10:15pm // DeBarra’s Folk Club // September 17 + 18
Naive Ted VS Fixity // 9pm // DeBarra’s Folk Club // September 19
Naive Ted hates PR. Hates it. Predictably, as a mute, he’d rather let the music speak for itself. But sure he has new music to promote and it’s fairly likely that you haven’t heard his music cos he’s not that popular so allow us to fill in the gaps for you….
Weighing in around 6 bags of sugar, from Páirteanna Anaithnaid, Co. Ciarraí, the masked Ted cuts a pretty singular figure on the Irish alternative music circuit. However, this writhing skeletal frame does not claim to be a musician, indeed you’d be hard pushed to even call it music sometimes (we file it under ‘hip-hop’ but most of those rap cats want nothing to do with it). Where the machine is man, and man is on the cusp of a nervous breakdown, Ted’s hands control time via a pair of turntables, creating an unpredictable and unrepeatable narrative, shifting then to now, remembering the future and re-imagining the past.
Ted’s abrasive, angular take on beat-oriented music meets at the margins of myriad styles but is never wilfully eclectic, always following a logical sonic line (that admittedly may only be audible to himself). Boom-bap headnod & feedback-drenched headwreck. Ambivalent ambience & shrill shoegaze. Afro-jazz meltdowns & poised krautrockers. Maximalist haikus and minimal epics. Or as he might put it himself – ‘caressed in a chokehold’.
Some people thought his 2015 album ‘The inevitable heel turn’ was deadly (“…the whole thing is an alternative audio riot.” Album of the week, Irish Times, July 2015).
The gigs to promote that record went pretty well too and 2015 wrappeded up with a triumphant support tour for longtime heroes giveamanakick on their final, emotional jaunt round the country.
It has to be said though, Ted doesn’t get out much, preferring to spend his free time producing music for (amongst others) windings, Same D4ence, Post-Punk Podge, Murli, Spekulativ Fiktion and running the Unscene Music ‘not really a record label’ record label.
He was commissioned to provide music for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Bullet Club faction (seeing his music played in Tokyo Dome in front of 45,000 Japanese wrestling fans literally reduced our Ted to tears) and provided much of the soundtrack for BBC Two’s ‘Smack Em Up’ documentary in 2015. He’s also remixed or collaborated with Lankum (formerly Lynched), Murli & God Knows (Rusangano Family), SertOne, Nanu Nanu, Morning Veils, Clerk5 and Ceara Conway.
And that’s just the recent stuff… dig a little deeper and you’ll find a man at the centre of Ireland’s first turntable band (Vince Mack Mahon), a founder & organiser of one of Ireland’s longest running free festivals (Community Skratch Games) and an alt-rap pioneer through his work with the cultish Flying Buttresses.
So, there’s more but if all that doesn’t make you want to see him play some music then you should go somewhere else on the night in question.
If you wanna see for yourself before making any snap decisions based on some anonymous blurb you just read on the internet/in your local paper then you should check out the following links….
Belfast blues guitar legend Ronnie Greer has been at the centre of the blues music scene for over 40 years now, and has shared the stage with some of the greatest names in the genre, including Dr. John, Memphis Slim, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Lowell Fulson, Carey Bell, to name but a few. His distinctive guitar style, incorporating visceral Chicago style licks with be bop jazz inspired lines and chord voicings, has been critically acclaimed as world class. Two recent album realises, A Lifetime With The Blues and The Jazz Project, both illustrate Ronnie’s ability to seamlessly meld both aspects of these styles into his playing. Both albums have received four star reviews in the influential Jazz Journal Magazine. Ronnie continues to perform consistently to packed houses with his all star band at theatres, arts centres and festivals nationwide, but for this appearance at Clonakilty, we’re delighted to welcome him as guest with the Bill Shanley Band, a meeting which should be a little bit special, we would suggest!
“Greer, the doyen of Irish blues guitar”- allaboutjazz.com
“Proper blues from a proper bluesman” – Ralph McLean, BBC Radio Ulster
John Blek will be performing a very special show at this year’s Festival with long time friend Ari Sheehan. John came to know Ari
while working in Crowley’s Music Centre, Cork in 2012. “Ari was working as a luthier in the basement of the store and I was
upstairs trying to sell his wares” John said. It was a mutual appreciation for one another’s crafts that drew them
together. Sheehan an incredible instrumentalist in his own right is part of folk group Rianor as well as progressive classical trio Second Moon of Winter with soprano Kim Sheehan and composer Tom Hodge.
This show will see the pair rework a number of John’s songs for two guitars and his voice. A celebration of friendship,
Laura Quirke (vocals, guitar) and Claire Kinsella (cello, vocals) started performing together while studying music and languages in Maynooth University, Ireland. Harmonious vocal melodies simply accompanied by cello and guitar, lend a sincere and honest rootsy sound. Borrowing from wide range of influences, traditional and alternative, the duo create an immersive experience through a dynamic expression of lyrical story. Their writing weaves their personal insights of human nature & behaviour with the imagery of the contrasting modern and natural world that surrounds them.
In their relatively short lifespan, Lemoncello have played a sold out show in France at the beautiful Musée de La Piscine in Roubaix, supported renowned Irish songwriters Mick Flannery & Damien Dempsey, & helped form ‘Common Grounds Collective‘, a group dedicated to building a network of musicians of all disciplines, giving them a platform to create and showcase original works within a nurturing community environment.
Their debut EP “Stuck Upon the Staircase” was released on April 26, 2018, earning radio play on stations such as RTÉ Radio 1 and FM104. They followed this with a successful tour of intimate venues around Ireland. They are set to play a variety of Irish festivals this summer before going into preparation for the release of their second EP, due for release in early 2019.
“Lemoncello’s blend of mystical & contemporary folk sounds conjure images of moving Harry Clarke characters from ancient Irish folklore. It is colourful, thought-provoking & vivid.” – Remy’s Music Blog
Since immigrating to the United States from Scotland in 2014, Lorkin O’Reilly has been making a name for himself as a commanding new songwriting talent. His unique transatlantic approach blends old-country inspired open tunings similar to that of Bert Jansch, Nike Drake and Dick Gaughan with direct and personal reflections and poetry. His writing portrays not only his own reality, but experiences faced by most of us: the purgatory between childhood and adulthood, between new home and old home and finally the overarching struggle of finding a new identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1994, Lorkin’s early musical education was heavily steeped in the sounds of his mother’s native Ireland. Those early influences are heard throughout his work on tracks like “Alba,” “When The Days Cool Down,” and “Tuttles Reel.”
In 2014 Lorkin moved to upstate New York to work on a farm. In the basement of the farmhouse he found an old acoustic guitar and began writing, resulting in his first E.P., After The Thaw. Recorded in a single day on two-inch tape, After The Thaw is a small body of work that tastefully sets the stage for what would become his debut album, Heaven Depends.
Heaven Depends is the result of late night-writing sessions in the kitchen after long days working construction in Poughkeepsie N.Y. With songs that range from traditional reels to twanging Townes-esque imagery, the album is a musical representation of an immigrant’s journey. Using a multitude of instruments set against a backdrop of alternative tunings and fingerpicking “Heaven Depends” invites the listener on a complicated, yet ultimately beautiful journey.
Having first come together in the autumn of 2016 on the basketball courts of a Dublin city park, the four members of Pillow Queens, soon realised that making music together would be an equally productive group activity. Cathy plays guitar and sings. Rachel plays drums and sings. Pam and Sarah swap guitar , bass and lead vocal duties. Within a few months they’d released their debut EP, Calm Girls, titled in an ironic nod to the bands anxious nature. The three songs dealt with themes of despair, crisis of self and distrust. The closing Wonderboys “an attempt to put into musical form the feeling you get when your eyes roll back into your head when faced with toxic masculinity.” The songs quickly found their way into the hearts of new fans in the local underground DIY scene, and even onto BBC 6music playlists, with Steve Lamacq calling them “deceptively infectious, with sharp hooks and sharp nails” . By the summer of 2017, the band were touring the UK and performing on festival stages.
Pillow Queens second EP, State of the State, will be released on March 9th 2018 on UK DIY label Specialist Subject.
While taking influence from artists from contemporary US DIY indie & punk scenes (such as Mitski, Waxahatchee, Hop Along, Cloud Nothings), Pillow Queens stay true to their Irish heritage, using Dublin colloquialisms in their lyrics and singing in thick Irish accents.
Mongoose is a musical melty-pot combining the vocals, instrument-playing and songwriting of four women – Molly O’Mahony, Ailbhe Dunne, Muireann Ní Cheannabháin and Cara Dunne. Their latest single ‘Old Friend’ was released in July, ahead of their much-anticipated EP ‘Four’, due for release in Autumn 2017. They are currently Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Musicians in Residence for 2017.
All four members are songwriters, which allows for rich and dynamic soundscapes. From harmony-lead delicate folk to hard-edged indie pop, their music has been constantly evolving since the release of their debut album in 2015. Celebrated for their live performances in particular, they have made memorable appearances at numerous festivals around Ireland and abroad, including Other Voices, Body & Soul, Longitude and Electric Picnic. Mongoose recently supported Glen Hansard at his sold out Vicar Street gig and performed two of their tracks from ‘Four’ with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra as part of Culture Night 2017.
“A vocal powerhouse with a line in charming yet incisive idiosyncrasy, Mongoose are an act unafraid of being true to their boundless, abstract and vibrantly coloured creative selves. A must for lovers of musical ingenuity and adventurous atmospherics.”- DervSwerve music blog, 2017.
“[Mongoose] have graced us with more stunning vocal arrangements and a catchy refrain” – Hot Press (‘Old Friend’ – single July 2017)
Stephen James Smith is a Dublin poet and playwright central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today. To date, his poetry videos have amassed over 1 million views online. Stephen is a co-founder of LINGO Festival (inaugural festival in 2014), Ireland’s only spoken word festival, and poetry curator of the annual First Fortnight Festival. He co-produced Dublin: A Year in Words poetry video series for Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.
In 2017 Smith was commissioned by St. Patrick’s Festival to write a new poem as a “celebratory narrative” of Ireland. The resultant piece ‘My Ireland’ is accompanied by a short film by Director Myles O’Reilly, arranged and mixed by Conor O’Brien (Villagers & Ivor Novello Award Winner ), with music by Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Loah, Saint Sister, Eithne Ní Chatháin (aka Inni-K) and Ye Vagabonds. It has been viewed over 300,000 times online and was screened at London Film Festival in Trafalgar Square on March 17th. The poem was in many ways a follow on from Smith’s previous poetry video Dublin You Are, which itself has clocked up in excess of 250k views.
Stephen has performed at high profile events and festivals such as the Electric Picnic, Other Voices, the National Concert Hall, the Abbey Theatre (Noble Call) and Vicar Street (alongside luminaries such Oscar winner Glen Hansard, Shane McGowan, Roddy Doyle and Joseph O’Connor, Shane Koyzan); and further afield at the London Palladium, the Oscar Wilde Awards in LA, Glastonbury, George Town Literary Festival (ML) and other events in New York, Chicago, Iowa, Montreal, Ottawa, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Utrecht, Ljubljana and Warsaw. In 2012 he was invited to perform for the Irish Olympic team in London.
Arise and Go!, Smith’s debut album with musician Enda Reilly, was selected by Hot Press as one of the best albums of 2011 and he also is a member of Dublin music collective The Lazy Band, who released their debut album In My Garden last year. His ABSOLUTE Dublin Fringe play Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About (2011), co-written with Colm Keegan and Kalle Ryan, was shortlisted for the Bewley’s Little Gem Award. And in 2010 he won the Cúirt International Literary Festival Poetry Grand Slam.
Stephen’s poetry videos have been screened at film festivals at home and around the world, and he has featured in programmes and documentaries for television such as RTÉ’s IFTA Award Winning documentary WB Yeats: No Country for Old Men; The Works (RTÉ); News Today (RTÉ); The Six O’Clock Show (TV3); Nationwide (RTÉ) and Like A Virgin (RTÉ). He is currently working on two video’s commissioned by Listowel Writer’s Week, with Myles O’Reilly, Donal Dineen and Conor O’Brien.
Stephen has been conducting poetry workshops in secondary schools around Ireland for a number of years and was recently announced as an Artist in Residence with Dunamaise Arts Centre and Laois Arts Office, where he will develop the first ever Laois Spoken Word Project for young people in the county. His poetry is included on the syllabus at Western Connecticut State University and his work has been translated into Irish, Spanish, Slovenian, Polish, Dutch and Italian.
Stephen James Smith’s debut collection, Fear Not, is published by Arlen House with a launch due in Spring 2018.
Molière is provocative, caustic, saucy, disturbing, clever and moving, all that at once. He sets up and dismantled archetypes. He knocks and caresses. He speaks of love, business and politics whilst drinking glasses of white wine. On this era where we use the stage name of Jean -Baptiste Poquelin to pass discriminating guidelines, it seemed to this international troupe, that speaks ten languages daily, that it was probably important to revisit good old Molière and remind the world that he was above all a buffoon, a king’s jester and therefore an artist devoted to the unveiling of liars and hypocrites.
The Forced marriage
Comedy-ballet or comedy-masquerade created in 1664 and played at the Palace of the Queen Mother with apparitions of the king and many courtiers: played with “The Étourdi ” text of Molière. Music and libretto by Lully.
In 1667 Molière writes a play in one act without music. In 1672, the comedy-ballet was rehearsed and performed for the royal festival with “La Comtesse d’Escarbagnas” – text by Molière, a new music and libretto by Charpentier.
Footsbarn decided to reintroduce the idea of intermezzos inspired by the music of Lully and Charpentier by taking up some texts of the time on the themes of the play: an old man who marries a young girl, the fear of being cuckold, the dangers that await us: jealousy, suspicions, sorrows
The appearance of our “demons” follows a general theme: putting oneself in an impossible situation with no escape.
Footsbarn has added scenes from “La Jalousie du Barbouillé”: time has passed, they are married, the couple can’t function, the arguments are incessant and the fear of being cuckold has only increased. The environment is the same: the father, the friend, a philosopher, the brother, the lover. Dorimène becomes Angelique and the Barbouillé is Sganarelle. “Always dissatisfied, always cuckold, the most unfortunate of men.”
Life goes on. He returns and is reminded of his fears, his doubts, and if Sganarelle foreshadows the character of George Dandin, the end is not the same: Dandin is tragic, here everything continues in spite of all like an endless ballet. Life goes on and nothing changes. Everything turns to the absurd – “oh, the beautiful symphony.”
Artistic list
Sganarelle future husband of Dorimène: Paddy HAYTER Geronimo friend of Sganarelle; a Philosopher: Vincent GRACIEUX Dorimène, a coquettish young girl, promised to Sganarelle; a Gypsy: June MCGRANE Alcantor father of Dorimène: Haris Haka RESIC Alcidas brother of Dorimene; Lycaste lover of Dorimene; a Gypsy: Tony WADHAM Pancrace Aristotelian doctor; a Gypsy: Henri ALEXANDRE
Technical list
Scenography, creation of masks, puppets: Fredericka HAYTER Costume design: Hanna SJODIN Music Creation: Haris Haka RESIC Creation of lights: Jean GRISON Director: Thierry MESLIN Technicians: Léo LAFORET, Jules HARRAP