2015 According to Nathan Conway

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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 next is Nathan Conway.

Nathan is one of Ireland’s most underrated songwriters, a veritable treasure trove of magical songs. Taking old folk, gospel and good time rock n roll, to create a beautiful, timeless and assured soulful country sound. Conway’s intuitive storytelling and striking vocals bringing it all home, painting vivid pictures with his words. Beautiful, timeless and assured.

Before we take a look at his 2015 sound selections, you should check out Nathan Conway’s sublime and soulful debut with The River Valley Band, Sonny Boy and his GruffWuff inclusion, ‘Babycheeno’ – of which you can download here for FREE.

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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

GRUFFWUFF Final

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’

 

BarryGruff Presents #7: Trap Door, Nathan Conway, Ciaran Lenehan + DJs :: Flanagan’s :: Newbridge :: Sat June 30th

‘BarryGruff Presents’ #7 is here & returns to Flanagan’s Bar, Newbridge on Saturday, June 30th. 

It’s going to one hell of a night w/ 3 great live performances from Trap Door, Nathan Conway & Ciarán Lehehan, a bar extension and DJ sets from Cormac Brady (SEBP), Robbie Coffey & Myself,  BarryGruff till 2am.

Dublin trio Trap Door were absolutely brilliant in The Workman’s a few weeks ago. They combine a rich mix of punk, folk, ska and hip-hop with insightful flowing and streetwise lyrics. In a similar approach of one Jamie T, Trap Door take the listener rumbustious rattle through urban life, something borne out on their excellent debut EP, Lata Town, with songs of lyrical depth, plenty of youthful lairiness and rebelliousness (download it here for free).

Accompanying them on the bill are Nathan Conway and Ciaran Lenehan. Since releasing his first album with The Bottlestoppers in 2011, Nathan Conway has been back in the studio developing an ever more sophisticated Soul and Country Music sound. Meanwhile Dublin folk rocker Ciaran Lenehan has played with the likes of Damien Dempsey, Frank Turner and Wallis Bird, brings his engaging and eloquent songs to Newbridge once again for a second BarryGruff show.

Entry is FREE as always and the show starts at 9.00pm until 2.00am in Flanagan’s, Newbridge on Saturday, June 30th. For more &  Facebook event.