EMBRZ, Grand Social, Dublin, tonight, €10
Kildare producer Jack Casey aka EMBRZ has been adding his hazy minor key brush strokes to high-profile acts like the 1975 and Ellie Goulding recently, so there’s a buzz building in Dublin for his debut headline live show.
But even though it’s his remixes that are hitting the million play mark on Soundcloud, his own productions won’t be overshadowed too much.
The one-time teen guitarist says he was drawn to electronic music after hearing Deadmau5, so his live show is informed by hints of EDM.
But melancholy vocal tracks like Silent, Home and Lights offer a more soft-focus take on electronica, reminiscent of Zero 7 or Royksopp.
LADY LESHURR, The Academy, Dublin, Tomorrow, €15
Ireland has slept in on inviting grime artists over, but they can’t be ignored any longer — especially with the likes of Stormzy and Skepta’s campaigns in the States and Drake and Kanye jumping on board.
The Trinity Ball has Stormzy and Novelist booked in for next month, but Lady Leshurr has her own headline show in the meantime. She’s been turning heads with her mixtapes and Queen’s Speech freestyle videos on YouTube — which reference everything from Jeremy Kyle to daft internet memes to Adele send-ups. And in a scene that’s skewed so much in London’s direction, it’s refreshing to hear the broadest Brummie accent in music since Ozzy Osbourne.
CRADLE OF FILTH The Academy, Dublin, Sunday, €25 & The Limelight, Belfast, Monday, £21.50
Gothic black metal veterans Cradle of Filth probably seem a bit quaint these days, with their face paint and horns coming off a bit Halloween party chic.
But over 25 years the Filth have become a metal institution — a gateway band to even darker territory and one of the most extreme bands to ever hit the outskirts of the mainstream.
Frontman Dani Filth even appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. New album Hammer of the Witches thrashes and grinds among lofty strings and dark synth passages, with blast beats kicking the point home with military precision.
The Filth’s first 15 minutes of infamy was their Vestal Masturbation t-shirt (look it up), so they’ll also have an interesting merchandise stall on display this time around.
GRIMES, Olympia, Dublin, Tuesday, €30.90
Claire Boucher really knows how to put a few noses out of joint — from embracing her lack of actual live performance at gigs, to offending techno purists when she played Venga Boys and Mariah Carey in her Boiler Room set.
Her breakthrough album Visions also helped her leapfrog over long-established electronic artists, even though it was recorded on Garageband over a few weeks.
Dry your eyes though — Grimes is one of the most interesting electronic pop artists of the last few years, if you see beyond her smash hit Oblivion. New album Art Angels splinters pop in all directions, raging against the normal.
Moo Kid 