In his brand new solo show MOUTHTRONICA, acclaimed British beatboxer Shlomo takes us on a one man musical mashup using nothing but his mouth, a microphone and a loop sampler. With some help from the audience, this oral magician creates breathtakingly original soundscapes ranging from experimental vocal acrobatics to jawdropping one-man renditions of classic tunes from jazz and drum n bass to latin and soul.
Shlomo is a world record holding beatboxer best known for his experimental collaborations with a range of artists such as DJ Yoda, Imogen Heap, Martha Wainwright, Hexstatic, Portico Quartet, Jarvis Cocker and his 8-piece beatbox troupe The Vocal Orchestra. Shlomo has been beatboxing since getting his first drumkit at the age of 8. Aged 18 he joined the award-winning hip hop group Foreign Beggars on their world tour. After featuring on Bjork’s all-vocal album Medulla he performed on BBC2’s “Later with Jools Holland”. Shlomo is now Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre where he curates a collaborative concert series called Music Through Unconventional Means.
“The kid’s good. Jaw-droppingly good.”The Guardian “Master of the fine art of beatboxing” The Independent “He’s like a one-man Hollywood action film soundtrack”The Times “Brilliant soulful vocal gymnastics”Evening Standard
Not Squares formed in 2008 off the back of a drunken conversation held in a dark alleyway about how Belfast needs a party-band. They got into a practice room and began banging on drums, yelping and deflowering their synths – following intensive improvisation and a few shows later they’re releasing their debut album ‘Yeah OK’ in November 2010 on Dublin’s Richter Collective.
With the recent singles ‘Asylum’ and “Release The Bees’ already picking up favourable airtime from BBC’s finest, ‘Yeah Ok’ aims to take the body parts of Gui Boratto and Arthur Russell, clone both of them to become a mutant cyclops lovechild of Soulwax, LCD and Crystal Castles – Mix this in with some white-trash-afrobeat and disco hallucinogenics while receiving a deep-tissue massage from Fugazi and you’ve got Not Squares.
Their live shows usually end up in wide-eyed dance riots so make sure you catch them on tour. As well as touring with Two Door Cinema Club in December 2010 they are aiming to play in every possible place they can in the UK and Ireland.
Pocket Billiards are a Belfast-based 9-piece band that fuse ska, reggae and dub with punk rock and heavy riffs, creating an energetic and powerful sound. Having spent years on the fringes of Belfast’s ever expanding music scene, a show stopping turn at mini festival "A Little Solidarity" and supporting ASIWYFA at their album launch show in the Mandela Hall has seen their profile and popularity grow rapidly.
Pocket Billiards love music, and they also love having fun, the band are well known for inciting an infectious party atmosphere at their live performances. They recorded their debut full length album in Start Together Studios which was released in October 2009 to a sold out show in Belfast. Pocket Billiards have played alongside many great acts such as The Undertones, Neville Staples (The Specials), The Beat, The Selecter, Bad Manners, Mad Caddies and The Slackers.
The Vals are a 60s influenced Rock and Roll band based in Belfast. Their debut album Sticks and Stones was released in October 2009. The band are currently working on the follow up due for release in Summer 2011. As well as recording they have been gigging all over Europe and playing at festivals such as Burg Herzberg and Haldern Pop. Upcoming release Look To The One / Emily O features guest appearances from the legendary guitarist Henry McCullough (Paul McCartney & Wings) and the Methody College Choir.
“Robyn’s new album is just breathtaking. It’s a really moving piece of work.”
David Holmes
David Holmes is absolutely correct. The new recordings by Ulster artist Robyn G Shiels are stunning. One of these, ‘Hello Death…’ is set to appear on the soundtrack to a new film from Belfast, ‘Cherry Bomb’. The music has been selected by Holmes and the evocative power of Robyn’s music is set to gain many more admirers.
So far, he has recorded a Radio1 session for Huw Stephens, he has guested on a Los Angeles station Indie 1031 FM and had been playlisted in Spain and Norway. He has released a series of potent records, including the singles ‘Playing Host To Ideas’ ‘We Are Of Evil’ and ‘Two Nights In June’. His 2005 album, ‘A Lifetime Of Midnights’, was awarded an eight star review from the influential Drowned In Sound, and led to a slot at the coveted 'End of the Road' festival.
And by rock and roll we mean proper rock and roll, born in the 50′s, dragged kicking and screaming through the late 20th century, a ragged flag passed from generation to generation under the stewardship of true believers – Chuck Berry, John Lennon, Phil Lynott, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen.
This is not rock and roll as a device to sell Rimmel lipstick. This is not rock and roll as tool to suggest someone or something is “edgy”. This is visceral, bloody and urgent. Music for fighting and fucking. Music imbued with a defiant, rambunctious energy which can never die.
Founded three years ago, the Inishowen Gospel Choir is Musically Directed by Neil Burns with assistance from Marie Therese Doherty, Anna Nolan & Tom Evans. The 30-member choir, based in Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, has performed both nationally and internationally, with success in France, Poland and England. Having performed at Glastonbury '08, the choir have collaborated with various artists to date, including Duke Special, Foy Vance and Cara Dillon.
After years of touring with the Smoky Angle Shades Pat broke loose and returned home to Belfast to record The Great Divide with The Glue The Great Divide is an album that holds the past close both in concept and sound. It is a great big nostalgic romp that tips its cap to Dennis Wilson, Wilco and the Kinks. It is a deeply personal album filled with intense, mostly melancholy songs. The death of a parent, lost love and mental illness are mused upon, Pat’s honesty is brutal and unsettling. Then all of a sudden the clouds part and a glimmer breaks through promising that tomorrow might, just might, be a better day. Pat has been known to guest appear in unusual situations and walks through walls. He continues to busk and play incognito piano on the streets and has shared the stage with Paul Weller and Mick Jones. His Father told him to “practice two hours a day and look after you teeth if you want to go to Hollywood”, and he’s managed to do both.
“‘The Great Divide’ displays a real mixed bag of influences from the Beatles and the Kinks to Eels and the Flaming Lips. But the most obvious and complementary influences for Paddy on show here have got to be Grizzly Bear and Elliott Smith: the spirit of this debut is piano-led indie-pop with added layers of complexity and experimentation”AAA Music
“What Smyth accomplished with ‘U’ at minute 1:40, when the gorgeous vocal harmonies are fading and then wake up with too many heart-warming voices carried by strings than you can bear, is what probably make this album so personal and universal at the same time.” Rock NYC
“He makes a sort of loose-limbed, country-rocking sound with moments of real beauty. A particular standout is the sad, piano –led ‘Willows Song’, which calls to mind the instrumental grandeur of Illinois –era Sufjan Stevens” The Independent
The dirty yet rhythmic guitars lead the innocent on-looker into a frenzy of intricate ups and downs, while the mix of impactive beats and hard-hitting basslines make sure the audiences' feet stay nailed to the ground. Amidst all the chaos, the melodic vocals hold on to the listener for dear life whilst all along pulling aggressively on the their heart-strings, and maybe breaking a few in the process. The full outfit when worn creates a punchy sound to be reckoned with.
We're a four piece indie/alternative rock band from county Down with a good local fan base but working on spreading the good vibes of music throughout Northern Ireland further. We write catchy and jumpy tunes good for any occasion. Our favourite place to be is on a brightly lit stage rockin out in front of a full house.
2010 Line-up
The Answerwww.theanswer.iewww.myspace.com/theanswerrock
“The four hard blues boys know their business well with an assault that was delivered with smart writing and true-believers swagger. It’s a robust calling card for their live vibe and for the second album,”wrote legendary rock critic David Fricke in his Rolling Stone review of The Answer’s 2008 SXSW performance.
Described as ‘effortlessly monumental’ (AU Magazine), there is ‘no better advertisement for the Belfast scene right now’ (Nialler9) as John, Shelly & The Creatures are ‘one of the most exciting new names - bursting with talent’ (STATE.IE)
"Bocs Social are a five-piece combo from Wicklow with a natty female drummer. They blend a post-Britpop charm with a take on indie-ska that, unlike several Irish shots at the genre, studiously avoids clichéd parody. (Hot Press, July 2009)
Dark Room Noteswww.myspace.com/darkroomnotesireland
"Energetic, seamless and full of melody, these guys make this whole thing look damn easy" Kieran Dineen, Evening Echo - ****
"Katie and the Carnival combine a whimsical spirit with a deep bluesy sound that is immediately intriguing. The vocals have a jazzy quality that is sultry and undeniably seductive, transporting the listener to a dreamland where anything goes”
"Her performance is astonishing. She's building up layers of dark, orchestral vibes using a load of bass pedals and samplers scattered around her bare feet. It's hugely impressive, genuinely beautiful and greeted with respectful silence and general bewilderment. This kind of thing may go on elsewhere, but such music has never been played in the Limelight. The show has been stolen, already." David O'Reily, ATL.com
Come join Republic Of Loose; A collective of like-minded souls with a loose aggregation of influences and inspiration. But they’re not some funkateers from LA, Memphis or Philadelphia. This is a bunch of white Dubliners on the musical razzle. And if you have a problem with that, then frontman Mick Pyro, he of the gorgeous white soul voice, will cheerfully stick two fingers in your direction, but in the most academic manner.
Republic of Loose VOL IV:Johnny Pyro And The Dance Of Evil "Another excellent album from one of the best bands in the country" Hotpress 4/5
"Another cracking record from probably the best band in Ireland" Sunday Tribune 4/5
Aaagh! "Splicing Outkast and The Stones In Songs that rely on Pure feel" The Observer
"An astonishing work of wit and soul" The Daily Telegraph
"A cocktail of sleazy blues, dirty funk and righteous fervour that has more in common with the deep south than the suburbs of Dublin" Q
"Panama Kings have made an impressive impact on the NI music scene in double quick time... Onstage they have swagger and edge, coming across like an outfit who mean business rather than a collection of faux indie hipsters. There are a number of stand out tracks, with ‘Your Children Are Screaming’ already so seared into a section of the crowds consciousness they supply their own backing vocal to accompany the melody. It’s an all round convincing performance that justifies the buzz they’ve been building." Jonny Tiernan, AU Magazine
Our basic mission is to play good original music: our songs make you dance, make you sing, make you listen, make you happy, make you love (mostly dance though!) We sing about politics, relationships, vices, freedom, happiness, love, hate, sunshine and, again, dancing! Using soul as our basis, we also take elements of funk, ska, jazz, blues and rock'n'roll and wrap it all up with a Northern Irish twist.
"Understated but oddly overwhelming, Heliopause create songs that tiptoe their way into your affections. Everything is beautifully measured, guitars chiming like a spoon striking the rim of a fine china cup, the pitter-patter rhythms evoking the image of rain beating against the windowpane of a lonely cottage.
This is daydream stuff, woozy, blissful, satisfying. Others might like their thrills more bullish, but Heliopause reward patience and those who take the time to properly befriend this record will be amply rewarded. The central pivot is ‘Lullaby’, a song of devastating purity, spectral and startling. Throughout the male / female vocals are delicate, the delivery either hushed or tickling like a lover’s breath against the ear. And yet, for all the shimmering gorgeousness, Heliopause are more than capable of wrestling the air from your lungs. Note ‘Dark Ink, a song which blots the moment like a depth charge, pulling us under with a swathe of fierce guitar and cascading drums. Mesmerising." AU Magazine
Ten Gallon Hat & The Big Salute are officially here, thanks to an arresting debut EP “New Horizons.” which serves to challenge every stereotype you have ever had about the country and roots music scene here in N.I. This Belfast based four piece pull no punches, ever ready to deliver their own inimitable blend of raucous rock, soul and gutsy blues with a feverous undercurrent of country bubbling through every track.
Albrecht’s Pencilwww.myspace.com/albrechtspencil In the spring of '07 two alt-folk turbo-troubadours collided at full speed in the halls of Queen's University Belfast. Albrecht's Pencil emerged from the wreckage. The duo now write and perform their very own music, mostly with larynges and guitars, occasionally (and increasingly) with cavaquinho, tongue drum, glockenspiel, whipcrack, hang, violoncello, wind up radio, tam-tam, etc. Their 5-track debut EP, cunningly entitled "Extended Play" was recorded in one night in QUB's McMordie Hall. This album can be bought by thwacking the links hiding somewhere on this page. The pair are currently working on material for their second CD, to be recorded sometime in the autumn. A reasonably motley B-sides compilation album is also set for release asap.
Downpatrick duo Ellipsis feel that although their main genre would be 'Electro-acoustic' they love to incorporate many different sounds into their music and have said that experimentation is a big part of who they are as a band. Their tracks range from typical acoustic to electronic- with a little bit of rock, indie, chill-out, and pop mixed in just for good measure. They are also partial to including modern classical sounds into their more ambient tracks.
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