Born in Dublin, Ireland, Darragh J Brady – AKA Dar.Ra has been in the music industry for a while with hits in the UK and Australia, signed to EMI, Festival and various dance labels over the years, remixing Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Tears 4 Fears, Savage Garden, and writing for Rachel Brown (Faithless, Groove Armada) plus having music on various Hollywood films like ‘Snakes on Planes’ films starring Hilary Duff on ABC TV, Match Of Day (BBC TV) and US Documentary City Of Hope.
He grew up in Brighton and London and his first solo album Soul Hours was released in 2010 made album of the week of Spain’s Heart FM, as well as receiving support from BBC Radio, playing to over 1 million people on air within one live show.
Also an author, Dar.Ra has a book available called ‘Road Tales’ which has been getting brilliant reviews and is based on people Dar.Ra met while being the road from the late 1990’s to 2008.
LINKS:
https://facebook.com/Dar.Ra7
https://youtube.com/kushadeep7
https://twitter.com/kushadeepmusic
https://instagram.com/dar.ra.brady
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Twilight Fields – Demagogue
Canada’s Twilight Fields, the solo moniker of singer-songwriter Allister Thompson, has announced his new album ‘Songs from the Age of Ruin’, slated for release in early 2019. Ahead of this, he presents the first rather politically-charged single ‘Demagogue’, an expression of anti-populist sentiment.
Twilight Fields is truly a one-man show, with Thompson writing, playing, engineering, mixing, mastering and designing everything himself from his home studio in North Bay, Ontario.
‘Songs from the Age of Ruin’ is a warning to the present and an apology to a possible future. While Twilight Fields is best known for his blend of ambient, dream-pop and progressive rock influences, this album pays grateful homage to such artists as Billy Bragg, New Model Army, Killing Joke, Midnight Oil, and The Levellers, as well as other artists influencing his music like Leon Rosselson, Bob Dylan, Robert Wyatt, and Phil Ochs.
‘Songs from the Age of Ruin’ is also an uneasy but compelling song cycle that begins with the bombing of Hiroshima and the absurdities of the atomic age and proceeds to tackle such difficult topics as homelessness and economic inequalities (‘Lazarus’), the evils of populism and political repression (‘Demagogue’, ‘Taken Away’), the toxicity of social media communication (‘Offended’), animal rights (‘The Animal’s Song’), and the utter stupidity of war (‘Soldier Song’). It concludes with a three-part “climate change suite” (‘Loss’, ‘Barren Planet’, ‘Why Did We Do It?’) that lays bare the tragic human consequences of catastrophic climate change.
The album also contains two cover versions, including of Bruce Cockburn’s immortal classic ‘Lovers in a Dangerous Time’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Holy War’.
“While growing up, certain passionate, activist musicians were very influential to me. So much so that I’d say they changed and shaped the person I would eventually become. There has never been a more crucial time for musicians to step up and add their voices to the chorus of reason necessary to take us back from the brink of total destruction,” says Allister Thompson.
“The year 2019 finds the human species standing at a crossroads, with only two possible directions: survival or extinction. Artists should contribute their strong and clear voices to dialogues that could lead to our survival and renewal.”
Allister Thompson has had a varied musical career, initially playing with Toronto-based glam-rock band Crash Kelly, together with Sean Kelly (now guitarist for Nelly Furtado), and opening for such notable artists as The Black Crowes and Alice Cooper. He later veered towards making traditional folk music, progressive rock and ambient music, recording several ambient rock albums as Twilight Fields and numerous albums of ambient/Krautrock/psychedelia under the monikers The Gateless Gate and Khan Tengri.
As of December 6, ‘Demagogue’ will be available via online stores and streaming platforms, including Spotify and iTunes, as well as Bandcamp. The full album ‘Song From The Age of Ruin’ LP will be released on February 1, 2019.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/twilightfields
http://twilightfields.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/gatelessgate1 -
Jake & the Jellyfish – Reading List
The band says, “Reading List is about confidence and learning how to deal with change. Lyrically this one was really personal to me, but I tried to write it so that it could be as relatable to others as possible, we all deal with change in our lives, whether it’s things getting in the way of seeing the person you love, losing somebody close or even not spending enough time reading as much as you’d like. I approached our friend Claudio to do the video and he did such a great job of portraying the exact vibe of the song to the video he produced, he’s such a genuine guy and I think his input and enthusiasm for the project really gave the video an extra dynamic.”
Armed with foot-stomping, beer-soaked folk tunes and ‘sing your heart out’ punk rock anthems, Jake and the Jellyfish write dance-able, sing-along songs about the frustrations of daily life, 9 to 5 jobs, environmental concerns and more. Who knew being grumpy could be so much fun?
Social commentary is a key part to J& TJ’s music, an overall sense of dissatisfaction resides underneath the surface of very relatable, catchy lyrics. Whether it’s a fuck you to lad culture “I won’t follow your lead, and I’m not one of the lads”, or being aware of your own flaws “We’re all hypocrites, just to greater or lesser extents” they wear their emotions on their sleeves and it’s evident in their live show.
5 years of touring in a beat up old postal van has added plenty of experiences to their sound. From breaking down in a small town in France with no breakdown cover and no money to get home to accidentally headlining the Woodlands stage in front of thousands of people at Kendal Calling; it all adds to the community spirit of the Jellyfish, they just want to have some beers and play some tunes at the top of their lungs.
Originally just Jake playing punk folk songs by himself, the band met at uni in Leeds and quickly became a unit rather than a one-man show. Deciding to play as many shows as possible, as quickly as possible, they met many friends along the way. And what’s more, fun than traveling the world and hanging out with your friends? Over the years their sound has gained more and more energy and yet has still matured.
In addition to performing shows all over, the band has played festivals like Rebellion, Mighty Sounds, Boomtown, Bearded Theory, Kendal Calling, Beat-herder and The Fest, and has shared stages with bands such as Red City Radio, The Skints, H20, Random Hand and Beans on Toast, which has enabled them to carve their own foothold in the DIY music scene.
LINKS:
http://www.jakeandthejellyfish.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/jakeandthejellyfish
https://www.twitter.com/jakeandthejfish
https://jakeandthejellyfish.bandcamp.com -
Prophets Of Rage Live in 2017
Prophets Of Rage live in concert 2017.