Dream pop duo Beauty Sleep return this autumn with a three track EP that features newly recorded and unheard versions of one of their best loved singles. With their debut album ‘Be Kind’ nominated for the highest award at this year’s NI Music Prize (“Best Album”), the indie pop two piece look to give back to their supporters with new versions of fan favourite track ‘The Feeling Back.’

Recorded in Belfast’s Start Together Studio and produced by Beauty Sleep’s own Ryan McGroarty, this trio of tracks include a radio edit of the original number, as well as a never before heard acoustic version. Featuring long-time collaborator Ross Bickerstaff on drums and the talented Laura McFadden on cello, this new lo-fi version sees a new level of intricate delicacy added to what is already one of the bands most accomplished tracks.

Beauty Sleep - The Feeling Back (Acoustic)

Experimental indie songwriter Viva Magnolia announces himself with his effervescent debut release ‘Queen of the Rodeo.’ One of Northern Ireland’s more forward thinking songwriters and an idiosyncratic composer, Magnolia’s writes tales that bounce between space age exploration and wild western nostalgia.

With a truly unique voice and a magnetic musical appeal, Magnolia’s debut is one that sees his full talents on display. With a reach that stretches to the stars and beyond and roots that deeply connect him to the Irish tradition of song craft, Magnolia’s unique take on story telling is one that demands your full attention. 

The title track, ‘Queen of the Rodeo’, will be available on Friday 29th November, with the EP release due Friday 14th February via Quiet Arch.

Vivamagnolia - Queen Of The Rodeo

DARK TROPICS
‘BADLANDS’
THE DEBUT SINGLE OUT FEBRUARY 14 VIA QUIET ARCH RECORDS

Pop noir duo Dark Tropics announce debut single ‘Badlands’

The 14th February 2020 sees the release of ‘Badlands’ – the debut single from a brand new Irish duo – Dark Tropics out via Quiet Arch Records.  

Dark Tropics: “Badlands is an attempt to capture the feel of an epic feature film in a 3 minute pop song.”

Taken from their upcoming debut album, due out later this year, the moody ‘Badlands’, encapsulates the world of Dark Tropics perfectly. Highlighted by lead singer Rio’s striking vocals, biting strings, and bright keys, ‘Badlands’ occupies a crepuscular realm inhabited by emotional beings that exist purely in states of betrayal, heartbreak and revenge. With a diverse, deep sound palette that straddles contemporary pop, neo-soul and classical arrangements, its the ideal introductory track to Dark Tropics swirling musical world.

The formation of Dark Tropics was inevitable. Drawn together by a bond that stretched from Ireland to Morocco, musicians Rio and Gerard found common ground in the form of Radiohead, Aretha Franklin and The Velvet Underground. Armed with the influences of William Somerset Maugham, Paul Aster and John Cooper-Clarke, the pair formed a partnership - one that relies equally on instinct and guile.

Their creative vision has bore fruit with timeless, cinematic, pop-noir. Powered by analogue instruments and retro recording techniques the music sways and breathes naturally. Their themes are everywhere - the burning highs of lust, the fragility of heartache, the sting of betrayal and defiance in the face of hurt. A meld of contemporary and classic, the individual and universal, the scope of Dark Tropics is limited only by 
how far down the rabbit hole you wish to follow.

‘Badlands’ is out 14 February, stay tuned for more news on the debut album.

Dark Tropics - Badlands

Three years after the release of his award winning debut ‘Ephrata’, indie-folk artist Joshua Burnside returns with new track; ‘Whiskey Whiskey’ 

A combination of absurdist humour and nihilism,’Whiskey, Whiskey’ sets the stage for what is Burnside’s most impressive body of work yet. Spurred by his fear of flying, an unshakeable pessimism, a pondering on mortality and a comforting liquid embrace, this latest track delivers a stark, vulnerable look into the world of Joshua Burnside. Utilising a unique blend of traditional folk melodies and textures, with synthetic and lo-fi sounds, Burnside looks to meld 21st Century anxiety with an all-too-relatable humanity. A m 

“I wrote the lyrics for Whiskey Whiskey whilst on a flight to London. I hate flying and l would often suffer from mild panic attacks during flights. I occasionally sel7-medicate by drinking whiskey. Which isn’t really a long term solution. 8o writing this song was a way of distracting myself from my environment whilst dealing with these emotions in a more productive way. The song is about coming to terms with our mortality and striving to find meanin8.” 21≠79o

“Rumbling, brooding, powerful, magnetic” - The Irish Times

“There’s an indefinable quality and charm to Joshua Burnside” - The Sunday Times 

“Joshua Burnside may not be typical Irish Folk, but he is everything it should stand for” - Folk Radio UK

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