Raising Jupiter Q&A

Your name:

Dave Aitken.

Where are you from?

Based in Cork, Ireland.

Name of band:

Raising Jupiter.

Who else is in your band?

Raising Jupiter is basically the name I put my music out under. In a "live" situation I either put together a band and mix it up between full electric and acoustic shows.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

I like to think the sound is ever evolving and rocking!

Who are your main influences musically?

I love Rush and Johnny Cash for example.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

To be doing this full time is the dream!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

Recently released the Chrome EP, which was mixed and mastered by the legend that is Beau Hill! The EP has been getting great reviews and a tremendous amount of airplay around the globe.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None really - all part of the experience!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Give me the News.

Where can we listen to it?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B011BFPMO6/ref=dm_aw_dp_sp_bb_sfa

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/raisingjupiter

@raising_jupiter

www.raisingjupiter.com

Alex Jordan & Co Q&A

Your name:

Alex Jordan.

Where are you from?

Dublin, Ireland

Name of band:

Alex Jordan & Co. 

Who else is in your band? 

Alex Borwick from The Young Folk on banjo and mandolin, Darragh Cullen of The Sour Seeds on bass and vocals, Conor McLoughlin of Sub Motion on guitar and Sean O'Connor of Sub Motion on drums and vocals.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

We're a country rock group. We went to school together and played in different bands, but this is the first time we've played in this line up, and it's worked pretty well for us so far.
We all come from a rock background, however I've always had a country twang in my voice. I tried to fight it when I was younger, I sang and played in rock and blues bands and had a great time. I loved the music we were playing and still do, but everyone always said to me "you sound like a country singer", and growing up country music just wasn't cool, but I don't care what people think these days. That twang is what comes out naturally. So in the last few years I've decided to embrace my country roots, because of this the music I started making improved dramatically, it came out so much easier. I was able to combine my country vocals with my rock/blues influences and it all just worked.

Who are your main influences musically?

Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, John Mayer, Brad Paisley, The Eagles, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the list is endless really.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I want making music to be our careers. I love writing with the band and collaborating with other artists. But there's no better feeling than when we're playing live., We're not after fame and fortune (although they'd obviously be a welcome bonus) we just want to play to as many people as possible in as many places as we can.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

I can't pick one, so I'll quickly talk about three.
Last March we played to a full room at the Button Factory in Dublin, and that was the start of Alex Jordan & Co.
We then started gigging for most of last summer, playing festivals all around Ireland. One of the most enjoyable shows we did was at Electric Picnic last year.
However personally making this first record and releasing it has been the highlight for me so far. I feel in one sense it was a long time coming, and I'm so happy that it's finally out, after it had been recorded and mastered I started contemplating whether or not to release it, and I almost didn't, but thankfully we did, and it's going well.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I don't want to forget any of it! Everyone makes mistakes and regrets in this industry, but without them we don't learn, and that means we don't improve. I mean if we did everything perfect the first time, then the next move would be a negative one, if we peaked on our first performance or our first record, then we've done something very wrong. We're not trying to be a one hit wonder, we're here to stay.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Borderline (The first track off our debut EP Leap of Faith). The song shows what we do best, it's country with attitude, and a catchy chorus. It's the song that people talk to us about the most. It starts off this simple acoustic track with strong lyrics and then we get to the chorus where the whole band enters, and we all let loose. We're not a rock band but we're not a country and western band either, we think we're somewhere in the middle, and that suits us to a T. Borderline really demonstrates our sound, there's acoustic elements in it, it shows off vocal ranges, but we also get to rock out during it, the song shows off almost everything that we can do...almost.

Where can we listen to it? 
https://soundcloud.com/a-j-productions/sets/ep-1-shhh 

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Facebook: https://t.co/UMd0Wy8qkh
Twitter:https://twitter.com/AlexJordanandCo
Bandcamp: https://alexjordanco.bandcamp.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/album/id980630708

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

We've just released our debut EP 'Leap of Faith' it's available on all digital outlets.
We're currently booking gigs for throughout this year, and we've announced this week our first ever headline gig in the UK, where we'll be launching 'Leap of Faith' in The Water Rats, London on June 26th.

We've already started working on the next record, which should be out around Summer of next year, but we might release a single or two later this year or early next year.

Captain A & The Commercial Monsters Q&A

Your name:

Eoghan / Captain A.

Where are you from?

North West Ireland. Donegal to be precise. It's the same rocks that make up the Scottish Highlands. It's coastal and rugged postcard Ireland.

Name of band: 

Captain A & The Commercial Monsters.

Who else is in your band?

Well I'm addicted to collaboration so there have been about 20 or 30 people through the doors over the years. I basically just borrow people from other bands so we play with different line-ups all the time. The live band right now is, with the band I'm stealing them from: Rohan on bass (Velvet Alibi), Neil on keys (Comrade Hat), Orlaith on clarinet/vox/sax (Calamity Gin), Mike on drums (The Poxmen), Fionn on guitar (The Caledonia Highly Strung Orchestra).  

How would you describe yourselves?

Oh dear, I've made about 10 albums over past ten years. I like to change genre every record. There was Asian folk, Irish folk, electric things but i suppose the main thing I do is big collaboration. The 'Dreams' record I'd say is melodic, psychedelic, experimental, layered megapop. Live we really go for the traditional band thing, big noise, lots of wig outs and harmonies and crescendos and things. 

Who are your main influences musically?

The past few years I'd say Bowie, various prog, lots of soundtrack music. My voice is in the range of Cohen and I often come back to 'I'm Your Man' when I need a kick as it was big record to me as a teen. I'm happy with noise as I am with lyrics, melody is everything though. 

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Exactly what I'm doing right now. Being surrounded by great musicians and making lots of sounds. More live shows would be nice. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

There is nothing I like more than when at the end of a gig, you can feel a buzz in the room that didn't exist before the tunes began. People are up, chatting, glowing. I think that might be what it's for. 

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Bad sound, lost in translation. Not good for gig goers or bands either. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I'd pick something from the 'Dreams' record - it's not out yet though. From that record I've come to see 'Friday Night Amazing Light' as getting closest to what I'm trying to do on record. I barely play on it myself, I just kept instigating people to do their own thing and one morning I just woke up and this beautiful thing had emerged. Right now, only 'Richer' is public - it definitely represents the Dreams album - changing the instruments a few times in the tune without losing it, very lush sounds, collaboration, more than one singer, a bit trippy and honest. 

Where can we listen to it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGc_1O_e9ZY

Where can we find out more about your music?

Website:  www.captainaandthecommercialmonsters.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Captain-A-The-Commercial-Monsters/164274777611?ref=bookmarks

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Place all of your negative thoughts into a tuna sandwich, hand feed it to a crow.

Conor Dardis Q&A

Your name:

Conor Dardis.

Where are you from?

Dublin, but I live in Preston.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

I call my music Immigrant Suburban Folk. It started as a tongue-in-cheek thing but it's kind of stuck. 

My songs generally carry a narrative and are framed in the working-class setting of the Dublin suburb I grew up in; Clondalkin. They are stories that are happening to people every day and I hope that's what makes them resonate with the listener. There are lots of songs about the romance of cities and lots about beautiful wide open spaces, but simple stories set in the suburbs where most of us live are thin on the ground so I made the decision early on to focus on writing about them.

Who are your main influences musically?

Shack, Springsteen and Mazzy Star with some Billy Bragg and Wilco 'Mermaid Avenue' thrown in there.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

The dream right now is to record a great album; one that the listener can get lost in. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

The guys over at Wasted Years Records were the first to review my music and compared it to Springsteen and Johnny Cash. To paraphrase my best mate Jim's reaction, 'How could it ever get better?'.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Forgetting lyrics on stage was not my finest hour.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

The Ballad Of The Butchers Wife.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/conordardis/butcherswife

Where can we find out more about your music? 

You can follow me on Twitter @cjdardis and soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/conordardis

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

I think the reward for anyone listening to my music lies in empathy with, or at the very least, understanding of the characters and the narratives in the lyrics. The melodies and instrumentation are deliberately simple to aid the delivery of the stories. So if you take the time to listen, listen closely.

Carlos Wilde Q&A

Your name:

Carlos Wilde.

Where are you from?

If home is where the heart is – the answer is Ireland.

How would you describe yourself and your music?

An eclectic and versatile singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composing in a wide range of music genres.

Who are your main influences musically?

I tend to listen to most genres since I firmly believe that great exponents can be found in each and every one of them. Rock, pop, soul and many more (the list is endless) have given us many delightful moments. My own path reflects all this.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To enjoy my eternal love affair with it.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

To have been able to survive so far, in a difficult, changing world remaining faithful to my principles.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying, you’re not doing anything. I’m a doer – so, no regrets

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

I couldn’t possibly answer that question.

Where can we find out more about your music? 

http://carloswilde.bandcamp.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/carloswilde

http://www.youtube.com/user/WildeCarlos

https://www.facebook.com/CarlosWilde.Music

https://soundcloud.com/carlos-wilde

https://twitter.com/carlos_wilde

http://www.fandalism.com/cwilde

https://plus.google.com/+CarlosWilde/about

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/carlos-wilde/a5/a19/909

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

Just want to say thank you. Your willingness to give my music some exposure through your blog and Twitter feed is truly appreciated. Best of luck with your projects.

Introducing Conor Dardis

EMERGING suburban folk artist Conor Dardis has shared a series of tracks.

The Dublin-born singer-songwriter - now living in Preston, Lancashire - got in touch with RealSoundsOK to tell us about his music.

He said: "My songs are set in the working class suburban Dublin of my formative years. They depict everyday local characters as the negotiate life's various pressures and challenges.

"The stories and themes could be pulled from the pages of an evening newspaper - singing about railway stations, butcher shops and endless cups of tea.

"The songs lack sentimentality and instead capture those small neighbourhood details that typically slip through the cracks. The whispered conversations at the pub about the couple whose marriage is floundering. Or the rumour about the wild kid who has found unlikely and fleeting calm in a new girlfriend."

You can listen yourself below and catch up with on on Twitter @cjdardis.

Tuath Q&A

Your name:

Rob Mulhern.

Where are you from?

Galway.

Name of band: 
Tuath.

Who else is in your band? 
Ashley Mobasser (sax), Shane McFadden (live drums) and Noel Perry (live bass).

How would you describe yourselves and your music?
Weird fuckers. Our music is spacey and progressive, our first EP is very shoegaze.

Who are your main influences musically?

Robert: Wes Borland and Tool, bitta Deftones.
Ashley: John Zorn/Miles Davis.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To try and subvert the current status quo.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
Playing at an event hosted by Irish Burners.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Playing acoustic on the radio, we sucked and it was all out of tune.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Ocras, the first track off our EP. It's got little bits of all of the things that we flirt with.

Where can we listen to it? 
https://tuath.bandcamp.com/releases
https://soundcloud.com/tuath/sets/tuath-an-taobh-taathail-eppreview-version

Where can we find out more about your music? 
www.twitter.com/tuathband

www.facebook.com/tuathband

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
Our EP is self produced ,all our music will be so. :D

Halloween Jack Q&A

Your names: 

Adam Camm (vocals) and Ian McEwan (bass).

Where are you from?

The band is from all over the place! We have a half-German drummer, a Kiwi for a guitarist, Bristolian singer, half Scottish bass player and keyboardist from Ireland. We’re like the UN. Only with less arguments.

Name of band: 

Halloween Jack

Who else is in your band?

Nigel Tait (guitar), Sam Kerins (keyboards) and Al Branton (drums).

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Adam: We have a good sense of humour and like a laugh. I think that comes across in our music

Who are your main influences musically?

Adam: We all have varied tastes that impact on the sound but as one of the songwriters I suppose bizarrely it would be my Dad, who indoctrinated me as a child with videos of glam rock acts from his youth! I was brought up on a diet of Bowie, T-Rex, Slade, Roxy Music etc. The Stones are another massive influence as are the Britpop bands of the 90s like Oasis and Pulp. I always try to bring an element of funk/soul into my songs too. I like music you can dance to and I believe that comes across in a lot of our songs.

Ian: In terms of the actual playing, I like trying to channel some of the enjoyment and energy I get from bands like Sparks and The Police, for example, as well, to give some breadth and dynamic to the sound.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Adam: I think the opportunity to be able to do something you love for a living is the ultimate goal. 

Ian: Agreed! I think we have a fair while to go before we hit the Greatest Hits circuit, so anything we do in the meantime continues to be exciting and new, so to keep it that way for us and the good folk who come to see us is a proud achievement.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Adam: The last few months have been a highlight really. We’ve played our biggest gig to date, shifting about 80 tickets. We’ve released a new single and have the album almost completed. Plus we’ve started getting more attention through people such as yourself. It’s happened organically too which has been really positive for us.

Ian: Not only playing our biggest gig to date, but knowing in advance that the next one booked is even bigger has been the highlight so far for me. Really exciting!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Adam: Driving home at 7am after being awake for 27 hours straight after recording our album! The recording was great fun, the drive back was hard! 

Ian: Having to deal with a bad promoter when you’ve worked so hard for a show is very draining. Fortunately, we tend to get on well with the good guys so such moments are rare.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

The Streets Come Alive. Very tricky question this. Both Ian and I plumped for this track. Ian probably because it’s driven by the bass and myself because I like the dynamics and I think we’re a pretty dynamic act within our songs.

Where can we listen to it?

http://www.halloweenjack.co.uk/shotofjack/ - This is a sampler of our soon-to-be-released album which you can stream from our website.

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/halloweenjackrecords

www.twitter.com/halloweenjackre

www.halloweenjack.co.uk

www.youtube.com/halloweenjackrecords

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/halloween-jack/id324104763?uo=4

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

Adam: I think the fun and the sense of mischief has been lost a bit from modern music. Everything seems to be a bit serious now. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re serious about our music for sure, but we buzz from having fun and seeing our audience having fun too. I like music to be a form of escapism from day to day life and it’s something I hope people can identify with us.

Motorcycle Display Team Q&A

Your name: 

Morgan Joseph Condon.

Where are you from?

I’m from Ireland, Dublin until the age of 9 then Kildare.

Name of band:

Motorcycle Display Team.

Who else is in your band?

Steven Hinds sings gloriously and plays guitar gracefully and Matthew Eyre slinks and slides all over the bass with much pazzazz and loads of oomph.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

We are three gentlemen who politically look to the left and love to steep ourselves in music. Our music is rock music with a poppy feel and brilliant to sing along with. We love riffs and unexpected chord changes over beats you can shake it down to.  

Who are your main influences musically?

David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and Smashing Pumpkins are the acts that brought us together. After that, there’s too many to list.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To make music that connects with people and that people enjoy. Also, to finish off all the songs we’ve half written!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Hearing our music on the radio was definitely a highlight, no question. Also, playing big festivals has been lots of fun. Of late, we’ve had some brilliant gigs that seem to be lifting the bar. I would like to hope we have more highlights to look forward to.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I’ve already forgotten them all. Onwards and upwards to infinity and beyond.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

That’s a tough one. We cover a lot of different styles and themes. I’m going to pick our most recent single, ‘Letters of Last Resort’ as I feel it has a bit of the old and a good dollop of the new MDT sound.

Where can we listen to it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFyHnnxIpG4

Where can we find out more about your music? 

https://www.youtube.com/user/MDTBand/videos

www.facebook.com/motorcycledisplayteam

https://soundcloud.com/motorcycledisplayteam  

https://www.musicglue.com/motorcycle-display-team/

@motodisplayteam

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

There’s loads of things I could say about our music but I don’t like boring people. I guess, we are a very authentic band….none of what we do is contrived or trying to fit into certain genres or moulds. After that, you will need to listen yourself to see what you think.

Album coming from This Other Kingdom

NEO-psychedelic rock band This Other Kingdom will release their album Telescopic on April 11th.

It comes two years after the Dublin-based outfit's debut EP Sunlight.

The four-piece - made up of Del Kerton, Declan Dunne, Fran Mulholland and Chris Sweeney - also have a string of live dates coming up.

For more details visit their Facebook page and have a listen to the single The Day, Your Day below.

You can also check out the Q&A the band did with RealSoundsOK back in August 2013 by clicking here.

New single from Slow Motion Heroes

SLOW Motion Heroes will release their new single Resolution on February 27th on FIFA Records.

The boys from Cork have already won acclaim for their two EPs, and Resolution is the first track to be taken from their debut album due out in the Spring.

You can have a listen below and for more information visit the band's Facebook page.

Hands Off Gretel Q&A

Your name: 

Lauren Tate.

Where are you from?

Well, me and Danny (bassist) are from Barnsley, Our drummer Laura is from Chesterfield and Sean lives in Sheffield, originally from Shannon Ireland.

Name of band:

Hands Off Gretel.

Who is in your band?

I’ve worked with my guitarist Sean McAvinue for the last couple of years, we did a lot of acoustic gigs together over the summer and wrote my first EP ‘My Reflection’ last year. Laura Moakes the drummer and Danny Pollard the bassist joined us late 2014. That’s my lil band.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

The songs have been heavily influenced by my love of 90’s grunge bands, the music does have this old-school feel but I think there is something both nostalgic and new about this project, I'm not just trying to be a copycat band.

I’d describe us as playful, we work hard, we take it serious, but we aren’t serious, we are always laughing and enjoying ourselves.. the music allows us to have fun and I’ve always wanted to be entertaining for the people watching me.

Who are your main influences musically?

LOUD women, my favourites being Courtney Love, Brody Dalle, Kathleen Hanna, Kat Bjelland and Janis Joplin, they just have these voices that cut through the music and grab you if you want them to or not. The music I’m writing has particles of them inside it, I like that.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I want Hands Off Gretel to awaken people, give people a place to escape and make them feel part of something. We can’t get anywhere without people's support and together we can make a change.

Music comes in waves and we are ready for a change, right?

I want to look out at a sea of faces singing along and feeling as good as we do and get that feeling of oneness we’ve been working so hard for.

I know how good music has made me feel growing up and I hope our music will do the same for others. I always felt I missed out on my favourite bands, like I was never part of the scene they were in, it all feels very dated. I want to bring back that homemade ‘girl doing it all herself’ approach, I want everything hand designed and personal, to make people feel they connected with us right from the beginning. We are not a band that will be morphed into anything we are not.. no way!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

As the band has only just started out and not played any gigs yet it’s hard to pick the highlight. The best feeling has probably been when we started to see the amazing comments about the band moments after we’d launched our music for the first time, I was so nervously excited I had to walk away from the computer chair before I threw up.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Haha! If I tell you that, the last thing people will do is forget about it.

Some things have to stay as ‘drunk moments’, I must tame myself really, I can be an idiot.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

We haven’t released my favourite song yet, the three songs we released FREE were some of the first I wrote for Hands Off Gretel, But, I’m going to go with ‘BE MINE’. We have a video for that one.. but we are going to make colourful, fun videos for all of the songs.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6UHwN7SQZI

Where can we find out more about your music? 

OUR WEBSITE: www.handsoffgretel.co.uk

OUR FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/handsoffgretel

OUR SOUNDCLOUD: www.soundcloud.com/hands-off-gretel

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

We hope to make more and more of it. We want to share our journey with everyone and want everyone to feel part of it. We want to meet the people that are supporting us and have supported me for some time! There’s nothing more to say really, just that we cannot do it without people's help and enthusiasm and it is this that will drive us towards that dream!!

TabloidTv Q&A

Band name:

TabloidTv.

Where are you from?

Dublin, Ireland.

Who else is in your band?

Mark Young, Paddy O Donohoe, Senan Dobey, Ultan Murray and Ian Rankin.

How would you describe yourselves?

We're a pretty straight forward, indie rock band - two guitars, a bass, drums and vocals.

Who are your main influences musically?

We all listen to lots of different music, but I guess we sound most like Vampire Weekend, or The Vaccines or early Bombay Bicycle Club, or another Irish band: Raglans. We've been compared to The Smiths, Two Door Cinema Club and The Arctic Monkeys as well, though I'm not really to sure about that one!

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To be able to record an album and play a few festivals would be awesome.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Highlights so far: We got to record our debut EP with Francesco Gatti, who produces for a really good Irish band called All Tvvins, he was brilliant to work with and even just being in studio was so much fun. Other than that I think we would all pick out one particular gig in a place called Crowbar in Dublin which was great fun! We recently played our EP launch in the Grand Social in Dublin which was sweet.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

If we had to pick one song that represents us it would probably be First Winter, which was the lead single from Mixed Messages (our debut EP). It's upbeat and catchy with a singable chorus and a cool guitar riff, which is the sort of music we mostly end up writing. 

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/tabloidtv/first-winter

Where can we find out more about your music? 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TabloidTv/127821527286582

https://twitter.com/TabloidTv

https://soundcloud.com/tabloidtv/sets/mixed-messages

https://tabloidtv.bandcamp.com/releases

Remix from The Vincent(s) with help from handy Dandy

IRISH death pop outfit The Vincent(s) have released a remix of Song For The Sea with the help of Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor.

Courtney was so impressed with the band at Sea Sessions Festival earlier in the year that he contacted FIFA Records to ask about a remix.

The result was the reworking of Song For The Sea, which featured on The Vincent(s)' Valley Of The Sun EP, with Brandon Eggleston (Swans, Modest Mouse).

The Warhols man asked of the track: "Is this not the sickest and most totally believable heavy rock motherfucker ever?"

You can make your own minds up by listening below and for more on The Vincent(s), check out the Q&A they did recently with RealSoundsOK here.

The band are also heading out on tour with dates in Ireland before heading across the pond for shows in my home town of Southend, as well as London and then a Berlin show in December.