Ireland’s Brightest Play CMJ Fest
By Mike Farragher
 When I was a music director for my college radio station, more years ago than I care to count, the College Music Journal was my bible. It was in CMJ that I read all about young pups like U2, REM and INXS. The fact that these artists are now squarely in the “classic rock” category makes me feel as fresh as day old bread.
Anyway, CMJ has changed with the times, and they do their new artist promotion with daily updates to subscribers online (www.cmj.com).
One thing that has not changed is their annual showcase that pairs hungry music executive types with up and coming talent. For those of you who thought that discovering new talent involved watching Simon Cowell berate cloying Mariah Carey wannabe pop tarts on American Idol, you thought wrong.
This year, there are two Irish outfits poised to make it big during an Irish showcase at Sin-e on September 17. David Hopkins will be there that night, looking for record industry green to support his fine new disc, Amber and Green.
He was the keyboardist and founding member of Dublin’s influential prog-rock outfit LIR, but left that band on the eve of international greatness because he felt frustrated creatively. He bounced around San Francisco for a number of years as a session musician and even supported The Who during their “Quadrophenia” reunion tour a few years ago, before the management team behind The Killers caught one of his shows.
The Killers are the kings of alternative rock who nabbed a number of opening slots on the current U2 tour, so it is safe to assume that their management team will do similar things for Hopkins.
It’s a good thing, too, because Amber and Green is full of great songs that deserve to be heard. The disc opens with “You Call Yourself a Christian,” a scathing attack on a lover gone bad.
“You’re no friend of anyone/but you’re young and you’ve got the tongue/and you’ll get and you’ll shed until the end,” he sings.
With song titles like “Then There’s None,” “Scared Rabbit,” and “Somebody’s Gonna Lose Somebody,” you can tell that this isn’t going to be the disc you reach for when the Cosmopolitans are flowing at your next party.
This pensive coupling of atmospheric textures and meditative lyrics calls to mind David Gray and Damien Rice. This is the music to listen to as you nurse your hangover on the morning after your party.
“My music is like Jeff Buckley fronting early Pink Floyd at times, at other times it is like the Beatles with special guest, Thom Yorke,” Hopkins tells the Irish Voice. “It’s an assortment of things, all organic, no preservatives.”
Hopkins realizes there’s a lot on the line in his music industry debut.
“I know how important these CMJ shows are and I am aware of the past history of bands signing right after it,” Hopkins says.
“It’s a show you need to put a lot of effort into. If people come to see me, they can expect some honest music coming from the right place, delivered with as much as I’ve got in me.”
The Radio, a fantastic band that share’s Hopkins’ independent record label, will be airing songs from their new CD, Kindness.
This band is itching to find their own sound. They try on a number of different styles throughout Kindness, all with marvelous results.
Their songs and lyrics start off simple, and then proceed into an orchestral swirl that sucks in Beach Boys harmonies, country rock riffs and everything else in its path.
“The sound of the band The Radio is quite eclectic,” agrees singer Stephen M, who once fronted beloved independent Dubliners Rollerskate Skinny many moons ago.
“We’re a combination of analogue and digital, pop and edgy, influenced by early Pink Floyd and DJ Shadow. I would describe our sound as both harmonious and emotional!”
“Sleepy Eyes” sports a Gram Parsons twang and a layered harmony; if beleaguered producer Phil Spector applied his “wall of sound” production on the Eagles, it might sound something like this.
“All Will Pass” and “Remember Me Remember You” has a dreamy vibe and gorgeous, spacey studio tricks that beg to be heard through headphones.
Don’t bother with those wimpy things that come with your iPod; this beautiful music needs to be cushioned with those big old school headphones that made you look like Mickey Mouse to ensure that none of these spine-chilling sounds escape your ears.
No one makes music like this anymore, and it harkens back to the days when you packed hash brownies for lunch on the way to your concert (nowadays, I pack juice boxes and ear plugs. What happened?)
The Radio released Kindness on independent label Reekus Records late last year, and garnished frothy critical acclaim. Hot Press called it “the most accomplished, alchemic, and original debut in years.”
The band are a six piece from both sides of the Atlantic, the core of the band being Stephen M, Caroline Baker, both from Dublin, and London Irishman Liam Mulvaney. Bass player Dave Kennedy is Irish American and hails from Florida, while drummer Hugh O’Byrne and keyboard player Sarah Farrell are both Dubliners.
“We’re hoping that CMJ is a place where like minded individuals can congregate and share ideas and hopefully entertain and do some business simultaneously,” says Stephen M of his upcoming Sin-e gig.
“We will try to do justice to our recorded music in a live context. We are a six-piece band with samples, etc., so it will be fun. Plus we love New York, so we should be smiling a lot!”
Sin-e is located at 150 Attorney Street on the corner of Stanton Street. Log onto www.sin-e.com or call 212-388-0077 for more information on the gig.
Both David Hopkins
and the Radio are on Dublin’s Reekus Records. For more information, visit www.reekus.com. |
