too, have experienced violence at the hands of the musician.

It’s a story that doesn’t surprise many of us. We’ve been here before. We watched it unfold in the sixties and seventies with Ike and Tina, Phil Spector, and country music “sweetheart” Glen Campbell. The eighties and nineties provided no shortage of domestic abuse, with repeat offender James Brown, and practically all the members of Guns’n’Roses leading the charge.

And everyone knows about the extremely poor choices made by the likes of 50 Cent and Chris Brown.

Chris Brown. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

But the weird thing is: not every celebrity with a penchant for abuse is treated the same way by a quick-to-appall public. Following his seemingly heartfelt apology, the media has, for the most part, been fairly forgiving toward Dre. This, in stark contrast to the rabid vilification of Chris Brown, whose career has arguably faltered irreparably since photos taken of Rihanna’s badly-battered face leaked online in 2009. Jay-Z called Brown “a walking dead man”.

So the question for music lovers is: how much should our moral compass guide our choices about whether or not to like a certain artist? The answer might not be as easy as you think.

Many of you would avoid spending money in a restaurant or cafe where it was observed or otherwise discovered that staff were badly treated. This makes sense, because not many people wish to reward a business for being abusive or taking unfair advantage of someone. We all know that when we spend, we’re voting for something over an alternative; letting the gods of commerce know what we want, what we value.

But how a musician behaves behind closed doors is very different to our experience of them on an album, or in concert. Alcohol and drug abuse is pardoned when it comes to musicians, as long as it doesn’t affect their output, so why not also systematic aggression toward a partner?

Guns’n’Roses guitar man Slash. Photo courtesy of Andrejk via Wikimedia Commons

It seems to reason that any behaviors which aren’t directly related to talent and performance ought to be dissociated from whether or not we enjoy someone’s music. After all, bad behavior as an adult doesn’t negate the merits of a lifetime of musical training and the honing of raw talent.

But many people – from the people who protested sales of Chris Brown’s album with warning stickers, to Jay-Z – don’t think so. And Dr. Dre’s former girlfriend Michel’le, who also accuses him of assault, isn’t buying his apology.

“I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live. “He’s selling a movie. I just think it’s good PR at the moment.”

What do you think? Should artists have to pay for assaulting women by losing fans and sales? Or should we keep our feelings out of it? Let us know in the comments below.

youbloom artist spotlight: Cousin Kate

25-Aug-2015 By Amy Van Daele Leave a Comment

Isabelle Cott shared with us The Cousin Kate Fairytale:

“Once upon a time there were 2 girls in a womb. With both their parents singing, they, too sang before they spoke. And they kept singing growing up. But then the twins went separate ways as one of them, Corinna, was meant to meet Brian at the other side of the world. Brian taught himself to play the guitar when he was 14 years old. Corinna partnered up with Brian to write Cousin Kate’s music. Corinna’s twin, Isabelle, reunited with her sister after a few years; following her to the other side of the world. The voice of Cousin Kate was redefined.

Haim, who became a drummer as a child, has been with the 3 of them since the beginning. Suzanne, on bass, grew up first playing the oboe and drums, until one day a band member left his bass at her house, making her realize that this instrument was her destiny. Tracie first played the piano before starting to play the Cello at 12. With extensive experience as composer and orchestrator, she beautifully harmonizes her Cello with the twins’ voices.” But, the story does not end there!

youbloom became part of their story when they joined us for youbloom@LA last year for both the festival and the conference. Up until this point, they were a band of four and would hire additional musicians when they were invited to play live. It wasn’t until our festival that Isabelle Cott, Corinna Cott, Brian Florian and Haim Russi decided they needed to complete the band. So, as fairytales go, they met their perfect complements in Suzanne Birrell and Tracie Turnball.

Aside from the musical talent of the group, what gives Cousin Kate such a magical quality is the meaning and the motivation behind the music. “The way we see the world is that our word and thoughts create our reality. Therefore, what we think about and hear (consciously and unconsciously) affect our experience,” explains Isabelle. Cousin Kate’s music is about connections, appreciation, and love. They incorporate positive messages into their lyrics and have even created a new genre called MAP—Melodic Alternative Pop with positive lyrics.

The majority of the band’s 100+ song repertoire was created by Brian forming a melody, Corinna creating the vocal melodies and lyrics, and Isabelle adding in the harmonies. Their sound has been likened to Sixpence None the Richer, The Cranberries, and The Beatles. Take a listen to their song “The Thinker” here.

Since youbloomLA, Cousin Kate has been working on their new album which is scheduled to release in November. What is most exciting for them about this album is that this will be the first album that will include Suzanne and Tracie. As with their last album, “Life Without Fear,” the songs will be placed in an order as to tell a story. In addition to the studio recording they are doing, the band plans to release some of their live music as well, either incorporating it into the album or releasing a live album.

Cousin Kate is also very enthusiastic about their first cover song. We tried to get it out of them, but they are being very secretive… However, they did say that it is a well-known song that coincidences with the messages portrayed in their own music. They will also be inviting a couple guest performers on the track (they aren’t giving any hints!).

If you would like to continue following this fairytale that is Cousin Kate, sign up for their newsletter on their website, friend them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Corner Boy Conquer Europe and do reality TV

23-Aug-2015 By Ciara Sheahan Leave a Comment

Cornerboy by Colm Kelly

“Four and half beards and a van “ is how Michael D’Arcy frontman describes his band Corner Boy. He’s so modest, this Waterford ambassador for the arts. It’s Friday night and we’re having a chat in between kit load in and soundcheck for a gig at the Clonmel Busking Festival. Their new single “Untie The Noose “ has just dropped. So far they’ve had over eight thousand views of the video in one day. Oh my, what a beauty it is. Directed by highly accomplished writer David O’Brien, he of the “Blood Red Turns Dollar Green” trilogy. The film has a distinct Tim Burton flavour, superb storytelling stylishly framing this stomping tune. Michael reveals the song was written under a bridge in Waterford, adding yet another layer of lyrical intrigue.

Now firmly formed as a five piece, the band have totally self funded all their releases to date. They invest all funds from playing back into the band whilst juggling jobs and weekday routines. Hitting the road on Fridays, they’ve played every county in Ireland. Except Clare for some reason. But there’s a gig planned for that one. Enjoying the freedom to make their own musical decisions, whilst building a massive fan base has ensured Corner Boy maintained their own artistic integrity. Unlike many other aspiring artists it’s not all about a label. Michael preaches the word of the independent music maker. He’s not seeking a magic formula. “We do it because we love it. We love travelling, meeting all kinds of other bands and musicians, artists writers and filmmakers. We’ve met people from all over the world touring Ireland. Yeah I’m sure the day will come when a label will be there but for us it’s not just about that.”

In a bizarre twist, the band found themselves with a top five in charts in Holland. They had taken part in a reality show about two Dutch guys made learning Irish folk music. They played with The Young Folk and other remaining members of The Dubliners as part of the show. It was aired in The Netherlands on primetime tv as the two fellas were part of the panel for The Voice. So, Michael comes in from the farm at 4 am, (it was calving season) only to find their facebook page had gone mad with new Dutch fans and top five hit in the charts. Hence the reason Corner Boy are hitting the road to Europe in September.

I’ve been lucky enough to witness their True North and “Morning Morning” EPs live several times. From the energetic, uplifting, rousing “Morning Morning” to the romantic, ambling melody of “Move To Paris”. These guys are no one trick pony. There’s a big range of influences apparent, whether is blue-grass or alt-rock. We were lucky enough to have them for the finale of the youbloom Dublin 2015 festival in June. If they show up in your part of the world go see them. They will rise you like no other. In the mean time you can watch “Untie The Noose” here.

Running riot: Dublin band The Riot Tapes fire things up with new single and video. World appropriately sweats.

18-Aug-2015 By Shannon Duvall Leave a Comment

“Goodbye my faith, goodbye my heart.”

Ah, Elaine Doyle, c’mere, would you ever stop being such a fantastic ride? Look at you there, running around the countryside, looking winsome and windswept, not a bother on you as you purr lyrics in perfect time and stare down the sunset like some badass bog Madonna.

Are your legs tired? Cause you’ve been running through my mind all day.

Well then, at least put a scarf on, dear, you’ll catch your death of cold out there. Yes, even in August; this is Ireland, after all.

–
Just two months on from their ravishing show at youbloomDublin 2015, Reekus Records’ Riot Tapes are are off and running – rather literally, actually – with their latest release, a single called “Hello, Insanity”.

Recorded at Westland Studios in Dublin’s south inner city, and initially intended as a work-in-progress recording, the since-polished song has been receiving critical praise from fans and industry swingers alike; Joe Donnelly of TXFM has called it “…a thunderbastard of a song.”

Well.

You can see where he’s coming from. As Irish mainstream music goes, this is top stuff. The production is so clean and well-considered, it’s as if the group are aliens – seductively frank aliens – dropped off here to totally steal the show. And this is what they do, with cannonball drums and electro-effect guitar thrum burning up the reel. Donnelly goes on to liken the track to “Heads Will Roll”, by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, quite the comparison, and by all accounts spot on, if the response from listeners of his popular radio show Cheer or Sneer are anything to go on. Riot Tapes, are, quite frankly, killing it right now.

So what does a sassy band of audio assassins do when they’re not busy slaying from the airwaves and the stages of Ireland’s best fests? Why, drive up the mountains and get up to all sorts of antics, of course:

“The shooting of the video (for “Hello, Insanity”) was unusual,” says vocalist Elaine.

“Myself and Chris (our guitarist) agreed on the concept which was basically me running up the Dublin mountains singing along to the song. So one cold sunny morning the two of us headed up to the mountains in Chris’s little Fiesta. We had a camera, a tripod, and some red rope. We put the camera onto the tripod, tied the tripod into the boot of the fiesta and began shooting. Chris drove as slowly as he could and I ran after the car whilst trying to sing. The whole point of the video was to do it in one take.”

“One minute in, we had a problem: my jeans were falling down quite rapidly when I ran. Chris cut off some of the red rope and made me a belt. You can kind of see it in the video if you look really close. We did four or five takes, and used the last one for the video. It didn’t take too long to do at all.”

Talented, tenacious, quite obviously full of creative energy; it must have been off to win over more listeners after the shoot, surely? Actually, uh, not quite:

“We spent longer looking for 50 euro that fell out of my pocket while I was running than we did shooting the video!” Doyle laughs. “We never found it.”

Check out all the pants (and panting!) -related mayhem right here in the video:

Riot Tapes play The Big Viking Picnic, a gig for charity, in Kells, Ireland August 29.