{"title":"Junior Brother","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJunior Brother is a talented artist who comes from a musical background. He is the son of Freddie Waite and the brother of Patrick Waite. During his time with Musical Youth, he was known by the name Junior. With his rich musical heritage and experience, Junior Brother brings a unique perspective to his music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving grown up surrounded by music, Junior Brother developed a deep passion for creating soulful and captivating melodies. His distinctive style sets him apart from other artists in the industry, as he effortlessly combines various genres to create something truly special.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith an impressive career already under his belt, Junior Brother continues to push boundaries and explore new sounds. His dedication to his craft shines through in every performance, making him a must-listen for any music lover looking for something fresh and exciting.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-great-irish-famine","title":"The Great Irish Famine","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing both a global pandemic and an acclaimed, landmark debut album, inimitable Irish Alt-Folk act Junior Brother returns with \u003ci\u003eThe Great Irish Famine,\u003c\/i\u003e and a new single titled “No Snitch”. The album comes on the heels of his lauded 2019 album \u003ci\u003ePull The Right Rope \u003c\/i\u003evia multidisciplinary Irish label Strange Brew.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn idiosyncratic, challenging and richly lyrical singer \/ songwriter, Junior Brother is the pseudonym of Co. Kerry, Ireland singer Ronan Kealy. Chosen as The Irish Times’ Best Irish Act of 2019 and nominated for the 2019 Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year, Junior Brother has built a rabid following thanks to unmissable live shows, and music both excitingly forward-looking and anciently evocative. His strange stories unfold with reckless abandon upon a distinctive guitar and foot tambourine accompaniment, influenced as much by the avant-garde as music from the Middle Ages and his home place in rural Ireland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to earning a Choice Music Prize nomination, Junior Brother's trailblazing debut album \u003ci\u003ePull The Right Rope\u003c\/i\u003e, also saw Kealy garner two nominations at the 2019 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, for Best Folk Album and Best Emerging Folk Act. Similarly, vigorous approval from modern-day Irish figureheads such as the Rubberbandits and Cillian Murphy has furthered Junior Brother's stock, the latter playing Junior Brother several times on his BBC Radio 6 Music Show. Along-side further airplay, his television performances include appearances on RTÉ’s the Tommy Tiernan show, Other Voices and the Choice Music Prize Awards night in Vicar Street.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Great Irish Famine\u003c\/i\u003e leaps boldly forward into an exciting new chapter, and into a shaken new world - staggeringly profound, brutally beautiful in its epic sweep. The lead single “No Snitch” - which is released digitally today with a 7” release to follow – is an intoxicating first taste of this new material. A track of towering, bruised catharsis, Kealy’s emotive and powerful vocals fluctuate across the tracks temperamental instrumentation which is both at once tumultuous and calming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth startlingly dynamic and profoundly accomplished, \u003ci\u003eThe Great Irish Famine\u003c\/i\u003e reflects fall-out of trauma both personal and universal, national, and international, minor, and mountainous, historic, and contemporary - all uncompromisingly conveyed through the magnetic, emotionally potent vision of a one-of-a-kind artist at the top of his game.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strange Brew Rekkids","offers":[{"title":"Red | LP | x2","offer_id":51245896466763,"sku":"2001807","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51245897613643,"sku":"2001809","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/The_Great_Irish_Famine_c75a88fe_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1739229111"},{"product_id":"the-end-yx","title":"The End","description":"\u003cp\u003e“The sound of the album is supposed to take the organic instruments of Irish traditional music and lift them somewhere else,” Junior Brother explains, “like the otherworldly Irish music sometimes heard from Fairy Forts at twilight on country roads, impossible to recreate upon hearing.” The End captures this essence, blending the raw textures of traditional Irish music with spectral, unearthly elements. Much of the album’s inspiration was drawn from UCD’s Folklore Collection on duchas.ie, “I delved into the manuscripts—endless eyewitness accounts of Fairy Forts being stepped into and the land altering, the familiar mutating,” Junior Brother shares. “Farmers, teachers, the sober, the smart—all losing their way home one way or the other.” In these uncanny tales of displacement and confusion, he found striking parallels to the instability and distortion of contemporary life. Thematically, The End explores forces that work against nature (New Road, Welcome to My Mountain), the rise of the far-right (Small Violence, Today My Uncle Told Me), and confrontations with mortality (Old Bell, Start Digging). Through the lens of rural Irish folklore, the album reflects the bewildering madness of the present moment. “The title The End represents the moment after being led astray, when the grip of madness releases you and you suddenly see your way home,” says Junior Brother. “It may reflect the doom of a world gone mad, but it also represents the end of darkness, and the start of a new road.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strap Originals","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":53172927594827,"sku":"R3454-2390","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53172927562059,"sku":"R3454-5385","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_d7ba3e2e-f737-4603-8a50-d04e62146ae9.jpg?v=1755101807"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_5d427450_thumbnail_4096_17614fde-94eb-4f2b-80fb-59e1f808843c.jpg?v=1739229084","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/junior-brother.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}