And then it was twenty ten...... The Release Party returns

The Release Party returns tonight, and as a special treat, we have a guest post(rant) from those nice folks over at Eightball, who run the weekly club night and many other fine gigs around the city.

As we understand it, The Release started as exactly that - an opportunity to get away from the stresses and pressures of the doom and gloom of daily life and, chill out.. As you will see below, this is still the objective...

Right, well that’s 2009 done & dusted. it wasn’t that pretty, sure it wasn’t. still, nice to get the whole lot of it over with in a swift 12 months.
let’s see now, just to remind ourselves of the reason why the release party first kicked it heels back in february of last year………
..the most difficult economic conditions since the formation of our young state…….check. a swift & massive rise in unemployment……check. public & private sector, (ie ordinary people) set at each others’ throats by the political & media establishment…..check. a collapse in house prices rendering those same ordinary people in massive debt, negative equity, daily pressure & anxiety……check. the simultaneous collapse of and exposure of the banking system as a viciously irresponsible, corrupt & greedy community……check. the eventual dazzling exposure of a religious behemoth that puts power, money & the cloth in front of the lives of children……check. a government hellbent on politiking their way out of all of the above……lots, and lots, and lots of check. thierry henry…..yip, check. and a few other horrible things that weren’t horrible enough to make the list…….couple of checks.
still standing though, right?
thought so…….and the reason for that, of course, is the outpouring of joy, high-heels, and adventurous dancing that was the release party every friday.
well maybe not the full reason, but a good 60/70% of the reason, we’re in no doubt.
so, with our heads turning to one more dirty year before we can confidently say “well that’s the end of that then, think we can go on holiday again”, the release party turns on the decks again this friday, jan 22, to do that soul, funk, hip hop & house thing that we’re so fond of.
the idea was always to throw a little party to push against the grim, have a gentle light at the end of a generally dark week, pick yourself up off the floor & put yourself on the dancefloor, and other edging-towards-corny hippy-isms.
& that’s still the idea.
midnight this friday bears the fruits of some crate digging for new, unused release records, look out for our new art, get headphones at the ready for our first release mix, pick out something nice to wear to our first birthday on feb 12, keep an eye on our upcoming guests from across the water in both directions, and invest in some tidy drinks promos to boot, all in the surrounds of the deep red au bars basement.
how we doin…….?
& as always, thanks for listening. see you tonight bitches
d

More fun for your Friday night - Nick Carswell/Qool DJ Marv

After many years of gigs, travel, procrastination, gigs, more gigs, time spent assembling members, more gigs, recording, mixing, more gigs - the luxurious sounds of the Elective Orchestra are to get a first release this Friday night in the shape of debut single 'When I'm Not Around' - the first offering from the ever-so-slightly-warped/musical mind of Mr Nick Carswell (pictured above) and friends.

The group are to release the acoustic offering in the delightful surroundings of the Georgian House, Pery Square, this Friday @ 6pm. All are welcome, just drop a mail to sillygooserecords@gmail.com to let Nick or Hannah know you are coming.

Why? Apart from the free wine, the drawing room of this fabulous building will be the perfect place to saviour the fruits of several months recording, first in Tralee with Ross O’Donovan (Hooray For Humans, Waiting Room) and latterly in a Youghal-hideaway.

Making use of the grand piano, Nick, plus the Cussen sisters (Deirdre and Kate - surely Ireland's finest string duo), Bart, Fergal, Simon etc, will wow you with their impressive acoustic-rock stylings, replete with soaring strings, electro-loop effects, and harmonies galore.

Here's the blurb:

"The song is a four minute slice of acoustic rock characterised by a killer guitar hook, offset by the band’s signature string section, plucking and bowing with gusto. It builds to a catchy chorus that will linger in your head for days. Infectious stuff indeed!"

Here's something I said once, in one of my more lyrical moments (doesn't happen often):

"Emotive and intelligent lyrics combined with beautiful and creative musicianship"

When I’m Not Around is available as a digital download from www.downloadmusic.ie by txting “music 2708” to 57501 – cost €1.

Have a listen here.

To continue the theme of the evening, the Release Party continues downstairs in the Club @ Aubars on Friday night, with a very special guest in the shape of New York City’s Qool DJ Marv, founder and driver of the long-running Buttamilk crew - who takes to the decks to spin some tunes that will likely be summery and warm, a bit like this unseasonably good weather we are having.

Expect R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Latin, House, Jazz, Funk, Rock & Roll, Soul, and Disco stylings, all rolled into one delightful evening, which forms part of a three date national tour Eightball are doing with Mr Marv.

Download a free MP3 sample of Mr Marv's grooves here and get a taste of what we are on about.

Doors for this show open at 11.30pm, and Qool DJ Marv can be seen for a recession-busting ten euro.

The Release Party gets its release

This thing got born out of anger and frustration..

You can say that again, I was there..

We want a release. We're tired of bad news, tired of the knot in our stomach.

Right on..

We want something to look forward to.

Yes, we do..

Big records, on big speakers, in a nice room, with friends and family and a smile on our lips.

Sounds great..

'Cause we just want to say something, and we just want to play something.

Cool..

Music is the answer they say. People are the answer, we add.

Yes!

Soul in the speakers means soul in the speaker.

I like the sound of that, very catchy..

So let's speak. Let's think. Let's dance and drink, laugh and kiss, once a week.

Every week.

You may have seen this rather crytic speech make its around town on little fliers, seeking to let people know about a new party, happening once a week. It began as a bile-filled rant about the state of the nation (I was there), but became something much better. As the idea grew, it became a night for people to relax, have fun, hang out, listen to some good music and, well that's essentially it.

So last week saw the launch of the Release Party, and 300 people turned up to the newly refurb'd club downstairs in Aubars to celebrate and listen to Stevie Wonder records. And dance.

This turned out so successful it is planned to run weekly in the same location, with similar nights taking place in Cork, Galway and Dublin very soon. Plus potential interest in Edmonton, Shanghai, New York and Sydney (I'll go set these up shall I?)

Respected Djs such as Aim (Fri, March 6) and New York's Qool DJ Marv (pic above - Fri, April 3) are due in town for shows in the near future. This has all been made possible by Eightball and full info is available here and here.

The release party is about having a party, and a release. The release party is yours, made by you, for you and yours. Simple.