With such unique songs and soft sounds, musical trio, Wyvern Lingo, are sure to have a bright future. All three girls hail from Bray and formed between 2006 and 2007. Karen Cowley and Saoirse Duane started writing songs together for a year before adding Caoimhe Barry to the band. They started playing together when they were just 15. They originally started playing as an electric band but they recognised their strong talent in song writing and used a more acoustic sound to focus on this.Karen plays the piano and sings but she also plays the bass a little. Saoirse plays the guitar while Caoimhe adds the percussion and more vocals. There is strength in every area of the band and none could possibly be spared. Saoirse throws out that authentic acoustic sound while Caoimhe’s drumbeats make them unique. Karen’s piano gives many songs an interesting sound and her vocals bring life to the words she sings. The tone of her voice is not unlike Kate Voegele.

All three girls participate in the song writing which make this a band that truly shares the workload. Their sound is hard to compare, but there are elements of KT Tunstall and Sandi Thom mixed in with a touch of blues or country depending on the song. Their Rising Stars entry, “Herbert Park” has a sharp beat but remains quite soft. It is a great example of Wyvern Lingo’s deep lyrics.

Songs such as “Fallen For You” and “Little Missy” also create soft complimentary sounds that show the extent of the work that goes into harmonising writing songs. “Little Missy” also has a great piano sound that keep it upbeat. The soft chilled out mood is easy to listen to without being too generic or commercial. However, their tone would appeal to an array of audiences while their talent would appeal to those critics who aren’t as easily swayed by catchy beats.

Wyvern Lingo are influenced by some of the greats, including Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Michell and Led Zeppelin as well as the singing talents of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Fleetwood Mac is also a huge influence of theirs and is reflected in their harmonies.
The girls are constantly trying to develop their sound and the launch of their new EP in June points to exciting times ahead. Follow Wyvern Lingo on Facebook and Myspace.

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As a light April shower starts close to midnight, I have to run to shelter myself in Sweeney’s on Dame Street. Luckily, the bar is warm and King Modo is just upstairs getting warmed up. The buzz in the room is electric as they eagerly await King Modo to start playing.

Their introductory song, “We” was a great way to get the unsure members of the crowd going (if there were any.) Then lead singer, Paul Keogh introduced them before they started another song. They were excellent performers, aside from their songs, they worked the crowd excellently. Paul in particular did very well, insisting on talking to us between songs and making it very personal. He informed us that was his first time properly in Dublin that didn’t include passing through to go to the airport, to which he received a roaring applause. He also pointed out that this gig was the first one King Modo played as a five-piece band.

King Modo was originally a duo made up of Paul Keogh and Lenny Cahill, who plays the keyboard. They are now joined by lead guitarist, Jon Barrett, bassist Mark Dempsey and Drummer Tom Domican. They’re influenced by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Yes and you can hear these influences leak into their style but they have their own modern twist and they are anything but a tribute band.

“Die and Dance” was a great song with great lyrics. The melody slows down and gets quite fierce at different times. The change of mood in this song was clear as the band played. The passion flowed through their performance of this song. Paul sang the slower parts with real meaning and they all got involved in the power of the fierce parts.

Image by Calvin Scullion

The members of King Modo were able to let their own personality show with how they played and how they dressed, with varying degrees of casual and dressed up. This made it clear their comfort and showed that had they all dressed the same, some might look out of place. Paul also kept the crowd laughing and jazzed up during conversations with us, including a mysterious rabbit chewing at their wires at the back.Their songs were a mixture of slow harmonic sounds to fast, upbeat rock that made the whole crowd violently bob their heads. Their rising stars entry, “All You May Say” has a steady beat and was well received by the excited crowd.

 

Paul also thanked Phantom FM numerous times for playing their music and thanked Sweeney’s for having them on. They slyly got two short songs in at the end when they were running out of time to meet the demands of the buzzing crowd. They finished by playing the full version of “We,” giving it real power, knowing it was their last song.

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Ireland is renowned for its widespread population.  It is a well known fact that an Irish person can be found pretty much anywhere across the globe, from the arid deserts of Nevada to the ice capped mountains of Mongolia. Its vast population of musically talented individuals are everywhere and one particularly talented star has recently returned to her roots to pursue her music career. Australian born Tara Stewart is a young singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has decided to reach out to her Irish roots and share her love and talent for all things musical here in Dublin.

Tara initiated her music career at the tender age of nine after seeing Ireland’s very own Finbar Fury play a gig in her home town of Alice Springs.  After the gig Tara decided that music was to be her passion and began learning the guitar, which was shortly followed by lessons on the flute, accordion, mandolin, drums, piano and saxophone.  By 2007 Tara had recorded her debut EP and was gigging it up at different festivals across the Ausie countryside, making appearances at the Darwin Festival and Tennant Creek Festival in August; The Alice Desert Festival in September and the Alice Springs Christmas Carnival in December.

This Australian dark horse writes her own music which she says is styled on Alternative Indie-Rock.  Don’t walk by Me is one of Ms. Stewart’s tributes to her Irish roots and is a beautiful song in which she plays the flute, though she admits that playing jigs on her flute is what she loves the most.

Being an only child and growing up in an Irish pub run by her parents has made her the woman she is today.  Although she is young she feels quite prepared to take on the music industry.  Tara confessed that she often forgets that she is only 20.  She has a very close relationship with her parents, whom she said are more like friends, but of course, “There are other times when they have to do the parent thing!”

This Australian belle has been living in Dublin now for the last two months and has been keeping very busy since her arrival.  Tara spoke about a number of radio sessions which she had taken part in and was excited to be performing in a session on Dublin City FM later this month.

With the Rising Stars Competition approaching quickly Tara is excited and looking forward to getting really involved in the Irish scene.  Her word of advice for all of those young artists out there trying to get made is: “When things don’t go well don’t give up!  Keep at it because there is a lot of rejection in this industry and you just have to get use to it.  The main thing is just to be really strong about it and don’t take things too personally.”

To find out more check out Tara’s Facebook.

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