Track Of The Day: Clara Tracey – ‘Baby Witch’

A hopeful musing on the fluctuating nature of falling in love and surrendering yourself to the feeling, Belfast-based artist Clara Tracey has shared her latest single ‘Baby Witch’. Taken from her debut album Black Forest, produced by Daniel Fox (Gilla Band) and set for release via Pizza Pizza Records in Autumn, the track is a woozy reflection on the tumultuous feelings that come with navigating the early moments of a new romance, led by Clara’s lilting keys and clear vocals.

Originally from Fermanagh but now spending her time between Paris and Belfast, Clara Tracey is inspired by the sultry heroes and heroines of French chanson and literature, from Gainsbourg and Birkin to Anais Nin and Colette. She was able to create and explore her sensual sounds during a recent residency programme in the French countryside, organised by Northern Irish art gallery Hambly & Hambly and the Centre Culturel Irlandais. Performing at local chateaus during her time there, Clara was invited back to play in a neighbouring chateau by the local mayor, which coincided with the release of ‘Baby Witch’.

“I wrote this song soon after I moved back to Dublin from Paris,” Clara explains about the track. “I was living in a shabbier than chic flat above a shop called Bohemia and we thought it was paradise. In the middle of all there was this new love story. ‘Baby Witch’ is about trying to just let yourself love someone even when it feels like your hands or mind might be tied.”

Listen to ‘Baby Witch’ below.

 

Follow Clara Tracey on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: Ailbhe Reddy – ‘A Mess’

A lighthearted reflection on an early, chaotic relationship, Irish-born, London-based alt-folk artist Ailbhe Reddy has shared her latest single ‘A Mess’. Full of energetic guitar riffs, relatable lyrics and Reddy’s clear vocals, the track is a buoyant rumination on the cyclical nature of bad habits and a lively effort to move past them.

Following on from her recent single ‘Inhaling’ and her tender, intuitive debut album Personal History (2020), on ‘A Mess’ Reddy continues to balance the bittersweet nature of romantic relationships with her earnest and relatable lyrics. “The song is about not feeling good enough in a relationship and examining old patterns and habits,” she explains. “It’s about feeling fed up of going around in circles, while focusing on a throw away comment.”

Whilst the repetition of the title lyric could sting if it was delivered differently, Reddy claims it as a lighthearted label, accepting that youth and inexperience are all part of the learning process when it comes to forming healthy relationships. This humour is reflected in the single’s accompanying video, which sees Reddy fishing and dressed up as a surgeon, trying to dissect the moment that led to the relationship being branded ‘A Mess’.

“The video was directed by Georgia Kelly of CLTV,” she explains (an Irish production company who have created for videos Fontaines D.C., Denise Chaila, Pillow Queens and Inhaler.) “I wanted to keep the playfulness of the music alive in the video and make sure it was tongue and cheek rather than very serious. Georgia came up with a few scenarios that were funny representations of feeling ‘not good enough’ and giving up.”

Ailbhe Reddy will be performing at Visions Festival and Latitude this summer, with more live dates due to be announced soon.

Watch the video for ‘A Mess’ below.

Follow Ailbhe Reddy on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Collective Dublin (CLTV)

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Double Helix – ‘Doppelgänger’

A pulsing, urgent mix of hypnotic beats, impulsive synth textures and elusive vocals, London-based duo Double Helix have shared their latest single ‘Doppelgänger’. Shared as part of Human Endeavour’s debut compilation EP, Trains Of Thought, which is due for release on 21st June, the track is an energetic blur of 90s-style acid electronica that smoulders with euphoric energy.

Formed of Patrick Smith (synths, programming, vocals), Kim Engelhardt (bass) and accompanied by a session drummer for their live shows, Double Helix have cut their teeth on London’s underground gig circuit over the past few years where they have developed a loyal following. Their eclectic live shows fuse together the sounds and aesthetics of 90s rave subculture and often include footage and visuals shot by the band themselves. Inspired by the Prodigy, Leftfield, Nine Inch Nails and Boy Harsher, Double Helix offer listeners a sonic escape with their immersive electronic sounds, with their latest single ‘Doppelgänger’ delivering just that.

The new track has been released via Human Endeavour, a sub label of Ransom Note curated and led by Rosie Ama Cain (Kiara Scuro). The label aims to provide “space for artists who are exploring the dark, deep and hypnotic corners of the musical spectrum,” a space where Double Helix’s eclectic electronic sounds look set to thrive. Accompanied by a striking new video shot & edited by the band, the visuals for ‘Doppelgänger’ feature dancer and performance artist Giorgia Pirozzi, who manipulates and shifts her body along to Double Helix’s frenzied and infectious sounds.

Watch the accompanying video for ‘Doppelgänger’ below.

Follow Double Helix on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: CMAT – ‘Peter Bogdanovich’

Flowing with her trademark wit, melancholy-tinged vocals and informed by her fascinating yet niche personal interests, Irish pop sensation CMAT has shared a new video for her latest single ‘Peter Bogdanovich’. Taken from her superb debut album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, the track is a playful homage to the work & romantic life of the acclaimed American director, accompanied by a cinematic, monochrome video featuring CMAT in drag as the eponymous talent.

“I wrote the song ‘Peter Bogdanovich’ after listening to a podcast about the making of the film The Last Picture Show,” CMAT explains. “To cut a long story short, Peter ran away and left his wife for yungwan (the lead actress in the film, Cybill Shepherd). I was taken by this particular story because I love his early films, and I loved finding out that his wife, Polly Platt, was the player who was actually responsible for what I love most about his films. I was really interested in everyone’s motivations – Peter for acting so selfishly, Cybill for throwing a bomb on a marriage and her work, and most of all Polly, for staying to work on the film even after the affair came out. I think it is a great allegory for the role that the construct of gender plays in all of our decisions, and how if gender and sexuality wasn’t really seen as such a rigid ‘thing’, our lives would be very different.”

Commenting on working alongside the video’s director Jake Passmore, CMAT continues: “I approached Jake with the idea of doing a video where I was in Boy Drag because a) it worked with the theme of the song b) I thought it would be really fun. Himself and Sam Brautigan, who co-directed, then came up with a brilliant abstract treatment around me playing Peter Bogdanovich that involved choreography, Orson Welles and a puppet. What more could I possibly want?”

Living her best life and sharing her unique perspective on love and pop culture loop holes is what makes CMAT such a joyful and charismatic performer. Catch her live on the dates listed below.

Watch the video for ‘Peter Bogdanovich’ below.

 

Follow CMAT on bandcamp, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify & Facebook 

CMAT Live Dates 2022

June 18th | Westmeath, IE – Body & Soul Festival
June 23rd | Halifax, UK – The Piece Hall –
June 24th | Margate, UK – Leisure Festival
July 2nd | Copenhagen, DK – Roskilde Festival
July 3rd | Dublin, IE – Trinity College ^
July 7th | Montreux, CH – Montreux Jazz Festival
July 9th | Glasgow, UK – TRNSMT Festival
July 24th | Hertfordshire, UK – Standon Calling Festival
July 30th | Leeds, UK – Deer Shed Festival
July 31st | County Waterford, IE – All Together Now Festival
Aug 12th | Oslo, NO – Oya Festival
Aug 14th | Winterthur, CH – Winterthurer
Sep 4th | Stradbally, IE – Electric Picnic Festival
Sept 29th | Los Angeles, CA – Cafe Du Nord*
Sept 30th | Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan*
Oct 1st | Dana Point, CA – Ohana Festival*
Oct 3rd | Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle*
Oct 4th | Toronto, ON – Monarch Tavern*
Oct 6th | New York, NY – Mercury Lounge*
Nov 13th | Rotterdam, NL – Rotown*
Nov 15th | Stockholm, SE – Bar Brooklyn*
Nov 16th | Copenhagen, DK – Ideal Bar*
Nov 17th | Berlin, DE – Marie Antoinette*
Nov 21st | Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg Upstairs*
Nov 22nd | Brussels, BE – Witloof Bar*
Nov 25th | Manchester, UK – Gorilla
Nov 26th | Oxford, UK – O2 Academy 2
Nov 27th | Bristol, UK – Thekla
Nov 28th | Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
Nov 30th | London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
Dec 1st | Brighton, UK – Komedia
Dec 2nd | Norwich, UK – Norwich Arts Centre
Dec 4th | Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Dec 5th | Glasgow, UK – Oran Mor
Dec 7th | Belfast, UK – Limelight 1
Dec 9th | Dublin, IE – Olympia Theatre SOLD OUT
Dec 10th | Cork, IE – Live at St. Luke’s SOLD OUT

* = On sale Friday, June 17th at 10am
– = w/ First Aid Kit
^ = w/ Beck

Photo Credit: Sarah Doyle

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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