We built this City: Cork Music Special

It’s difficult to convey the historical importance of women to Leeside music in a short article – but it helps to look at the history of the scene in Cork. Elvera Butler, Downtown Kampus auteur and Reekus Records head, was among the first people in Cork music to oversee an independent album release, the now much sought-after Kaught At The Kampus. Cellist Úna Ní Chaninn, meanwhile, was undoubtedly the missing piece in post-punk lads Five Go Down To The Sea’s mad sonic puzzle. And Angela Dorgan, formerly of the Triskel Arts Centre and the late Cork Music Co-Op, is now the head of First Music Contact in Dublin, which oversees the annual Hard Working Class Heroes festival.

The examples of a powerful back-room involvement continue all the way up to today. Aisling O’Riordan, for instance, is one of the city’s busiest promoters and production managers, while musician and promoter Edel Curtin helms the award-winning Coughlan’s venue. Elsewhere, Leah Hearne of Cork County Council’s Arts Office has been instrumental in affecting change in the regional cultural scene.

“Women are an important and strong part of the Cork music scene,” agrees Eilís Dillon, co-proprietor of Records & Relics, one of a new crop of Leeside vinyl outposts. “They’re taking on leading roles in all areas, not just as musicians but also as promoters, producers, writers and bookers.”

By its nature, Cork’s music scene is close-knit, and nowhere is this more true than among the women who are to the fore in Leeside music and arts activities.

“I see more and more women on the scene all the time,” says Mary Claire Woolley, aka freak-folk singer M.Sea. “The number has definitely gone up in acoustic music in the near-decade I have lived in Cork. It’s amazing and exciting too. I love the feeling of possibilities and collaborations.”

Country-come-folk singer Maguire echoes these sentiments. “There’s more and more women in the industry,” she observes. “There’s some amazing female talent here, and I’m proud to be called a Cork musician.” Maguire puts this phenomenon down to the city’s relative independence from the staple forces that shape the music industry elsewhere.

“Because there’s a lack of labels and big-company support in the Irish scene,” she reflects, “Cork musicians just get out there and do it. They do what a record label and promoter would traditionally have done. It hasn’t stopped people developing, and that’s what shines through.”

Eilís Dillon is quick to emphasise the camaraderie among female artists locally. “There are so many amazing Cork musicians out there to choose from,” she enthuses. “The ones I know and really love are the ones who are unapologetically themselves. They’re the real role models and heroes for the younger generation.”

So who are the bright young things; what sort of music do they play; and who is most likely to make an impact on the national stage? It is a measure of the health of the scene that we can think of a baker’s dozen of real contenders, just for starters...

Elaine Howley (Altered Hours/Crevice/Mourning Veils)
Cork psych-rock quintet The Altered Hours’ calling card is that they “exist in a swirl of the hypnotic.” It is around co-lead singer Elaine Howley that this sound and fury characteristically revolves. A beguiling onstage presence, Howley’s voice, whether alone or in tandem with that of guitarist Cathal MacGabhann, is possessed of almost otherworldly strength and distinctiveness. Most importantly, she is completely fearless in the way she approaches a variety of fascinating collaborative projects.

Senita Appiakorang (Shookrah, Lakerama)

Calling on a wide variety of influences, Senita Appiakorang is the lead singer of burgeoning Leeside neo-soul collective, Shookrah. Her distinctive voice switches comfortably from quieter moments to more celebratory workouts, as best exemplified in the band’s superb single ‘Woman’. She also collaborates with Irish producer Graeme S. as Lakerama, and has guested successfully with the likes of Daithí and Le Galaxie in the recent past.

Rachel “Pixie” Koeman (Young Wonder)
The voice that has placed Cork Scandi-pop collective Young Wonder at the forefront of independent Irish music emerges from the diminutive frame of one Rachel Koeman. Complemented by the theatrical flair that has marked the band’s live outings – and indeed their jaw-dropping promo videos – Koeman’s unique vocal tones (and her deft lyrics) are at the centre of the outfit’s unique appeal. Young Wonder’s distinctive style has already seen them amass a loyal following and receive a Choice Music Prize nomination.

Roslyn Steer (solo, Mourning Veils, KantCope Records)
To watch Roslyn Steer on stage solo is to witness an artist in a moment of transcendence, as she completely immerses herself in the music. Melodic as a songbird, Steer’s voice seems to take flight on the wongs of the noise created by her guitar and skeletal effects setup. Her ethereal style notwhthstanding, Steer’s songs tell some heavy stories. She is also involved in the all-female trio Mourning Veils and is a prominent figure in Cork independent music, founding and running cassette label KantCope.

Clare Sands (The Clare Sands Trio)
Clare Sands is the singer, songwriter and leader of the Clare Sands Trio. While her musical experience goes back to learning traditional Irish fiddle from the age of four, nowadays Sands specialises in the folkier end of the blues spectrum, having been introduced to the genre as a teenager by her mother. Having done time gigging around New York, she returned to Cork to finish her music degree and to form her own band. Her debut album, Join Me at the Table, has just been released.

Marie Claire Woolley (M.Sea)
Despite the fact that she had played guitar from childhood, Marie Claire Woolley hadn’t ever performed in public until relatively recently. It took a serious hand injury to put her relationship with music – and ultimately its importance to her – in perspective. Thankfully, she hasn’t looked back since. Marie Claire assumed the mantle M.Sea, and in that guise specialises in a bluesy strain of freak-folk. Most recently, she launched an EP, and spoken at TEDx CorkSalon’s #CorkLovesMusic event.

LYRA
Beginning her musical explorations at the tender age of six, thanks apparently to some sisterly encouragement, Co. Cork singer LYRA now finds herself at the start of a fascinating journey. Now based in London, she has just released her debut EP, W.I.L.D., and working with local management folks Tileyard, has begun to make her mark with music that is imbued with a powerful sense of dynamics. LYRA’s material alternates between big, Florence-esque hooks and a subtler, more layered ambience. She has played her debut Irish shows, to rave reviews.

Áine Duffy
Having earned copious praise from Tony Clayton-Lea and the late Tony Fenton alike, Áine Duffy has a well-established reputation as one of Cork’s finest vocalists. She has toured the world and built an impressive session CV. But her new partnership with local musical wunderkind The Hypnotyst is her most promising move yet. Combining their mutual musical capabilities with a love of all things rave, the duo have created an extroverted, electronic rock sound that could be very successful indeed.

Nicole Maguire
Specialising in finely honed country-pop, perfected on an excursion to Nashville, Nicole Maguire has worked with the very best – among them the legendary Mitchell Froom (Pearl Jam, Ron Sexsmith), who produced her debut album, What You Really Mean. Her apprenticeship in Music City served her well on her return to Cork, and she’s since shared stages with the likes of Paul Brady, Donovan, and Damien Dempsey. Maguire returned to the studio in 2015 and her second full-length effort Wishing Well was released earlier this year to widespread acclaim.

Sara “Bear” Ryan Sara “Bear” Ryan is a young Kildare woman, currently living in the southern capital. Over the past year, she has been making major inroads on the local singer-songwriter scene. A student on the vocal performance degree course in the Cork School of Music, Ryan has notched up impressive support slots with the likes of Mick Flannery and John Spillane. August saw Sara release her debut single ‘Belle’, replete with a period-piece video, shot in Temple Bar and in the Wicklow Mountains.

Vicky Langan (Wölflinge)
Referred to affectionately as the “queen bee of Irish noise”, Vicky Langan is a prolific and hugely active figure in the Irish avant-garde, working across music, sound-art, experimental film and installation. Performing solo as Wölflinge, Langan cuts an intense figure, deploying an assortment of live and synthesised sounds to fascinating effect. A long-running audiovisual partnership with director Max Le Cain will see her take up a residency in Paris’s Centre Culturel Irlandais next year.

Siobhán Brosnan (Shiv)
One of the stars of the electronic music scene in Cork, Siobhán Brosnan, aka Shiv, is a DJ, promoter and writer, working primarily with London-based techno blog Skirmish, and as part of Cork hip-hop auteurs, Cuttin’ Heads Collective. Currently co-promoting techno nights at the AMP Venue, the Skirmish crew have recently joined counter-culture newspaper Rabble as resident music experts. They also curate live mixes from a variety of Irish electronic artists on Cork community station, Room101.

Ellen King (ELLLL)
Elll is the founder of the GASH Collective, a group dedicated to the promotion of women in experimental electronica. Acting variously as DJ, producer and promoter, Ellen – whose ‘Fuzzy Melody’ appeared on the Cork Rock City:::Vol 2 compilation – has been a major player on Cork’s drone, noise and minimal techno scenes. This winter sees the long-awaited release of her debut EP, Romance, on the Sligo-based Art for Blind Records.