About a day after I’d submitted my article to the Irish Times on Cork’s underground, I discovered that the Drop-D site was about to release a free download of music by Cork bands. It’s a particularly good omen that Cork has had the national spotlight shone on its music scene twice within the space of a month, and proof that there is so much going on in the city.

The comprehensive free Drop D release consists of four compilations that span everything from electronica (Toby Kaar) to noise (Mersk) but mainly concentrate on rock and indie bands.

CORK ROCK CITY

If you haven’t already, you can download the quadruple album here.

Drop D say:

Cork‘s music scene has, in recent years, developed into one of the most varied, vibrant and vital anywhere, much less in the country. Artists of all genres co-exist, collaborate and thrive, in venues all around the city, from pubs and churches to abandoned courthouses and on the street. The sense of community and the nurturing of creativity the town offers, in its colleges, practice spaces, record shop, pubs and venues, and at events such as the Jazz Weekend and the Sonic Vigil, truly sets our town out as an example of what independent music can mean when we work together, and how creativity will always triumph over external adversity.

The great thing about this compilation is the breadth of genres – from melodic death metal (For Ruin) to dark blues (Brains), Grindcore (I’ll Eat Your Face), dub (Wiggle) and even drone (Mersk), there is a huge amount covered here.

With a large amount of bands featured on this compilation, as you would expect the quality varies somewhat throughout. There are some polished, high-quality tracks and some that are definitely more than just rough around the edges. But that said, I’d wager the vast majority of the songs were recorded in houses, garages, anywhere other than studios.

This is a snapshot of Cork’s music scene at a particular moment in time – when the country is in turmoil and all we can do is seek refuge in whatever creative interests provide us with a sense of calm. Will all of these bands become household names? No, but that’s not the point.

Download the compilations: Disc 1 – Disc 2 – Disc 3 – Disc 4 – Artwork/Videos/Bios/Extras

(Please note: the downloads are in .rar file format. In order to extract the MP3s from their package, please use WinRAR, downloadable by clicking the link.)

There is a choice of 5 covers featuring the work of Cork artists Allan Kenneally (AJ) and Ricky Sweeney and Edith O’Mahony,

TRACK LISTING: