Artists Against Homelessness
Artists Against Homelessness, Sun 17 April at 3Olympia, Dublin
Curated and headlined by Kojaque Feat. Damien Dempsey, Shiv, EFÉ, Curtisy, Ahmed, With Love & Negro Impacto
in aid of Focus Ireland Sponsored by Cadbury and Arachas Insurance
The Sunday Independent’s Artists Against Homelessness in aid of Focus Ireland will take place on April 17th at the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Headlined and curated by Kojaque, the gifted Dublin rapper who sang about the issue of homelessness and housing on his 2021 album Town’s Dead, it’s guaranteed to be an inspiring night of wonderful music in aid of a very worthy cause.
‘The issue of homelessness in Ireland is one that simply shouldn’t exist and can be prevented with the right intervention from government,’ Kojaque says. ‘However, it’s not something that I have felt is in the interest of our government, which is why charities like Focus Ireland and events such as this one are so important. They offer hope to those most in need of it.’
Celebrated singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey will also play on the night, as will the incomparable Zimbabwe-born artist Shiv, who has been described by indie bible The Face as having ‘exploded onto the Irish music scene with a warm, soulful sound.’
‘It is incredibly disheartening to know that with over 8000 homeless people in Ireland, a quarter of whom are children, over 200,000 houses remain vacant in Ireland,’ Shiv says.
Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan echoes this: ‘There are still nearly 9,000 people homeless and the sheer number of children and families who are on the verge of homelessness due to the unstable housing sector is appalling. There are 2,500 children who are homeless with their families, and most lost their homes in the rental sector due to rocketing rents, insecurity of tenure and the rising cost of living. Rents have now passed the peak of the Celtic Tiger and when linked to the spiraling cost of living this has left many thousands of families and individuals at a tipping point between home and homelessness. Focus Ireland work hard every day to help prevent people from losing their homes and these services are needed now more than ever.’
Artists Against Homelessness (previously known as Rock Against Homelessness) has been organised for the last eight years by the Sunday Independent’s Barry Egan. This year’s show, which has been booked by Bekah Molony, reflects the diversity of modern Ireland.
As well as Shiv, it features the brilliant EFÉ, who Soul Doubt magazine described as ‘an astonishing artist’, plus the wonderful Negro Impacto, the Dundalk RnB duo of vocalist Chi-Chi and producer StrangeLove, who Hot Press magazine said ‘served up some of our musical highlights of 2021 with the release of their debut EP’.
From Dublin, the hotly tipped rapper Ahmed, With Love. will also take to the famous 3Olympia stage, as will fellow rising star Curtisy. ‘Homelessness is a major issue in our country,’ Curtisy says, ‘we see it every day and I’ve even had family become homeless. It’s great to be a part of something so positive to mark how much Focus Ireland do.’Tickets are now on sale priced at €30.00 (phone and online bookings are subject to service charge) from www.ticketmaster.ie.
The Coronas
Release the first single ‘Write Our Own Soundtrack’
from their 7th studio album due 2022.
Beloved Dublin band The Coronas are back with a brand-new single, “Write Our Own Soundtrack”. “It was written in the first lockdown,” explains lead singer Danny O’Reilly. “It’s about how a new relationship can give hope and positivity, even if the world is falling apart around you. When everything is suddenly upside down, love and relationships are given a new perspective and traditional ways of getting to know someone are thrown out the window.”
Like everyone in the events industry, The Coronas have had to overcome several hurdles over the past 18 months. After the disappointment of being forced to cancel a six-month world tour and delaying an album release, the band also had to come to terms with the fact that they may have the most unfortunate band name in the world right now.
However, when the album was released last summer, thankfully their moniker didn’t seem to bother anyone! True Love Waits topped the charts, outselling Fontaines DC and Taylor Swift on its way to number one, becoming the fastest selling Irish album of 2020.
Now the band are back with “Write Our Own Soundtrack” and an extensive Irish tour, which takes in seventeen dates around the country. Aptly called the True Love Waited Tour, the band are set to finally play songs from the album live to their ever-growing fanbase. “True Love Waits was written to be played live,” explains O’Reilly. “We’re ridiculously excited to be on the road again and play these songs to full capacity rooms around the country. It’s gonna be emotional.”
Tickets to The Coronas’ famous Christmas Olympia shows on the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th December sold out in minutes. Disappointed fans who didn’t get tickets won’t have to wait too long, as the band have just announced a huge Dublin show at the Summer Series at Trinity College, on the 1st of July next year.
This will hopefully coincide with the release of a new album, the band’s seventh. “Write Our Own Soundtrack” is the first taste from this and it’s bound to whet eager appetites.
Thurs 02 DEC Big Top, Limerick, SOLDOUT
Fri 03 DEC Big Top, Limerick, SOLDOUT
Mon 06 DEC Opera House, Cork, SOLDOUT
Tue 07 Dec Opera House, Cork, TICKETSThurs 09 DEC Ulster Hall, Belfast SOLDOUT
Thurs 16 DEC 3Olympia, Dublin, SOLDOUTFri 17 DEC 3 Olympia, Dublin, SOLDOUT
Sat 18 DEC 3 Olympia, Dublin SOLDOUT
Sun 19 DEC 3 Olympia, Dublin SOLDOUT
Mon 27 DEC Royal Theatre, Castlebar, TICKETS
Tue 28 DEC INEC Arena, Killarney, TICKETSFri 1 July, 2022 Trinity Summer Series, Dublin
The Whileaways
THE WHILEAWAYS
Release new single ‘The Milking Parlour Bar’
Taken from their forthcoming album ‘In All Honesty’ due for release in 2022
The Whileaways are also delighted to announce a very special hometown Christmas show in Town Hall Theatre, Galway on Sat. 11 Dec. Buy Tickets: www.tht.ie
The Whileaways release their new single ‘The Milking Parlour Bar’ on 8th October, a song about the importance of true friends and the magic nights of music shared. The song showcases a new, fresh sound from The Whileaways while still featuring the band’s trademark rich vocal harmonies – a taste of what’s to come from their forthcoming album ‘In All Honesty’ due for release in Spring 2022.
Noelie explains the inspiration for the song: ‘It’s been a time when we’ve all missed things that we previously took for granted – singing together, playing together, dancing together, even just being together. This song is a celebration of friendship and the simple joy of being in each other’s company all under one little roof, one blanket of truth, full of music and laughter and joy. And whatever they happened to be serving at The Milking Parlour Bar.’
The Whileaways are Noelie McDonnell, Noriana Kennedy and Nicola Joyce, three accomplished singers who came to know each other while on the session circuit in Galway in 2012. Since then they have released three critically acclaimed albums, toured all over the world, and been nominated for Best Group and Best Album in the RTÉ Folk Awards. Praise from international press has been heaped upon the band with The Irish Echo calling their sound ‘perfected simplicity’, and Hot Press saying that the trio ‘stake their claim to being among the finest singers in the country’.
2019 saw the band broaden their repertoire with Bird On The Wire, a collaboration between The Whileaways and Pauline Scanlon. Featuring a ten-piece band including strings, the show is a unique combination of outstanding singers exploring their own interpretations of the wonderfully rich music and words of the icon that is Leonard Cohen. The show has been performed to sold-out audiences at The Pepper Canister Church in Dublin and Belfast’s Empire Music Hall and London’s Union Chapel. The show comes to Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on October 30th, and tickets are almost sold out!
‘The Milking Parlour Bar’ is taken from the band’s upcoming album In All Honesty, produced by Alex Borwick and Sean Og Graham. Borwick and Og Graham brought a subtle electronica influence to the project which was very much a new direction for the band. The combination of band and producers has resulted in a wonderful marriage of minds and an album that, while still very acoustic sounding, is elevated by more creative studio production.
The Whileaways will tour for their album launch in spring 2022. The band trialled many of the songs at their ‘Live from Home’ online gigs during lockdown. People tuned in every single week from all over the world: mothers in Galway watching with their daughter in London and their son in New York, Zookeepers in England, people from Alaska to New Zealand. But mostly it was neighbours and friends who couldn’t meet each other in person saying instead ‘See you at the gig’. It became a very special and unique time for the band to connect with their fans. As a result, The Whileaways can’t wait to get out and see these people in person and play their new material from In All Honesty, so they’ve just announced a very special hometown show in Town Hall Theatre in Galway on 11 December.
www.thewhileaways.com
OASIS Knebworth 1996 Unveiled
Feature Length Knebworth Documentary in Cinemas Worldwide from Thursday, 23rd September
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Oasis Live at Knebworth Park
Tickets on Sale From Tuesday, 10th August
Sign-up for information at www.oasisknebworth1996.com
Oasis have today unveiled the title, release date and ticketing details for their eagerly anticipated Knebworth cinematic documentary, Oasis Knebworth 1996. After almost two years without significant live events anywhere in the world, the cinematic release of Oasis Knebworth 1996 on 23rd September will serve as a timely reminder to fans new and old of the euphoria and togetherness that only a great concert can bring. Oasis Knebworth 1996 is the story of the special relationship between Oasis and their fans that made the largest concert of the ‘90’s possible. It is told entirely in the moment through the eyes of the fans who were there, built around extensive, and never before seen archive concert and backstage footage from the event, with additional interviews with the band and concert organisers. Directed by Grammy Award-winner Jake Scott, this is a joyful and at times poignant cinematic celebration of one of the most iconic live concert events of the last 25 years, driven entirely by the music, and the fans’ own experiences of that monumental weekend. Tickets for Oasis Knebworth 1996 will go on sale on Tuesday 10th August, marking the 25 years to the day since the first night of the concerts.
Oasis’ two record breaking nights at Knebworth took place on 10th & 11th August 1996, with over a quarter of a million young music fans from all over the world converging on Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire to see the legendary sets. Tickets went on sale on 11th May 1996. Queues formed outside local record shops and ticket offices overnight, and fans around the world spent the day on their landline phones trying to get through to constantly engaged booking lines. All tickets sold out in less than 24 hours, breaking every UK box office record in the process. Organisers estimated the band could have sold two or three times as many tickets. Over 2% of the population of the UK had attempted to buy tickets.
The monumental shows were set against a backdrop of the UK slowly recovering from a decade of recession. Emerging from the ‘80s, the mood of the nation was changing. A cultural resurgence in arts and culture was giving rise to Cool Britannia and, in their meteoric rise, Oasis embodied that new found optimism and swagger. Two short years had taken the band from their council estate in Manchester to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world and for the congregated masses, seeing themselves in the five men on stage in front of them, anything felt possible. Featuring a setlist absolutely packed from beginning to end with stone cold classics, from the opening salvo of ‘Columbia’ and ‘Acquiesce’, all the way to ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Live Forever’, a triumphant, orchestra backed ‘I Am The Walrus’, and the first song from the 1990s to cross one billion streams on Spotify, ‘Wonderwall,’ the Knebworth concerts were both the pinnacle of the band’s success and the landmark gathering for a generation.
The film will be produced by Black Dog Films. Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher will serve as executive producers. It will be financed and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment and released theatrically by Trafalgar Releasing.
Liam Gallagher says “Knebworth for me was the Woodstock of the 90’s. It was all about the music and the people. I can’t remember much about it, but I’ll never forget it. It was Biblical.”
Noel Gallagher says “I can’t believe we never played Rock ‘n’ Roll Star!”
Tom Mackay, President, Premium Content, Sony Music Entertainment says, “We are thrilled to be working with RSA Films and Trafalgar Releasing to bring global audiences an incredible cinematic experience around one of Oasis’s most historic concerts. The premiere of Oasis Knebworth 1996 invites generations of fans who weren’t able to attend this iconic show to experience the lasting energy and impact around Oasis’ performance that truly rocked Knebworth 25 years ago.”
Trafalgar Releasing’s Marc Allenby says: “The success and continuing legacy of Oasis defined a generation in a way few bands have throughout music history. We are proud to be bringing this celebratory film to cinemas in this special event release, bringing together audiences from all around the world to commemorate the 25th anniversary of these landmark gigs.”
Rock Against Homelessness
Rock Against Homelessness
in aid of Focus Ireland
Sponsored by Cadbury and Arachas Insurance
Independent.ie’s Rock Against Homelessness in aid of Focus Ireland will be a very special streaming event from the Olympia Theatre and Windmill Lane Recording Studios taking place on June 20th at 8pm. Directed by Dave Merriman of Savoy One Films and executive produced by the Sunday Independent’s Barry Egan, it will be a great night of music, but also a night of hope, love and support for Focus Ireland, from Dublin to London, Belfast to New York.
The incomparable Panti Bliss will serve as main MC, with Laura Whitmore on board to help out. As well as the coolest MCs, Independent.ie’s Rock Against Homelessness will feature the hottest Irish act on the planet right now, Pillow Queens, who have just made their US TV debut with James Corden on CBS’ Late Late Show. They will play their four-song set from Windmill Lane.
From the Olympia, beloved Dublin legends Christy Dignam and Aslan take the stage, and their extensive set will include a duet with the legendary Gilbert O’Sullivan, and another duet with Paul Walsh/Royseven. They will be followed by performances from Tolü Makay and Wyvern Lingo. Also in the Olympia, Panti Bliss will interview Oscar-winning director Jim Sheridan onstage about homelessness in Ireland.
Rock Against Homelessness will also feature performances from other venues and other countries. Irish icon Lesley Dowdall performs in Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Ringsend, duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela perform from Mexico, the sensational Ryan McMullan will perform from Belfast, while Ken Griffin (formerly of Rollerskate Skinny) will showcase his new band, The High Leaves, from New York. Blindboy Boatclub will also have a few words to say, filmed from his living room.
Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan says, ‘Focus Ireland needs to raise nearly 40% of our annual budget through donations so we really need people to support this great event again this year. Rock Against Homelessness raised over €70K last year. These funds were vital to help Focus Ireland support the most vulnerable families and individuals and keep them safe during Covid19. We cannot thank Mediahuis Ireland enough for this incredible support. This is the sixth year of Rock Against Homelessness and it will be a different year as the concert will be streamed online due to Covid restrictions. The show looks great and it will also feature some of the people we have supported, so it is a chance for people buying tickets to the event to really hear how their kind support is helping our work challenging homelessness and changing lives. I’d also really like to say thank you to all the artists for giving their time to support our work.’
Tickets for the streamed event cost €23 and are available this Sat 29 May from 10am via Ticketmaster. The concert will be available in its entirety to view for 7 days after the event (4pm, 27 June), so attendees can watch it at a time that suits them.
The Celtic Social Club
Release ‘For Real’ on 16th June
The first single to be taken from their album Dancing or Dying? releasing Autumn 2021.
Franco-Irish supergroup The Celtic Social Club release their latest single ‘For Real’ on 16th June. ‘For Real’ is a slice of raw optimism with a pop sound, featuring Beatles-esque backing vocals and a blistering violin solo that brings to mind Dexy’s Midnight Runners. ‘For Real’ is taken from the forthcoming release Dancing or Dying, which will be the band’s fourth album, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to warmer days and more positive times.
‘For Real’ is a song about vowing to do everything with gusto and doing it properly. It’s about re-assessing and re-affirming life when given another chance to make a go of it. It’s about vowing to yourself that you realise that life is for the living and you need to make each day count.
The Celtic Social Club made their live debut on 18th July 2014 at the famous Vieilles Charrues Festival in Brittany, France. After some personnel changes their line-up now consists of seven musicians from diverse backgrounds: Manu Masko, Goulven Hamel, Ronan Le Bars, Richard Puaud, Pierre Stephan, Mathieu Pequerau and Dan Donnelly.
Irish audiences will be familiar with charismatic lead singer Dan Donnelly, who hails from Belfast and was previously well-known for his work with 90s indie band, Watercress.
Post Watercress, Dan found success as a solo artist, supporting the likes of Damien Dempsey, Duke Special and The Levellers, and releasing two solo albums and one EP. Dan then joined The Wonder Stuff in 2014, co-writing their top 40 album, 30 Goes Around the Sun. Dan has been with The Celtic Social Club since 2018, co-writing their album From Babylon to Avalon in 2019.
Dan says, ‘Having learned my craft travelling Ireland in a van in the 1990s, I am extremely excited at the idea of finally releasing some music in Ireland again. I keep an eye on the scene on my travels and I love a lot of the new Irish music, like Lankum who we played with in France. I really feel that as an Irish man, my bonding with these Breton musicians has rekindled my love of Celtic music and we have something fresh and unique to offer the Irish music lover.’
The Celtic Social Club’s music is a modern interpretation of Celtic music from different regions; Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Galicia, and Asturia. They have brought this unique sound to festivals and venues all over the world, including France, Switzerland, Germany and China. With this new single and album, The Celtic Social Club are exclaiming loud and clear that, when the world gets back to action, they will be ready… ‘For Real’!
John Blek
JOHN BLEK
Releases ‘Long Strand’ single
Taken from his forthcoming album ‘On Ether & Air’ releasing in early Autumn.
Forthcoming on June 11th, ‘Long Strand’ is the first single to be taken from John Blek’s upcoming album On Ether & Air. Emblematic of Blek’s distinctive sound, the single is a wistful ballad featuring delicate guitar work and ethereal vocals, supplemented by a gorgeous piano accompaniment from BBC Jazz Award winner and Mercury Prize nominated musician Kit Downes. The song title namechecks a scenic beach in West Cork, and the lyrics reflect finding beauty in the simpler slower things in life.
The stunning video for ‘Long Strand’ was directed by Barra Vernon and stars dancer Foxy P. Cox. It plays with the industrial setting of the video versus the natural setting of the song, juxtaposing the two to great effect. The natural flowing movements of the dancer interpret the curling flames and rolling waves in the lyrics.
John lives and was raised in Cork City, but in listening to his music one can hear the impact of travel and experience on his work. Influenced by Bert Jansch, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Blek is a storyteller first and foremost. He began his solo career in 2014 and since then has created at a prolific rate, releasing an album a year. On Ether & Air will be the final part of his ‘Catharsis’ project, a four-album exploration of themes of the sea, the earth, the embers and the air. Written over a period of six weeks and recorded throughout the second half of 2019, collaboration was key to the creation of On Ether & Air.
John explains, ‘Chance encounters and some fortunate timing lead to me being able to work with some of my favourite musicians. Getting people with such unique playing styles involved went a long way in defining the sound of On Ether & Air and creating an album of which I am immensely proud.’
Blek has a dedicated fan base, and he has trodden a well-worn path returning to play at venues across Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and the UK, as well playing to sold out venues in Ireland like Triskel Arts Centre, Whelan’s and The Black Gate Cultural Centre. It won’t be long before he takes to the road again this Autumn to delight audiences with the music from his upcoming album.
10th Sept – The American Bar, Belfast. Tickets
16th Oct – Triskel, Cork. Tickets
17th Oct – Workman’s Club, Dublin. Tickets
Eoin Glackin
Eoin Glackin
is sending a postcard to the world this summer with his new single ‘Dublin in the Sun’
Dublin-born singer-songwriter, Eoin Glackin, releases his new single Dublin in the Sun, an uplifting, nostalgic anthem that calls to mind those blue-skied Irish summer days, as beautiful as they are rare.
A relentless tourer, Glackin has shared the road with legendary acts like The Darkness, Joan Armatrading and, most recently, Irish icons, Aslan.
The new single was written, unsurprisingly, after a long afternoon of lounging in the sunshine. Glackin recalls how inspiration sparked, unbidden, during lockdown; ”We were in a heavy lockdown and I was sitting out the back of the house having a few beers. I was yearning to head into the city centre and just ramble, stop into a few favourite bars and soak up the atmosphere. I felt nostalgic for those kinds of days and started writing this song as I sat there. Hopefully we can start making up for lost time soon!”
The song was produced by Justin Adams, an acclaimed blues and world-music producer, musician and long-time collaborator of music legend Robert Plant. Dublin in the Sun is the second record that Glackin has collaborated with Adams on, a partnership that was borne out of a love of the blues: “Myself and Justin hit it off talking about Mississippi John Hurt, the great folk and blues musician whose work I’ve come to admire more and more over the past few years. This is the second track we’ve worked on together now and it’s been great going back and forth with ideas and picking his brain. He has a great wealth of knowledge on all things blues and folk music”.
The new song builds on the momentum of Glackin’s recent string of acclaimed single releases including How Quick the World Can Change, Before the Rain and El Dorado, all of which featured in heavy rotation on Irish and UK radio stations.
‘Dublin in the Sun’ is available to stream and download everywhere now
Moxie
MOXIE
Release single ‘Is Ainm Dom’
Alt folk band Moxie release single ‘Is Ainm Dom’ on 21st May, the first single to be taken from their upcoming album The Dawn of Motion, on the way later this summer. Moxie’s sound is a charismatic fusion of varied influences, emblematic of the multicultural society we live in. ‘Is Ainm Dom’ innovatively combines both Irish and Arabic in the lyrics, and the music reflects a traditional Irish roar with a driving African percussive sound.‘Is Ainm Dom’ was born in an unexpected way: Julia Spanu and Darren Roche wanted to pay homage to each other’s cultures by combining intricate African rhythms with the Irish jig. The weaving of Irish and Arabic felt natural and almost inevitable due to some of the phonetic similarities. The song relates to the meaning of home and the importance of the journey that guides us through sunshine and storms. ‘Esmi Hayat’ – ‘Saol Is Ainm Dom’ meaning ‘Life is my name’.
Moxie began its journey in 2011, when founding members Darren Roche, Jos Kelly, Cillian Doheny and Ted Kelly decided to join forces to create an innovative style of Irish music. They released their debut album Planted in 2014 which Trad Connect reviewed as ‘a thought provoking and modern album that is high on creativity’. Josh Sampson (drums) joined the band in 2017, with the last and most recent member being Julia Spanu, a vocalist and songwriter with French, Vietnamese and Italian roots.
Julia grew up in the historical city of Carthage, Tunisia, where she learned the Arabic language and immersed herself in Tunisian culture. She found her passion in music, song and dance, which led her to join Moxie when she moved to Ireland in 2016. Julia’s varied background and curiosity in folklore have opened up a new chapter in Moxie’s story.
Moxie has travelled the world, including a state visit to Vietnam, folk festivals in Scotland, the US, and Australia, and tours in Europe and Canada. At home, they have played festivals including Body and Soul, and Electric Picnic, and were invited by President Michael D. Higgins to entertain German president Joachim Gauck in Áras an Uachtaráin in 2015. The Irish Times has described the band as having ‘irresistible revolutionary energy’, and The Irish Examiner said that ‘Moxie is the music of a new era, where fluidity, cross-pollination, and innovation are the future and salvation of Irish music.’
Moxie’s sound is traditional Irish music reinvented for a new era: they take their inspiration from rural music and urbanise it, using traditional instruments and technology to create new sounds. Their passion lies in exploring how far the boundaries of traditional Irish music can be pushed, in creative and imaginative ways. The writing process within the band is a cohesive marriage of styles and influences, with colourful arrangements and subtle melodies, and the result may be unorthodox, even unprecedented, but it works.
‘Is Ainm Dom’ is taken from album, The Dawn of Motion, recorded at Camden Studios, Dublin in January 2020. Moxie chose Jake Birch to produce the record who is based in Montana, USA, (Carly Rae Jepsen, Theo Katzman). Alex Borwick (Ellie Goulding, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Jack L) was the invaluable studio engineer during the recording process, and Jean-Christophe Morel, who lives in Bordeaux, layered it with radiant string lines.
Moxie can’t wait to introduce this album to the world, and it starts with ‘Is Ainm Dom’.
NOEL GALLAGHER’s HIGH FLYING BIRDS
Announce ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ Out 11th June on Sour Mash Records
Greatest Hits Album Celebrating Ten Years of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Featuring Two Brand New Songs – View Album Trailer Here
New Single ‘We’re On Our Way Now’ Unveiled – Listen Here
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds today announce details of ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’. Released on 11th June via Sour Mash Records, ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ is a definitive 18 track greatest hits package, and a timely reminder of the breadth and depth of classic songs from the first decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. The album is also available on limited edition deluxe formats with a bonus disc including previously unreleased acoustic versions, remixes, instrumentals and a demo.
There will also be a limited edition numbered, hand pressed, coloured double LP with exclusive art print released for Record Store Day on the 12th June.
Curated and compiled entirely by Noel, the tracklisting of ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ encompasses songs from High Flying Birds’ three UK Number One albums (‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’, ‘Chasing Yesterday’ and ‘Who Built The Moon?’) and the three acclaimed EPs (‘Black Star Dancing’, ‘This Is The Place’ and ‘Blue Moon Rising’). ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ also features two brand new songs produced by Noel Gallagher & Paul ‘Strangeboy’ Stacey, ‘We’re On Our Way Now’ and ‘Flying On The Ground’. A songwriting masterclass that sits effortlessly in one of the great songbooks, ‘We’re On Our Way Now’ is unveiled today, a taste of the future-fan-favourites to come. Listen here.
Since establishing Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds post the legendary success of Oasis, Gallagher has never sat still creatively. He’s mastered the art of embracing an instinctive sonic evolution and creative freedom whilst never neglecting the songcraft. From the New Orleans brass powered blast of debut single ‘The Death Of You And Me’ to the self produced psych-pop and space bound experimentation of ‘Chasing Yesterday’ and the disco saturated, sonic veer of ‘Who Built The Moon?’ at the hands of renowned producer David Holmes and the subsequent EP releases, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have proven time and time again to be unshackled by genre and expectation. That Gallagher has so successfully married this bold and blistering approach with huge commercial success (over 2.4 million albums sold internationally with three UK Number One albums – marking a record breaking ten UK consecutive Number One studio albums across his career), coupled with relentless touring globally, is testament to Gallagher’s unerring ability to marry lazer guided melodies and fearless creativity.
Speaking of the timings of High Flying Birds’ greatest hits, Noel says: “10 years of The High Flying Birds?? Blimey! … just think of all the things I COULD have done in that time!!”
“The title just came to me one afternoon, at the kitchen table.” He continues ”It’s a saying isn’t it: ‘back the way we came’. I actually thought it was a great title. Which is why it’s got vol 1. Because if there’s another one, I’m not coming up with another title!”
Now with the best part of thirty years as one of the country’s most respected and prolific songwriters under his belt, ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ celebrates another landmark in Noel Gallagher’s unparalleled career.
‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 [2011-2021]’ is available to pre order now digitally or physical formats from www.goldendiscs.ie
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