A lot of Irish music comes Nialler9’s way and there’s little time to feature everything we think is worthy of a thumbs up or more ears. Every week, we collate the songs that pass our writers that deserve to be heard by you. For more extensive Irish, and Northern Irish coverage, follow our Spotify playlist or hit up the Irish section for individual track features.
1.
Jealous of the Birds
Epistle
Ahead of a new album Peninsula released this Friday, Naomi Hamilton has been dropping some fine songs from it in the lead up. ‘Epistle’ is a slow moving song which Hamilton says is a love letter.
“’Epistle’ was one of those rare songs that emerged almost fully-formed during the writing of the album. It’s a love letter — an affirmation to live deliciously in tandem with another human being through the flux and flow we experience in life. I wanted it to have a youthful hopefulness and yet the self-awareness of the complexity of braiding one’s life with another’s. There’s an equality of trust to that which is really beautiful to me.”
PENINSULA, was produced by David Wrench and Marta Salogni.
2.
Fynch
Big Man (feat. Local Boy)
“Cop on son.”
The Dublin rapper Fynch’s first track since last year’s EP Bookies Pens & Loose Ends bumps a summery R&B vibe on a song about toxic masculinity with a hook by Local Boy, who is playing Button Factory next week (socially distant of course).
“Whether it’s conscious or not, there’s still that ‘be a man’ inference when it comes to men showing vulnerability. …. You just need to be honest with yourself, certainly I know myself that I haven’t rid myself of the worst aspects of ‘manliness’. I’m a work in progress, that end goal is to just be a better person.”
3.
Solkatt
Plague Rave Death Party
Kilkenny electronic duo Solkatt followup January’s Nocturne album with a track that leans on our dystopian times, while remaining banging at the same time. As they put it, it’s “dedicated to all the business techno DJ who prefer profit over morals.”
4.
EFÉ
Table For Two
20 year old Nigerian-Irish artist Anita Ikharo follows up recent single ‘Seven’ with a self-produced bedroom pop track about wasting time and procrastinating – which is pretty much 2020’s vibe.
“I feel like I jump in and out of being super productive, to barely doing anything. During the writing process for ‘Table for Two’, I was in a space where I was procrastinating. I had the time to work harder but did not utilise it instead just constantly wasting the time I had. I felt like this song was honestly a necessary conversation with myself to stop wasting soooooo much time and to focus on staying committed.
5.
Seamus Fogarty
Johnny K
Carlow singer-songwriter Seamus Fogarty’s new album A Bag Of Eyes comes out on November 6th and leans more on drum machines and synths than his previous output. Lead single ‘Johnny K’ nods to the experience of being Irish living in England and the video by Jack Barraclough takes things a step further:
“The idea for Johnny K was inspired by a picture of David Cameron relaxing in his £25,000 garden shed. Seamus was looking to steer away from a video set in an Irish pub, and how much further from an Irish folk singer can you get than an English aristocrat? So Johnny K became Jonathan Kingsley and the rest is history! At first, what you see in the video isn’t really matching up with the lyrics, but as Jonathan Kingsley’s world gets turned upside down, the themes of the song and lyrics start to make a lot more sense with the visuals.”
6.
Pat Lagoon
Digital Love (feat. Morethan)
Waterford MC Pat Lagoon comes through with a tune about the distortion of reality that social media brings to our lives, with Morethan on the hook. The video is by Ben Kavanagh.
7.
Cathal Bailey
07-01-2020
The 23 year-old producer from Dunboyne in Meath dropped a five-track mixtape that features this short hypnotic highlight.
8.
Wallfella
Devaney Flow
The North Dublin rapper Wallfella recently put out a 9-track long-player The North’s Place and while it’s clear the man can rap, the bass-heavy productions lean towards identikit beats. ‘Devaney Flow’ is a standout on an album that feels like its creator has more to give.
9.
Somebody’s Child
We Could Start A War (Le Boom remix)
Le Boom take time out from working on new music with this remix of Somebody’s Child’s ‘We Could Start A War’. Very catchy.
10.
Son Zept
Trophy Run
Belfast producer Son Zept goes all on on his productions, melding all manner of breakbeats, hardcore, experimentalism, acid and sound design and whatever you’re having yourself amongst its vibrantly concocted productions. B on Belfast label Resist-AV is the latest release from the producer and if you can handle ‘Trophy Run’ the rest might be for you.
