The point of it all

A couple of years sago I had a meeting with budding Irish DJ Gerry O'Rourke then domiciled in London. He had assemble several demos of dance tracks and I was impressed with the dedication and seriousness he brought to his work. So I was not surprised to hear that Gerry is now co-hosting a dance show called Higher Ground on a London station called Solar Radio. As was evidenced on that demo, O'Rourke has an instinctive feel for nu-fusion and future funk and his enthusiasm and work rate can't be faulted. The show is syndicated to Power FM in Dublin and stations in Belgrade and Miami, and can be heard on www.solarradio.com and on Sky Digital.

But the story doesn't stop there, for O'Rourke has set up his own dance record label Foundation Music which intends to issue four compilations and six singles over the coming twelve months.

If you want to contact him about either radio show or record company his address is [email protected].

Meanwhile I'm in receipt of a cassette demo from Ciaran O'Neill from Cavan which he recorded in 1998 and he asks for my opinion "without taking the total piss", (as if I would).

As Ciaran frankly admits, the recording quality is sub-standard. This may be due to financial and/or time restraints, but in the big bad world of the music industry it only adds to one's difficulties. There may be some instances where a demo is so outstandingly brilliant in terms of material and performance that it transcends poor recording, but generally you need as many factors as possible in your favour in order to compete.

I'm also puzzled as to why O'Neill doesn't seem to have recorded since. Even (especially?) the poorest demos can be learned from, so O'Neill should have moved on during the intervening three years if he's really that keen. That said, he sounds like he can put together serious songs and convincing performances in a rock singer-songwriter stlyee. Pity they can't be heard properly. There, that wasn't taking the piss, was it?

Kade definitely seem to be learning as they go, with each recording more assured and more illuminating than the one before. They are a cute Kildare amalgam of punk and metal, with spirited vocal from Doireann Dowling. Their new CD Fetish is really a release proper and should not be trespassing in a demo column. It opens with 'Harmonix' in which the genes pool of The Ramones and Nirvana have again been raided. It's driven by swirling drums and the sort of guitar from Bryan Turner that electricity was invented for. 'Wake Up Dead' packs even more punch and buzzier guitars, and 'Down' is a logical follow-on with a more doomy overall sound and some nice changes of pace. Kade may not yet have written a killer song to match their killer sound, but they're on the way. Worth checking out, both live and on disc.

The only track on the CD received from Tench is 'Out On Blue Funk'. It starts like a Eurovision reject with added techno. But then it matures into something more interesting than it first seemed, with smart harmonies from the female vocalist and a snappy rhythm track. With a slightly more polished production I can hear this on radio, both daytime and after dark, although it does go on a wee bit. But it's hard to say too much about a band so shy of both recording and background info.

In that context, four cheers for Mofo who sent a CD, an explanatory letter and a biog. They have sprung from Finglas in Dublin, although given their claim that "it's been a long time since a decent new rock band has emerged from the shadows to entertain the masses" they spend a lot of time with their heads buried on Dollymount Strand.

From the big chord opening of the first number they establish themselves as a conventional loud heavy rock band, with more that a hint of Mr Mojo Risin' in Gar Cunningham's lead vocal on 'Let's Get Bombed'. 'Delusions Of Granduer' would impress more if the title was spelled right, but its throbbing bass is even more reminiscent of The Doors, so a shot or two of originality might be required. 'Midsummer', in which Cunningham sings in his own voice for a change, is a gentler ballad full of raw atmosphere and arguably their best shot.

Because of an inexplicably low recording level the CD requires a heavy hand on the volume knob, suggesting that a bigger budget might have brought more impressive rewards. But Mofo are a tight, hard-rockin' outfit, brimful of confidence.