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MAP: 22 tracks of ‘Ireland’

February, sadly, was the very last edition of long-standing global music project Music Alliance Pact, for which I’m really proud to have represented Ireland for the last three years or so. Scottish-based blogger The Pop Cop has decided to fold his blog after a decade, and as the project coordinator, taken MAP – which was undoubtedly a heavy monthly workload – with him.

It’s been an absolute pleasure listening to some of the stuff that’s come up over the last few years: few things liven up a weeknight like a carefully curated dose of Indonesian pop punk, Mexican trance or South Korean indie. There are well over two dozen entries from MAP to be found elsewhere on this blog, featuring all the international content (hundreds of tracks a year). Before I took it on, Ireland was also represented by Nialler9 and Harmless Noise.

These things can’t go on forever, but it’s been a huge pleasure putting together this stuff over the last few years, so in a little nod to that, here are most of the songs – the ones I’m free to post – that have represented Ireland under my watch. Thanks to every one of the acts for taking part…

Music Alliance Pact: February 2016

music alliance pact

We’re coming up to the 25th track I’ll have posted as ‘Ireland’ on Music Alliance Pact, and I must admit I’m still really quite besotted with this as a concept. Naturally, many music-lovers are hooked on a combination of big acts, hype bands and the best of our local scene, and what I find so great about MAP is that it’s like having those eyes on a local scene that isn’t yours (and for me, the local scene – the acts I watch develop before my eyes – are the ones I care about most). MAP is rammed full of small-time gems that probably don’t operate on a big marketing budget (by their very nature, they probably wouldn’t be posted here if they did), and with many of the selectors running music blogs that operate with way more dedication and regularity than my own, there’s some serious quality to be found (so if you haven’t downloaded one yet, do – there’s nothing in it for me apart from getting pleasure in other people hearing how great some of these tracks are).

My choice this time around is a rare case of a band contacting me (I hear from a lot of bands and PR, but most emails – for obvious practical reasons – go unanswered), and my loving what I heard – in the past I’ve almost exclusively chased down bands myself to feature here. I don’t know a whole lot about Tuath, and I don’t speak the language (Irish) that a lot of their music is in. As it happens, the track they’ve offered up for MAP doesn’t contain any Irish anyway, but go and check out some of their other material here, too, as it’s exceptionally listenable even to someone who doesn’t understand a word.

Of course, there’s the usual hour-plus listening from around the globe, too. Download away…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 16-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
TuathCasting Shadows Over Sun (Shammen Delly remix)
Typically an Irish language post-punk act, what makes this locally-leaning remix from Tuath interesting is in part that it’s so atypical of them. A remix of fellow Donegal act Shammen Delly, this is an atmospheric bit of slow-building, fuzzy electronica that is decidedly not post-punk. Fortunately, it offers great evidence that Robert Mulhern is not a man to be pigeonholed, once again exploring rhythm and texture, simply through an entirely different medium.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
RosalJohn
Rosal are one of our all-time favorite bands from Buenos Aires. Led by singer Maria Ezquiaga, they have been around since 2002 delivering indie-pop gems with fine arrangements and catchy lyrics, such as John, a track from their first album. Rosal just released La Musica Es Mi Eje, which features live versions from their five albums and some great covers.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The DelicatesChimera
Exactly the type of song you’d expect to hear come out of Australia in the middle of our long, hot southern summer. The Delicates are five wallflowers from the Gold Coast who play soothing, understated jangle surf-pop with a hint of the type of melancholy that you only get from bands born outside the hustle and bustle of a major metropolis. Chimera will drift in and out of your headphones without much of a fuss but not without leaving you feeling a little lighter in the process.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Rodrigo OgiAventureiro
Aventureiro is the opening track from RÁ!, one of the most acclaimed Brazilian albums of 2015. Rodrigo Ogi raps about life in São Paulo, its challenges and experiences. For those who do not speak Portuguese this track speaks for itself with its strong beats and flow.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
P’ARISFocus
The identity of P’ARIS is currently unknown but one thing is for sure, they know how to write a pop jam. This totally channels the essence of fellow Canadians Tegan and Sara.

Music Alliance Pact: January 2016

music alliance pact

I’ll ‘fess up: this month, for the first time in almost exactly two years running MAP for Ireland, I was too disorganised (post-Christmas mayhem combined with a new job!) to get a track together. Of course, that’s no reason not to post the glorious selection of tracks put together by my colleagues around the world for your listening pleasure – download away.

Next month’s entry, you’ll might be pleased to hear, is already all set. Until then, dig in…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 15-track compilation through Dropbox here.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Sebastián KramerAbsolutos Principiantes
2016 started with sad news about the passing of rock legend David Bowie, so we thought it would be a good time to share this cover of Absolute Beginners. It was recorded 10 years ago by Sebastián Kramer, former member of Jaime Sin Tierra, for a Bowie tribute album by independent netlabel Licor de Mono. Long live the Thin White Duke!

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
White LodgeBleach Coma
Brisbane four-piece White Lodge have been busy the last few years, touring Taiwan with acclaimed Taipei-based band Forests, and supporting the likes of The Growlers and Thee Oh Sees on tour. Their latest single, Bleach Coma, serves up equal parts Brylcreem, surf scuzz and a dose of relentless psych-garage peddling. When artful balladry or an experimental noise opus just doesn’t cut it, White Lodge proves you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to have a good time.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Elza SoaresMaria Da Vila Matilde
Maria Da Vila Matilde is one of the strongest tracks on A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo, the acclaimed album released by Elza Soares in 2015. At 78 years old, this is her 34th album. This song has an experimental approach of samba, rock and jazz, and lyrics about a woman rising against domestic violence.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
MerivalA Better Deal
First Rate People’s Anna Horvath is releasing solo music under the moniker Merival. You may recognize her voice from Swim Good’s song Since U Asked, which was featured in Ryan Hemsworth’s label Secret Songs and remixed by Star Slinger a while back. Now swing back with the gorgeous folk tune A Better Deal.

CHILE: Super 45
Oso El RotoOrdenacion
To define Oso El Roto in a musical genre may be problematic. At the same time, it’s one of the best indications that we have something interesting on our hands. In Ekeko, his most recent record, Oso El Roto aka David Loayza is loyal to his own lo-fi style, developed during the 90s, which is characterized by absurdity, madness and childishness, and all amplified in his bizarre live shows. Ordenacion (featuring Dadalú) is brand new for 2016.

Music Alliance Pact: December 2015

music alliance pact

Kingdom of Crows have just released their debut album ‘The Truth Is The Trip’, which is available as a free download here. They first came to my attention through a gorgeous cover of Blondie’s ‘Call Me’, and remind me a little of the operatic, dramatised styles of the likes of Placebo and the acts that soundtracked Donnie Darko: deep, brooding rock.

‘Elizabeth’ is taken from the album, and you can grab it below alongside sixteen other tracks from around the globe. Why wouldn’t you…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 17-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Kingdom Of CrowsElizabeth
A dark, conceptual rock band working with soundscapes that fall somewhere between Placebo and Kate Bush, Kingdom Of Crows are a Dublin act on the rise. Debut album The Truth Is The Trip arrived on Halloween, and its heavy yet stripped back sound is making suitably slow-building waves. One for a moody day staring through rain-spattered windows.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Rubin y Los SubtituladosAdiós, Torino
This year marked Zonaindie’s 10th birthday, so for this last MAP of 2015 we wanted to share a track from Rubin y Los Subtitulados’s first album, Esperando El Fin Del Mundo, which was released during our first year as a music blog. Adios, Torino is a beautiful ballad and one of our favorite songs by this great songwriter from Buenos Aires. We recommend all of his discography, which is avaliable on Bandcamp.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
JaalaSalt Shaker
Salt Shaker is the second single from Melbourne art-punk Cosima Jaala’s debut album, Hard Hold. It tracks the troubles Jaala has coming to grips with her upbringing in a far-flung suburb on Brisbane’s coastal fringe. The lyricism of this track is emblematic of the raw earnestness you hear across the entire album, with Jaala seemingly pulling melody out of thin air. The unpredictable spikes and troughs keep you engaged throughout, as if you needed any more reason other than her finely executed vocal gymnastics. The track is a refreshingly honest account of a troubled time that avoids indie tropes and turns complex emotions into a beautiful song.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Alice CaymmiComo Vês
Como Vês is the opening track of Alice Caymmi’s 2014 album Rainha Dos Raios. Born into a family of famous musicians, Alice is surrounded by some of the most prominent artists in Rio de Janeiro and contributes to Brazilian pop music (known as MPB) with contemporary electronics and experimentation.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
TennysonLike What?
Tennyson are the adorably young brother and sister duo Luke and Tess. Creators of playful electronic music, they recently appeared on Ryan Hemsworth’s Secret Songs series and come from the same management camp as Hemsworth and BADBADNOTGOOD. The young people will take over the world.

Music Alliance Pact: November 2015

music alliance pact

A couple of month’s ago I featured Overhead, The Albatross – one of my favourite band’s of the last couple of years – as part of MAP. This month, I’ve got a related but very, very different beast.

Joe Panama is the charismatic bassist behind the instrumental act, but also makes swirling, slow-building bedroom electronica, such as the 22-minute epic on offer here. This isn’t pop music, it’s more ‘walk in the rain to a slow-building buzz’ music. It also takes up a substantial portion of the total 17-track download, below, so you might as well have them all, right? Dig in…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 17-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Joseph PanamaSide 2
This 22-minute ambient track might be one of the more unusual and slow-gestating songs ever to have been included in the MAP project, but it’s also a great example of Ireland’s modern-day musical diversity: deceptively intense as it flits on, yet still walking a fine line between background music and inventive modern electronica. One for a long, thoughtful walk, it’s a far cry from its creator’s rocky day-to-day project Overhead, The Albatross.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
El Violinista Del Amor & Los Pibes Que MirabanInofensivos
El Ruido y La Culpa: Una Opereta Lastimera is the band’s fourth album in more than six years on the road. It’s a crazy journey through an eclectic salad of genres, something we’re quite used to with them. Their music overcomes drama, bad mood and guilt with humor, irony and abandon.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
SpookylandBulimic
Forget wearing your heart on your sleeve. This track stabs it profusely, draws a stake through the middle and stands over watching as your arteries bleed out in 4/4 time. Sorry for the emotional terrorism, but hear this track from Sydney outfit Spookyland and you’ll probably agree it warrants the description. Marcus Gordon’s prose is stark, its delivery brutal at times – but you get the feeling there’s something important to be said beyond the rhetoric. It’s a stoic, turbulent six-minute epic – and the ending is worth the wait.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
BonifrateMuseu De Arte Moderna
Museu De Arte Moderna is the title song from Bonifrate’s new album. It has the psychedelic vibe of the whole record, plus some Beck influence that makes it more contemporary. His album is one of the jewels of the Brazilian indie scene in 2015.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
Pony GirlCandy
Ottawa’s Pony Girl creatively blends acoustic elements such as guitars and wind instruments with electronic samples for the delicate harmonies of their single Candy. Who knew two singers in unison could be so beautiful?

Music Alliance Pact: October 2015

music alliance pact

This month’s Music Alliance Pact is a welcome back for me, to one of Ireland’s most underrated artists. Owensie has been seriously quiet over the last couple of years, so much so that it took new track ‘Dramamine’ to remind me of just how slurringly beautiful and emotionally evocative his music can be.

Download the track below, alongside 17 more that you’ll almost certainly not have heard before. Why wouldn’t you!

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 18-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
OwensieDramamine
After more than three years tucked away from the eyes of the Irish music scene, dream-pop artist Owensie returns with Dramamine, a trippy ode to a motion sickness drug. The track features Conor O’Brien of Villagers and comes ahead of a third album of the same title that’s seemed an extremely long time in the making. One for watching the world drift by outside your window.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Fabiana Cantilo y Fer IsellaViernes 3 AM
In 2009 the Argentine goverment published several declassified official documents produced during the dictatorships that ruled the country from 1962-1982. One of these documents is titled “Songs whose lyrics are considered not fit to be played by broadcast services” and it includes compositions by all kinds of Argentine and foreign artists. Canciones Prohibidas is a compilation with 16 versions of these censured songs. For MAP we selected Viernes 3 AM, originally by Argentine rock living legend Charly Garcia, here recorded by (also legendary singer) Fabiana Cantilo on vocals and producer Fer Isella on piano.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Fresh KillsThe People
At The Drive-In is the first association any rock connoisseur will make with this 90-second post-punk melodrama. It’s all energy and emotion without the slightest hint of pretension. The song is chaotic and at times confusing without a single comprehensible lyric (go on, try to figure out what the hell they’re saying) but that’s exactly the charm of this south Australian band.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Rodrigo CamposKatsumi
Rodrigo Campos, a prolific name in São Paulo’s contemporary music scene, has just released his third solo album, Conversas Com Toshiro, which is influenced by Japanese culture. Katsumi is a good opening gate to his work.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
HarrisonSorry
Toronto producer Harrison beeps and blips his way into a sweet apology with his latest track, Sorry.

Music Alliance Pact: September 2015

music alliance pact

I’m constantly amazed at the calibre of acts that agree to feature on MAP for me, and this year has been a particularly spectacular one. I never feature a track I don’t love, of course, but Bitch Falcon (last month) and this month’s pick, Overhead, The Albatross would rank as my top two rising acts in Ireland right now, and I’m incredibly proud to be able to host their songs. 

I think even the band would happily accept they’ve kept us waiting (and titillated – the live shows are phenomenal), for the first single from their album for a long, long time. In fact, recording got underway in the Czech Republic way back before I had contemplated being a dad. My little lad now walks, talks and demands with the best of them.

There’s a nice cliche around here that fits this band, though: “good things come to those who wait”. It was worth it. Now any chance of an album I can send everyone I know for Christmas, lads? Dig in, below…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 18-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Overhead, The AlbatrossBig River Man
Having forged a reputation as a truly stunning live band, Overhead, The Albatross have finally unveiled the first single from their long-awaited debut album, out shortly. Big River Man is about Slovenian distance swimmer Martin Strel and contains the band’s usual swirling guitars and complex, beguiling layering. It’s loud yet nuanced, jagged yet melodic, and entirely instrumental. You need to hear it.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
ArgonautasPerfecto
With a career that spans more than 20 years, this independent prog-rock band from Ramos Mejia, a Buenos Aires suburb, performed a couple of shows last month after being inactive for quite some time. So we thought it was a great opportunity to share this fine track from Argonautas’ third album, also called Perfecto.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Jack ColwellDon’t Cry Those Tears
On his latest EP, Only When Flooded Could I Let Go, classically trained musician Jack Colwell blends the popular and the arcane to stunning effect. He has a grand vision and the chops to pull it off, creating compositions that dabble in everything from chamber-pop to doo-wop. Don’t Cry Those Tears, a tribute to 60s pop, brings together strings, organ and a small choir with the seamlessness of a jigsaw puzzle. As a vocalist Colwell is often compared to Nick Cave and Patrick Wolf, and his performance on Don’t Cry Those Tears is an expert balance of melodrama and levity. He is undoubtedly an artist to keep your eye on.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
EmicidaMandume
Brazil’s most famous rapper, Emicida, has just released a new album in which he explores themes about urban life in his homeland, mixing it with African rhythms. In Mandume, he’s surrounded by a group of new Brazilian MCs: Drik Barbosa, Amiri, Rico Dalasam, Muzzike and Raphao Alaafin.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
MiekeSleeping Alone
You may recognize Elissa Mielke (aka Mieke) as the model in The Weeknd and Drake’s video for The Zone, but she has her own thing going on. Her goosebump-inducing single Sleeping Alone reminds us all that there are worse things in the world than being alone.

Music Alliance Pact: August 2015

music alliance pact

This month, I took the chance to accompany the recent released GoldenPlec Magazine with the cover artists (who, perhaps inevitably, I really love), Bitch Falcon. I’d actually asked to use this grungy three-piece for MAP over a year ago, back before the actually had a track sorted for me to use. They’ve kindly granted permission now as our new cover stories, offering new single TMJ, which is a melodic banger of a rock track. There’s a whole lot more to check out below, of course. Dig in…

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 17-track compilation through Dropbox here.

IRELAND: Hendicott Writing
Bitch FalconTMJ
TMJ is the third single from highly-rated, grungy Dublin trio Bitch Falcon, who are taking the Irish capital’s sticky-floored corners by storm. Named after the temporomandibular joint (which joins the jaw to the rest of the skull), it’s poppy and melodic by this particular act’s standards, but nevertheless appropriately face-melting. One to pump up the bass on and let their rhythms pummel the base of your soles. Bitch Falcon are one of the most promising rock acts that Ireland has produced this decade.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Julieta y Los EspíritusEl Látigo (Modex remix)
This is a song from the new project of Julieta Brotsky (aka July Sky). It’s not the original version from the album, but a great remix released a couple of weeks ago by post-punk band Modex. Julieta’s beautiful voice can also be heard on several tracks by indie-pop band Entre Ríos, and in Varias Artistas, the female ensemble put together by singer-songwriter Lucas Marti.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
These GuyComing Around
Brisbane trio These Guy was originally the solo project of singer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Saxby. Latest track Coming Around combines the lofty vocals and downer lyrics of Saxby’s earlier work. Along with buoyant pop production, the result is a track that’s interesting at every turn. The absence of any kind of rhythm guitar leaves Saxby’s vocals and synth-fiddling to carry the melodic weight of the track. Coming Around is a testament to Saxby’s ear for off-kilter production and hopefully points to a more experimental/avant-pop future for These Guy.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Pequeno CéuQuatro
Post-rock six-piece Pequeno Céu started as a solo project some years ago before releasing their first album as a band in 2014. Pequeno Céu differs from other math/post-rock ensembles because of the Brazilian influences and simplicity of their short instrumental songs, such as Quatro. For fans of BADBADNOTGOOD, Hurtmold and Tortoise.

CANADA: Ride The Tempo
MaunoReeling
Experimental shapeshifters Mauno (pronounced mao-no) reel you in with their off-kilter pop tunes. The Halifax group is unafraid to test you with their strange sounds.