Monday, March 26, 2012

Spendin' some time with Emprie Saints

Empire Saints are an Irish foursome who's music ranges from straight ahead guitar driven pop-rock tunes to electronic dance-pop/rock. However you put it Their music blends elements of U2, Depeche Mode and LCD Soundsystem to create and indie rock dance rock sort of sound.

I have had the opportunity to preview their upcoming release, a song called "Note The Meaning". I really enjoyed what I heard. It's a nice electronic tune which with it's driving dance beat and the echoing and dour lead vocal finds Empire Saints somewhere between Giorgio Moroder, Depeche Mode and LCD Soundsystem. They are currently working on a new album and if "Note The Meaning" is any indication of what we'll hear on the album I am certain that Empire Saints will find their career in music rising to the next level. "Note The Meaning" is a big step forward for Empire Saints, most particularly in the technical and production sense of their music.
- Randall Webb

Empire Saints


Bio from the Empire Saints website
http://www.empiresaints.com/index.html

Empire Saints are an Irish four-piece band consisting of Fiachra Treacy (vocals and guitars), Uisneagh Treacy (bass), Noel Healy (drums) and Pete Cheevers (guitars).

Formed in 2009 by brothers Fiachra and Uisneagh, they began working with Noel on putting together a collection of material in the studio, the result of which was their debut EP, Soundtrack to the City. The four track EP was produced and recorded by Garreth Mannix in Sun Studios, Dublin.

Last year they were joined by guitarist, Pete Cheevers, who brought a unique quality to the band with his ethereal guitar playing, that complimented the mood and sound of the music perfectly.
The band have gigged extensively both in Ireland and abroad, playing in such venues as Whealan’s, Crawdaddy, The Empire and The Hope and Anchor in London.

Empire Saints were finalists in the Guinness Our Thursdays competition and as a result, played support to the Magic Numbers, Imelda May and David Gray in Folan’s Quay Galway, as part of the Arthur’s Day celebrations.

Appearing on the cover of the Hotpress magazine was a great boost to the band’s profile. They are currently working hard in the Vault studio in Dublin putting the finishing touches to their debut album.


A few words from band member and founder Fiachra Teachy
 Empire Saints are Fiachra Treacy (guitars, vocals) Pete Cheevers (guitars, keys) Uisneagh Treacy (bass, vocals) Noel Healy (drums, grovebox)
We have just finished recording our debut album, which we recorded and produced ourselves. Looking back it was a very difficult process. We enjoyed it at the start but when it came to chopping and changing we all have very strong opinions and this can lead to arguments (had to dodge a few drumsticks, cheers Noel!!!). It meant the album took a lot longer than we expected. In hindsight a producer would have made it a lot easier, even if they were to act merely as an adjudicator. We could not agree on mixes and drafted in Phil Hayse (producer with Bell x1 and Cakesale to name a few) to sprinkle some magic on the album which he so expertly has done. He has made the tracks sound more like an album, putting a dance feel on the guitar tracks and really bringing the electronic tracks to life.
The majority of the tracks on the album start off as a song written by Fiachra on an acoustic guitar but don't really become Empire Saints songs till the rest of the boys get a hold of them. Noel and Uisneagh have come up with some of the initial ideas also with Noel specializing in the electronic songs he puts together on the grovebox.

The band has a wide variety of influences which took a while to hone into one particular sound. The Stone  Roses, The Cure, Massive Attack, Bob Dylan, Joy Division, Leftfield. I think all them have one thing in common that the songs come from the heart and do have an emotional feel which we try to emulate.

We have played gigs all around Ireland and in London, and have been on the same bill as The Magic Numbers, David Gray and Newton Faulkner at Arthurs Day in Galway. We played in front of 3500 people that day and it really gave us a boost and made us think if we work hard we could have something really special here.

We are all finally happy with the album and think it is something to be very proud of. Every song has its own place on it and we feel it is the type of album people will be able to put on and listen the whole way through, the kind of album people used to make before the emphasis became solely on 'the big hit'.

The album will be called 'Product' for a couple of reasons. The songs are about the environment we are in and have grown up in Dublin and Bray. There are stories about people we know and also ourselves so the songs are a product of our environment. We also put in two years of work into it and are eventually left with the album, It seems to sum all the bu**s**t up into one 'product'. To sell, to give away. Personally I just want people to listen to it and hope they can relate to the songs and come see us live.

The album should be released at the end of March and will be available worldwide on itunes.
People can check us out on myspace, facebook and follow us on our website www.empiresaints.com


Empire Saints

Empire Saints - Eventually

Empire Saints - Flow

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Sharing the beat with Bluelight

Bluelight offers a well layered mix of electronic dance club sounds. Their music is heavily influenced by 1980's new wave with it's infectious rhythms and electronic beats. Lead vocalist, Andrea Hector-Brown, sounds pleasantly reminiscent of Terri Nunn from the band Berlin. Bluelight's nicely polished sound is well worth taking giving a listen.

Band members:

Lin Gardiner - Keys, Programming and Production
Andréa Hector-Brown - Vocals, Bass, Keys





Bluelight, duo Lin Gardiner and Andréa Hector, met at a Vancouver recording
studio by way of a casual hello through a mutual friend. They soon became
musical allies and began writing songs together just to “see what would come of
it”. It turned out that Gardiner’s British production sensibilities married
perfectly with Hector’s West Coast edge.

After releasing their ‘I See Fine’ EP and video, a string of live shows and periods
of concentrated songwriting saw the band intensify momentum, resulting in their
debut full length album ‘On The Edge’.

Bluelight’s electronic darkside-pop evokes emotions that speak to the real
(sometimes all too real) life experiences of these two masterly artists. Surprising
wit and optimism in songs like ‘Cloud of Doom’ and ‘Sit in Silence’ are bed
partners with the depths of gloom found in ‘My Demon’ and ‘We Always Knew’.
‘On The Edge’ is a collection of beautifully crafted songs where sweet, shakingly
terrified vocals in one breath (‘Your Eyes’) lead to attitude-laden choruses in
another (‘Take You Down’ and new single ‘Do What You Want’).

When you take a step back and wonder at their raw vulnerability, it’s obvious
these two have lived every single line and they are intent on pulling your
listening ears into their wild world.

For more on Bluelight please visit their website @ 

Mini interview with Andrea Hector
Randall Webb: Who writes your songs?

Andrea Hector:  We are co-writers in Bluelight.  Lin will give me an idea and I’ll run with it, writing lyrics and melody, sometimes writing lyrics to Lin’s melody.  We’re trying more of a collaborative effort this time around.  Our newest songs are on the burners.

Randall Webb: Will you be playing anywhere soon?

Andrea Hector:  We will have gigs coming up.  We had a great run this past summer with performances in a few festivals this past summer. In the last gig we played, I put so much into my performance that I left that on a stretcher, lol!

Randall Webb: How long have you been a band?

Andrea Hector:  We met through a mutual friend at a recording studio they both worked out of.  It was 2004.  By 2006 we were writing songs together as a test to see if our creative works would be a match.  It was and here we are today.

 






Thank you Bluelight for sharing your excellent  music!

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