CD Reviews
Michael Lane - Take It Slow (single)
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“. Take It Slow is his latest single.
RUNOFFBROKE - Wish You Knew (single)
Runoffbroke, formerly known as Jordan Wilson, is a 21 year old hip hop artist from Dublin, Ireland, who has been releasing songs for a number of years.
Playing his first gig at 13 at The Twisted Pepper with the underground label Mic-A-Blaze Records. Jordan carried on to work with multiple Irish groups before making his way to Germany to work with Citizen Soldier Entertainment. He has played gigs in a wide range of countries. Among others a gig in LA in 2014 and an 18 day Germany tour in 2017, supporting Infidelix alongside Papke.
Patata - Own Me (single)
Patata (Shane Devlin) from Donegal, Ireland, is an open, honest and diverse singer/songwriter. His songs draw on raw emotion delivered through prism of folk, rock, pop and jazz influences, his soulful, mellow voice a perfect compliment to the innate musicality of his songs. In 2019, his debut single Valentine, released on Valentine's Day, reached no.7 in the Irish Daily Download Chart. 2020 will see the release of the debut album " Songs for the Silver Screen" which is due in the early summer. Own Me is the second single from the album.
Moon Looks On - Sorry State Blues (single)
Moon Looks On is the musical project of Irish singer-songwriter Stephen Gormley. Originally a trance DJ from Sligo, Stephen picked up a guitar for the first time 10 years ago. So instant was his connection with the instrument, and so blatant was his talent as a musician, that in 2014 he decided to move to Dublin to study for a degree in Commercial Modern Music at BIMM Dublin. That was in 2015 and he hasn’t looked back since. Moon Looks On subsequently released an eponymous, five-track EP that garnered enough attention for the band to be booked to perform at Other Voices (2016), Electric Picnic (2017), Sligo Live (2017), Westport Arts Festival (2017) and Knockanstockan (2018) and Somerset House London (2017). There's a debut album planned for later this year.
Luke Clerkin - Nocturnal (single)
There are songwriters known for their honesty. Dubliner Luke Clerkin is one of them. Award-winning musician who played 250 gigs in the year 2015 is also known to be a mental health activist. He's back releasing music after more than a year, started with Stones (originally being his debut single back in 2016), he now brings the latest single Nocturnal which shows a new direction of his songwriting. The new direction can be clearly noticed in the full band sound but one thing remains, the focus on the words and the message. This is the second single from Clerkin's upcoming EP called What Little Time We Have.
A Choir of Ghosts - An Ounce of Gold
We need to make our way through the deep, thick, Scandinavian forest, into the wilderness until we reach A Choir Of Ghosts, fingerpicking the guitar to folksy vigorous tunes to long for. The front person, Sweden-based James Augers’ musical foundation: the soil, is through the reminiscence of Kurt Cobain, topped with the water, sun and air of The Tallest Man On Earth and Hollow Coves, making ACOG give you a feeling of all shades of nostalgia.
Owen Denvir - Stones (EP)
Belfast-born Owen Denvir has established himself among the most interesting acts emerging on current music scene.Now he's back with second of his trilogy of EPs, Stones. When complete, this trilogy will form his debut album. Each of the EPs has it own theme. As Denvir says, the EP trilogy idea is based on Sigmund Freud's theory that personality is a sum of 3 parts: the Id (acting on raw impulse), the Ego (being terrified of consequences) and the Superego (the balance between the two). The first EP ("Sticks") deals with loss and delusion and the impulsive decisions we make while in the spell of 'love'. The second ("Stones") being a more confident but brash take on love, and finally the last EP ("Bones") is when you have the balance between the two, which mostly leads to more healthy relationship.
Elena Duff - Sailing on the Sea of Love (single)
Coming from Dublin, Elena Duff’s musical career began late in life, as she formerly concentrated solely on visual art. The beginning was the day she picked up a ukulele and taught herself to play. Pretty soon she began to write her own songs. Her influences include jazz, 1920s music and folklore and torch songs. She got endorsed by a ukulele manufacturer in Korea and joined a large, gigging ukulele ensemble for a year. After leaving the band, she focused on writing and performing her own songs on soprano and baritone ukuleles and more recently guitar. Sailing on the Sea of Love started life as an acoustic number played on baritone ukulele and was written for Valentine's Day 2019.
Manukahunney Blue - Watershed (single)
A collective of talented singers and musicians with a love for that authentic soul and R&B sound. The Manukahunney brand, from Bangor, Co.Down, Northern Ireland, has developed since 2012 and now promotes TWO bands offering different types of soul to lovers of soul music. Manukahunney, a 7-9 piece Soul funk band that offers high energy soul, funk music particularly from the 60s and 70s and fresh takes on the songs of great artists like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Picket, interweaving recognised hits with classic Motown and hot Northern Soul. Manukahunney BLUE (MH Blue) is the second band to emerge out of the Manukahunney brand. MH Blue is the smaller soul collective that offers more laid back vibes, with fresh takes on artists like such as Roy Ayers, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill & Booker T. They combine soul with blues, jazz and gospel, as well as original music of their own.
Stolen City - Sparks (single)
Stolen City are a Dublin-based three-piece who pride themselves on their fun, energetic performances.Since the release of debut E.P ‘Stolen City’ two years ago, the young band have worked tirelessly to make their mark on Ireland’s independent music scene, with their upbeat pop-rock sound. Their main mission is to bring change to the music scene. In their own words "We see a big disconnect between bands and their fans nowadays, It’s as if once people get famous they can forget where they came from, We want to make sure that never happens to us and hope if we lead by example people will follow."