Making It In Music

Welcome Ailbhe Reddy, singer, songwriter and owner of “Friends of the Family” record label. Described as standing “head and shoulders above folk mainstream”, Ailbhe has won critical acclaim for her constant stream of releases since 2016. In this interview, Heather and Ailbhe discuss her upcoming album, her career so far including some of her favourite festivals, direct provision and chocolate! Make sure to check out Ailbhe’s brand new single “Time Difference” now!

Welcome Tolü Makay, ZAPHO, (Ireland) Edwin Pope a.k.a Mutant Vinyl (U.K) and Brenna Carroll (U.S.A) of The X Collective & Oiche Events! 

The X Collective is a brand new creative platform and group, involving over 70 musicians, artists and creatives, with the sole purpose of producing and promoting each other's work! In this interview, Heather and our 4 stellar artists discuss the beginning of The X Collective, their first collaboration, creativity in lock down and the #blacklivesmatter movement around the world. 

Welcome Rebecca Geary of Sick Love, the all thriller, no filler rock & roll band from Dublin, Ireland. Releasing their first EP ‘Baby, It’s You’ only two weeks ago, the band’s first body of work has already received stellar reviews from Hot Press magazine, The Zine UK, The Last Mixtape and The Irish Times. In this interview, Rebecca and Heather talk about the evolution and creation of Sick Love, their new EP, the writing and the recording process and how Rebecca gained her killer confidence in the male dominated Rock & Roll world!

Make sure to check out Sick Love’s brand new EP ‘Baby, It’s You’!

Welcome Max Zaska of Zaska! ZASKA is a supergroup of talented Irish musicians led by guitarist, songwriter, and producer Max Zaska. Their 2019 debut album, It Takes A Village, featured more than 25 performers and received universally stellar reviews upon release. In this interview, Zaska and Heather discuss the making of ‘It Takes A Village’, the musicians involved, his fun with Vulfpeck and who would be Zaska’s all star supergroup!

Make sure to check out Zaska’s brand new tune “My Whole Heart” featuring Tolu Makay, GodKnows and the isolation choir, a group of singers made up of 16 different Irish musicians.

Welcome Uly, multi instrumentalist, songwriter and astrophysicist. Uly is a funk/soul groover who’s music has quickly attracted national attention. Releasing ten excellent tunes in under 2 years, Uly has only further to climb Combining a love of old-school deep soul, jazz, funk, dusty production quality and topped with some pop sensibilities - Uly weaves together sonic threads to make music reminiscent of "a version of the '70s that never happened".

Welcome Daniel “Lango” Lang, professional drummer and cajon player and singer of The Scratch. The Scratch are Dublin based quartet with a unique sound of their own, combining their love of metal music with traditional Irish elements, the band have brought a new lease of life to the traditional Irish music we once knew. In this interview Heather and Daniel, discuss the beginnings of The Scratch, the evolution of their sound and their brand new album ‘Couldn’t Give A Rats’. As well as, taking a deep dive into the ideas and process of making their acclaimed music videos.

Welcome Shane McAuley, editor-in-chief of Soul Doubt Magazine and producer of the Soul Doubt Podcast. Soul Doubt is an independent platform dedicated to the promotion and celebration of Irish creatives, particularly those involved in the hip hop scene. In this interview, Shane and Heather discuss the beginnings of Soul Doubt, the evolution of Irish hip hop, and how the ever growing scene is impacting Irish culture.

Welcome Emily Jane of Vernon Jane, the Dublin based, jazz-punk band crashing their way into your hearts and opening your minds. Four years after their last body of work ‘The Inner Workings of a Damaged Nobody’, Heather and Emily Jane discuss the very exciting new album “The Ritual Art of Love Making” which drops May 17th. In this interview, Heather and Emily Jane take a deep dive into each of the singles already released from the concept album, talking about everything from the music and the videos to the art work and inspiration. As well as this, Emily has some very important IMRO information for all musicians and some news about her podcast with fellow musicians Louise MacNamara and Shelly Bukspan.

Welcome SENU, the intense and hypnotic live act from Dublin-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Killeen. Following his most recent releases, Sam joins Heather to discuss his work in music. From how he developed the SENU sound, a perfect blend of hip hop, jazz and electronic beats to Sam’s session work with a vast array of musicians including LAOISE, Soule, AIMEE, James Vicent McMorrow, Villagers, to name a few. A unique and highly skilled musician, SENU plans to release the rest of the Jetlag album over the next few months and we for one can’t wait!

Hailing from Mayo, Ireland songwriter Maria Kelly's haunting melodies and deeply personal lyrics has awarded her an army of fans and followers with over a million streams on Spotify. Sharing her music world wide, supporting artists such as KT Tunstall and Paul Noonan, Maria continues to excel with even more music to come! Heather and Maria talk music, mindfulness and why not to snub the "small" accomplishments of our past because without them we wouldn't be here, now would we?

Owner of Any Other City Records, producer, manager, lecturer, radio DJ and drummer James Byrne joins Heather for the Making it in Music Podcast this week. Sharing his stories and experience from 20+ years in the music industry, his time playing with acts such as Villagers and SOAK, working with GIRL BAND and Pillow Queens, as well as the several European and American tours he has been on supporting bands such as Elbow, Bell X1, and Neil Young. Listen in for James' rules of the business... Rule Number One... DON'T BE A DICK. 

Introducing producer, singer, songwriter and all round music man, Chris Kabs! Based in Dublin, Kabs has been releasing his own music since 2016 and has produced for a number of well known Irish artists including, JyellowL, Tomike, Matt Ó and Tebi Rex.  In this interview, Chris tells Heather how he is working through the quarantine, how he believes the pandemic will affect the industry, his new music and finally the tale we’ve all been waiting for… THE CHRIS KABS ORIGIN STORY! 

This week on Making It In Music, Heather is joined by the superbly talented Laura Ryder, songwriter, session musician and pianist extraordinaire! In this interview, Laura explains how she began playing music, how teaching herself different instruments impacted her piano style and how she deals with the big philosophical questions of today by writing songs about her everyday. Laura plays with a number of bands and musicians throughout Dublin including; ShrugLife, Matilda O’Mahoney, Blue Fish Diamond and Moonlookson. Check out her most recent single “Storm In A Cup” on all available streaming platforms now!

Happy St. Patricks Day one and all! For this very special episode of Making It In Music, Heather is joined by Fionn O hAlmhain, trad player extraordinaire! Having brought Irish around the world; from France to China, Fionn has a lot to say about traditional Irish music and the opportunities it has given him. Trad music isn't just for your local pub, there is a thriving traditional Irish music scene in Ireland and abroad! Fionn is also a linguist, speaking German, Irish and English fluently as well as other languages and, in this interview, he shows Heather how the language a person speaks has a large impact on the way the will write and play music. All this and more on this week's episode of Making It In Music!

This week on Making It In Music, our host Heather is joined by the incredible Shelley Bukspan.  A voice you probably know already, as she has performed with Mick Pyro of “Republic of Loose”, in soul group “Bird” and on Mark McCabe’s “Maniac 2000”, as well as other musical projects in television and film. In this interview, Heather and Shelley discuss Shelley’s beginning in music, how her constantly changing surroundings impacted her work and the importance of learning from fellow musicians while you grow your reputation as an artist. However, what is Shelley Bukspan doing now?! After releasing 3 fantastic singles already; El Cohen, Blues and Happy, we are very excited to listen to Bukspan’s new album “The Bronx Age” which is to be released later this year! Hear all about the new album on this week’s episode of Making It In Music!

From when we are young we are told that if you do what you love you will never work a day in your life, all of the musicians and artists we’ve had on this podcast are a testament to that! But what about doing what you love with WHO you love. Introducing D.Cullen and SinnyMc, a pair of musicians who are working together to become independent artists. Both being singer-songwriters, session musicians and teachers Sinead and Darragh fill Heather in on what they’ve been up to lately; including bieng on the late late show, BBC northern Ireland, supporting Mundy as well as writing recording their own individual music, together! A dream team if there ever was one! Interview available now on all streaming platforms.

This week on Making It In Music, Heather is joined by Thumper lead man Oisín Furlong. Just before their 2020 European Tour, Oisín let's Heather in on tour prep, songwriting with 6 members and how practice allows for madness.

Jazz head Barry Rycraft joins our host Heather for this weeks podcast. Baz tells us all about his love of jazz music, his beginnings as a youth band trumpeter and how it has moulded him into the modern music educator he is today with his own school "Rock Jam". Baz also shares information about his upcoming tour with the Conor Guilfoyle Octet, who will be playing Miles Davis' "The Birth of the Cool" in Ireland for the very first time! All on this  week's episode of "Making It in Music"!

The rapper who's not a rapper, the rhythmical spoken work artist; PDF Pockethole joins Heather on this week's podcast. Discussing the Irish music industry, the importance of an artist's brand and the consistency of their work, Pockethole and Heather analyse modern hip hop and agree that the world is getting crazier everyday, and you've gotta learn to laugh!

A double dose of Heather this week! Mezzo soprano Heather Fogarty joins our host Heather, for an interview about "making it" as a singer. Fresh back from her American tour, Heather shares her experiences of life on the road, constant vocal training and achieving her dream role of Carmen. 

After losing our first interview of 2020, we are back with a BANG! Oran O'Beirne, the all knowing metal head, joins Heather on this podcast episode to talk about the metal genre in Ireland, festivals, managing bands and what it was like interviewing some of the greatest musicians of our time including Metallica guitarist and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine!  

This week Heather talks to Mr. Craig Wynne about The Making it in Music podcast, music education and his new course "Sounds Great".

This week on Making It In Music, radio presenter, film script editor and actress Anna Rose Charleton, joins Heather to chat about her life working in London and Dublin, her new show on RTE Pulse and the importance of forever learning and adapting in the creative arts. 

Our host Heather Lawrie interviews Clonmel native, Niamh Kavanagh. Not only is Niamh a fantastic session for a number of high profile Irish artists including NC Grey, Rosa Nutty and Ailbhe Reddy, but also is the booker for Dublin's famous Button Factory and Crow Bar. Hear Niamh and Heather talk everything from Dancing On Ice to Vocal Technique, learn how to approach a booker and what to expect working at festivals.

Our host Heather interviews Dublin based classical guitarist, Darren Loughran. Darren is a highly skilled and accomplished guitarist playing a multitude of genres across the globe. In this interview, Heather and Darren talk about the evolution of classical guitar, how different cultures react to musicians and the passion that drives us all! 

Making it in Music, a podcast about the Irish music industry by Irish  musicians. First episode of the series, Heather interviews ELKAE, otherwise known as, Laura Keane. An excellent songwriter and composer, ELKAE talks musical inspiration, the importance of owning your own music and sustainable touring. 

A short introduction to our podcast "Making It In Music", launching November the 25th, 2019. This is a podcast about the modern Irish Music Industry and those involved. There are many different avenues to take as a young musician so we should all share our wisdom! Tune in to hear from host Heather Lawrie and the many talented musicians that will join us!