In 2020, Oíche Events launched a new Irish music platform The X Collective, with music and artistic expression at its core. Founded by industry pros Emily Shaw (Oíche Events) and Ele Breslin (ZAPHO), The X Collective is a growing community with over 70 artists and creatives signed up to the initiative, offering them a broad spectrum of music industry skills and expertise including recording, songwriting, producing, management, PR, videography, event management and much more.

Now, The X Collective are very excited to announce that they will release their debut album later this year. To celebrate, the group are also releasing ‘WB', the first song from the record. It is performed by members Chloë Agnew, Zapho, Senita, Toshín, and Gemma Bradley.

“This song has been a long time coming, we knew it was special and so we had originally intended to pitch it to a well-known girl band, instead we came up with the idea to make our own band within the collective itself," The X Collective explain.

"We weren't short of some outrageously talented vocalists! Seeing the song grow from a small home-produced demo to a ten person musical collaboration was magical, and making the music video to match our vision was key to capture a sense of the women behind the music.”

Two years ago at a songwriting camp ‘WB’ producer/songwriter Ele Breslin (ZAPHO, The X Collective Co-Founder) and singer-songwriter Chloë Agnew (Celtic Woman) crossed paths on their musical journey's – a meeting they would later remember as the very beginning of 'WB'. During the camp matchup, a shelved ZAPHO loop was dusted off and revived into a demo reflective of Breslin and Agnew's collaborative labour.

Quickly and organically, the demo evolved further into not just an infectious track, but also a powerful concept. Breslin and Agnew lost themselves in the creation and performance of WB, and soon a track that they initially intended to pitch to a well-known girl-band became their own.

An empowering, female-driven pop anthem with a girl-gang energy, 'WB' is a celebration of reclaiming one's own strength and confidence, and a bold musical embodiment of female solidarity.

Listen to the track below.