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"From out of the dark"

From Out Of The Dark

From out of the dark is a collection of 6 songs finished during the infamous Covid lockdown of 2020, drawing musical influences from many different genres and based on different themes close to my heart.

Some with a narrative, others about how I felt a particular junction in life, playing music, writing and recording songs has been a great outlet for me and helped me deal with and express myself in a productive fashion.

With no single genre over the six songs I decided to put them out as From out of the dark, to show how something good can come from the darkness. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed making them.

I appreciate so much all the friends and family who have helped critique these tracks ready for public consumption. Thanks also to my younger sister, Hannah, for providing her vocal talents and lyric writing on two of the songs.

Please listen below and follow me on all of my social networks using the links above.

Matt x

My trip to #Dublin part 2

We awoke in our Air BnB surprisingly fresh after a night on the pop having already decided today was going to be the day for guided tours. And with the sun shining, we marched into town for our breakfast followed by a visit to the Leprechaun museum!

The Leprechaun museum was an excellent and unique experience. As you go in, you're greeted with pretty much the only room with an actual museum set up to it, with a few traditional photos and paintings, models and Irish advertisements and literature arranged behind glass and upon the walls.

After the tour guide arrived you're treated to a witty and dead pan introduction, blaming Disney for the perception of the Leprechaun today, and a more accurate portrayal of the traditional creature from Irish folk lore is conveyed.

Rather than going round a museum of artefacts, the tour goes from room to room each decorated in a different traditional way, to help accompany the story telling that the tour guide whom was extremely well rehearsed, knowledgeable and clearly from an actor's background, delivered.


It was a joy to listen to these traditional tales, and I really enjoyed the performance put on by our guide, who had a dark and dead pan sense of humour when retelling the stories, and pushed for a sympathetic view to the good old Leprechaun who are often given a bad rap for being mischievous creatures. You're of course treated to some obligatory photo opportunities, one with giant furniture, and the gift shop upon exit. At 14 Euros (Or 12 with educational discount) I'd really recommend this tour to anyone visiting the city.

After some more wandering, our next tour was to be the Jameson's distillery tour on Bow street. As a lover of whiskey you can only imagine how excited I was by the prospect of this tour around the factory.

My friend had bought me a voucher for this tour prior to our visit, but at 18 Euros it's completely worth it! As you go in to the recently refurbished Bow St bar and tour, there is a wall display with a timeline of the factory for you to peruse whilst waiting for your guide.

Our guide arrived and took as around a few different rooms. The first of which was an audiovisual presentation on the factories history. Rather than stick you in front of a DVD, the circular room has a projector and audio accompaniment, over which the guide narrated a history of the Jameson's factory. this didn't feel artificial or overly rehearsed and I felt our guide really had a passion for the whiskey and the company.


The second room was more about the creation of the whiskey, looking at the different malts, the different stages of fermentation and why certain flavours and aromas exist within Jameson whiskey. I found this interesting as well, learning of the use of different casks and three time distilling to help create the unique flavour. I also approve that they don't try and push their point of view upon you - this is how Jameson make whiskey - not the right way, just a different way to Scotch and Bourbon.

Finally, we were treated to a whiskey tasting. this was extremely thorough and revealing, as you're presented with 3 glasses, one with Jameson, one with Johnnie Walker and one with Jack Daniels. Getting to compare the 3 whiskeys to one another whilst being directed in what to look for in both flavor and scent was an illuminating experience.

Following the tour, the ticket also includes a shot of Jameson or Jameson and ginger at the bar below. There's also the obligatory gift shop with quality (if expensive) whiskey memorabilia.

For dinner, I'd looked up a vegetarian restaurant in Dublin named Cornucopia, an exclusively vegetarian and vegan establishment with a variety of interesting and healthy options for the none meat eater.

A bit of a strange cafe-esque layout doesn't distract from the epic quality of the food on offer - superb salads, bakes, puddings, drinks and smoothies, soups and more. I had a mushroom, tomato and dill soup followed by an eclectic mix of salads full of things I love; broccoli, beetroot, seeds and pulses and an organic chilli sauce. Pretty much my idea of culinary heaven. My friend enjoyed a carrot, garlic and sweet potato soup with my dill bread and her tomato bread, kind of hampering her enjoyment of the sweet potato goulash main course due to being so incredibly full! Well, when in Rome! An excellent meal accompanied by a superb classical guitarist.


The rest of our evening was spent exploring some of Temple Bar, the (especially) famous area in Dublin populated by pubs, clubs and bars. We ended up spending a lot of our evening in Quay bar once again enjoying live music, but frequented a few different establishments and had yet again another thoroughly enjoyable evening.


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