Once again blurring the lines between rap, R&B and jazz, the remix of the title-track on Who’s Asking? – the latest EP from God Knows – doffs the cap to the ‘Southwest Allstars’. The rapper is joined by Denise Chaila, Hazey Haze, Citrus Fresh, Gavin DaVinci and Strange Boy Nature, who all hail from close to the Shannon.

Gary Lightbody, Davy Machett and the rest of the Third Bar crew have unearthed another gem in The Florentinas, a Belfast band whose new ‘Stay’ single strays into Lewis Capaldi, Coldplay and The 1975 territory. Expect plenty of interested industry types to be in the audience on March 14 when they open for Brand New Friend and Cherym in Voodoo, Belfast.

The A&R Department was very impressed indeed with its first live sighting last fortnight of Nerves, a fast and furious trio of Galway and Mayo exiles based in Dublin. Catch them at Post-Pop Records' gig, Upstairs in Anseo (March 6) and at The Harbour Bar, Bray (April 9).

Genre-blending Dubliner PDF Pockethole released Sequence 03, his follow-up to 2019’s Sequence 01 and Sequence 02 this month. Catch him in action for yourself on the current leg of the Secret Handshake Tour – in Vintage Room, Dublin (March 5); The Spirit Store, Dundalk (10); The Record Room, Limerick (12); and Anseo, Dublin (14).

Another name you can expect to be hearing a lot more of in the coming months is Christian Cohle. The Dublin electro-pop artist released his debut single ‘Breathe’ on February 21 – while his debut album, Holy Trouble, is set for release in the coming months.

There’s also big gig news from our favourite Dundalk folk group The Mary Wallopers. Following a string of successful support slots, and a set at the Fontaines DC-curated Rock Against Homelessness night at the Olympia, the trio have announced a headline show at Whelan’s, Dublin (April 24).

The announcement comes hot on the heels of their appearance on the Tommy Tiernan Show on RTÉ One – not bad for a group who, under their hip-hop guise TPM, went viral with a track called ‘Fuck RTÉ’.

There's plenty of airplay love for ‘Shmuck’, the new single from Pretty Happy, a post-punky outfit who impressed at last month’s Quarter Block Party in the People’s Republic.

Fresh from his stellar set with Tebi Rex at Hot Press & Southern Comfort’s Carnival Spirit at Lost Lane, Dublin, Matt Ó, one half of the acclaimed alternative hip-hop duo, has shared a powerful new solo single, ‘Boat Song’.

Jane Willow continued her remarkable ascent to the forefront of the Irish folk boom with a stunning headliner at The Cobblestone, Dublin last weekend. The Dutch-turned-Irish artist’s new single ‘Give It Time’ is a moving ode to a friend with bipolar disorder.

Tipped as one of our ‘Hot For 2020’ acts, Ava Archbold has spent the last few years crafting her sound while performing with her brother at local acoustic sessions around West Cork. Ahead of the release of her jaw-dropping cover of Radiohead’s ‘Exit Music (For A Film)' on March 7, revisit her acclaimed debut single 'Mist':

We also reviewed tracks from Pat Lagoon, Tadhg Williams, Sister Ghost and Lisa Lambe.

In the 'On Our Radar' section, we interviewed New Pagans and Hare Squead.

Read the full A&R Department feature in the new issue of Hot Press, out now: