I use SoundCloud to keep a record of my original songs. Some tracks were recorded live in studio with great musicians, and some tracks i used Logic to record in my extremely makeshift home studio. But if you take the time to listen, if you have the ears to hear,  you’ll hear some great songs with lyrics that mean something, a light in the darkness of the world today, short little stories with lovely melodies and song structure. Yours to enjoy for free, my friends.

“Understanding the order of time is important to anyone hoping to manifest a dream,” says Valerie June. “There is a time to push, and a time to gently tend the garden.”

Since the release of her 2013 breakout Pushin’ Against A Stone, June has been patiently at work in the garden of song, nurturing seedlings with love and care into the lush bloom that is her stunning new album, The Order Of Time. Some songs grew from seeds planted more than a decade ago, others blossomed overnight when she least expected them to, but every track bears the influence of time. See, time has been on June’s mind a lot lately. It’s the only constant in life, even though it’s constantly changing. It’s the healer of all wounds, the killer of all men. It’s at once infinite and finite, ever flowing with twists and turns and brutal, churning rapids that give way to serene stretches of placid tranquility. Fight against the current and it will knock you flat on your ass. Learn to read it, to speak its language, and it will carry you exactly where you’re meant to be.

Debut album, "Tilly & The Postmaster" Out Now!

Order: https://darraghodeamusic.bandcamp.com/merch

Irish songwriter Darragh O’Dea is known for his wistful storytelling, creating nostalgic nuggets of joy and despair. His music conveys the moods and elements of his surroundings and is delivered in an honest and alluring manner.

Released on 29.10.2021 the debut album, “Tilly & The Postmaster", has been described as a love letter to Ireland – all its madness and beauty. Opening with a spoken word prelude from his grandfather and named after his grandparents, the record is full of colourful and engaging indie-folk yarns.

Including singles, 'Split The Difference (La Résistance)' - the story of two childhood friends who struggle to hold onto their friendship as they become adults, due to different political influences on their lives. 'Guerrilla Warfare In Your Back Garden' which features Birmingham singer Katherine Priddy - a song about fighting over land and inheritance, and title track, ‘Tilly And The Postmaster’ – a song touching on death during a pandemic and not being able to attend the funeral of your loved ones, written about his grandparents through the eyes of his grandmother.

The album tracks have gone on to receive airplay on both BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales and be playlisted on RTE Radio 1.

Recorded between Sunstreet Studio's, Stable Productions and Turf Shed Studio in Tuam, Darragh worked with three producers (Kenny Ralph, Mike Connolly and Dylan Connolly) over the past two years to create the album. It was mastered by Peter Montgomery.

The artwork was created by Mike O'Dwyer and was inspired by the work of Aaron Douglas and the Harlem Renaissance.

Darragh has taken to the stage of the Moseley Folk Festival (Birmingham), Whelan’s (Dublin) and The Harrison (London).

"Not a lot of music holds the determination and depth Darragh O’Dea shows on Tilly and the Postmaster. This is a disc for anyone who appreciates the power of music – to expose, to endure and in the end, to provide hope" - Folk Radio UK

"A song-writing maturity and lyrical sensitivity that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries" - Cian O'Connell (Connacht Tribune)

“Deliciously uncool in a heart on sleeve way” - Donal Scannell (Born Optimistic)

Official SoundCloud account for Blue Note Records
www.bluenote.com

OKeh short history: 

OKeh was founded by Otto K. E. Heinemann when he set up his own recording studio and gramophone record pressing plant in New York City in September 1918. Heinemann formed the name of the record label "OKeh", from his initials.  OKeh began by issuing popular songs, dance numbers, and vaudeville skits similar to the fare of other labels, but Heineman also wished to experiment with music for audiences neglected by the larger record companies. OKeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, and Yiddish for the USA's immigrant communities. In 1920, Ralph Peer's recordings by African-American blues singer Mamie Smith were a surprise smash hit for Okeh. The company perceived the significant, little-tapped market for blues and jazz by African American artists. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bix Beiderbecke are only a few names of jazz greats that have recorded for the label. By 1926 Columbia Records bought the label and kept it running into the 60's with jazz and R&B recordings. 

In 1994, Sony Music reactivated the OKeh label as a new-age Blues label. Okeh's first new signings included Keb' Mo, Popa Chubby, and Little Axe. By 2000, the Okeh label was again retired, but in 2013 it will see its re-launch as a jazz label once again.

The multiple Grammy-winning catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.

The Irish Times' unrivalled foreign affairs coverage, now brought to you in weekly podcast form. Hosted by Chris Dooley with regular contributors Patrick Smyth, Denis Staunton, Lara Marlowe, Suzanne Lynch, Derek Scally, Tom Hennigan, Clifford Coonan and Ruadhan Mac Cormaic.

The Strypes are 4-piece rhythm and blues band hailing from Cavan, Ireland, formed in 2011 by Ross Farrelly (lead vocals/harmonica), Josh McClorey (lead guitar/vocals), Pete O'Hanlon (bass guitar/harmonica) and Evan Walsh (drums).

The group has spent the past 18 months launching their explosive R&B assault on the clubs and festivals of Ireland, the UK and Europe, viciously hammering out a no-nonsense blues repertoire drawing from the songbooks of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Slim Harpo and more with the passion and venom of British blues groups such as Dr. Feelgood, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and The Animals. 

Having already been met with critical acclaim from greats such as Jeff Beck and Paul Weller and been tipped by NME as the No. 1 new band to watch, it seems things can only get better for The Strypes.

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