Latest news with #KabinStudio
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
'It's such a Cork story, the homecoming feels special': 'Christy' makes its home debut
'This feels like the big one,' says Cork director Brendan Canty at his film Christy's premiere. It's not the Berlin International Film Festival — it premiered there in February. No, this is Mahon Point shopping centre on a Wednesday evening, and the atmosphere is electric. As the Kabin Crew entertain the gathering crowds nearby, Canty is recalling a conversation with his wife the night before where he shared his nerves. 'She was like, 'what, Mahon Point?' But, like, it's such a Cork story and for all the cast especially, this is the one, like. Cork is their world. It's such a Cork story, the homecoming feels special.' Despite his nerves at home, Christy is a resounding success internationally. In Berlin, Canty won a top award for his street-cast, Cork-shot debut feature film and he describes it as a whirlwind experience. 'It was chaos, but it was amazing. You go from making this film for eight years, almost privately, to it being shown in front of 1,000 people in the opening. It was just crazy and it went down so well.' Christy follows two estranged brothers as they grapple with their past and resolve to unite over one summer in Cork City's northside. At the centre of the film is actor Danny Power, who said it was 'scary' bringing the film home to Cork but that he enjoyed working in his native northside. Brendan Canty, actor Danny Power, and Danny's five-year-old son Keano on the red carpet at Mahon Point Shopping Centre. Picture: Chani Anderson 'I live up the northside anyway and I used to hang around Knocknaheeny, and I was in the Cabin when I was younger. It's really a tight-knit community, like everyone knows everything about everyone. It's really community-orientated, you wouldn't find it in many places, that tight.' Canty, who grew up in Ballincollig, notes Power was the first person he cast through the Kabin Crew and he describes the rap collective as their gateway to the community. 'It allowed me, who's not from the area, access to the area, just going up there and having a purpose and hanging out and stuff like that. I got to meet the wider community and hear the stories,' he says. Christy tackles dark topics and Power says he put a lot of his own experiences into the character. 'It was weird because I felt a lot of the emotions that Christy was feeling in the film that I felt before myself in life,' Power says. 'Not everything, obviously, but I was able to portray him a lot easier than I thought I would.' The pair say it was a tight-knit crew on set and they formed strong friendships, and soon co-star Chris Walley is walking over to poke fun at Power. Jamie and Tiny from the Kabin Studio performing on the red carpet at the premiere of 'Christy' at Mahon Point. Picture: Chani Anderson Walley, best known as Jock in The Young Offenders, says he is proud of the work being done in Cork. 'It fills me with enormous pride to see the film and the TV projects that are coming from here and to be a part of that means an awful lot to me,' he says. 'This is where I grew up, where my love for acting began. So to be able to come back to actually work here on screen is an enormous privilege.' The balance of light and dark subjects in Christy is impressive, says Walley. 'I think the way Brendan's managed to balance both the drama and the reality of situations like this with the humour is again, very true and reflective of Cork. I'm very proud to be part of the film.' Christy is in Irish cinemas from August 29.
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Local school kids team up with viral Grammy-longlisted young rappers to create new rap song in Irish and Scottish Gaelic
Young musicians (aged 9-12) from Edinburgh and Cork are breaking new grounds with a unique hybrid international hip-hop collaboration, blending Irish and Scottish Gaelic in a creative celebration of language, culture, and connection. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The project, led by Cork's Kabin Crew (the collective behind the Grammy Award longlisted viral hit 'The Spark') and Tinderbox Collective, brings together nine young artists from Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pàirce (Parkside Primary School), a Gaelic-medium primary school in Edinburgh and five experienced young performers from the Kabin Studio's 'Kabin Crew' project in Cork, who have been co-writing a rap song exploring their shared heritage. Funded by the Foras na Gaeilge – Colmcille Fund, and supported by Barr na gCnoc, University College Cork, the initiative has seen the group connect through eight online writing sessions, where they have shared stories, built friendships, and co-written a rap track that explores the theme 'Edinburgh vs Cork.' During the online sessions, the young artists shared stories about their hometowns, swapped slang, and exchanged other phrases in Irish and Scots Gaelic. The writing process became a cultural exchange as much as a musical one. Each group writes in their own language, yet the similarities between Irish and Scots Gaelic have sparked a lot of interest, fun and humour, which really highlights the deep linguistic and cultural ties between Scotland and Ireland. The result is a vibrant, joyful track that reflects their creativity, curiosity, and cultural pride. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jed Milroy, General Manager at Tinderbox Collective, said: 'Tinderbox Collective are so excited to be collaborating with The Kabin Studio on this unique creative project. Their ambitious approach to making youth music both accessible as well as of the highest quality is truly inspiring for us all and to be part of them using that platform to promote Gaelic and Irish is a real honour. Long may it continue!' Tinderbox Collective and Kabin Crew From grass-roots youth work to award-winning productions, Tinderbox aims to ignite a spark in people – one which fills them with confidence, imagination, and sense of possibility, and helps them achieve things they never thought possible. Their work uses music and the arts to bring people together and strengthen communities, providing exciting opportunities to those who need them most, and supporting young people to build their confidence, skills, self-esteem, and professional experience. Máire Dineen, Programme Manager at Kabin Crew, said: 'The Kabin Studio is delighted to be part of this project and looks forward to building new relationships with our Scottish friends through music and language.' The collaboration will culminate in a professional recording and music video. Five of the Edinburgh participants will travel to Cork on 27th June to record the track at the Kabin Studio, while five members of Kabin Crew will later visit Edinburgh to film the video alongside their new collaborators. The Kabin Studio, based in Knocknaheeny, Cork, is a dynamic youth music and creative hub known for empowering young people through songwriting, rap, and performance. It provides a safe and inspiring space for young artists to express themselves, collaborate, and develop their talents. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Talking about this project, Heidi from Kabin Crew, said – 'I feel it's an amazing way for kids in the North Side to learn Irish and Gaelic. I can't wait to meet my new friends in Edinburgh, they were really nice over Zoom, super sweet and I can't wait to meet them' Tinderbox Collective and Kabin Crew writing their song Archie, aged 10, from Edinburgh said – 'It's been working really well getting to write a song in Gaelic and Irish and meeting the Kabin Studio guys. It's really interesting to meet Irish Gaelic rappers. I hope is that if we keep doing this we could get as famous as the Kabin Crew!' By writing and performing in Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic, these young artists are helping to bring these rich, historically underrepresented languages to audiences who wouldn't usually engage with them and showing them that Gaelic languages are not only alive but thriving in the voices of the next generation. The Tinderbox and Kabin Crew collaboration will be released later this year.
Extra.ie
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Cork kids' viral dance lands in Fortnite as Kabin Crew make gaming history
You've read that right — the mega-viral Kabin Crew now have their dance immortalised in Fortnite. For the uninitiated, Fortnite's 'emotes' can be bought in the popular battle royale game's store for V-bucks (which can be purchased using real money) which can then be used in game as you blast at your enemies and dance after getting your Victory Royale. While dances to songs such as Sabrina Carpenter's Please, Please, Please and Drop It Like It's Hot by Snoop Dogg, Kabin Crew and the Lisdoonvarna Crew have had their dance immortalised in the game. You've read that right — the mega-viral Kabin Crew now have their dance immortalised in Fortnite. Pic: The Kabin Studio For just 500 V-Bucks (which is about €4.50 in real money), your Fortnite skin — be it Sabrina Carpenter, Travis Scott or Michael Myers from the Halloween movies — can now do an energetic dance that the kids made famous, complete with the backing track of the actual song. The drum and bass rap song went massively viral after the Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew last summer, when it was released as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2024 — the national day of free creativity for children. The song went viral worldwide, gaining over two billion views on social media, over 50million streams on Spotify, and even being longlisted for a Grammy. @extradotie No, your eyes do not deceive you – that is Sabrina Carpenter dancing to The Spark by Cork kids Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew. The song and dance has appeared in Fortnite as an 'emote' meaning players can do the dance in game. #kabincrew #thespark #fortnite ♬ original sound – Extradotie The song also won the Choice Music Prize for Irish Song of the Year, beating out a massively competitive category with songs from artists such as CMAT, Fontaines DC and Cian Ducrot, with the public vote going to the kids. The Kabin Studio, a non-profit youth music space in Knocknaheeny, on the northside of Cork City, is made up of a crew of songwriters, rappers, musicians, creatives, volunteers and participants of all ages. 'The Kabin has grown out of a love for hip hop, songwriting, performance and building confidence within young people,' says creative director Garry McCarthy. Fortnite's emotes can have players dancing in the game, with The Spark being the latest addition to the item shop. Pic: Epic Games 'We're doing stuff like this all the time with the lil legends that attend – new songs every week with the team of talented and caring tutors and volunteers at The Kabin, having loads of fun and making memories in the process.' 'The Spark' has scored praise from the likes of Stormzy, Becky Hill, and Tove Lo since its release – while The Needle Drop's Anthony Fantano crowned it the 'banger of the year.' 'We hope that the success of this will help to secure the Kabin Studio's future, support the wider group of young people that we work with and allow us to deliver more outreach projects for kids with fewer opportunities,' Garry remarks.
