** FIRST LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT FOR OV @ ELECTRIC PICNIC**

As you all know by now, the Other Voices family is uprooting from Dingle to a woodland clearing nestled amongst the trees in Stradbally. We’re bringing our own tent, our own pals, our own crew. Keepin’ it in the family, as they say. Be prepared for hearts, disco balls, and many an adventure. We will be setting up shop for the weekend, bringing you the best in Irish and International talent, both new and established. We have always prided ourselves in our ability to platform new talent, from all corners of the globe, and we have of course reflected this in our first Lineup Announcement for OV @ EP, and so, we are DELIGHTED to announce Mirel Wagner from Helsinki, Tiny Ruins from New Zealand and last but not least, Silences who are travelling all the way from Armagh!

The Ethiopian born, Finnish raised songstress, Mirel Wagner will bring her otherworldly gloomy folk to the Other Voices stage. Her debut album, highly praised across Finland, France, Germany and the UK, has been described in the best sense as ‘empty’... A stoicly picked, almost trance-inducing acoustic guitar, a voice you wouldn't expect to hear from a 23 year old and songs, which mostly avoid classical (folk) song structure. everything is stripped to the bone and maintains a beautiful, strangely fragile tension, even more so during her live performances. Equally consistent, as the ghostly mood floats through her album, her lyrics deal with dark themes ... necromancy, love, death and the devil.

"...unpretentious, gloomy, clever and compelling..." (The Times, ****)

"...stark, poetic, with an echoe of danger..." (Uncut, ****)

"...Mirel Wagner possesses a curious physicality both in her lyrical conjurings and in the confident agility of her guitar playing, which together sound distinctive, specific, and personal even when considered against the decades of acoustic folk music that has come before...." (Pitchfork)

Formed as a solo project in 2009 by New Zealand born singer-songwriter, Hollie Fullbrook, Tiny Ruins now includes bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alexander Freer, and has gone from strength to strength,spending much of the past three years touring throughout Australia, Europe & the US, opening for artists such as Beach House, Joanna Newsom, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty, The Handsome Family and Calexico. The songs themselves are lyrically ambiguous and poignant, roughly following in the traditions of folk and blues, engaging moods both hopeful and world-weary. Their second album, Brightly Painted One, takes us on a journey that encompasses tones of dream pop and folk-blues alike.

"Her voice, somewhere between Karen Dalton and Nathaniel Rateliff, is filled with

contradictions - fragile yet forthright, vulnerable but fiercely determined - the lyrics

allusive and elusive as dreams" - **** MOJO

“Exquisite.” - WORD

‘Silences’ began as the music project of 23 year old Singer/Songwriter Conchúr White from County Armagh. After moving across the water in late 2010 to study at the University of Leeds, he began performing around West Yorkshire. More recently, ‘Silences’ has expanded to a flexible five piece ensemble with Christopher Harbinson, Breándan White, Michael Keyes and Jonathan Downing joining Conchúr. 'Silences' has drawn comparisons to Jeff Buckley, Villagers and Death Cab For Cutie. The group ended 2013 by performing for us at the Other Voices Music Trail in Dingle. 2014 saw the release of their long awaited debut E.P. We liked it so much, we asked Silences to perform at our IMRO Other Room! Their first single ‘Santa Cruz’ has already been played by Phil Taggart and Alice Levine on BBC Radio One, and we’ve seen Silences sharing a stage with Duke Special, Mark Geary, Lisa O' Neill, Paddy Casey and Frightened Rabbit amongst many others.

"Such a beautiful sound" PHIL TAGGART BBC Radio 1.

"A young group with a lot of soul, beautiful songs and a singer with a voice in the same vein to that of Tim and Jeff Buckley." PHILLIP KING, RTE Radio 1.

Keep your eyes peeled to our Facebook/Twitter/Website for more choice announcements over the coming weeks, but do bear in mind that we’re keeping a performance or two under our proverbial hat, so for those of you who’ll meander into our hideaway, expect the unexpected. Expect old friends and newer one’s too. Other Voices at Electric Picnic..anything could happen!