dublin music
T
he global view of Irish music tends to extend no further than U2, Michael Flatley’s flyaway pants and The Chieftains. But thanks to a quiet flux of Irish music success stories on the international stage, perceptions are changing. Two music festivals – The Great Escape in Brighton, England and Eurosonic in Groningen, The Netherlands – have, in recent years, shone a spotlight on Irish musos and bands like rock trio The Minutes, electro four-piece Le Galaxie, poetic folkies Villagers, charming songstress Lisa Hannigan, Dublin-based rockers and poppers BellX1, synth-warriors Fight Like Apes, revered local indie boy Jape and cinematic electronic duo Solar Bears ... As a result, international music fans have cocked their fickle ears towards new Irish sounds. Many of the new breed of musicians are based in Dublin. In the early 1980s, label A&R men flocked to the city’s live venues looking for “the next U2”. These days the bands take the initiative, relying on hard work and talent to carve out their own place in the new musical landscape. These artists are taking advantage of the capital’s smalltown community, which makes it easy to meet like-minded musicians, collaborate, and share advice and rehearsal spaces. Folk singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe over the past two years. His songs have featured on American TV shows and, more recently, on the soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, one of the biggest films released in 2012. For McMorrow Dublin’s small-city status is a positive. “There is something specific to Dublin: a real close-knit community, who love music and want it to be heard in as many places and by as many people as is humanly possible.” Angela Dorgan of First Music Contact, an organisation that helps promote Irish music 54 |
December 2012/January 2013
James Vincent mcmorrow’s faVourite daytime hang-outs “It used to be nigh impossible to get really good coffee in Dublin. Now there are so many homegrown places making great coffee: 3FE, Brother Hubbard, Clement & Pekoe, Wall & Keogh, The Fumbally. They are beautiful spaces, and the people who run them care about what they’re selling, what’s hanging on their walls and who’s playing through their speakers. They could compete alongside the best places from any other city I’ve been too.”