Music from the Heart

“It’s indie rock’n’roll. But I’d like to believe it’s different to anything else out there right now.” These are the words of Lloyd Lock, guitarist for Novacain.  The band officially formed in 2020, but these four friends have been playing venues together in various bands across Portsmouth and beyond, forming part of the fabric of their local rock scene for more than seven years now.

Based in Galway, Thomas McPartland has been writing and performing for over 15 years. Gigging all over Ireland and further afield, he has supported the likes of Damien Dempsey, Ham Sandwitch, Picturehouse, and Heathers. His debut full-length release as Partland, ‘Sing Me to Shore’ received critical acclaim featuring on Charlie McGettigan’s radio show as his Album of the Month. McPartland’s artistry has stretched from the sonic elements into new creative realms, thanks to the time bestowed by Lockdown. His next full-length will be a visual album, each track accompanied by a stop-motion music video put together by hand by McPartland himself. Originally only intended for the four singles, the artist then decided to go all out, spending roughly 80 hours on the resulting venture.Currently putting the finishing touches to the album, Partland’s sophomore album ‘The Empty Atlantic’ will be released toward the end of the year.

KinetiX is comprised of 3 brothers from Co. Offaly, Ireland - Arthur (drums), Ademar (keys/synths), and Theodore (vocals). They amalgamate a variety of elements from differing genres into their music, to create their unique style of pop music. Arthur, Theodore and Ademar Stones began learning traditional Irish music, on the banjo, fiddle and button accordion. They enjoyed success in the traditional Irish music scene, collectively winning 23 All-Ireland solo medals at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann competitions. In 2010, they played on the Late Late Toy Show, playing the accordion, banjo and bouzouki.

In the midst of a global pandemic, and what we can only call a crushing year for so many, four musicians got together to kill some time by making music. It had been their passion individually for decades. And with what felt like never-ending lockdowns, the one thing they had was time. With diverse experience and backgrounds in folk, rock, hip hop and reggae, the music started to take shape, and Kandemic was born. With everything going on in the world, it became clear from the very start that Kandemic had a lot to say and a story to tell. As one lockdown was followed by another, the band kept writing and recording music. And six months and thousands of cans of beer later, Kandemic realised they had an album in their hands and a message from far beyond the stars. Rock, punk, hip hop and reggae, and swapping between English and Italian languages, Kandemic's sound picks from the past and sets out to make something new. Band members from Helsinki, Milan, Rome and Venice now call Dublin their home.

Somewhat of a nineties supergroup, Dublin outfit Klubber Lang are made up of Revelino guitarist Ciaran Tallon, ex-(sic) bass player Ciaran McGoldrick on vocals and bass, ex-Mexican Pets drummer Fin O'Leary and producer Ronan McHugh on keyboards. With the two singles released to date, ‘There, There’ and ‘Not My Day’, Klubber Lang have made a real statement of intent and have created a real level of expectation about what is yet to come.

Northern Ireland artist CeeV (pronounced like 'Key' but with a 'V' on the end) is releasing her new single Lonely Night. CeeV, who's real name is Caoimhe McAleavey, is based in Newry but began her music career in Manchester studying songwriting at BIMM. Although immersed in music in one of the most creative and music rich cities in the world, CeeV was reluctant to showcase her own songs and instead took a more backseat role while playing in several bands in some of the most recognisable venues in the city. Although she didn't perform her own songs live while in Manchester, CeeV plucked up the courage and shared her work with real live people on Soundcloud and was astonished when her music reached over 30,000 listens.

If there is a modern folk-pop artist who has seen the harsh realities in life, it is Michael Lane himself. As a US soldier in his twenties, sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Michael was forced to live at cruelty . Successes such as two top 50 songs in the German charts, four albums, international tours and the single "Liberty" as the official song of the 2015/2016 Four Hills Tournament, Europe’s biggest international ski jump event, have made Michael Lane, a German-American, known to the public. In addition to his work as a musician, Michael Lane is currently also active as a songwriter for production music and as a music producer in his remote "Studio Waldblick“.

Olivia Burke, a Tullamore, Co.Offaly native, has finished four years studying Commercial Modern Music and Songwriting at BIMM Dublin. In the past she has performed in many venues including Whelan’s, The Workman’s Club, Dolans and was shortlisted in the final 33 of the Hotpress Big Break Competition back in 2014. Still only 22 years old, she has been releasing her own music for many years including a single back in May called Anybody Else and an EP called Notes On My Napkin back in 2015 which she successfully got crowdfunding for through a Fund It. Burke’s influences include Amy Winehouse, Lorde, Frank Ocean, Kacey Musgraves.

SomeRiseSomeFall is a Cork-based independent community of songwriters, musicians and creatives. The ever evolving collective brings together artists and vocalists all with the aim to interpret & reimagine songs for unique new recordings. Their most recent album released in February 2021 was album of the week on a number of radio stations and was released to unanimously positive reviews. They hope to perform the album to live audiences later in the year.