nessymon.com

Blog

  • Nessy Recommends // Ben Garrett – Falling

    Nessy Recommends // Ben Garrett – Falling

    I absolutely fell in love with ‘Falling’ as soon as I heard it.

    Ben Garrett is a Dublin multi instrumentalist who has just released his first solo single ‘Falling’.

    Ben was part of the much loved, ‘Overhead, The Albatross’ who went on hiatus in 2017. After eight years working solidly with the band, Ben decided to get a Mac and Ableton and delve into the ideas that he hadn’t shared for one reason or another. ‘Falling’ is one of those ideas.

    It’s not his first venture since 2017 though. Last year, Ben teamed up with David Prendergast, also of O, TA and released a couple of singles and videos under the moniker, We Had Zillions. Check out Ben’s drumming on ‘Endless’.

    Since then, Ben has played at the Cork Jazz Festival with the ever funky Zaska and also worked with Bold Puppy, scoring a pole dancing vid!

    Back to Ben’s solo exploits. Ben’s style of music follows on from Overhead, The Albatross. If you haven’t heard of the band before, fans of Public Service Broadcasting are going to love this.

    ‘Falling’ is a beautiful piece of work. The track rises beautifully from a delicate start, both rhythmically and instrumentally, enabling you to get lost in a glorious sonic landscape. This makes the spoken words about looking after ‘the planet we got’ all the more poignant.

    There is positivity with the words ‘I trust in humanity’ and this is echoed in the musicality of the track, giving a sense of hope. Not all is lost. This is a chance to reflect and do better and it is expressed fantastically by the music machine that is Ben Garrett.

    This is a really enjoyable piece of music, I’m really looking forward to hearing what’s coming next.

    You can find out more about Ben Garrett on Facebook, Twitter, Insta and YouTube.

  • The London Ear // Show 235 with Future West / The Eskies

    The London Ear // Show 235 with Future West / The Eskies

    On this week’s episode of The London Ear, I caught up with Francis Watters aka Future West and also Sean from The Eskies.

    I also announced the winners of the two sets of tickets to see The Eskies in the Borderline on March 8th.. They’re revealed below.

    Interview with Future West

    Future West promo shot for his single 'Human'. He's wearing a vertically striped round neck shirt and holding fairy lights.
    Future West

    I was delighted to chat to Francis Watters aka Future West today on the show. Over the past year or so, Future West has been honing their craft. The first result of this work is ‘Human’.

    Francis is originally from Dundalk and has been living here in the UK. I have to thank him for being so open about his growth as a musician and a producer.

    You can catch up with Future West online on Facebook and Instagram.

    Watch the video for ‘Human’

    https://youtu.be/6tP_Pb9OV2I

    Interview with Sean from The Eskies

    The Eskies
    The Eskies

    The Eskies are going on tour again. They honestly must be the hardest working band ever! They play the Borderline in London, this Friday, March 8th. It was great to catch up with Sean and get a quick glimpse into the lives of the band on the road.

    Thanks also to Jawdropper Management who gave me two sets of tickets to give away for the Borderline show. Congratulations to the our winners Danhi Harvey and Ciaran Cahill, who messaged The London Ear on Facebook and Twitter.

    You can get tickets to the gig for the gig at the Borderline via ticketweb.co.uk

    You can keep up to date with The Eskies on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

    The London Ear // Show 235 – March 2 2019 Playlist

    1. Chat with Future West
    2. Future West: Dark Day Dawn
    3. Chat with Future West (Part 2)
    4. Future West: Human
    5. Peco: Monster
    6. Chat with Sean from The Eskies
    7. The Eskies: I’m Not Sorry
    8. Chat with Sean from The Eskies (Part 2)
    9. The Eskies: Fever

    Listen On Demand to The London Ear

    Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview and outside Ireland you can listen online. You can listen to the show again on the RTE player. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.

    Get in Touch

    Don’t forget, if you’re Irish, outside Ireland and involved in music, arts and culture, get in touch. The London Ear is for you, it’s my job to get your voice heard. nessy @nessymon.com

  • New Dublin Transport Map Unveiled

    New Dublin Transport Map Unveiled

    I do love a good map. Old maps, new maps, maps of countries that don’t exist any more. The London Underground Map is iconic and a work of genius. But there’s never been anything like it for Dublin, until now.

    Enter Chris Singleton, yes, the fella from Five Grand Stereo and Style Factory Communications and graphic designer, Richard Hart. They’ve got together and completed the very awesome, Dublin Train Map and a very nice website to boot, Dublin Public Transport.

    You’ll never had to try figure how how the hell to get from Dundrum to Castleknock anymore. Even the train commuter belt is taken into account.

    • So in this map you’ll get all DART, Commuter and Luas lines along with at-a-glance frequency guidance.
    • Wheelchair accessibility information for each station is included on the new map – something that is missing from existing maps. (hurrah)
    • The map provides clear information regarding which stations provide bike and car parking.
    • The map includes the two Airlink airport bus routes to help visitors to Dublin switch easily from airport buses onto other modes of transport in the capital. 

    Dublin Train Map

    Dublin Rail Map

    Download the Dublin Train Map

    You can download the map in both PDF and JPG from DublinPublicTransport.ie.

    When you download the PDF, you’ll also get a station index which isn’t in the jpg.

    The map is still in BETA so if you’ve any thoughts on things that should be included, do get in touch with Chris and Richard. This is an independent project using information that is publicly available from travel operators in Dublin. No one just bothered to put the whole lot together before.

    As well as the new rail map, the website, DublinPublicTransport.ie, has lots of other features:

    One of my bugbears is about how Ireland, took up a lot of train lines across the country. In the past few years, Dublin has finally managed to get a cross city LUAS Line. Imagine actually being able to go from South to North Dublin, without having to change trains! I love love trains, I love the new trams. This new little map feels like someone had the gumption to actually get up and make a Dublin map that all capital cities had but Dublin had been left behind on.

    Hurrah! Bravo chaps!

  • The London Ear // Show 234 with Trick Mist

    The London Ear // Show 234 with Trick Mist

    The London Ear with Trick Mist

    Chats with Trick Mist and a competition to win tickets to see The Eskies in London are all on this week’s episode of The London Ear.

    I was delighted to catch up with Gavin Murray, aka Trick Mist. It’s the first time since the release of his debut album, ‘Both Ends’, that we’ve had a chance to chat about his music on the radio.

    I saw Gav play in Lion & Coffee Records in Hackney a few weeks ago and I have to say, he’s a wonder to see. Gav is definitely a cross between a contemporary sean nós singer and a seanachaí.

    Gavin beautifully mixes folk, electronica and the sounds he recorded while travelling into the beautiful soundscape that is ‘Both Ends’.

    You can find out more about Trick Mist on Bandcamp, Twitter and Facebook.

    Competition // See The Eskies at The Borderline in London

    The Eskies

    Irish band ‘The Eskies‘ produce ‘sea-soaked gypsy folk. Live, it’s a party. It’s a rip roaring, stomp your feet, singalong at the top of your lungs kinda night. They’re coming back to London for a show at The Borderline on March 8th. Having previously seen them at that venue, I can guarantee it will be an awesome night. You can buy tickets online here.

    Thanks to Jawdropper Management, I’ve got two pairs to give away. All you have to do is message the show on Twitter or Facebook and say ‘Gimme ‘Eskies’ tickets. The competition closes on Tuesday 26th February at 10pm and winners will be announced on The London Ear on March 2nd.

    Good luck!



    The London Ear // Show 234 Feb 23 2019 // Playlist

    1. Cronin: First Kiss of Love
    2. The Late David Turpin feat Elephant: Concubine
    3, The Eskies: All Good Men
    4. Chat with Trick Mist
    5. Trick Mist: Magic Dust
    6. Chat with Trick Mist
    7. Trick Mist: 2 Doors Down
    8. Chat with Trick Mist
    9. Trick Mist: There We Go Again / Blue Sky
    10. Ben Garrett: Falling
    11. V98: Dublin

    Listen On Demand to The London Ear

    Thanks for listening, The London Ear broadcast on DAB radio, Saorview and outside Ireland you can listen online. You can listen to the show again on the RTE player. The show is broadcast every Saturday at 1300.

    Get in Touch

    Don’t forget, if you’re Irish, outside Ireland and involved in music, arts and culture, get in touch. The London Ear is for you, it’s my job to get your voice heard. nessy @nessymon.com