Goldbug x Crash Ensemble

Goldbug
Crash Ensemble

MusicTown presents an exciting collaboration between the world renowned new music group Crash Ensemble and exciting new Irish/French artist Goldbug.

Goldbug is the moniker of Irish/French artist Danilo Ward. Goldbug's story starts in the stagnant waters of an abandoned well, thriving but neglected since many summers ago; in the web at the corner of the bedroom ceiling that has still gone unnoticed; in the ugly oak tree, hollow and dying, yet a house for the living. Fascinated by insects, but just a little more by music, he relocated from the rural French countryside of Provence to Dublin city. It is there he patiently crafted a collection of songs inspired by the isolated landscape of his upbringing, and all the creatures that call it home. Now living in the city, but nostalgic for his quiet youth, Goldbug found peace in creating songs that twist and turn to unfamiliar places, lush with sweeping strings, splashes of brass, dusty mellotrons, and his soft, hazy voice.

Co-produced with Chris W Ryan, and mastered by Heba Kadry, his upcoming debut album follows an art rock tradition, with a sound that nods as much to the lo-fi sampling of downtempo electronic music as it does to the orchestral compositions of old Disney soundtracks. Through nine delicately woven songs, Goldbug learns about the world and his places in all of it. Ambient sound collages, sprawling piano sonatas, and heavy reverb soaked guitars are all a part of the one organism, hellbent not on surviving, but on thriving, in the murky waters of adulthood. 

Crash Ensemble is Ireland’s leading new music ensemble; a group of world-class musicians who play the most adventurous, ground-breaking music of today. 

Amazingly ordinary people doing extraordinary things - Crash is innovative, adventurous and ambitious. 

Led by cellist and Artistic Director, Kate Ellis and Principal Conductor, Ryan McAdams, the ensemble commissions, collaborates, explores, investigates and experiments with a broad spectrum of music creators and artistic collaborators: ‘We love to innovate, with quality always at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about the music we play. We create experiences; exploring new ways of presenting music and bringing our audiences on new adventures. Community for us is key – our community inspires us to create and experiment more. We value our audiences and our connection with them.’ 

Crash perform both in Ireland and internationally. The ensemble’s music is available on their own label, Crash Records and they have recordings on Nonesuch, Cantaloupe, NMC, Ergodos and Bedroom Community labels. 
Crash Ensemble is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council, is a resident ensemble at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland and at Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland.

Presented by MUSICTOWN
Sponsored by Dublin City Council