As a musician, Somaya has had over 3.6 million spins in just ten and a half weeks for her debut single “Mira mi pum pum” and was the first unsigned artist to reign 18 weeks on the “top ranked” music charts as a “featured artist” on imeem.com

Somaya has proven to be a successful viral/internet marketing powerhouse. Who knows? Maybe she could be he next Lil’ Wayne! “My hard work is beginning to pay off and, so far, has allowed me to purchase my first home, a beachfront house in Belize,” she says happily. “Now, I am working toward acquiring my second property here in LA for my parents!”

Born and raised in South Central in a freezing garage with her family, working 3 jobs and getting no sleep, she comments, “I went through years of financial and emotional struggle to get here. No managers helped me. I did it on my own! All to help feed my family. I was once living “la vida loca.” The “thug life” almost killed me a grip of times. I changed for the better of my family and to motivate and inspire you… You gotta respect that.”

Somaya fans will now be able to see her on missreece.com where she will be debuting her “first” independent music video. Besides her website, Somaya now has a deal with iTunes and has begun working with billboard charting producers such as Scoop Deville, The Pharmacy, and Qura Rankin AKA 007 Blaq.

Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance
Millennium Forum  Derry
Monday 25th to Saturday 30th August 2009
Nightly at 8.00pm
Matinee shows on Friday 29th August @ 2.30pm and Saturday 30th August @ 3.00pm
Tickets from £19.50 to £34.50 on sale this Friday, 29th August @ 9.30am
In Person from The Millennium Forum Box Office    (9.30am to 5.30pm Monday - Saturday)

Credit Card Bookings and Information Line    028 71264455 (9.30am to 5.30pm Monday - Saturday)
Book online @ wonderlandpromotions.co.uk & waterfront.co.uk

Kissy Sell Out emerged from the Myspace generation of cool nerds and sonic visionaries engaged in a feverish revolt, a wholesale shredding of the musical and business rulebook, as they mix their influences into exhilarating results spreading the word online and beyond - a collision of art, ideas and energy unrivalled since the heyday of punk, taking in everything from Klaxons acid indie-disco through Justice’s ultra-modern electro to the mangled sonic aggro of UK grime and straight ahead rock n roll.

Having just graduated from Central Saint Martins in Graphic Design, Kissy Sell Out is already an underground sensation due to his HER single that was recently put out on Kissy’s own imprint San City High on limited edition vinyl and download. The best specialist record shops around the country picked up on it along with the more discerning producers and DJs alike.

Rough Trade on Talbot Road made HER their Tune of the Week selling out every single copy in less than a week. In their own words “If this doesn’t become one of the club anthems of the year there is no justice.”

Kissy’s influences range from Sonic Youth, Scritti Politti and Swans to drum n bass artist Aphrodite to dance producers such as DFA, Headman and early Daft Punk. Kissy is also fascinated by the works of painter Howard Hodgkin, and Brett Easton Ellis books. No surprise really as Kissy’s audio and visual work is a mish mash of all of these things albeit carrying a refreshing twist that still maintains an element of familiarity.
ANNIE MAC
KISSY SELLOUT (DJ SET)
& RACHEL BARTON
THE STIFF KITTEN
SATURDAY 27th SEPTEMBER
10PM / £12
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM THE STIFF KITTEN BAR, ZAVVI
(FORMERLY VIRGIN) AND ONLINE FROM thestiffkitten.com

An idealistic bunch, they’ve since done what rock bands are meant to do: they wrote a bunch of songs, and took to the road. The last three years has seen them play shows with the likes of Reuben, Biffy Clyro, Million Dead, Seafood, YCNI:M and Future Of The Left, racking up hundreds of miles and honing their live show into a ferocious explosion in the process.

After putting out a number of limited edition DIY singles, they took a breather at the end of 2006 and finally started work on their long-awaited debut album. Recorded in Northern Ireland and finally completed in mid-2007, Man Vs Monster is a dynamic beast of a record – raging out of your speakers one moment yet gentle and intricate the next, and all without losing focus of what’s important: the song. What’s next for Fighting With Wire? More touring and more songs, we would expect.

CDC LEISURE & DI DI MAU PRESENTS
FIGHTING WITH WIRE
THURSDAY 9th OCTOBER
SPRING & AIRBRAKE
DOORS: 7:30pm
TICKETS: £6.00
Tickets available from Katy Daly’s, Zavvi & all usual Ticketmaster outlets. Credit card bookings & info: 0870 243 4455. Book online at geturticket.com

Gideon Lask, E-Commerce Director for HMV, is excited about bringing this set of revolutionary new tools into the hands of music and film lovers around the world.

“We’ve tried to make it really simple for people who are passionate about films and music to grow their collection, so we’ve done all the hard work for them. A user simply imports their iTunes library into their getcloser.com profile and then sitting back while the magic happens backstage. We want to enrich their experience with music and film and bring them closer to the genres they love.

“There has been a dramatic shift in the way in which people buy, store and play music and film meaning people’s collections are very broad due to the ability to have instant access to a variety of genres. However, there is a lack of access to the depth, detail and background knowledge needed for people to expand their collections in the way they would like to. No other website offers this unique way of delivering something a fan might love, but is yet to discover.”

Getcloser.com has been developed specifically for the collector and features an array of tools and trivia and allows people to come together to share their passions, interests and knowledge with like-minded people.

People are able to discover, rate, recommend, share and enjoy everything from new artists and music to their favourite cult movies and film experiences.

Another unique feature of the site is the ability to share music and film ‘connections’ where users are encouraged to input interesting facts on their favourite bands, albums, films, actors and more to form a web of trivia around each one.

With the full support and involvement of HMV’s record label and film studio partnerships, getcloser.com will boast a wealth of rich content, including exclusive live footage of artist performances hosted by HMV stores. Over time, the site will be enriched by content created and uploaded by users themselves.

Apple and HMV already have a strong trading relationship, with iPods, iPod accessories and iTunes Gift Cards available in all HMV stores.

Getcloser.com is currently in open beta With a full site launch due this Autumn.

“It was f….n’… pretty mental!’ beams Richie Egan, Dublin resident and sole proprietor of the Jape alter ego, referring to a turn of events he will doubtless be asked about a lot over the coming months. “Watching Jack White playing the riff in this massive arena in Dublin, with all these people thinking, ‘Who the f…k is Jape?’ and me going, “That’s me, mother…..s!”A gorgeously stoned, slacker-pop nugget ‘Floating’ may be (already immortal opening couplet: “We took our first pill when the music was shit/I said, ‘F..k dancing all night,’ and then that’s just what we did”),and one that perfectly illustrates its creator’s love of both melody and modern, mechanical beat-laden production, but there is more to the Jape story than just one song .

Ritual, released earlier this year, is Richie’s most accomplished work to date, and showcases his maturity as a songwriter, and finds him living up to the promise of his previous work. 2008 is already looking like a very exciting year for Jape, with live shows dotted across Europe, including a stunning performance alongside The Flaming Lips at Belsonic in Belfast.

He’s not wrong, as you’ll find ‘Attack! Attack!’ littered with the type of hooks that’ll have even the most hardened of critics tapping their foot and humming along. From the rock ‘n’ roll burst of ‘This Is A Test’, to ‘Honesty’ a track that single-handedly begs for a festival appearance, to the quite frankly huge ‘Lights Out’, this self-titled debut album is one of the most impressive debut UK melodic releases in a long time. The reason is simple - it’s unforced melody for the love of songs, rather than to tick boxes and fit in.

With tours alongside Lostprophets, Aiden and You Me At Six already under their belts, as well as their first headline stint (which is selling-out fast) and a forthcoming trek with Funeral For A Friend, not to mention an appearance at this years Reading and Leeds festivals, it’s going to be impossible to ignore Attack! Attack!

Supporting FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
14 OCT : Dublin, Academy
15 OCT : Belfast, Spring & Airbrake

For updates on live dates, please see myspace.com/attackattackband

They topped the bill at the glittering Swarovski Fashion Rocks event at the Royal Albert Hall, where their blistering version of Lady Marmalade was performed with the great Patti Labelle and introduced by Whitney Houston. They’re held in such high esteem by those in the know that they got invited to dinner with Nelson Mandela and shared the great man’s table with Gordon Brown, Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.

A show-stopping live act with a spine-tingling combination of soulful vocals and sophisticated glamour, SUGABABES have performed to over a million people in the last year alone and continue to wow not just pop fans but also festival crowds which saw them performing this year at Oxygen and Isle of Wight, with the V Festival to come later this month.

SUGABABES will debut their new single “GIRLS” live at their Q Awards show at the Forum on 1st October. SUGABABES, unlike their pure pop peers, mean something to people. Push The Button, Freak Like Me, Overload…these were era-defining records that transcended the boring stuff about units shifted and celebrity.

HERE COME THE GIRLS….

Live photos by ©Fabrizio Belluschi/Ink Well People

Death Cab For Cutie are Ben Gibbard ( Lead Vocals, Guitar ), Nicholas Harmer ( Bass ), Jason McGerr ( Drums ) and Chris Walla ( Lead Guitar ).

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
WEDNESDAY 12th NOVEMBER 2008
ST GEORGES MARKET BELFAST
Doors 7:30pm
Tickets: £18.00
Tickets on sale from Katy Daly’s, Zavvi & all usual Ticketmaster outlets THIS FRIDAY 22nd . Credit card bookings & info: 0870 2434455 or book online at geturticket.com /ticketmaster.ie

This is THE SCRIPT. But the ending is not yet written.

Dramatis Personae:
Danny O’Donaghue (25): Raven haired, handsome, sensitive keyboard player with the vocal flexibility and technical range of an American soul legend. “The truth is, I spent a lot of my childhood singing when the other kids were outside playing football and getting into trouble.”

Mark Sheehan (27): Shaven headed production whizz and guitarist. “I’m not trying to romanticise it, where we grew up was a shit hole, it was stealing cars, all the usual bollocks, but music gave me a sense that I could break away. I know it sounds like a cliche, but to me, as a kid, that was my way out.”

Glen Power (28): Taciturn drummer and multi-instrumentalist, the funkiest white man in Dublin. “My mother always said to find one thing in life that you’re good at and the day I picked up the sticks I found it.”

The Script are an Irish trio whose music boasts the kind of artful twists sure to turn all preconceptions on their head. This is a whole new brand of Celtic Soul, blending hip hop lyrical flow with pop melodiousness, state-of-the-art R’n'B production with anthemic rock dynamics, classic song construction with gritty contemporary narratives. It’s got all the emotion and passion you would expect from across the Irish sea, but it is glittering in its modernity, universal in its singalong addictiveness and global in its syncopation, music for the feet, heart and head. Think U2 versus Timbaland, Van Morrison remixed by Teddy Riley. “Irish people have soul,” according to Danny. “It comes from generations of pain, and generations of understanding emotion to be able to physically get that in a solid sound.”

“Soul is not a black thing or a white thing, it’s a human thing,” insists Mark.

“The true vision is to hit people in the heart,” declares Glen.

Danny and Mark met in their early teens in the run down James Street area of Dublin, near the Guinness brewery, gravitating to each other through a shared obsession with music, and in particular a love of American black music. “At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and for my generation black culture was just a wave through us all,” explains Mark. “It wasn’t about gangs and guns; it was fashion and fun, singing and dancing.”

“One day I heard Stevie Wonder singing and the hairs on the back of my neck went up,” says Danny. “I didn’t even know people could sing like that, I’d never heard the acrobatics of it before.” He spent years in his bedroom, practising vocal licks. “I’d try and emulate all those records, even down to string arrangements. Some of the best singers have emulated a musical instrument - Amy Winehouse is a saxophone - but the violin is the one for me, the vibrato, you can bring so much heartfelt emotion in.”

“There is something about the way a voice encapsulates a person,” says Mark. “The way Danny sings, the raw emotion, when you hear it in front of you, you cannot deny the power.”

Striking up a songwriting and production partnership, Danny and Mark’s exceptional talent was recognised early, and, to their astonishment, they found themselves invited to the States to collaborate with some of their production heroes, including such legends of modern R’n'B as Dallas Austin, Teddy Riley, The Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins. “It was a wonderful opportunity to see how these guys build songs,” admits Mark, who always carried a little computer drive around and charmed his heroes into swapping libraries of sounds and samples.

Danny and Mark started as a backroom team, making demos for other artists, but when they met fellow Dublin drummer Glen, the dynamic shifted. Although they had never actually heard him play, such was the connection they made that Mark invited Glen on a working holiday to LA. “He just whipped the ass off all these LA session musos,” enthuses Mark. “He is the funkiest drummer around with real energy and swing but Glen is also a fantastic guitarist, a fantastic keyboard player and he sings his ass off too.”

Something of a prodigy on the Dublin scene, Glen had been playing sessions from fifteen years old, using the money to work on a solo project in his home studio. But that went on hold when his collaboration with Mark and Danny produced three songs in one week. “It was like I found my home playing with these guys,” says Glen. “I had never had a chance with any other band to express myself with such freedom.”

“Individually, we all had our own talents, but together it just went to another level,” according to Danny.

And so The Script went into production. But it has not all been happy ever after. When Mark’s mother became terminally ill, the trio returned to Dublin so that he could spend time with her, recording in his old home studio in James Street. “That was pulling on my heart strings in a big way,” admits Danny. “Lyrically it was pouring out of me.” After ten months, Mark’s mother passed away. Four months later, Danny’s father, also a professional musician, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. “I came home so that Mark could spend time with his mum, little did I know that I was actually getting to spend that precious time with my dad,” reveals Danny. “But then amidst all this travesty and disaster, these songs have risen out of it. That was the time when it finally came home to me how important music was to me, cos in my darkest moments that’s what got me through.”

The trio’s second single ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ will be released on 28th July, following the hit ‘We Cry’ which was a top ten airplay single.

Their debut album will follow in August, and it, too, promises to be something really special. “There is a whole lifetime in these songs,” says Mark. “We don’t write them in ten minutes. A song takes nurturing, it is an evolving thing. This is a journey, we are in constant change, constant motion. I can’t ever put my finger on what exactly The Script is, I don’t even think I should, all I know is that it is something that touches me deep inside, and seems to touch other people when we play.”
myspace.com/thescript
THE SCRIPT
SUNDAY 14th DECEMBER 2008
ST GEORGES MARKET
Doors 7:30pm Tickets: £14.00
Tickets on sale from Katy Daly’s, Zavvi & all usual Ticketmaster outlets from Friday 22nd August. Credit card bookings & info: 0870 2434455 or book online at geturticket.com /ticketmaster.ie