Dublin act Chameleon has been named winner of A New Local Hero.
The competition formed part of Irish Music Month for which Hot Press teamed with 25 independent radio stations across the country for a focus on homegrown talent with each station sourcing a performing individual or group to represent their franchise area.
The initiative was funded by the BAI, under its Sound & Vision scheme, and supported by XL Retail, MCD Productions, IMRO, RAAP and XMusic.
Band Exiles won the Carlow Kilkenny heat and represented KCLR in the contest. (More here).
The final showcase took place last night at The Academy in the capital with five finalists performing, including from the South East Carrie Baxter, the choice of WLR listeners.
Winner Chameleon is Matthew Harris who’s cited by organisers as having established himself as a remarkable force in Irish music through his collaborations with Malaki has stepped into the spotlight as a spectacular solo artist this year.
Drawing influence from the likes of James Blake, Brockhampton and Arlo Parks, the Dublin-based artist released a collaborative single, ‘You Know’, with Lucy McWilliams earlier this year.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin says “I congratulate Hot Press and the IBI for developing the Irish Music Month and ‘A New Local Hero’ initiatives. I was delighted to be able to support these projects from the additional €1.4m of funding I secured to assist the live music sector within the BAI’s Sound and Vision scheme.”
BAI Deputy Chief Executive Celene Craig congratulated all involved and noted “With the help of additional funding secured by the Minister for the live music sector, the BAI was delighted to support this project, among others, under its Sound & Vision scheme. The project not only highlights the talent across the sector today but also the value of, and potential for, partnerships. The BAI extends its congratulations to Hot Press, the IBI and all involved for delivering such a successful initiative.”
Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes commented “Irish Music Month really has been a fantastic adventure and at the heart of it, the A New Local Hero initiative has been a wild ride unto itself. We are well aware in Hot Press of the extraordinary depth of brilliant, original music talent in Ireland right now. But this understanding was amplified further by the remarkable quality of the 125 artists who were shortlisted, across 25 stations, covering every blade of grass in the country. The hardest part, of course, is that only one artist or band can be selected in the end, so I think it is important to say that all of the final five really are winners. And they all have the potential to go on to hit the heights. In fact I have no doubt that some, if not all, of them will. The judges were faced with an extremely difficult decision – but there was complete unanimity that Chameleon is an outstanding and original talent, with huge potential to go all the way in what is an extremely tough world”.
He adds “I want to say a huge thank you to all of those who supported the Irish Music Month project from the outset: to Minister Catherine Martin, who provided the funds to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; to the BAI who supported Irish Music Month so well through its Sound & Vision fund; the 25 radio stations who got involved through Independent Broadcasters of Ireland; XL Retail and MCD Productions who were so important to getting the project across the line; and to IMRO, RAAP and X-Music, who also supported us in a really vital way. Muchas gracias”.
And he says “Irish Music Month, and the A New local Hero initiative, have enjoyed enthusiastic support right across the music industry. So to everyone who was involved, at any and every step along the way, we salute you.”
While IBI Chair, KCLR CEO and Kilkenny man John Purcell, congratulated the winner and said “It was a journey into the unknown when 25 independent radio stations joined forces with Hot Press for Irish Music Month – but I think I speak for all of the stations when I say that it really has been a brilliant project. On behalf of the IBI, I want to extend our thanks to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland for their invaluable support for the project, and to Minister Catherine Martin, who provided the additional funding to the sector to support live music. The ‘A New Local Hero’ initiative has been an integral part of Irish Music Month. In fact there were 25 winners, one from each station – all of whom deserve our congratulations, and all of whom have benefitted from the support of their local stations. But there can only be one recipient of the A New Local Hero Award – and I know that the judges deliberated long and hard. Well done again to Chameleon and to the station who championed him, Chameleon on what really is a great achievement.”
