Across the line Feed

BBC Introducing Live makes its NI debut in association with Belfast International Arts Festival

2023-09-01T12:21:52+00:00

BBC Introducing, in association with Belfast International Arts Festival, has announced its flagship music discovery event, BBC Introducing Live, will makes its Northern Ireland debut this October.

This year’s edition of BBC Introducing Live is taking place across the UK from Wednesday 11th – Saturday 14th October and promises to be bigger, bolder, and more inspiring than ever before, as it spans across five vibrant cities: London, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast.

In a celebration of emerging talent, BBC Introducing Live will host an array of activities, from educational panels featuring industry veterans to immersive workshops that delve into the intricacies of the music industry, plus a full schedule of live performances – attendees are in for an enriching journey of music discovery.

In Belfast, audiences will be treated to an evening of special performances from rising stars Jordan Adetunji, Lucy Gaffney, Reevah, and Cbakl at the Limelight, on Friday 13th October, as part of the 61st Belfast International Arts Festival.

Alongside Belfast International Arts Festival, BBC Introducing is working with Beyond The Music festival in Manchester, the Roundhouse Rising Festival in London, and Wales Millennium Centre’s Llais festival in Cardiff to bring the event series to life.

Kelly Betts, Editor, BBC Music Introducing, said: “The return of BBC Introducing Live marks a pivotal moment in the calendar for the music industry. BBC Introducing are 100% committed to providing a nurturing environment where young artists and creatives can find their voices, learn from industry experts, and connect with peers who share their passion. This event is ongoing testament to the enduring power of music to unite, inspire, and shape our culture.”

Richard Wakely, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Belfast International Arts Festival, said: “There is immense synergy between the values that guide our festival and those of BBC Music Introducing, namely a commitment to supporting emerging, homegrown talent. The line-up reflects the vibrancy and rich musical heritage of this place and it truly embodies Belfast's recent designation as a UNESCO City of Music. It’s for these reasons we’re very excited to work with the BBC team on the debut of BBC Introducing Live in Northern Ireland, an extension of our annual collaboration with the BBC on its Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert, recorded live in Belfast as part of our festival.”

BBC Introducing Live at Belfast International Arts Festival, Limelight 2, Friday 13th October

BBC Introducing Live at Belfast International Arts Festival presents special performances from rising stars Jordan Adetunji, Lucy Gaffney, Reevah, and Cbakl at the Limelight on Friday 13th October,

Having recently signed to the Sony-owned RCA Records, Belfast artist Jordan Adetunji is breaking all the rules with his sound, merging rap and R&B with the post-punk movement. The alternative hip hop artist, who recently released his latest single ‘INVOLVED’, will drop his first EP later this year.

Belfast-based singer-songwriter Lucy Gaffney’s solo music career began in 2020 and has already seen her touring with acts such as Wallows, Inhaler, DMA’s, The Coral, Lukas Nelson, Bill Ryder-Jones and Sorcha Richardson. Her new EP, ‘Daydream in Tokyo’, the hotly anticipated follow-up to her debut, ‘Easy Come Easy Go’, will arrive next month.

Constantly evolving from her singer-songwriter roots, Derry-born Aoife Boyle, performing under the alias Reevah, has earned tastemaker acclaim, international airplay and streaming support in Ireland, the UK, the USA and beyond. Known for her melodic folk music, Reevah has stepped into a new chapter and a fresh sound of alt-pop melody, mesmerising vocals, and evocative ‘80s flavoured throwbacks. Her long-awaited debut album, ‘Daylight Savings’, releases this November.

Cbakl is an alternative hip hop artist producing eclectic beats drawing influence from jazz, R&B, soul and house. Starting out uploading tracks to SoundCloud aged 15, Cbakl began gaining an organic following online and has progressed to become one of Ireland’s most in-demand beatmakers, amassing over 10 million plays across streaming platforms.

For more information, visit belfastinternationalartsfestival.com/event/bbc-introducing-presents.

It Takes A Village

2022-02-28T18:22:43+00:00

Stendhal Festival has announced that critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Villagers, will headline the festival on Friday, July 1st.

Conor O’Brien has a string of accolades under his belt including two Ivor Novello Awards, two Mercury Music Prize nominations and is a previous winner of Ireland’s Choice Music Prize. Additionally, Villagers’ music has featured in the BBC series Normal People.
Stendhal Festival Director Ross Parkhill said: “We have been trying to get Villagers up to the farm for a few years now so its great that we can finally confirm that it is happening this summer”.

Watch this space for another larger wave of band announcements for Stendhal 2022 is coming this Friday March 4th.

New music camp Soft Gut is launched for NI artists

2022-02-23T10:57:01+00:00

Soft Gut is a brand-new song camp, created for Northern Irish musicians. Founded by acclaimed Northern Irish artist Ciaran Lavery, alongside music industry professionals Nikki MacRae and Jo Wright, its mission statement is simple: to encourage and cultivate a community of creative collaboration and support within the Northern Ireland music industry by delivering a fully immersive multi-day song camp for regional artists.

Set to take place between 14th and 16th of April at world-class analog recording studio Analogue Catalogue in Newry, the Soft Gut Song Camp is designed not only to unlock the collaborative potential of artists, songwriters and producers in Northern Ireland: it’s an opportunity for music creators from all backgrounds to work alongside new creative partners, to forge new relationships and to promote a unified and exciting community. As well as embodying the collaborative potential of the Northern Irish music scene, the Song Camp - which was successfully trialled in October last year - will also offer more holistic elements to best maximise the impact upon artists’ careers, such as mentoring, skill gap discussions and the formation of accountability groups.

Speaking about the initiative, Ciaran Lavery said: “Soft Gut was created primarily out of the desire to support a healthier and functioning music community - not just a theoretical one, but one that can encourage collaboration and healthy competition in the north of Ireland.”

“The last two years have been stifling for artists everywhere, to say the least,” added Nikki MacRae. “Through the Soft Gut Song Camp we aim to provide a positive environment where creativity can flourish again. We want artists and producers across this country to have the opportunity to connect, to work together and to really thrive.”

“We are committed to providing a unique high quality experience and fostering a more collaborative community of songwriters in NI,” echoed co-founder Jo Wright. “This is a very exciting process and it’s amazing just how much progress can be achieved in what is a relatively short period of time, including connections that will last forever.”

Applications for Soft Gut open on Thursday, 24th February. The deadline for applications is 24th March 2022.

Bangor band back with a BANG

2022-02-09T16:09:11+00:00

Do you like bands, music, and gigs? Well look no further! Bangor four-piece, The Florentinas have just made a HUGE announcement. They’ll be throwing their very first headliner in Belfast. The party will be taking place at the infamous Ulster Sports Club on the 4th of March. Are you ready for a Florentina’s party? Team ATL are.

This exciting announcement follows the release of their brand-new single ‘It’s Not in Vain’. Think hazy, indie banger with swells and turns throughout, including the atmospheric guitar sounds we’ve come to love from The Florentinas’s. Even though this is only the bands second release they’ve already made big waves in the scene having taken to the stage at the Ulster Hall and have supported huge acts like Nothing But Thieves in Belfast & Dublin. Not too bad, eh?

Last year saw them make their television debut on BBC NI’s ‘Sounds New’ and their festival Debut at Stendhal in Limavady. We’ve absolutely loved watching this band grow and can’t wait to see what they get up to in 2022 and of course see them bring it at their headline show in March. Check them out online for more info @theflorentinas.

Choice Music Prize 2021 Shortlist

2022-01-05T15:52:07+00:00

Despite 2021 being a hard year for all in the music industry, the quality of music produced by artists across Ireland has been phenomenal. And with the announcement of this year’s RTE Choice Music Prize, Irish Album of the Year shortlist, a diverse range of genres, themes, and intensity brought by all of the artists, narrowing it down to one, will be no easy feat.

The 10 Irish albums battling it out are:

Bicep – Isles (Ninja Tune)
Mick Flannery & Susan O'Neill - In the Game (Rosaleen Records / Rosa Productions)
For Those I Love - For Those I Love (September Recordings)
Orla Gartland - Woman on the Internet (New Friends Music)
HousePlants - Dry Goods (Bone China Records)
Kojaque - Town’s Dead (Soft Boy Records)
Elaine Mai – Home (Elaine Mai)
Saint Sister - Where I Should End (Saint Sister)
Soda Blonde - Small Talk (Velveteen Records)
Villagers - Fever Dreams (Domino)

Last year saw Denise Chaila take the crown – who do you think it will be this year? Of course, we’re always disappointed to see the lack of NI representation in there, Joshua Burnside and Jealous of the Birds, could both sit nicely alongside any artist on that list. However for Bicep and Saint Sister, we are chuffed, they both have had a class 2021.

Bicep won Dance Album of the Year at the BBC Radio 1 Dance Awards, they took the Innovation Award at 2021 Artist & Manager Awards, and they were nominated for TWO Brit Awards, competing against the likes of Little Mix, Biffy Clyro and 1975, with an immaculate album of lush beats, where it doesn’t matter how many times you listen, it just keeps getting better. Who knew apricots could inspire a song of such beauty?

Saint Sister won Album of the Year at the Northern Ireland Music Prize 2021, Bob Boilen at NPR Music chose ‘Manchester Air’ as his 8th best song of the year, which is so cool, because they were alongside the likes of Wet Leg, Lucy Dacus and Olivia Rodrigo – not too shabby. And they toured as much as they possibly could, charming us all with their vibrant, ethereal and unabashedly honest ‘atmosfolk’.

The Irish Album of the Year 2021 will be announced live from Vicar St on RTÉ 2FM on Thursday 3rd March. The show will feature live performances from some of the shortlisted acts, further details on the line-up are to be announced soon.

The Song of the Year shortlist will be announced on 26th January.

Keep up to date with all the announcements at http://www.choicemusicprize.ie/

Good luck to all the artists – thank you for keeping us sane in 2021.

CHOICE MUSIC PRIZE 2022

2021-11-23T16:55:15+00:00

The Choice Music Prize is back and better than ever! 2022 will see the event happen on March 3rd in the iconic Dublin venue Vicar Street, as the music industry come together to celebrate some of Ireland’s finest talents. Leading up to the main event, the shortlist for 'Best Album' will be revealed on the 5th of January 2022 and the shortlist for ‘Song of the Year’ will be announced 2 weeks later, on the 26th of January. Not only will the event be broadcast live but will also be shown as a Choice Music Prize special on TV later that month.

Dan Healy the head of RTÉ 2FM said: “Despite the challenges thrown at us this year, our artists and musicians have continued to do what they do best and created some incredible music, and at 2FM we are really looking forward to celebrating it. The quality of this year’s ‘Song of The Year’ and ‘Album of The Year’ shortlists highlight the sheer quality of music in Ireland right now.”

Last year, rising Limerick Rapper & Poet Denise Chaila took the crown for ‘Best Album’. Since then she has received support on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and performed at international showcase events such as Eurosonic. Other previous winners include; Villagers, SOAK, Two Door Cinema Club, Rusangano Family and more. Each year the ‘Irish Album of the Year’ award is whittled down to one, from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel made up of Irish music industry and media experts. The winning act will receive a whopping €10,000, provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA).

The Choice Music Prize has just published a list of Irish albums released to date in 2021. So, jump ahead of the curve and get listening!

Girl Band change name to Gilla Band and announce Whelan’s residency

2021-11-16T18:29:19+00:00

Dublin band Girl Band today announced that with immediate effect they will be changing their group name to Gilla Band.

The band explained “We are changing our band name. We will no longer be performing or releasing records under the name Girl Band. We apologise for choosing a misgendered name in the first place and to anyone who has been hurt or affected by it.

When we were starting off it was chosen without much thought, from a place of naivety and ignorance. We had no grasp of the weight of it at the time and in the past few years have found it impossible to justify or explain this choice.

Regardless of our intention, the effect of the name has been damaging to individuals. To try and negate any unfortunate role we’ve played in propagating a culture of non-inclusivity in music or otherwise, we have decided to change it.
Thank you to those who spoke up about it and educated us on this, either directly or indirectly. Moving forward we will be performing and releasing records under the name Gilla Band. Gilla being a given name taken from Old Irish”

Along with the news of their name change, Gilla Band also announced a special run of intimate shows in Whelans, January 2022. Kicking off on Friday, 14th January, they will also perform on Friday, 21st January, and Saturday, 29th January 2022.

Lemonade Shoelace secures Yungblud support

2021-09-24T12:32:36+00:00

Co Down native Ruairi Richamn aka 'Lemonade Shoelace' has caught the attention of rock star Yungblud, rapper Denzel Curry, and Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Julia Michaels. Ruairi was selected out of over 30,000 applicants after uploading some performance footage to a competition website, prompting some amazing reactions for the judges. Yungblud commented that the performance from Lemonade Shoelace was one of his favourites, while Denzel Curry went on to say he "would cruise to this”.

The win means Lemonade Shoelace will Lemonade support Yungblud in Mexico City on January 22nd 2022.

Congratulations from all here at ATL Inroducing

NI VENUES AT BREAKING POINT CALL ON THE EXECUTIVE FOR URGENTLY NEEDED FULL RE-OPENING DATE

2021-09-21T12:15:27+00:00

Currently music, conference & theatrical venues in Northern Ireland are subject to a minimum of a 1 metre social distancing requirement. Scotland, Wales & England’s venues are reopened with no restrictions on capacity, and venues in the Republic of Ireland will re-open on October 22nd with no restriction on capacity. In Northern Ireland a date is yet to be announced leaving uncertainty in the air. Now venues, staff and their performers are calling for a removal of the 1m social distancing requirement which is to be discussed as the NI Executive scheduled meet on the 23rd September.

The 1 metre requirements currently mean that the majority of venues have been unable to open, or that events have been cancelled due to the reduced 'all - seated' capacity which venue owners say aren’t financially viable. Joe Dougan of The Limelight in Belfast commented: “The last 18 months has been incredibly difficult for this industry. We were one of the first to close, and as expected we will likely be one of the last to re-open. In the interim we have suffered huge financial losses, and ongoing uncertainty. We urgently need our Executive to provide a full reopening date, remove social distancing requirements, and allow us to plan for the coming months. We are confident this can be done safely.”

However the Health Secretary Robin Swann has said ‘It would be irresponsible to rule out further circuit breaker lockdowns in Northern Ireland’ and Robert Doorman, the chair of GP’s has commented on Tuesday that ‘We see the effect of the pandemic…Unfortunately this disease claims lives, and we lost another 5 people yesterday and those are real people with real families. So we have to be very conscious that there are two sides to this argument. The health of people versus their livelihood’.

It is very clear that this disease continues to spread and precautions are being made; however as it continues Northern Ireland is now the only part of the UK & Ireland in which indoor venues are not currently open without capacity reductions, or have a full re-opening date scheduled. Talks of a full re-opening date, and a removal of social distancing requirements in venue spaces, are to be discussed at the Northern Ireland Executive meet on Thursday (23rd September)

No Rest for Pillow Queens

2021-09-16T15:05:40+00:00

PILLOW QUEENS LAND RECORD DEAL

Dublin’s Pillow Queens are back with a bang! Having built quite the name for themselves, supporting artists like IDLES & Pussy Riot, performing on the US late late show with James Cordon and independently releasing their debut album ‘In Waiting’ in 2020 - is there anything they can’t do?!

The answer is no! Your favourite indie rockers have managed to bag themselves a record deal with infamous Royal Mountain records, and join the ranks with likes of ALVVAYS, METS & PUP on the royal roster. Team ATL couldn’t be anymore delighted for them. To celebrate the band have announced the release of the anthemic new single ‘Rats’ along with a music video which features live audio from their fans from a recent homecoming show. And on top of that they kick off their EU and UK tour in Berlin this Saturday. What an exciting time for Pillow Queens - We wish them all the best on their tour!

ATTENTION! HEAVY ROCKERS AND METAL HEADS!!

2021-08-19T11:04:00+00:00

The incredible distortion project have teamed up with Start together studios in Belfast to offer 3 lucky acts the chance to record and release a whole album for FREE on distortion records! Yes that’s right for free!

You’ll get to spend a whole week rocking out at Start together studios, have your album released via CD, Digitally and on Vinyl too; plus a shiny PR campaign to ensure optimum promotion. But that’s not all; you will be provided with support in the form of planning, preparation, advice, tour booking and festival slots and general guidance tailored to your band specifically. What more could you want?

This is a mega opportunity! So if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, applications are open now!

To apply, email your EPK (or link to it) together with your social media links and a Youtube video and how you meet the additional criteria listed below to: the_distortion_project@hotmail.com

Application criteria
- Must be based in Northern Ireland
- Must active with a stable line-up
- Must have live experience and be prepared to tour and play live in 2022 and beyond. Tour experience is a bonus too.
- Must have, or be working towards, a full albums worth of material. This project is geared towards full length releases and not Eps etc.
- Must be unsigned / self signed. Having previous releases on a smaller label is fine too.

And remember the application process is only open for TWO WEEKS and the closing date is WEDNESDAY 1st SEPTEMBER 2022 - So get on it!

We’re AVA’in a party

2021-07-27T14:56:03+00:00

AVA

The good news for music and festivals just keeps on coming!! AVA festival today announced their full line-up, day-splits, after parties and closing party for their big Belfast weekender. The festival which will take place across Friday 24th- Saturday 25th of September in Boucher Road Fields, Belfast is one of the biggest music events of the year.

After a difficult period for live events, the homegrown festival will return as a fully outdoor multi-stage production with over 70 local and international artists. Celebrated for their support of local scenes and new sounds, this year’s festival will feature a new direction in live programming with a stage for alternative acts and many local artists will be making their international Boiler Room debuts.
AVA founder and director Sarah McBriar explains why she thinks the new direction is a positive change "I think people will be blown away by our new site design, our programme of DJ’s & live acts, our 360-degree sound systems, AV shows and other experiences across the festival site. We are working with the best in the business, and have used the time between our last event and now to really invest in the design, production & experience and we can’t wait to show everyone!”

Along with established acts and AVA regulars such Holly Lester, Carlton Doom, and Or:la, the weekend will also see a host of new artists added to the line-up. Introducing new flavours into their sound spectrum the festival will welcome some of the nation’s freshest rap, hip-hop, acts such as Kojaque, Gemma Dunleavy and Aby Coulibaly into the fold. With such an incredible line-up the weekend is sure to be a welcome return for AVA to fill those dancefloor-shaped hole in attendees’ hearts.

The full programme of action will be taking place across the weekend of 24th-25th of September.

Let’s be AVAn’ It

2021-03-31T13:23:42+00:00

The festival gates haven’t quite opened up for us yet, but AVA Festival are taking after Reading & Leeds Festivals with the announcement that their latest line-up will take to the stage in Belfast on the 24th and 25th of September. The multi-stage festival is a haven for homegrown talent and world renown DJ’s, attracting dance and beat music lovers from across Ireland, the UK and beyond.

For info on tickets and more, click here.

Live Lounge Introducing

2021-03-15T17:38:17+00:00

BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge is a rite of passage for any artist rising through the industry ranks. A chance to show the nation a different side of you, with a cover of your choice. From Catfish and the Bottlemen giving their spin on Kanye’s Black Skinhead, to Miley Cyrus smashing Lana Del Rey’s Summertime Sadness, the results are often unforgettable. Now is your chance to add your name to the list of Live Lounge alumni.

For the first time ever the Live Lounge will be open to the next wave of undiscovered talent, giving you a chance to record a session for daytime Radio 1 with Clara Amfo. The judging panel features a host of talent discovered by BBC Introducing, as well as our very own Gemma Bradley.

ENTRIES ARE OPEN NOW – You have until Sat 20th March to get your entries in:
All you need to do is upload one original track to the BBC Music Introducing Uploader (find out how to use the uploader here), and make sure you tag your track 'Live Lounge 2021'. This could be a new track, or an existing track that you've previously uploaded to the Introducing Uploader.

Entries are open for a week, starting at 10am Sat 13th March and closing on Sat 20th March.

The winning Live Lounge will be filmed and aired on BBC Radio 1, and you could share the same stage as the likes of Stormzy, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Jorja Smith – to name a few.

The judging panel includes:

Clara Amfo – Host of Radio 1's Live Lounge

Gemma Bradley - Host of BBC Music Introducing on Radio 1 and ATL Introducing

Celeste - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in London

Sam Fender - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in the North East

Tom Grennan - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in Beds, Herts & Bucks (Three Counties Radio)

Ellie Rowsell, Wolf Alice - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in London

YUNGBLUD - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in West Yorkshire

Arlo Parks - First supported by BBC Music Introducing in London

For full terms and conditions, head here.

It’s not Chile, it’s not chil la la...it’s Denise Chaila.

2021-03-04T16:00:37+00:00

Stop what you’re doing right now! Limerick’s Denise Chaila has just been named as winner of Irish Album of the Year at the 2021 RTÉ Choice Music Prize for her incredible debut album ‘Go Bravely’.

The announcement was made by U2’s Adam Clayton live after the judging panel, made up of Irish music media professionals and our very own Gemma Bradley, met up over Zoom to battle it out to decide on the winning album.

This is an incredible achievement for any album let alone a debut! After announcing the release of her new track ‘Water’ with God Knows and Murli; this couldn’t have come at a better time for Denise. When she said "Anseo" she meant it.

Denise receives the prize of a cheque for €10,000 as well as a specially commissioned award. Congratulations Denise! Team ATL couldn’t be happier and we really believe this is the beginning of something special! We can’t wait to see what the future brings you.