Featuring Sloucho, Pastiche, Evie, XXX in Stereo, DeCarteret, Zaska, jarjarjr, Chameleon, Zapho, HEADSGONE, Blimp.
A lot of Irish music comes our way and every week, we listen through it all, sift the list down to a manageable list and share the best new tracks from emerging artists and some more established acts 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.
Sloucho
Super Maramu 2000
Mashing hyperpop, bass music and Two Shell-esque silliness, ‘Super Maramu 2000’ is a fizzy lollipop of a production, from the Irish producer’s much-anticipated album NPC, due May 3rd on Sweet Sun.
See also:
‘Come Around’ is the first track from the record, a collaboration with Rory Sweeney, on an bass-driven alien two-step wub-featuring track. The album also features EMBY, Curtisy, Zack Oke, Yamagōchi, Rhosi, Vaticanjail and k-Caz.
Evie
Paris
‘Paris’ is a wistful remembrance of a song – a meditative and delicate paean to a city and all that it reminds the author of.
Evie is an Irish alt-folk musician, and this track features on the artist’s second EP Shiny Things to be released on May 10th.
“Paris is the solace song of the EP. Less fuss, more fiddle and showcased in a way that I think, extends a lot more grit to a snug tune like this.”
Zaska, jarjarjr
Play The Game
Guitarist and ringleader Zaska dropped a new EP that was recorded at The Triskel in Cork last year. It features a 12-piece band and vocal turns from Gemma Dunleavy, shiv, Melina Malone and the Cork native beatmaker jarjarjr, once again displaying his ease behind the mic as a rapper.
Blimp, Kipunji, MaRy
Say Less
Irish producer Shane Smyth aka Blimp quietly dropped a full album last week called
Kintsugi (named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery), and ‘Say Less’ is a vocal-featuring standout from the record.
Blimp has shown himself adept in creating fine electronic tracks, and the creation of the album is also part of a wider process for Smyth…
The title Kintsugi comes from the Japanese art form in which plates are smashed to pieces and re-built with gold to symbolise the wisdom one gets from breaking and re-building, this resonated with me during the process of making this album over the past 4 years as creating music has been my therapy on my recovery journey from a psychotic episode I had during COVID.
The concept of the album is such that it documents the emotions of an average day in my life. Starting with a morning atmosphere and soundscape and gradually fading into a late sleepless night of overthinking. It features additional production from HEADSGONE on the track Inner Light, POSER on the track Yours and Kipunji & MaRy on the track Say Less.
The artwork is by Jason Evans known for his artwork done with long term collaborators Caribou and Four Tet. Jason has also had his art featured in the Tate Gallery in London. The art is a compilation image of plastics he has collected from the beach, which I see as a direct comparison to how the tracks were constructed as they were mostly based off compiling royalty free individual track samples I found on various sampling websites. Jason also very kindly played this album to Four Tet and then Kieran himself sent me an email with a few notes and stated that I was very good at creating a mood and atmosphere.
HEADSGONE
Angel
Speaking of HEADSGONE, the Cork producer’s own new track ‘Angel’ is a galvanic electronic track with percussive might and dreamy silvery chords.
Pastiche
Forfeit Control
Channeling the disco pop sheen of Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia era, ‘Forfeit Control’ adds 80s synthwave styles to the song’s crisp vintage tom-heavy rhythm.
The song came about after the Dublin artist Pastiche went through a time of “excruciating pain, fatigue, mood swings, acne, hair loss and irregular periods.”
After being told it was all in her head by medical practioneers, Pastiche was finally diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis and received life-changing surgery that inspired the song.
“After my surgery, I felt like I could breathe again. I could hear music again. I could sing again. I wrote 30 songs in two months, including ‘Forfeit Control’. In a way, this song is about my youth that I feel has been taken away from me. I’m in my 20s and meant to be making mistakes, going out, creating memories, being carefree, forfeiting control of life and not worrying about the future. However, I now find myself on fertility treatments with a chronic illness, not knowing the impact this could have on my career. ‘Forfeit Control’ is escapist for me. Singing it, I feel like the old me. It makes me dance in a way I have not danced in a year. It brought ‘Pastiche’ back to life. That is why it had to be my first release after this entire experience. We need to let go sometimes and just let life happen to us, because you really cannot fight what is going to be. This song is a reminder to ‘Forfeit Control’.”
Zapho
Logically
The soul R&B artist Zapho is back with anothe single taken from a forthcoming debut album.
‘Logically’ has more of guitar-rock texture among its pop-centred electronic soul, and was actually written 10 years ago when the artist was at BIMM. It was written written and produced alongside Steven McCann with bass from Lorcan O’Dwyer and Oisín Murtagh on sax
A live version of the song performed with a seven-piece band is also below.
Decarteret
MYAEROPLANE
Clare artist Decarteret follows up her debut EP last year with ‘MYAEROPLANE’ a fine slice of ASMR pop produced by Chameleon that explores themes of exhaustion and grief. Billie Eilish is referenced as an influence and I can hear it.
It’s one of a series of upcoming collaborations with producers.
Chameleon
The Ransom
Oh look, there’s a new Chameleon song too..
Matthew Harris’ first song in two years comes after his hookup with KhakiKid and CARSTEN2X – ‘Who’s That Girl’ – a song that got that sweet hit of virality.
The song comes coated in a noir-production with buzzed keys, looped guitar and spacious drums underpinning Harris’ layered vocals.
“A lot of the music that is to come out this year contains a significant amount of frustration and bitterness that I was desperate to release. What you might hear as abrasiveness and spite in the lyrics and instrumentation, is really a fragile coating over a deeper pain. I wanted to explore the perspective of someone who has been hurt in a relationship – who is having their freedom held for Ransom – but who cannot be fully exempt from blame or fault.”
A video shot in Dublin and directed by Iarla McKeon, takes on the theme – inspired by noir crime films with Sin City also mentioned debuts today.
XXXX In Stereo
Luv
Jungle Breakbeats and airy ambient pads form the contrasting styles of ‘Luv’, a track from Ryan Cullen aka XXXX in Stereo’s forthcoming debut EP M3 Sound.
XXXX In Stereo is playing in Hong Kong this Friday.
For more extensive Irish and new music coverage, hit up the Irish section for individual track features…
For this and more Irish songs, follow the Nialler9 New Irish Spotify playlist.
New additions not featured above:
- Side 4 Collective; Sacred Animals; Adrian Crowley – Four Letters
- Cooks But We’re Chefs – RoseGold
- OneTwo – dreamer
- Elaphi – The Wind
- KAWAII HOE – Kaleidoscope Love
- Gary O’Neill – Not Looking
- Man Like Strange – Memory Grove
- Syano – Gluestick Youth
- Oh Boland – Here Comes the Order of Malta
- rex mundi – lone gunman
- Adam Cully; Alan Mckee – Substance
- Hygashy; RHC95 – COMING
- peter o sullivan – picnic plans
- Pinnock Hill – Mo Ghrá
- Bricknasty – Boyfriend
- New Jackson – I Wanna Be Adored – Edit
- a lazarus soul – The Flower I Flung Into Her Grave
