PLENTY of new releases, the first line-up announcement from one of Ireland's best festivals and news from the Choice Awards are all forthcoming this week on Northern Winds.
Body & Soul is one of Ireland’s great cultural institutions and has been at the centre of platforming some of the best native and international talent to ever play on these shores since its inception. From their home in Ballinlough Castle, County Westmeath, B&S have announced that they’ll return for their 13th iteration. With big names like Giles Petterson and Shanti Celeste amongst the first announced, our focus at Northern Winds is on two acts closer to home: Aoife Nessa Frances and Sorcha Richardson.
The former released her second LP with Partisan Records this year, the home of fellow Irish acts Fontaines D.C. and Just Mustard. She’s a spellbinding songwriter, who blurs the lines between indie, folk and psychedelia. The latter is an equally talented eclectic pop singer, whose second album ‘Smiling Like An Idiot’ (out now on Dublin-based label Faction Records) topped the Irish and Independent charts. Their inclusion so early on in the line-up announce-ment is not only a testament to their supreme artistic qualities, but also to B&S’s continued commitment to platforming our homegrown creatives. Also announced this week was news from the RTÉ-sponsored Choice Awards.
Fresh from last week’s Folk Awards, the Choice returns to its spiritual home in Dublin’s Vicar Street this coming March. A yearly gathering and celebration of Ireland’s 12 months in music, previous winners of the coveted ‘Album Of The Year’ include producer/poet tour-de-force For Those I Love and Limerick-sensation Denise Chaila. However, news emerges that this year will be slightly different. On top of the panel-decided Album award and the publicly-voted Song Of The Year award (yuck, boo and hiss to popularity contests), the Choice programmers announced some seismic changes for this year – most notably, three new categories. Irish Artist of the Year, Irish Breakthrough Artist and Classic Irish Album will have winners announced on the night and are all new additions to the broadcast event.
Stay tuned with Northern Winds for shortlists and bookies favourites. We also bring the final update from this year’s Other Voices in Dingle. With the event formally beginning tomorrow, a sold-out crowd awaits the northern representatives heading down to one of Ireland's best festivals. This week, programmers added new headliners to their fabled St James Church sessions. With Irish rapper Celavedemai joining the IMRO room, Indie-rockers Inhaler and shoegazers Just Mustard will join a stacked line-up in the church alongside London rapper Loyle Carner and Glaswegian singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini.
As for releases this week, the spotlight falls on some of the best new tracks from independent Irish artists. For starters, we can’t ignore the eerie and sublime new EP from folk singer Aoife Wolf. A transplant from the South with new roots in Belfast, Wolf’s debut EP, ‘The Wetlands’, is a masterclass in swirling, alternative folk sounds and shapes. A turbulent record that links spidery imagery with melodies that pitch and roar, this is a release not to be missed.
And from Derry, we have the second song from Tramp. Their first, ‘Frankenstein’, harkens to early era Pillow Queens and Hole. Their newest, ‘Snakes & Rabbits’, stays more on the path of well trodden indie, but with a gorgeous vocal performance that leaves you wanting more. Guitars hit you like a wave, crashing alongside tight percussion and slithery rhythms. The latest in an extremely strong crop of songwriters and bands from Derry, these are ones to keep an eye on.
