Northern Ireland Tunes - Round-up #17

It would appear that time has stolen another month from us, bringing us into that desolate oven known more colloquially as August. To keep your mind on musical things, here is a round-up of a few little ditties which have floated The Metaphorical Boat this month:
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Rachael Boyd - Go Backwards Now!

This blog first caught Belfast singer/producer Rachael Boyd a few months ago when she supported Croupier and Before Machines at Auntie Annies (RIP). She slipped to the back of our mind for a few months until her name popped up on the most recent E.P by Joshua Burnside, and discovered that she has an E.P, "Too High", out on August 6th. Taken from that release is "Go Backwards Now!", a song which combines post-classical string arrangements with modern production techniques, and has seen Boyd compared with múm and Godspeed.


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Malibu Shark Attack - Doing It Wrong

Malibu Shark Attack is the new project from Rocky O'Reilly, known for being an ex-member of Oppenheimer, local production extraordinaire, and manager of Wonder Villains. The project sees him producing the tracks and performing the instruments, while the vocals are performed by American rapper Tribe One. The latest single by the duo is "Doing It Wrong", an indie-rap song about holding on to your childhood dreams, which will be released in September.

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Daniel James - A Lonely Man


It seems to be one of those unwritten rules that if an artist from Northern Ireland wants to make it big nationally/internationally, they need to move away from NI to the mainland to have the best shot of doing so. As such, Daniel James has used London as the potential springboard to riches and fame, and judging by his latest song, "A Lonely Man", he has made the right decision. 

The track is a rather sleekly produced one, taking influence from old gospel recordings to create a sound in the Mumford & Sons/Ben Howard vein. He's got quite a few influential people in his backroom staff, so don't be surprised if you see him being touted in 'Sound of 2014' lists come December time.

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FutureScope - You Know Me

August just wouldn't be August without some Ibiza-tinged dance music, and what better place is there for local dance music that Lisburn, which is very rarely known as the Ibiza of the north. Four-piece FutureScope released "You Know Me" a few months ago, but in the sunny climate it feels a lot more appropriate.