Nialler9's New Irish Music: King Kong Company, Damien Rice and Slow Riot

Artist of the week  

King Kong Company
For a band that broke up, King Kong Company are doing pretty well for themselves. The Waterford electronic band found their first go on the merry-go-round to be hard work but the internet has since intervened.

After creating one more song and a video for a friend's documentary on Youtube, the band suddenly found an audience. They made a track and a posted a video on Youtube every month for a year and began to play festival shows where they discovered their audience was tangible, real and dancing right in front of them.

This fact lead to sold out shows in Waterford and Dublin along with more festival slots this summer which will lead into the release of the band's debut album in November which is being produced by Tim Holmes of Death In Vegas fame.

Have a listen to the band's '90s-sounding electronic music on new single Space Hopper.

Songs of the week:

Damien Rice – Hypnosis
It seems the radio silence from Mr Rice isn't to return any time soon as the man has contributed two songs to the soundtrack for the Salma Hayek Pinault-produced animated movie Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Hypnosis, is unburdened by any great expectation, and as such, has an uplifting encouraging feel with Rice singing "so pull yourself together now," while brass reinforce the feeling. This might be more enjoyable than the entire of My Favourite Faded Fantasy.

Slow Riot – City Of Culture
Making an impression as a rock band these days is hard when you're up against the weight of the history of the genre that came before you. For their part, new Limerick band Slow Riot don't muck about in delivering a razor-sharp rhythm and post-punk guitars that impress with urgency. Singer Niall Clancy sneers about his hometown's cultural status too which places Slow Riot very much in the present.

Bear Worship - Shimmerings
After finishing up his Ivan St. John project, Karl Knuttel abandoned music but it pulled him back a couple of years later with inspirations of a different persuasion. Bear Worship's debut song takes its sunny cues from the Beach Boys. Like Animal Collective member Panda Bear, Shimmerings mixes classic pop harmonies with electronic synthesizer lines.

Lyttet - Saint Etienne (Adultrock Remix)
Taking the original's reverb-shrouded dream pop, Kildare producer Adultrock turns his fellow county band's St Etienne into a direct synth and percussion-lead dancefloor number that sounds like it takes inspiration from Caribou and blissed-out house music.

My Tribe Is Your Tribe – Will To Survive
George Mercer and Tod Doyle's electronic pop project has released a few singles over the last year or so, with none of them quite sticking as well as new track Will To Survive. The song's yearning chorus is matched by the duo's most focused arrangement of synths and low-end yet. They play Body&Soul this weekend if they tickle your fancy. A debut album is forthcoming.

Video of the week

Atriums – Down By The Beeches
A duel at dawn among cliffs and rocks that look like they belong on some lunar landscape than this world is a complementary match for this Dublin musician's airy and atmospheric lullaby. Director: James Lawes

Atriums - Down By The Beeches from James Lawes on Vimeo.