Supergroups 1.1 ... more Irish icons to watch out for today and tomorrow...
Ireland today seems to be increasingly in the grip of an independant music revival and there are now more talented bands touring and recording than ever before.. I actualy know of some villages that even have far more bands (and venues) than they do people . New 'talented' bands seem to be forming every week amid a 'musical excitement ' and a sense of expectation that hasn't been evident in Irish music with such 'presance' or force since the last musical 'boom' of the mid to late seventies. We're not talking about the kind of poor quality part time pub bands on a dodgy mid life crises tour that are so often found in the rest of the bars of the world...oh no!...We're talking about multi talented musicians who can sit professionaly in any area of music they choose, play any instrument (very well) and write original lyrics, riffs and musical movements that can sweep listeners off their feet and drag them right out into oceans of sound within seconds of being caught up in their musical 'rip tides'. So it's time to put your wellies on, stand in the shallows of our little page and get sucked out to sea in our outgoing tide of celtic creativity.....
First up on Supergroups 1.1 is a singer songwriter from Cobh (pronounced 'cove') -the jewel isle of Cork harbour. We first discovered Bill Coleman's music through the song 'Say it like you mean it' ( the english version -as currently featured on Irish Rockers.com). We thought the song was 'OK-ish' but were totaly blown away on hearing it on the 'live' and rocked up Irish version as performed on Irish language music show 'Diese Roc' (see video).For most monolinguistic english speakers the thought of songs in 'foreign languages' is an instant meaningless turn off, but in this instance the performance belted out by Bill and the band was full of a passion that simply defied any liguistic barriers (- and with our own skills in the Irish language being limited to a mere handfull of phrases most irish four year olds would know plus a few more that would get you arrested if repeated to an Irish Policeman, Bill's rendition easily overcame our own linguistic insensitivities). But even more astounding is Bill's songwriting ability which quite simply makes most of the worlds
most reknowned songwriters from the last decade..from Damien Dempsey to James Blunt etc....all look a little bit shallow at times by comparrison. Bill Coleman not only actualy has something to say but he says it very ,very well. Yes, OK, so lyrics like 'all you perfect girls with all your perfect smiles' might not seem to carry too much weight or depth -but if you take a closer listen to songs such as 'Fight No More' or 'Bound' then you'll find yourself caught up in a very deep seam of a carefully hewn out character and conscience, all expertly extracted and delivered, wether in the form of an acoustic solo performance or wether blown apart by the full sound of the full rock band. Bill's debut album was released in February 2007 and was aptly and passionately entitled 'I'll Tear My Own Walls Down' and his forthright laser guided songwriting missiles will help you do just that with a perfect and pinpoint precision. For more on Bill Coleman (and that 'english version' of 'Say it like you mean it' ) then check his MySpace and 'dot coms' for dates and special new releases...
Bill Colemans MySpace
Bill's 'dot com'
Next up is another creative genius and lyrical shapeshifter who is causing quite a stir with her energetic and at times wayward songwriting. We're also cheating by including her as she actualy already has a recording contract with Polydor Records and has long flown from her 'independant self recording label nest'..But her songwriting ..? well this is about as independant as you can get. There is something in the delivery of Cathy Davey that has made a lot of people make a lot of comparrrisons with the energetic creativity of Kate Bush in her 'Saxaphone song, Wow and Babooshka' days..Cathy might not be wearing the same style of clothes or hair (-she's actualy a blond -), nor is she delivering the same eccentric dance routines but there is certainly something in the energy of Cathy's voice and the witt of her songwriting that does echo strongly, in a very positive way, of Kate Bush at the very height of her career. Cathy has released two notable albums scince our featured RTE interview from Irelands 2004 Oxegen festival entitled 'Something Ilk' (in 04) and the Meteor Award winning 'Tales of Silverslieve' in 2007 - her track 'Moving' has been highly sought after by a number of advertising campaigns - most notably in Eire by Vodaphones 2007/08 campaign and ... as a 'dance' track, we think it was probably the best track throughout the year worldwide. Also featured in our second video is another song from Something Ilk entitled 'Clean and Neat '. Cathy recently went on an Irish musical showcase in the States alongside Dolerentos and some other notable Irish bands and is now currently skipping backwards and forwards between London and Eire for various tours, concerts and projects...A strong contender for many future International awards Cathy is also very likely to become a very familiar name worldwide. To get yourself 'Moving' to some more of her original beats and music visit her Official MySpace page at the following link where you can also discover more classic videos , sample and / or buy either of her groundbreaking albums and discover some equaly groundbreaking and special tourdates too...
Cathy Davey
For those of you who think we've become exeptionaly biased in favour of bands from Dublin ,Cork, or Waterford then just to prove you wrong we thought we'd give a special mention to a special band from Kildare (for those non - irish residents yes, Kildare is actualy a place and not a doctor from an American TV series!). Thoughout music history there have been many memorable moments, and many original and quirky videos that stick in the mind for the right reasons which heavily complement the music its meant to highlight - as opposed to many of those eighties videos that made their bands look stupid and only complemented some greedy buisnessmans wallet. The Kill City Defectors video for their debut single 'All Messed Up' was thankfully one of those former moments ...as memorable as the Cure falling of a cliff in a wardrobe, New Orders bouncing leotards or Jamiriquai's Virtual Insanity 'All Messed Up' has the visual and musical moments expertly etched to leave a permanent imprint in your mind and a beat quirky enough to get your feet permanently 'Tangoed' (a pun most europeans should get).Their debut album is also full of classic funked up indie riffs and synths that should even give most paraplegics* an inexplicable urge to move.Scince they've started touring alot of Irish music fans have defected to the Kill City sound...See why here... Kill City Defectors
On MySpace...
*This statement was based on fact through team members having personal contact with many paraplegics in a professional role.So there Mrs Whitehouse!
Our next band bears a name that has already been seeping into the subconsciousness of the worlds media for some time. Following the release of their new single 'Out Tonight' and their ability to land some well earned spots at some major international music festivals, the chances are that The Flaws are about to utterly dominate the worlds independant music scene and media with their energetic sound.Another song on their profile is 1981 - but this is a band that will only take the very best of eighties rock and indie (if at all) when weaving their musical magic- and there's something in the harmonisation of those vocals on 'Out Tonight' that seems to draw upon a heavily rocked up 'Bowie' edge...But it's all put together in a way which is fast, racy and quite simply excellant. The Flaws deliver a top level indie rock that is simply absolutely flawless.....You know what to do...click it and buy it!!
The Flaws MySpace
If you want to know more about some of the best independant and even 'signed' musicians and artists from Irelands past, present and future and perhaps get some vital tips and info on the history of who's who in Irish Rock, then the best site in the world for discovering contemporary Irish rock music is Aiden Currans 'Irish Rockers.Com'. This small online project to build an accurate online database of Irish rock bands and musicians has quickly overtaken every other resource in the world for accuracy and popularity (among musicians as well as fans). If you're in an Irish band and have released either a cd or download then Irish Rockers is a highly recommended source to get your music, sites and videos listed and seen worldwide....and all for free too! So click the pic, submit your band and get noticed worldwide with the cream of the Irish crop now....
2008 Mairtin O'Riain and Martin Ryan...' The Ryan - O'Riain22'
