Supergroups1.10
Even more amazing Irish Supergroups ...and we're stil only just scratching at the surface of the amazing and abundant creative wealth of talent pouring out from the Emerald Isle...
and first off is a one man genius who has been taking the music world by storm from the inside out.
For those of you with a slightly more intimate knowledge of the whose who of musical history you may well have noticed that behind and alongside many of the worlds greatest and most reknouned artists there has been an Irishman acting as either a co conspiritor in their musical creativity , or as a mentor and friend to encourage and inspire some of the greatest works of the last century. For instance, in the late sixties London Psychodelic scene the Irish band 'Eire Apparent' were a key source of inspiration for many of the main bands of the time - and especialy so for the Jimi Hendrix Experiance - Eire Apparent
guitarist 'Henry McCullough' not only jammed regularly with Hendrix but they also recorded together.At one point Hendrix was even going to 'dismiss' a certain 'Experiance' member just so he could have McCulloughs 'experiance' permanently on board instead. When McCullough did eventualy leave Eire Apparent behind it was to form 'Wings' with Paul and Linda McCartney. Also, former world number one guitarist Rory Gallagher (who was another inspiration to Hendrix...especialy once Gallagher was called back to perform five encores by the crowd at The Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970 - Jimi didn't even get that many so it's no wander he set his guitar on fire ) was responsible for sealing Brian Mays fate as a lead guitarist when he taught the young teenage pre afro Brian just how he made all those amazing sounds on his guitar, Cyclefly's Declan and Ciaran O'Shea were a big influence on the musical direction of Linkin Park at the begining of the nineties and, as mentioned on other pages, Dublin beat poets and musicians Eamon Carr and Peter Falon were major inspirations to both Marc Bolan and John Lennon . When Eamon went on to create Horslips, Peter became an integral part of Marc's T Rex before later joining John in New York as a key member of his Yoko Ono band while back in Ireland, Eamons debut album and subsequent liscencing deals with Horslips very nearly caused Mick Jagger to have a nervous breakdown! But before we get too carried away divulging all the secrets in the history of the music world here's another Irishman currently in the process of inspiring and co writing with some of the most reknouned artists of our time. Artists such as Paul Oakenfield, Groove Armada, Van Burrin, Gary Lightbody and Snow Patrol , have all been inspired by and have actively sought out the help of Irelands Ciaran Gribben to work alongside them all as a songwriter, singer, musician, mixer and even producer. Ciaran's songs, voice, creative vision and abilities are very high in demand by the worlds elite...but over the last year Ciaran has bloomed and branched out in his creativity by developing his own solo works under the alter ego of 'Joe Echo'.
Alternative, semi acoustic rock and electro are pouring out of the Echo camp on a regular basis with a debut album expected early in 2010. His rich vocal style echo's of a younger, more empassioned (and less angry) Bono of U2 but there's a much clearer and sharper tone to his voice which is frequently enriched by further choral arrangements that add to the consistency, pace, passion and direction of some pretty exceptional well crafted works. 'Joe' draws inspiration from everywhere and everything with an unlimited musical ear that can take in any sound from any style or genre and reinvent it as something completely new (his version of 'If I were a boy' being a classic example of how he can take a well known song, breathe new life into it and make it not only completely new, but better than any other version).
We've included a short film by Graham Smith featuring a few musical snippets combined with an insight into the mind and thinking of a true musician and artist .It should prove to be an inspiration to any budding artist passionate enough about their music as should the link to the Joe Echo MySpace with plenty of exceptional and original tunes to whett your appetite with while waiting for that debut release.We've added a red parental warning due to er...um..'some very plain speaking'.
Next up we have another band with an imminent debut album release who have already been causing quite a splash at home and abroad...Codes.
Expansive,melodic,powerfull and delicate are the four keywords most accurately used to describe their sound.As expansive and melodic as Keane, as powerfull as early U2 and yet somehow as delicate as Lisa Hannigan? The first time we heard Codes multi layered sound there was something about them that immediately conjoured images of pre War U2, there was somthing of 'October' and 'boy' in not only their very youthfull and almost 80's appearance but their sound too...which could only have been a
good thing. Why??...Well just as those first few formative years of recording shaped and moulded U2s sound into becoming one of the biggest bands of the 80's and history it seemed to show to us that, despite an exceptionaly creative advance within their very first year of forming , that the very best of Codes is yet to materialise and even be created. So by the time they make their third album don't be surprised to find them becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet. Trees Dream In Algebra is the title of the debut album due out on September 18TH, with 'You Are Here' being released as their second single on September 11TH. Another big surprise about the Codes is the fact that a major label found them before we did! as the band is now signed to EMI (dammit!!). Hopefully this will be one 'code' and musical enigma that can never be dropped or broken. To get washed away in their vast expanse of sound have a quick taster via their 'This is Goodbye' debut single promo video or better still, go here and get your own copies of the singles and albums.......
We're off to Wicklow now for a slightly 'dirtier epic' that has been landing spots at all the main national festivals in Ireland and beyond (such as the SXSW in Austin Texas as well as touring dates in Los Angeles and New York etc) even prior to the release of their debut album' Straight In , No Kissing' in October 2008.They've often been compared to bands such as The Fooh Fighters, The Yeah, Yeah,
Yeahs and they have even had likenesses drawn up to Kansas cities amazing 'The Beautiful Bodies (see Supergroup Stateside 3)', yet the Dirty Epics have actualy been pioneering their own brand of pop punk and dance rock scince their school days and, like many of Irelands independants, formed their very own label (called SCAR Records) to promote, record, control and release their own material and keep it all unhindered and untampered with by the 'commercial' arm of the music industry while still allowing 'Universal' to 'do their thing' with publishing and cross border liscencing etc. The past year has seen a number of special tv programs and televised concerts on both sides of the Irish border (RTE and UTV) - the most memorable of which being their swift progression through to the final of RTE's 'The Raw Sessions'.The band firmly proved and demonstrated their creative prowess by concieving, writing, and recording brand new songs live for the show in under the twelve hour deadline while simultaniously competing head to head with the cream of Irelands independants (despite the Epics being our own favourite to claim the top prize they were just pipped to the post by The Infomatics at the last minute of national voting).White Noise, one of the amazing tracks recorded for the show with the aid of sound man and producer extroadinaire Ken McHugh (of Automata) has scince been added to their online catalogue and another album of classic pop punk and dance rock riffs blended with the amazing 'queen of punk' vocals of frontwoman SJ Wai looks set to be unvailed shortly as well as their jawdropping SXSW live session from Texas which will be released on Nokia's 'Music Store Sessions'. So if you're way too pretty and need a cure for your pony, you can get the full musical white out treatment with plenty of attitude at the following link ....
Keeping with both the 'epic' and 'dirty' themes our next band has had a unique monopoly on both in recent years and it all started with catching the no39 bus to Blanchardstown (where they all originaly went to school) where it is also known localy as 'de dirty nine'. When the Blanchardstown boys started a band together in university their first 'monopoly' came on choosing 'The Dirty Nines' as their name. Their second monopoly came through their recent alternative version of The Kings Of Leon' epic 'Sex Is On Fire' (the song that certain health workers the world over have great fun playing to their clients in the waiting rooms every monday morning...it's also quite handy for covering up the screams when taking those swabs too!). Where The Dirty Nines excelled was by providing 'Costa Brava' health workers and holiday makers with their own Spanish version of the song to listen to during the summer long rush!
Strange burning sensations aside, The Dirty Nines are actualy quite adept at creating their own brand of unique indie rock and tracks like Lucy Opus and Angel In The Shadows clearly demonstrate their ability to create classics of their own. We've added their exceptional Grafton Street version of 'Sexo Inferno' along with their video for the debut single (from the forthcoming debut album 'Stop Screaming, Start Dreaming' ) Lucy Opus which is now out and available to buy on iTunes and downloadmusic.ie. You can find them at the link below as well as on tour throughout Ireland with Codes over the coming months...
Copyright 2009 Mairtin O'Riain and Martin Ryan - The Ryan O'Riain22
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