POSTS TAGGED : Disconcerting P

2015 According to Disconcerting P

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One of my proudest achievements on the blog this year, or any year for that matter, is the release of GruffWuff; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging.

It was a truly fantastic way to mark 5 years of BarryGruff and I am incredibly grateful to everyone involved and the overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic response. As 2015 draws to a close, I have enlisted help from people who made the compilation what it was, to chat about their favourite moments and sounds from year, and up first is Padraig McCauley of Disconcerting P.

McCauley has impressed as much as any Irish artist over the past few years – prolific, passionate and prodigious – McCauley’s already amassed a pretty impressive back catalogue. As a songwriter, singer and performer, he entertains us through a vast range of extensive influences and genre splicing styles, carefully crafted into soothing, dreamy and jaunty americana/country tinged jams. It’s been said many times, but how someone with an abundance of talent and dearth of great tunes can remain in the shadows for so long, is a bloody mystery.

Before we take a look at his 2015 sound selections, you should check out his wonderful Shakin EP, and Disconcerting P’s GruffWuff inclusion, ‘Treated You Rough’ – of which you can download here for FREE.

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BarryGruff’s May 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

May was another fine month for new music. We had an exclusive premier of The Expert’s new tune, ‘Da Wha?’, the lead single from his forthcoming LP. There were new tunes from Sleaford Mods, Girlpool, Applescal & Tame Impala, ahead of their respective, forthcoming albums. There were excellent new singles from Tomorrows, Telegram, SertOne, Roots Manuva, Foreign/National, The Adventures of Bert & Henry and PANKHABILLI.

Also featuring on the playlist are: GEM_DOS, The North Sea, Disconcerting P, Sweet Baboo, Heaters & Faith Healer. Yeah, so, May was pretty damn good.

Listen to BarryGruff’s May 2015 playlist below.

Disconcerting P – ‘Shakin’ EP’

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Disconcerting P AKA Padraig McCauley has impressed as much as any Irish artist over the past few years – prolific, passionate and prodigious – McCauley’s already amassed a pretty impressive back catalogue.

Disconcerting P continues this fine form, bringing the mellow, laid-back vibes with his new EP, entitled Shakin‘. Relying on a gentle and precise indie-folk sound with understated surf-rock harmonies, these are soothing, dreamy and jaunty americana/country tinged songs. Good old fashioned pop songs in fact, filled with sinuous melodies, organic arrangements and an assured sense of style that proves all too infectious. The bubbly and buoyant ‘Hey Man’, breezy ‘Binki’ and rhythmic guitar-pop ditty ‘Ain’t Working’ (full value for of an early Lennon/McCartney comparison) are all on the right side of familiar. However, the lyrics delve into melancholy on more than one occasion, as we are regaled very personal tales submerged in classic pop. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is McCauley’s finest work to date, it is an magnificent collection of homespun tunes. It’s been said many times before, but it is perplexing how someone with an abundance of talent and dearth of great tunes, can remain in the shadows for so long.

The Shakin‘ EP is available to download for however much you feel like paying over at Bandcamp. You can also check out Disconcerting P’s GruffWuff inclusion, ‘Treated You Rough’ – of which you can download here for FREE. Listen to it all below.

Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 Track Compilation Album [Out Now]

So, the day has finally arrived; ‘GruffWuff‘ is out now!

I’ve been itching to share this with everyone and I very, happy this day has finally arrived. The past five years have been very interesting and for the most part, ever so much fun. I think this is a pretty special way to mark the occasion and I really hope you all enjoy the compilation as much as I do. Initially I thought an idea such as this was just a pipe dream and one that would remain just that. However, the enthusiasm that met my initial inquiries bowled me over, I couldn’t believe how eager everyone was. It is something that’ll stay with me forever and it means an awful lot. Hopefully it will shine a light, brief as it maybe on some of the acts that have brought me the most joy over the past few years.

Thanks to Stevie for all his assistance, Caroline for all her support and putting up with me, Peter Lee for mastering & all the artists who provided tracks for the compilation. A huge amount of credit must go to the artists involved for their eagerness and the ever so brilliant music.

So, to mark 5 years of BarryGruff, here is ‘GruffWuff’; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. There is an act by act guide after the jump, I really hope everyone enjoys this as much as we did putting it together.

It’s yours now, just ‘name your price’ – which includes zero, so technically it’s free.

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Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 Track Compilation Album

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BarryGruff is 5 years old today!

Those five years have been interesting and fun. The blog has ebbed and flowed in parallel with my own life which has moved on somewhat from where it was back in March 2010. Since my early teens spouting about music has always been part and parcel of my life but I’m very grateful to have been in a position to share those musings and whatnot with a wider audience than my mates (or whoever is willing to listen).

Blogging has become quite a big part of my life and while listening to and discovering new music etc. is something that comes rather natural, a lot of my free time is devoted to the upkeep of the blog and how much longer I can continue to do so is anyone’s guess. It might be one year or another five, who knows? So with that in mind I really wanted to do something really special to mark the occasion and I’m pretty damn chuffed with this one.

Without further a do, to celebrate 5 years of BarryGruff is ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. While I initially thought it was just a pipe dream and one that would remain just that, the enthusiasm that met my initial inquiries bowled me over, I couldn’t believe how eager everyone was. It is something that’ll stay with me forever and it means an awful lot. Hopefully it will shine a light, brief as it maybe on some of the acts that have brought me the most joy over the past few years. The enjoyment music brings me can’t be overstated, be it happy times or sad times, there’s one constant; music.

Thanks to Stevie for all his assistance, Caroline for putting up with me, Peter Lee for mastering & all the artists who provided tracks for the compilation. A huge amount of credit must go to the artists involved for their eagerness and the ever so brilliant music.

‘GruffWuff’ will be released through Bandcamp on Thursday, March 19th and the tracklisting is below for your perusal. I’m really, really excited for people to finally hear what everyone’s been working away on for the past 9 months.

Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’:

01. Fold – ‘Where Are You’

02. Oh Boland – ‘White Boy’

03. Seazoo – ‘DIG (Demo Version)’

04. Mr Huw – ‘Bai Neb Ond Fy Hun’

05. Dan Amor – ‘Can’t Sleep’

06. Oisin McCole – ‘Far From The Sea’

07. Anderson – ‘The Way The Stream Flows’

08. Knoxville Morning – ‘Bridget’

09. Nathan Conway – ‘Babycheeno’

10. Disconcerting P – ‘Treated You Rough’

11. The Expert – ‘Swapsies’

12. SertOne – ‘Seventeen’

13. Imploded View – ‘Barry’s Game’

14. Channel Swimmer – ‘Racket’

15. Monto – ‘Yeuh’

16. Open Window – ‘003 (Africa)’

17. Captain Moonlight – ‘What is Property?’

18. GEM_DOS – ‘Mag D’Allen’

19. Hippies Vs Ghosts – ‘Three Shadows’

 

Best of 2014: w/ Padraig McCauley of Disconcerting P

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As has become tradition for this time year, I’ve asked bands and artists who’ve played a BarryGruff show during the year, to put their own list making skills to the test in picking their ‘favourite album of 2014′, ‘favourite song/remix of 2014′ & ‘favourite Irish song of the year’. I’ve really enjoyed these over the past few years so why break with tradition?

Right, that is enough waffling from me, it’s over to the Padraig McCauley of Disconcerting P to share his picks from 2014.

Favourite Album of 2014: Angel Olsen – ‘Burn Your Fire For No Witness’/ Mac DeMarco – ‘Salad Days’

Angel Olsen‘s album drew my attention for two reasons: Her flawless vocals (Her vibrato is scary perfect) and her unusual song forms. All the tracks on the album have this steady flow which only seems to break when the melody changes around them, making the overall experience hypnotic and effortless to listen to. The production only adds to this sense of haze with drowning reversed guitars and tremolo’d guitars that wash around each other in the middle ground whilst Angel vocal flourishes in the fore. Its subject matter is heavy – loss and loneliness – but the experience is so beautiful it can be easy to find the merit in these experiences when music so raw and passionate can come from them. The stand-out tracks for me are ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Enemy’. Whats truly refreshing about the album is that Angel feels genuine – everything about the album feels real and authentic.

Salad Days is on par with Angels album for its honesty and genuine nature. Its seems that he really is pouring his heart out, but under the guise of this cartoon character. The effect works and I find him to be quite loveable. Mac is a smart guy – you can hear it in his song harmony, his melodies and his effortless rhyming schemes and what makes him even more loveable is that he seems determined to not let you know it – coming off as a unbeknown genius rather than obnoxious. The subject matter of the album is relatable – the constant struggle between youth and maturity. I suppose what can be take from Mac DeMarco as a character is that both don’t be exclusive. There is enlightenment to be found in the album – even if it is being delivered by a gap toothed jester – making it all the more exciting.

Favourite track of 2014: TOPS – ‘Way to be Loved’

Oh man that groove. I love how easily this songs moves! The feel shifts so seamlessly, only adding to this shimmering glitteriness the track has. The lyrics are great too. The track is delivered with a coyness from Jane Penny that makes it so alluring. It has glimpses of other bands in it but feels unique within itself. Oh man… that groove.

Favourite Irish track of 2014: The Gloaming – ‘Allistrum’s March’

While this may be a traditional tune – The Gloaming’s version is breathtaking. The whole album is unbelievably. Go see these guys. This really is musicianship at its highest and most pure.

Disconcerting P – ‘Driving’

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Padraig McCauley has impressed as much as any Irish artist over the past few years – prolific, passionate and prodigious – McCauley’s already amassed a pretty impressive back catalogue, with two quality P Affection albums and four Disconcerting P EPs, and now adds Masks to that illustrious list of releases.

Masks, the debut LP under the Disconcerting P guise, was written and recorded by McCauley in his Naas studio. An album about love, it sees him continue to grow and improve as a songwriter, singer and performer, as he entertains us through a vast range of extensive influences and genre splicing styles. Lead track, ‘Driving’, is a soothing, dreamy and jaunty americana/country tinged number. His words trickle gracefully to paint a vivid depiction of a late night drive through town as his mind wanders to and fro amid the twinkle of street lights and empty shops. ‘Driving’ and Masks are further excellent additions to McCauley’s already impressive body of work, and a fine addition to anyone’s music collection. It is somewhat perplexing however, how someone with such an abundance of talent and dearth of great tunes, can remain in the shadows for so long. Hopefully it is something that changes sooner rather than later. McCauley and his various guises and projects, are deserving of far greater recognition and too be heard by a far larger audience.

You can try ‘Driving’ & ‘Sneaking Off’ out for size below. If they are to your liking, Masks is out now, and you can ‘name your price’ and pick it up from Bandcamp.

Disconcerting P – ‘Its Not Good Enough’

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Padraig McCauley has impressed no end over the past few years. The Naas based multi-instrumentalist already has two quality albums under his belt with The P Affection. In saying all that, this latest departure, side-project Disconcerting P, is all kinds of wonderful.

McCauley has teamed up with fellow Naas dweller Emma Butler for the side-project.  The initial fruit from this union has come in the shape of ‘Its Not Good Enough’, a blissful slice of summery vibes. It’s such a bright, breezy and dreamy indie-pop ditty, oozing with such a super cool and carefree vibe, the prefect soundtrack for Bultler’s syrupy sweet vocals. Irresistibly infectious, this is a pick me up of a track, one to stick a smile on even the most sullen of faces. 

‘Its Not Good Enough’ is all we have from the duo, for the time being anyway. You can give it a spin & download it below, it should add a bit of pep to your step.