The Sky from Here
New songs inspired by the local landscape and locations, a series of exclusive streamed performances. The intention of the project is to shine a positive light on the region and to bring communities together in celebration of their localities.
Free Speaking Monkey are live in Leitrim and playing new exciting, alternative, original music. The collective consists of songwriter Ciarán Rock (former member of The Pale) on vocals, Brian Sweeney on guitars, Dee Armstrong (also of KILA) on Fiddle, and Henry Pearse on Bass. The band have been well received, and their 4-track EP {SIRENS} launch was a great success leading the band to play at the Electric Picnic, Knockan Stockan, and Earth Fest. Highlights included gigs at The National Stadium, Sligo with Damien Dempsey and Stoneywood’s Fest with Declan O’Rourke.
We were delighted when they agreed to be part of The Sky From Here music series and welcomed them into The Dock earlier this year to record a gig and also to perform their specially commissioned song “Living in the pages of History” which was released online in the last number of weeks. The band's brand of music is eclectic. It has been described as a 'genre of their own' (Mark Mac, Palfest), 'Dark Beautiful Ethereal' (The Star Newspaper) and 'Tim Burton meets The Pixies' (Sound Cloud). They hope to release a new album and await the end of the lockdown to play live again.
We spoke to lead singer, Ciarán Rock, when the band visited The Dock to ask him what they had been up to in the last 12 months when it was not possible to play gigs. “Since the lockdown, the band have been writing songs, recording, and making videos but we really miss the live circuit, our residencies and festivals. The buzz of a crowd and its atmosphere is well missed.
'We would like to thank The Dock for the commission to write a song for Kilty; 'Living in the pages of History'. It has been a lifeline during Covid and we are really excited about this coming show. It has certainly given us an appetite for what we do as a group - write and play original songs.'
Free Speaking Monkey Link to Video Here
he Leitrim-based singer/songwriter Perry Blake is known internationally for the delicate, downtempo, melancholic style of his songs and his soft singing voice. Since releasing his eponymous debut album (Co-written with Graham Murphy) to massive critical acclaim across Europe in 1998, he has released a string of critically acclaimed albums, has scored film soundtracks and even published a children's book. His most recent album 'Songs of Praise' was released by the UK-based label Moochin’ About in the Autumn of 2019 to excellent reviews.
He joined us earlier in 2021 to record an exclusive live show that we were delighted to share as part of The Sky From Here Music series. A new song commissioned by The Dock specifically for the concert series features in this concert alongside other new and older material from Perry’s repertoire.
"The song I've written for this project (Let's Fall in Love) is loosely based on people's experience of lockdown in North Leitrim and the effects it can have on relationships. Many people who normally work away from home have spent the past year in one place. There can be an almost monastic stillness to this new reality but it can also be difficult for couples used to distractions such as travel and wider interactions in their day-to-day lives. The song is based on a fictional couple who are simply trying to fall in love again." Perry Blake
Perry Blake Link to Video Here
Dirty Dreamer Link to Video
Dirty Dreamer was formed in 2018. Having played together for a number of years with the Choice Prize nominated Come On Live Long, the band formed over months of writing and experimenting with a new sound. Born out of a free-form approach to making music, songs emerged from hours of cyclical improvisation. They recorded their debut EP over a weekend in The Meadow studio in Wicklow. The result is the four-track Dirty Dreamer EP. By combining the use of synths, electric guitar, processed vocals, distorted beats, and live drums, Dirty Dreamer blend a common love for all things electronic with live instrumentation to attain a sound that is both raw and melodically crafted.
Singer Louise Gaffney told us about how the band have been working over the past year "I suppose the last 12 months really slowed things down for us in terms of writing new material or rehearsing as we like to do it together in a room and we were fairly into a great routine of at least once weekly sessions. We were fortunate in one way, though, as we had already started building up a large set of recordings prior to Covid hitting last March. We have really just spent the last few months apart but all of us listening to our bank of tracks and looking to begin to start piecing that into an album. Making selections of our favourites and trying to imagine how tracks will sit together. A few of the tracks we performed at The Dock are from this unreleased library of recordings, so we had never performed them live before. I guess they're a bit of an exclusive in that sense, and it gave us a lovely chance to really road test our favourites from the new batch."