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IRELAND2011 TERRITORYPROFILE by MUSICWEEK Airplay_News and Playlists 15/09/2011 12:03 Page 13

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Page 1: Music Week Ireland profile 2011

IRELAND!2011TERRITORY!PROFILE

by MUSIC!WEEK

Airplay_News and Playlists 15/09/2011 12:03 Page 13

Page 2: Music Week Ireland profile 2011

...always listening

Feidhlim Byrnet: +353 01 6050686e: [email protected]: www.nielsen-music.com

Radio airplay tracking

...always listening

Nielsen Music, Top Floor, 6 Clare Street, Dublin 2

! !! !! !! !

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IRELAND MAY BE AWASH WITH MUSICALtalent, but that doesn’t mean it can’t always use abit more. Just as every American president is

miraculously found to have distant family in sometiny Irish village, so chart-topping overseas stars canexpect a warm welcome and a thoroughexamination of their family tree.

“There’s a lot of that,” says Alison Rogers,general manager of PIAS Ireland. “Adele is ‘Irish’, asit turns out, through her granny, so Ireland hasadopted her,” she reveals of the PIAS-distributedstar who chalked up 29 consecutive weeks at the topof the Irish album chart between January andAugust. “And Bon Iver once worked in a phoneshop in Galway, so he’s in too…”

Even if we don’t count Adele, you never need tolook too hard to find evidence of good musicalthings coming from Ireland. The Script, Villagers,Imelda May and Lisa Hannigan are just a few ofthe hotter exports. Ed Sheeran, Halifax-born son ofIrish parents, can expect to be thoroughlyrepatriated when he plays at Dublin’s Guinness-sponsored Arthur’s Day festival on September 22.

Against the background of an unprecedentedcrisis in bricks-and-mortar retail and a remarkably

passionate fight against internet piracy, the Irishmusic industry still strikes a hopeful tone, whetherin the form of new venues, possible legislativebreakthroughs or, perhaps most importantly,breaking talent.

“You know the way people talk about a shiftfrom the old industry to the new?” says AngelaDorgan, CEO of Irish independent music resourceFirst Music Contact (FMC). “I have a feelingIreland was perfectly poised to take advantage ofthat. We always had the talent; it was just a question

of getting it out there. And with James VincentMcMorrow, the Villagers, Lisa Hannigan andothers it seems to be that all the boats have risen atonce in the last couple of years.”

The abandoned homes on the millionaires’ rowof Shrewsbury Road and boarded-up shops onGrafton Street testify to the ongoing effects of thedownturn, but it takes more than tough times toextinguish the song in Dublin’s heart, and that ofIreland as a whole.

According to Alan McEvoy of Dublin-basedLive Wire Business Management, whose clientsinclude Cheryl Cole, JLS, Westlife and RonanKeating, music still has appreciable economic value.

“Irish Music worldwide continues to punch wellabove its weight,” he says. “In 2009, performanceincome for Irish music from overseas amounted to!2.3m. In 2010, that increased to !4m and to datethis year already RAAP, the artists’ performancecollection society, has collected in excess of !2m.”

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TERRITORY PROFILE IRELAND

IRISH SEA CHANGEThe Celtic Tiger has been well and truly stuffed and every area of Irish business has been affected,but its music industry continues to throw up talent that makes its mark at home and abroad

INTERNATIONAL ! BY ADAM WOODS

“Ireland always had the talent; it was just aquestion of getting it out there.!And with James Vincent McMorrow, Villagers, Lisa Hannigan and others, it seems to be that all the boats have risen at once...”ANGELA DORGAN, FIRST MUSIC CONTACT

ABOVEEvergreen:One of Ireland’smost well-lovedbands – and best-kept secrets –Aslan have beenchipping away atsuccess since the1980s

LEFTDead and buried?: The cover of GavinFriday’s Catholicrelease could be ametaphor for thestate of the Irisheconomy – but theex-Virgin Prunesveteran’s album isone of Irish music’shighlights of theyear

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TERRITORY PROFILE IRELAND

kind of music is still very popular here, because theIrish market loves story-tellers, and people likeFionn Regan fit into that tradition, but there is a lotelse going on as well.”

Rubyworks’ acts include Sinead O’Connor,Rodrigo Y Gabriela and Gavin Friday, once of U2associates the Virgin Prunes, as well as RyanSheridan and Fight Like Apes.

Quail identifies as another trend the emergenceof artist-run labels such as Richter Collective, whichworks with bands including And So I Watch YouFrom Afar, Adebisi Shank, Not Squares andRedneck Manifesto.

“People can do it themselves these days, and Ithink we are going to see a new emergence ofunderground labels here,” he says. “People areexcited about music again, and if you can’t getsomeone else to release your music, you’re going todo it yourself.”

RIGHTRoyseven: Gettingplenty of airplay in Ireland waspreviously unheard of forbands from suchan independentbackground

RIGHTLisa Hannigan: The former Damien Ricecollaborator ismaking waves onher own withsecond solo albumPassenger set tobuild on thesuccess of herMercury Prize-nominated debut

WITH ONLY A COUPLE of weekly TV showsand a recession-hit radio sector, Ireland’smedia suffers on certain fronts. ButEmma Harney, founder of Dublin-basedcommunications agency EntertainmentArchitects, is an able guide, having workedright across the industry, from VincePower’s Mean Fiddler organisation to HotPress, leading promoter MCD and finallyUniversal.

These are good times and bad times,she reflects: there’s minimal regularmusic on TV, with the exception of TheLate Late Show and The Saturday NightShow; then again, there’s any amount ofnew music around and an enthusiasticspecialist and national press; while aseries like Other Voices, which drawssome of the world’s finest talent to a 200-year-old church in remote Dingle, canreach its 10th year.

“It’s a musical city and a musicalcountry,” says Harney. “Sometimes Dublin is

the most popular city in Europe, and thenext day it’s London, but it’s really exciting atthe moment and there are lots of excitingthings happening.”

Entertainment Architects has branchedinto brands, comedy and other areas sinceit launched nine years ago, but TV programme Other Voices remains an illustrious client on its original music patch.

Filmed each winter over five or six days,with four bands a night playing half anhour each, the show is held up as anational treasure, having drawn aremarkable list of guests including Elbow,Glen Hansard, Damien Rice, AmyWinehouse, The National, Snow Patrol,Ray Davies, The xx and Florence + TheMachine over the course of a decade.

“I go to South by Southwest every Marchand try to figure out who will be happeningin a year’s time,” says booker AoifeWoodlock. “I booked James Blunt before he

had released a single. I saw him in a poolhall in Austin and he was so gracious,couldn’t believe we were inviting him. Isaid, ‘I just think there’s something in thatsong…’”

There isn’t a fortune in musicprogramming, but Other Voices hasfriends in high places. When The Nationalplayed, they peppered hard-to-reach big-name friends with calls on Woodlock’sbehalf. Guy Garvey similarly is a globalambassador for the show.

“There’s no VIP area, no backstageareas,” says Woodlock. “In fact, somepeople have to go out the church windowwhen they finish their set - through thesacristy, over the amps.”

“Royseven were number one in our chart for anumber of weeks... that would have beenunheard of a couple of years ago; maybe Westlife,maybe U2, but not someone straight off theindependent scene...” FEIDHLIM BYRNE, NIELSEN MUSIC

At the entry level, FMC’s unsigned music site,Breaking Tunes, has 2,900 bands registered, up from1,800 a year ago and 600 the year before that.Likewise, the demos that flood in for FMC’sOctober city festival, Hard Working Class Heroes,only improve in quality each year, says Dorgan.

“I get the heebie jeebies every year when wesend the stuff out to our judges, that they are goingto say, ‘there’s nothing good here’,” she says. “Andevery year, we just get blown away.”

Of the more established acts who are makingtheir names in Ireland and waiting for a shotinternationally, names such as Patrick Kelleher, TheCoronas, The Minutes, Ryan Sheridan, Fight LikeApes and Bipolar Empire crop up again and again.

On the radio, where US and UK acts remainparticularly strong, Irish artists such as Roysevenand The Coronas have lately scored notablesuccesses.

“Royseven were number one in our chart for anumber of weeks with We Should Be Lovers,” saysFeidhlim Byrne, international operations manager atNielsen Music. “For a band like that, that wouldhave been unheard of a couple of years ago; maybeWestlife, maybe U2, but not someone straight offthe independent scene.”

And while Ireland may be famous for its singer-songwriter tradition, what it is more striking now isthe lack of any very obvious stereotype amongbreaking acts.

“There’s a real sense of diversity here now,” saysRoger Quail, formerly of 3mv and Sine in London,now label manager at independent label andmanagement organization Rubyworks and its‘indier’ offshoot, Model Citizen. “A lot of peoplestill associate Ireland with singer-songwriters. That

PICTUREDWorldtalent:TheNationalplay RTE’sOtherVoices

A MUSICAL VOICE IRELAND AND ITS MEDIA

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DESIGNERS TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

[email protected] 353 1 6337 644

The source for your band’s brand – Identity Imaging, Merchandise, Web, Print, Promotion, Packaging.

Print / Packaging Identity / Promotion Web / E-commerce Merchandise

[email protected] / + 353 (0)1 2194661entertainmentarchitects.ie

TV – Radio – Press – Online

&MusicEntertainment PublicityIn Ireland

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www.musicweek.com 16.09.11 Music Week 33

– fantastic festival, everybody loves it, greatatmosphere, lovely family vibe – but the crowdswere well down on last year, and Oxegen was thesame. In the next 12 months, I think we will start tosee genuine post-Celtic Tiger ticket prices, becausethey haven’t fallen yet.”

Ironically, investment during and since the boomperiod means Dublin is particularly well set forvenues. On top of the O2 Dublin, opened in 2008,and the new Aviva Stadium, which hosted NeilDiamond and The Script this summer, the past yearhas seen three new smaller venues launch in thecity: The Workman’s Club, The Grand Social andThe Mercantile.

Karl Geraghty, manager of The Workman’sClub, situated in Wellington Quay, next door toU2’s Clarence Hotel, believes new venues have anadvantage in straitened times.

“For so long, there was so much money goingaround, people would charge what they liked, andticket prices and drinks prices and band fees becamereally inflated,” he says.

“It felt like there was this need to come in andtry and do something from a more grassroots pointof view, which means not just stuffing in as manypeople as you can every night, but keeping thingsinteresting and genuine.”

The Grand Social has also found a niche, despitelaunching in the shadow of the Workman’s PR blitza year ago.

“We take an eclectic approach, and September,October, November, we’ve got something everynight of the week,” says manager John Brereton.“Definitely it’s got a little bit harder for venuesthan it was before, because people don’t have asmuch money. For a local band with a bit of areputation, you wouldn’t go above !10, and eventhe bigger acts coming in, you don’t want to priceit too high.”

So it’s a struggle, of course, and the economicsituation remains hard to ignore at every level. Butcritically, while Ireland may have a cash-flowproblem, it will never lack natural resources.

LEFTMay-de in Ireland:Some Irish artistsstill rely on the UKindustry to breakthem, such asImelda May, butthese days there isfar less looking tothe other side ofthe Irish Sea for acareer break

TERRITORY PROFILE IRELAND

“I have spent enormous amounts of time in court, and it is really not why you join the music business. We all end up tangentially becoming accountants anyway, but you don’t expect to be a lawyer as well...” WILLIE KAVANAGH, EMI IRELAND / IRMA

The internet has been the bane of theestablished Irish music business, just as it haselsewhere, but for an island that has traditionallydepended on UK labels to come and scoop up itstalent, it also offers a means to add new traderoutes, particularly to the west.

“I don’t think we are so reliant on the UKindustry anymore,” says Dorgan. “We have just asmany east- and west-coast American delegates atHard Working Class Heroes as we have UK ones.And it’s easier now, maybe, for a new Irish act to geton Conan than to get on Later…With Jools.”

Some acts, such as The Script or Imelda May(pictured below), find overseas success well beforethey are taken to the hearts of their homeland.Others thrive at home and struggle to make animpression abroad.

Aslan are one such case, having emerged in theimmediate wake of U2 and scored numerous hits athome, where they were Best Irish Band in the HotPress Awards as recently as 2008. However, beset bydrug and management problems and sheer badluck, they have rarely made a mark outside, withcertain exceptions.

“We are like Ireland’s best-kept secret,” saysfounding guitarist Billy McGuinness. “A few yearsago, we had a UK deal, re-recorded our biggest hit,Crazy World, toured from top to bottom and gaveit our best shot, and radio just didn’t get behind it.”

The band have a sixth studio album and a warts-

and-all documentary ready to go early next year, andin the meantime they extend their catchment areaoverseas by logical means.

“Anywhere there’s Irish, we can go: Australia,New York, Boston Chicago and various parts ofEurope,” says McGuinness, just back from anAustralian tour and about to jet to the US.

As Aslan know only too well, and EMI Irelandmanaging director and Irish Record MusicAssociation (IRMA) chair Willie Kavanagh willagree. Irish talent is one thing, making money outof it is something else.

EMI has long distributed the veteran band inIreland, but Kavanagh has spent the last few yearsstruggling on a very different front, spearheadingIRMA’s campaign to make ISPs responsible forpirate content transmitted across their networks.The outcome is not yet sealed, but Kavanagh washoping for the final closure of a legal loophole asMusic Week went to press.

“We are awaiting a statutory instrument to besigned by the minister, and if he does, that will bejob done,” he says. “The ISPs may decide to fightthe law, and that’s their prerogative. I can’t second-guess that, but we will be ensuring the law isenforced.”

The prospect of a piracy-free internet mightseem like a utopian vision in most other countries,but it is one Kavanagh contemplates in deadlyearnest, having spent three-and-a-half years onthe case.

“I have spent enormous amounts of time incourt, and it is really not why you join the musicbusiness,” he concedes. “We all end up tangentiallybecoming accountants anyway, but you don’t expectto be a lawyer as well.”

Whether or not the law is passed, and whetheror not that in turn halts piracy, digital distribution isan increasingly important legitimate channel inIreland, albeit not for entirely positive reasons.

HMV’s wobbly credit insurance position has ledto cautious trading with the labels, which has meantsmaller-than-usual volumes have flowed throughIreland’s sole specialist entertainment chain.

As in the UK, Tesco stocks entertainmentproduct, but the other major British supermarketshave no presence in the Republic of Ireland, leavingdownload retailers, and particularly the iTunesStore, to take a share that may be as high as a thirdof total music sales.

“The major thing in the Irish market is thatdigital really seems to be gaining a good head ofsteam now,” says Universal Ireland managingdirector Mark Crossingham. “Broadband speedshere were notoriously slow, but that’s improvingvastly, and generally the Irish consumer is gettingused to purchasing digitally.”

One area where the Irish consumer is losing ahabit, unfortunately, is the live arena. The Irishfondness for live music doesn’t need restating, and acohort of new clubs in Dublin appear to bethriving, but abundant anecdotal evidence suggestsbigger events are feeling the pinch.

“The live setting here is suffering greatly,” saysKavanagh. “I was at Electric Picnic at the weekend

“The major thing in the Irish market is that digitalreally seems to be gaining a good head of steamnow. Broadband speeds here were notoriouslyslow but that’s improving vastly and the Irishconsumer is getting used to purchasing digitally...” MARK CROSSINGHAM, UNIVERSAL IRELAND

ABOVEGrassroots gigs:Dublin’s Workman’sClub is bucking the live sector’sdownward trend

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FREECD

03BIPOLAR EMPIRE • Why So Sad?Bipolar Empire

Contact Suzanne Doyle • [email protected]

This Dublin quartet have been winningnew fans with a relentless touringschedule which has included playing topacked tents at Oxegen and the LondonFeis. Their debut album Feel That YouOwn It was co-produced by Pat McCarthy(REM) and Lance Hogan (Kíla) with radiohits Tempomanic, Feel That You Own Itand Trip Around The World. Kevin Godley(U2, Blur) directed their video featuringOlympic boxing hopeful Katie Taylor whileMuse band member Chris Wolstenholmeplayed alongside them in Dublin.!Moreperformances at Croke Park’s All-IrelandSemi-Final, Facebook Ireland HQ and aDublin headline show precede an Octobertour of Brazil.!www.bipolarempire.com

05ELEVENS • Torn At The SeamIndependent

Contact Mark Healy • [email protected]

Elevens are a three-piece acoustic bandfrom Dublin, formed by Martin McCann andTony Barrett from two of Dublin’s mostprestigious Indie bands (Sack and BrilliantTrees), with Mark Healy completing the line-up. What sets Elevens apart from theaverage acoustic setup is theircollaborations with photographers andvisual artists to incorporate a subtle andcomplementary backdrop for Elevens’poignant tales of love lost and found. Intoday’s climate of the harsh and abrasive,Elevens have come to soothe the senseswith their simple arrangements and uniquedelivery. A debut iTunes release, the TenderTo The Touch EP, is available for download. !www.elevensmusic.net

06WENDY JACK • SunsetsWendy Jack Music

Contact Wendy Jack • [email protected]

Northern Ireland’s Wendy Jack has burstonto the Irish music scene to criticalacclaim with the pre-album release of astunning four-track EP including the singleSunsets. Wendy is now embarking on an UKand Ireland tour before returning to thestudio to complete her eagerly awaitedalbum, set for release in 2012. Meanwhile,her management are ready to discussworldwide licensing and synch deals.

Small in population but big in creative output and influence, Ireland has long been a hotspot of musical talent – and as these 16 amazing tracks show, the country is going from strength to strength

04THE PLEA • Odyssey Planet Function

Contact Jenny Headen • [email protected]

The Plea are Ballyliffen, Co. Donegalbrothers, singer Denny and guitarist DermotDoherty, who are joined by!drummer GerryStrawbridge and bassist Paul Toland. Thequartet posted songs on Myspace, resultingin an offer from the founders of legendaryBelgian dance label R&S Records (AphexTwin, Joey Beltram, System 7). They wantedThe Plea to be their first ever rock signingand agreed a deal that would lead to launchof an indie offshoot, Planet Function, onwhich to release The Plea’s debut album.Two singles have been released from thealbum (out early next year) – with Odysseythe third. With great support slots undertheir belt, a gig at Oxegen and more showsto come, this is set to be The Plea’s year.!www.myspace.com/thepleamusic

SOUNDS OF IRELAND 2011According to Irish radio station WLRFM’sLiam Merriman, “Sunsets is a strong andinfectious debut – good lyrics, melody andhook, a strong performance; the emotion isthere, too, and high production values. Inmy experience, these are the kind ofingredients that help jump you up theairplay queue in radio land.”!www.wendyjackmusic.com

07ELEVENTYFOUR • The Friend Song Independent

Contact Dorothy Cotter • [email protected]

Fun-sized Irish music maker EleventyFourtickles and charms with her offbeat lyricsand live banter. Often compared to KimyaDawson (Moldy Peaches), she has beenfeatured in 50 Best Irish Acts (2UIBestow),Faces of 2011 (State magazine), 5 FutureSounds (Irish Times) and The Web’s BestNew Music (Irish Independent). EleventyFour’sdebut EP The Joy Imperative was releasedin the spring, prompting enthusiasticreviews and numerous radio appearances.EleventyFour has just signed her first synchdeal for Irish TV. She recently played atElectric Picnic (Ireland’s version ofGlastonbury) and was named one of the“15 Best Bands at Electric Picnic” by topIrish music blogger Nialler9.!www.eleventyfour.com

08PAUL CREANE & THE CHANGINGBAND • All For You Baby Paul Creane...

Contact [email protected]

Hailing from Wexford, Paul Creane And TheChanging Band have just released theirdebut album Tommy Black And The Twelve

01KATIE KIM • Heavy Lighting Flaming June

Contact Martin Burns • [email protected]

Waterford’s Katie Kim released her first album Twelve in2008. It was met with a warm reception across Ireland. JimCarroll, of The Irish Times called it “subtle, slow-burningmagic” and she has been championed by Today FM DJsDonal Dineen and Paul McLoone. Katie has recentlycollaborated with David Kitt and appeared as a vocalist withThe Waterboys on Mike Scott’s WB Yeats concerts. Her newalbum Cover And Flood will be released next January onDublin vinyl label Flaming June. This, the first single from therecord, was released as a seven inch last month. !www.myspace.com/dancekatiekimdance

02POLLY BARRETT • Mr Bookshop unsigned

Contact John Glennon • [email protected]

Polly Barrett began her music career as a busker on thestreets of Cork city. Her mellow, folksy songs and clear,easy voice reflect her love of nature and matters of theheart. Polly’s debut album Mr Bookshop will be releasedon October 28 and is set to cast her as the new jewel ofacoustic folk-pop. Polly’s sound draws comparisons withsongstresses such as Gillian Welch, Nanci Griffith and KateRusby while her writing is influenced by craftsmithsincluding Joni Mitchell and John Martyn. !!www.myspace.com/pollybarrett

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Days of Lucy. The album is an emotivecollection of 12 songs, ranging from thesombre yet hopeful Blue Sky Lullaby to theupbeat and playful All For You Baby. Thealbum was recorded in various houses overthe course of a year (while the band itselfwas being formed) and has been describedby Hot Press as having “mixed folk stylingswith an indie sensibility to create aprovocative work of depth and charm.” !www.paulcreane.com

09BERRIES BLUE • Dance Of A Ladyunsigned

Contact [email protected]

A “dirty folk/rock/pop" act with a slight hintof Americana, Berries Blue combine vocals,piano, guitar, drums and bass as well as arange of percussion instruments, brass,strings, glockenspiel and kazoo to create amemorable and unique sound. Theirsongwriting and vocal harmonies havecome in for much praise, both at their ownperformances and in support of well-knownIrish musicians including Cathy Davey, MickFlannery, Luka Bloom, Liam O’Maonlai,Damien Dempsey and Declan O’Rourke.They have been winning favourable reviewsfor their gigs to date, having been describedas succeeding “in bringing freshness tofamiliar blues and folk influences and inenergising the audience”. They are currentlyin the mixing phase of their debut albumwhich they hope to release in early 2012. !www.breakingtunes.com/berriesblue

10CARS LOVE GIRLS • Lose Your Mind unsigned

Contact Jenny Headen • [email protected]

Dublin’s newest and most exciting musicalcollaboration comes to us courtesy ofbrother-and-sister team Cars Love Girls.Featuring Bres (guitars, vocals) and Orla(vocals), they first worked together for manysuccessful years as part of the Republic Of

Loose, knocking out two Top 10 albums inthe process. Following that, the duo beganwork on an independent project. Theirsound developed from a vast array ofinfluences including Prince, Prefab Sprout,Hall & Oates and Steely Dan.!The product oftheir efforts is debut album!Skip Schoolwith lead single Lose Your Mind due out inOctober.!www.carslovegirls.com

11THE CHAKRAS • MovementPlanet Function

Contact Jenny Headen • [email protected]

Dublin-born quintet The Chakras have beenwearing the “new Verve” plaudits longbefore their forthcoming debut album BuildMe A Swan was complete. Havingsupported Ian Brown in Ireland afterperforming just a handful of local shows,the band, fronted by Rocky Whittaker,signed with Planet Function (a subsidiary ofdance label R&S) at the beginning of2011.!With recent single Drifting playlistedat Xfm, a much-vaunted headline slot atKasabian’s recent Roundhouse aftershowparty and the album (produced by UrbanHymns producer Chris Potter) alreadypicking up positive reviews in both the UKand Ireland, The Chakras look set for a verypositive conclusion to 2011. !www.thechakras.co.uk

12MIRACLE BELL • Love SoundsMB Records

Contact David Wilkinson • [email protected]

Ireland’s finest electro-pop merchants’debut album Light Shape Sound wasreleased last year to critical acclaim.Brimming with irresistible pop delights, the10 tracks were written by the threemembers, drummer John Rigney, lead

singer Dave Prendergast and guitarist JohnBroe. Their love of samples and dark synthbass lines have drawn comparisons to TwoDoor Cinema Club, Depeche Mode, TalkingHeads and Duran Duran. The band havereleased five singles from the album toconsiderable radio support and have playedgigs and festivals across the country.!www.miraclebell.com

13FUZZY EMPIRE • The Rolling Hours Unsigned

Contact [email protected]

Emmet and Tim attended the same Dublinmusic course in 2009. Emmet is a rockerand Tim is a raver – but despite thesedisparate musical identities they got on.When they got to the end of the year and itwas time to hand in their coursework itbecame clear that Tim had no hope ofcompleting it – Emmet “lent” him his workfor inspiration and one weekend later Tim’scoursework was completed. Not wanting toput this teamwork to waste they started to

write music together. Initially intending towrite one song, they wrote several andFuzzy Empire was born.! soundcloud.com/fuzzy-empire

14RYAN SHERIDAN • Jigsaw Ruby Works

Contact Roger Quail • [email protected]

Discovered by his manager playing on thestreet in Dublin’s Temple Bar district,Monaghan native Ryan Sheridan’s debutalbum The Day You Live Forever chartedat number two in the Irish national charts.Recorded in Dublin and mixed in Londonby Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, KTTunstall), the album stayed top five for thefirst five weeks of release and wascertified gold shortly after. Jigsaw is one ofthe biggest homegrown airplay records of2010–11. Sheridan has completed Irisharena tours with The Script, Taylor Swiftand Bryan Adams and also played forPresident Obama on his visit to Ireland.!www.ryansheridanmusic.com

15THE MINUTES • Black KeysModel Citizen

Contact Roger Quail • [email protected]

Channeling the primal surge of rampantgarage rock‘n’roll with elements of bluesand gospel, The Minutes have honedtheir craft on the Irish gig circuit over thelast couple of years. Their recently released debut album Marcata has been universallyhailed in the Irish media as one of the best of the year. Band members Mark Austin(guitar/vocals), Shane Kinsella (drums) and Tom Cosgrave (bass) recently played theirbiggest show to date with a knockout performance at the Oxegen festival. Recent specialguest slots with Mona, The Cult and BRMC have confirmed The Minutes as one of thehottest new rock bands around.!www.myspace.com/theminutesireland

16FIGHT LIKE APES • KathmanduModel Citizen

Contact Roger Quail • [email protected]

Dublin-based electronic punk rockersFight Like Apes’ second album wasreleased in the UK earlier this year.Produced by Andy Gill (Gang Of 4), TheBody Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner has been warmly recieved by fans and criticsalike. The band have had a busy summer of festivals, playing Glastonbury, T In The Park,Oxegen, Latitude, The Big Chill and Leeds/Reading, as well as weirding out the kids ontour with Beady Eye and New Found Glory. Fight Like Apes play an exclusive Facebook-streaming gig on this week, live from the roof of Facebook's Dublin HQ. Kathmandu hasbeen remixed for single release by Chris Shaw (Super Furry Animals, Guillemots).!www.fightlikeapesmusic.com

Music Week regularly runs territory CDs and digital playlists as well as our own talent disc, Music WeekPresents. For more information, please email [email protected]. Please note thatsubmissions for the next Music Week Presents CD (Vol. 13) must be received by Monday October 10.

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