Inside Track: Centre of Attention

The economy may be going down the toilet but, in stark contrast, Heritage Centre’s star is very much in the ascent. The last 12 months has seen them unleash two cracking singles and an EP, sell out Whelan's, undertake two nationwide tours and support Skylarkin, One For The Team and Delorentos. Their second EP Sidney Maxwell Williamson produced by Tom McFall (Weezer, REM, Snow Patrol, Regina Spektor) is out on October 23 and will be the group’s fourth physical release – phew!
The band play Whelan’s again on August 28 – a special show to celebrate their impending trip to Canada, where they will begin recording their debut album with David Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Los Campesinos, Super Furry Animals).
Meath singer-songwriter Simon Fagan’s Portobello Acoustic Sessions EP is available free from simonfagan.net/free-ep when you sign up to his maling-list. Simon and band are heading to Egypt in September, where they’ll be performing with one of the country’s biggest outfits, Ressala and appearing on national TV. He’ll also be featured in a film about the cultural differences between Egyptian and Western music. Following that exotic sojourn they return home to start work on a new album with Martin Quinn whose production C.V. includes Brian Kennedy, Juliet Turner and Turn.
Dublin’s Van Cleef have just released debut single ‘Prince’. The band unleashed their first album Supervillainesque in May to many plaudits. It was recorded with Marc Aubele of Jack L, Jinx Lennon, BellX1 and The Walls repute and is the follow up to No Shame, their debut EP from October 2007. Check hotpress.com for upcoming live dates.
2009 Sea Sessions Battle of The Band Winners Jester have also released a new single, ‘Scream’. The Tipperary combo are currently recording their debut album. Previous single, ‘Maria’, released in May 2007 enjoyed extensive airplay.
On the live front, they have upcoming shows in The Kenyon, Nenagh (September 11); Hayes Hotel, Thurles (12); The Monks, Tipperary Town (19); HQ, Tipperary Town (20); and Fresh Festival, Aberdeen (26).
Limerick’s Nick Carswell and The Elective Orchestra play on the Saturday at the Electric Picnic. To celebrate they’re giving a www.downloadmusic.ie release to live favourite ‘Oceanview’, which is also streaming at www.myspace.com/nickcarswell where you can enjoy the equally fantastic ‘From The Ground Up’ and four other tracks, which bode well for their debut album.
Dubliners Identity Parade unveiled their second single ‘Collette Collar’ on August 14 ahead of an album due out in October.  Catch them live at Arnotts Summer Festival in the Jervis Street Centre, Dublin on August 28. Impressively the band’s debut ‘Ooh Ooh’ got to number 33 in the Irish Singles chart and number 1 in the Download chart in May.
Stiff Records supremo Dave Robinson numbers amongst their growing fanbase and when asked for his reaction to the band gushed: “Impressive group, impressive sound”…
Some comeback news... Dundalk’s Redtwelve have returned with an LP in tow! Mines was recorded in their own Boxroom Studios and mixed in Tumbleweed. The opus gets an offical launch in the Spirit Store on September 18 and is the group’s follow-up to 2003’s The Calling EP. It's well worth the wait!
Colm Lynch introduces fans to his Tickety Boo album on September 25 when he plays The Village, Dublin. Tickets are €15. The follow up to 2006’s A Whisper In Riot, it’s a fevered rock ‘n’ roll affair which has more than a whiff of the Bruce Springsteens about it. Also on the bill are Bar Kuka, Corners, Telakka and Vaklopaine.
Finally, The Radio take time out from assembling their third album to release a series of collaborative singles. First out of the traps on August 31 is ‘Are Jinxed’, which finds them shacking up in the studio with The Bard of Dundalk, Jinx Lennon and Hal's Steve O’Brien. An electro rap rant par excellence, it manages to namecheck Paris Hilton, Jane Fonda, the Sex Pistols and Kurt Russell! There's good news too from the US, with another of Steve M & Co’s singles, ‘One Of Two Ways’, featuring on hit cop series Without A Trace.