Skully is also on the NEW Myspace! If you are on there, come by & connect with him.  Leave him a comment, and let him know that you heard about him here on Blogspot!! He has many of his songs uploaded for your listening pleasure.  :-) 

Skully on Myspace



 BOOM BOOM BA BY METISSE (SKULLY & AIDA BREDOU)

SKULLY IS NOW ON SOUNDCLOUD!!!

Stop by and listen to some really good music!
https://soundcloud.com/skully-official

https://soundcloud.com/skully-official/the-smile-mindersSMILE MINDERS

It Rained That Morning by Skully

HALLELUJAH BY SKULLY

Did you know.....?

A little Trivia about Skully and his music!

* Skully set up a language school in France called Communication International.
* Aida & Skully both speak French.
* Skully's favorite song from My Fault is PRAY.
* Aida's grandmother was also a dancer & singer.
* Skully used to be a machine operator for Canada Dry.
* Skully's band, Chapter House were voted Band of '86 by the people of Ireland.
* Aida played the congas in a Cuban band and doing backing vocals at the same time.
* Skully's first band was called "Real Mayonnaize".
* Aida sang in Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese (Brazilian songs) before she met Skully.
* Skully was interviewed for Alan Swan's book "From the Cradle to the Stage".
* Skully's hobby is genealogy.
* Metisse's first concert was played at Conolly"s in Leap.
* Metisse's biggest concert was the 'O2 gig in Dublin - 100,000 people attended.
* Metisse means mixture in French.
* Metisse's video for Sousounde was filmed in reverse.
* Aida had to learn Sousounde in reverse for the making of the video.
* The video of Sousounde cost 80,000 stirling to make.
* On New Year's Eve 2000 to welome in the new Mellinium, the biggest Irish party was held in the Point Depot in Dublin. At midnight, the crowd went into overdrive to the music of Metisse.
* Skully's dad was one of the greatest big band stars in Ireland.
* Aida is a highly qualified instructor in Traditional African dancing from all West Africa.
* Aida loves cooking meals from different countries; Africa, France, Asia, Mexican & Ireland...and Skully from Japan, India, Italy & Asia,
* Aida used to teach dance to children between 4 & 12 years old.
* In the shower Aida loves to sing in an opera voice as a Mezzo-Soprano.
* Skully did his first DJ gig at age 14.
* Skully earned the nickname "The Professor" for his master of the electronic music world.
* Metisse signed to Sony Publishing International even before they had any record deal secured.
* Metisse's debut album was called "My Fault".
* Metisse went to number 4 in UK and most European dance charts with their first single "Sousounde".
* Metisse's song "Boom Boom Ba" became the theme song to Madonna's film "The Next Best Thing".
* "Boom Boom Ba" reached #1 USA Billboard soundtrack Album chart on "The Nest Best Thing" soundtrack album.
* "My Fault" reaches #6 in the Asian charts on the "Bondy Chiu" "Inside" album.
* "Sousounde soundtrack was used as soundtrack to the Olympics.
* "Boom Boom Ba" features in "The Bill" and French program "Y'a Pas Photo".
* Metisse appear on many compilation albums including "The Chill out albums 1 & 2, "Essential Soundtracks", "The Love Album", "United Breaks Nation", "FSuk4", "Y3K", "Inside", "Go Move Shift", "Ministry Presents".
* Metisse license "My Fault" to French Company Sempre/BMG (territory France).
* Metisse reach #4 in French airplay charts.
* Metisse license to Swiss company "Disc Office" (territory Switzerland).
* Metisse 33rd most downloaded artist on the net (ref: Audiosurge)
* Metisse's "Boom Boom Ba" is used by Italian giant "Laura Biagiotti" for perfume "Emotion" promotion.
* Metisse sell 30,000 singles of "Boom Boom Ba" in Italy & Germany.
* Metisse license to "Reekus Records" (territory Ireland).
* Metisse's official website metissemusic.com, received over 19,000 visits in two
years.
* Metisse's "Boom Boom Ba' used as theme to "The Man Booker Prize" promotion on BBC.
* 2002 Metisse license to Asian giant "Avex" (territory Asia).

***Taken fron Metisse's website, metissemusic.com.


 Skully's music has featured in :

Tristar's SOUL SURFER • Jessica Verday's HAUNTED • Fox Media CORK WEEK 2010 • Jay Leno's TONIGHT SHOW • NBC's UNDERCOVERS • ABC's THE GATES • FA's - Cup Final • The Olympics • MGM's - Life After Death • MGM's - Dead Like Me (Boom Boom Ba 7 times) • MGM's - Dead Like Me (Nomah's Land 2 times) • Madonna's - Next Best Thing • Samuel Goldwyn Film's - Lila Says (Sousounde) • BBC's - Booker Prize • Laura Biagiotti's - Emotion (perfume campaign) • ITV's - The Bill • NBC's - ER • TF1 - Y'a Pas Photo (France) • RTE's - Borderline • RTE's - Nationwide • Comet - Hi Fidelity test CD. • Sharp - TV promotion • Murphy's - Beer promotion • Aiden Stanley"s - Art O' Leary • Jessica Verday's - The Hollow (My fault) • and many others.

Skully has worked with :

Metisse • Esther Canata • Sugarmama productions • Burlywood • Network • Telstar • MGM • ZTT • Peter Rabbit • Pete Briquette Boomtown Rats • Wildstar • Avex • Aida • Sony • Sempre • Juliet Turner • Horslips • Nomah • Julie Feeney • RTE • Denis O Sullivan • Myles O'Reilly • Deborah Buckler • Juno Falls • The Froggies • Kathleen Fleming • Jim Lockhart • Christy Curtain • Mick Flannery • Rising Appalachia • BBC • Noel Hogan Cranberries • Trinity • Annette Buckley • Kate Murphy • Anne Redmond • Aiden Stanley • The Chapter house • Real Mayonnaize • Sinead Cantwell • Karl Nesbett • Lindsay Ferguson • ABC •

Reviews of Skully's Music

Honest reviews by Skully music fans......

** If you would like to add a review of Skully's/Metisse's music, please contact me by leaving a message at www.myspace.com/sammilee. All contributions will be considered.**

The Enchantment of Skully's Subsonics & QXD Technology.

Review by Pam from MA

Skully's music provokes ones senses.
Cunningly placed 'subsonic'1 bass notes are felt before they are heard. The realistic musical effects of the steady rhythm of the Toulouse 3:30 am Goods Train soothed my anxious nerves as the placid strings helped form joyful images of a sunny, lush green French countryside. This lead to my first experience with the gut vibrating sensation of 'subsonics'1 that came from the series of four bass notes that emphasize the downbeat in the clickity-clack of the wheels from the Goods Train rolling across the steel rails in "Gare de Montrabe" from Skully's "Without A Voice" (WOAV) album.

On the desolate drive along Route 140 to New Bedford Massachusetts while listening to "Sadness" from Métisse's "My Fault" album, I felt a pulsation in my chest like a Mack semi-truck passing or multiple ruts in the pavement. Realizing it was neither, thus adjusting the volume, revealed a subtle crescendo of 'subsonic' strings at 1:25 to 1:30 in this beautiful Skully creation.

Like the enigmatic sensation in my chest, the first time I fell in love with Stephen4 at age 7, I could feel the thump of my heart in the two 'subsonic'1 bass notes that follow the series of five audible bass notes repeated in "I Love You", from Métisse's "Nomah's Land" album.

Skully's QXD Technology2 engages you into living and feeling the whole story of the piece.
He has masterfully developed and incorporated the QXD Technology2 where the placement of each sound is key to the genius of his musical compositions. Although a bit of music by itself may arouse a specific emotion, skilfully mixed together, Skully's concerto creates an eventful environment for the listener. His multi-dimensional "soundscapes" 3 are purposely intended to stimulate emotions in the listener. One not only hears but literally feels the music of Skully's compositions creating a complete penetrating experience. Each composition transports the listener through an interactive and affecting event formulated by the listener's own imagination.

As I listened for the first time to "Journey to Oasis" from Métisse's "Nomah's Land" album, the tubular and panting sounds of inhaling and exhaling lulled me into a false sense of control over my breathing. The moaning strings combined with the strained clacks and deep drum beats set the pace for my footsteps along the arduous journey across the hot dry dunes of Sandy Neck, Cape Cod. At the uplifting melody of the sitar and Aïda's joyful chants, when I realized I had stopped breathing because the tubular and panting special effects had paused; I had to GASP and remind myself to BREATH! The bubbly, clicking and sizzling electronic music felt like warm droplets of soft rain refreshing my face as I became encouraged at the realization of my journey's end.

The mournful strings and anxious symbols in "Life" from Métisse's "Nomah's Land" album thrust me into the emphasis of the agonizing event. The short almost indistinguishable hums, chants and moans carefully threaded into the mix of sombre strings and piano brought back the very real sharp pain of heartbreak in my heart and chest. As the strings elevated and the Steinway piano became more emphatic, I found myself smack at the receiving end of these AT&T telephone messages. My heart became hard and cold from the sharp pain of the tenacity depicted in the thumping bass and defiant Steinway. Once again, I had to remind myself to BREATH!.

Skully's creations leave you with a sense of rewarded stimulation. I could taste the smoothness of the yummy Semi-sweet Chocolate Fudge and feel the delight in my tummy as my spirit joined the small child skipping and dancing around his living room to the happy chorus of the Hammond organ in "The Seaport Fudge Factory" [in San Diego CA] from Skully's WOAV album. I laughed as the image of the giggling musician at his keyboards, mixers & gadgets enforced the tempo with the drums & symbols; and rolled out a Ragtime piano medley to extend the ecstasy of the delicious experience.

Skully's winning makeover of the old Irish folk tale of "Molly Malone" from his "Irish Makeover" album is better than reading an Irish Fairy Tale; and has to be the best version ever done. Identifying each sound effect relative to the story has been a part of the wonderfully entertaining experience. Myles O'Reilly's gently masculine vocals and the delightful harmony engaged me through to the sad ending. Molly's cloth handbag tugged on my wrist from the weight of the coins dropping in. I was jostled and tossed by the bumping of the Woodies wheelbarrow across the cobblestone roads. My forehead felt sympathetically warm for Molly's suffering of the Fever. And for me the reward was the excitement of feeling the chilled swoosh on my face of Molly's ghost rushing past.

I am so blessed to have had the privilege of literally feeling these wonderful events in listening to Skully's brilliant multi-dimensional musical creations. Each one has been more exciting than the last because I invariably hear thrilling new sound effects at repeated listens. For me Skully's music is like waking up to the joyous song of the Robin announcing a new Spring day; and like the reward from waiting on the Lord for answered prayer (it will be far greater than you could have ever imagined.) Anyone who listens to a Skully5 'soundscape' will surely reap the benefit of his brilliant talent and expertise in the use of his QXD Technology.

Footnotes:
1 s%u016Db-s%u014Fn%u0301%u012Dk (adj.): Of less than audible frequency. Having a speed less than that of sound in a designated medium.

1 'subsonics': Go to Métisse on MySpace Music at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=81863203 and click on 'view more' for the "Journey to Oasis" blog; read the comment posted by Métisse on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 10:30 AM.

2 Details of QXD Technology, devised by Skully can be found on the Métisse Official Website Homepage at http://metisse.music.free.fr/index.html ;click on "QXD Technology" in the 2nd row of tabs.

3 Go to Métisse on MySpace Music at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=81863203 and click on 'view more' for the "Journey to Oasis" blog.

4 If you are a glutton for punishment {LOL-JK} and you like to read, an explanation of Stephen relative to Skully's piano can be found in my Wed. Feb.27,2009 blog "First Loves & Skully's Piano" at http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=399370878&blogId=472961685

5 For more information on the career of Skully, please visit http://www.squidoo.com/SkullyWithoutAVoice.

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Skully's "Without A Voice"

Review by Berry from Oregon

Sitting here with the window open, listening to the rain drops hitting the leaves of my Lilac Tree.

I love all of Skully's music, but I keep coming back to his 'Without A Voice' digital album. Although all the songs are purely instrumental, so much of Skully himself is in each and every song! Sometimes I wonder how many sleepless nights he spent up working and thinking, to get everything just right. One can tell that he poured his heart and soul into creating 'Without A Voice'!

Living in Oregon and waking up to the rain hitting the window panes once again, Skully's 'It Rained That Morning' has become my favorite song. Oregonians have a saying: "Don't just stand in the rain, FEEL it!" I "feel" the rain while listening to this beautiful song! Early morning dawning, simulated by strings. A little "rumbling" in the back, just like before a storm. The piano setting in when the first raindrops start falling. The guitar accompanying the piano, the rain increasing. The song ending with the piano by itself, tiny raindrops continuing to fall, echoing while the song slowly fades away.

Here comes 'Arduity Sails By'. Literally! I am not sure if Skully got his inspiration to this song by one of the big Ferries in the Irish Sea, or by a Sailboat gliding by. To me it sounds like the engines of the Ferry are slowly starting, turning into the rhythmic, steady sound one can hear when the Ferry leaves port and gains speed. A little creaking and moaning, after all the engines have to run day after day, but there she goes!

Love Trains? Listen to 'Gare De Montrabe' and go on a journey through the country side. You can hear the rhythmic, metallic sound made by the wheels of a moving train. The clickety clack everyone is familiar with living close to a train station.

'My Waltz With Matilda' is another favorite of mine!
I sat listening to it one night and imagined an entire story to this song:
Someone walking up to a big, beautiful old house. It is empty and overgrown by ivy. The person opens the front door and walks into a great hall. Silence greets the person, and only the stairs creak when the person walks upstairs. A double door leads into a ballroom. There are no furniture left, but in the far left corner a grand piano with a piano bench awaits. The person sits down on the bench, opens the lid, wipes the dust off the keys and starts playing 'Matilda'. For a moment it seems like the old house is waking up and is listening to the music. A young couple appears out of nowhere and starts dancing. Laughter, bits and pieces of conversations and the clicking of champagne glasses can be heard. As soon as the music ends, the couple disappears and the house is quiet once again. The person closes the lid softly, gets up and looks around one more time. Down the stairs and into to the great hall the person goes, closes the front door and walks away.

Cont'd next page

Reviews Cont'd

'Trouble' must have given Skully the most Trouble, pun intended!
What a challenge it must have been to combine the flute from the 1970's Horslips hit 'Trouble With a Capital T', and the guitar from their acoustic album 'Rollback' recorded in 2004. The end result with the 2 melodies combined, and the flute and guitar playing for the very first time together, is amazing!

These are just a few songs I love listening to from this beautiful digital album! Skully's pride and joy, rightly so. Go and give it a listen and make up your own stories to each song!

Skully is a remarkable artist who will welcome you warmly as his "friend" on www.myspace.com/skullymusic!
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Irish Makeover Review/Skully

By: An Adoring Fan in California in the US of A: Darlene Napier Upton

I hardly know where to start, how about the beginning;

I first meet Skully around last December 2008; I had posted on myspace that my son and I had gone to see the Fairly new Irish/Scottish group in Los Angeles, at the Nokia Live on Thanksgiving weekend, I was so excited; then, not knowing what was going to happen I get a message from a guy in Ireland, Cork to be exact, who tells me about himself and a new CD called "Irish Makeover' I had no idea how lucky I had become.
This man is a genius; I listened, I fell in love with his all so special musical talent, and Skully and I have messaged each other via myspace ever since. You can tell how much of his heart and soul he pours into this music. His music masterpieces are direct from his heart to the hearts of his listeners. This man is gorgeous, caring, fun and totally too awesome for words. Skully deserves to have his talent recognized and heard as much as possible and I know he will be around for a long-long time. It's very amazing to me that he takes the time to answer all the posts personally from not just one but a few sites with care. Now about Irish Makeover;

I have my favorites;

Molly Malone; couldn't be any better, I absolutely love the vocals, it's powerful and its one you hum along to all day, out loud or to yourself. It's exactly what he states; Chill Out, Traditional Folk song. Skully's musical talent shines as well as the vocals. As described by another, his instrumentals give 'wings' to the mind%u2026.flight to the imagination%u2026
%u2026. %u2026

Black Bird; VERY excellent, I LOVE this song, makes me feel like I'm in Ireland in a mystical place in total serenity; a total unique and entrancing sound. Kate Murphy's harmonizing vocals and Skully's electronica talent make this song extremely passionate..

All Around My Hat; this makes me happy, upbeat and like nothing can change the way I feel; Skully's amazing talent shines, the vocals are in true Irish spirit and make this song unforgettable.

King of the Fairies; I play this one on my way to work, yes, over and over, it puts me in a great place and wanting to be the Queen of the Fairies and nothing can stop me now! It's a pure Skully masterpiece, the sounds are powerful and mystic and I like being there!

Shirin; this is one of Skully's very own, straight from his heart to yours. The sounds are beautiful and passionate, you can tell a lot of love went into this song, it tells a story of the man who created it.

Mardyke; another one of Skully's very own; catchy, fun and upbeat, instrumental perfection at its finest; takes you to another world where there are no problems or sorrow, to a totally different place, to Skully's world.

Skully's talent doesn't stop here, these are just a few of my favorites off of Irish Makeover; he's very much involved with other musical masterpieces other then just this one; check his myspace page, facebook, reverbnation, and you'll see, you will not be sorry!

I couldn't of said it any better then this;
Listen to 'Irish Makeover' and a makeover is exactly what you get.
Timeless Irish Classics have been given a fresh appeal reaching out to new listeners across borders, time zones, and electronic pathways. Digital Irish sounds refresh the baton which has been passed down for generations. Celtic music is suddenly modern and COOL. Everybody loves it. The man behind the music is a modern marvel - some say a genius.
(I took this from another friend's post, its too good not to mention)

I just can't say enough about Skully, his music is as refreshing as he is; he's a true talent and I wish him the best now and in the future, he has a lot to give and I'm sure he will be the BEST amongst the truly musical genius' of the entire world!
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My Waltz With Matilda" from Skully's "Without A Voice" album

commentary by Pam

This beautiful piece of piano music from Skully is a journey of enchantment filling one's heart with joy, security and romance.

It begins with restrained intermittent high pitched notes from the ivories that imply the reluctance of the lady to accept the gentleman's hand in dance. The tender melody from the Steinway encourages the reticent pair of dancers to embark on their waltz. Skully's masterful blend of reassuring harmony carries the couple into a compatible movement of merriment.

His soft deep tones supporting the refrain reveal the roguish smile on the gentleman's face as they glide across the floor while the interspersed twitter notes denote the lady's nervous giggles.

The rich bass ivory keystrokes embody the strength of her dancing partner as he sweeps her into a spin-and-dip with his firm but gentle grip on her arm and she succumbs to his masculinity.

As the music fades, the couple waltzes away into the night disappearing as they are enveloped by the fragrant evening mist.

You can purchase this piece at itunes.

PROFESSOR SKULLY From "theryan-o-riain22"

SUPERGROUP 1.4 UK.

A slight switch of genre now as we head towards Irelands masters of dance, trance , lounge and electronica of which Ireland holds some of the most 'elite' of the musical world.
Our first (and Irelands most famous) master of sound first started out as a DJ at the age of fourteen before moving into the freshly developing 'electronic' sound that was now starting to find it's foothold in the international music industry. His experiments with sound engineering on the cutting edge of electronica soon earned him the title of 'The Professor' among Ireland and the UK's musical community.
Despite alot of success with the band 'Chapterhouse' - especialy in Ireland - our pioneer grew tired of the bands international limitations and decided to go on a seven year solo spree as a real 'Professor' teaching English language to the students of Toulouse University in France. It was while teaching on the campus that he ended up going to a concert of a dance teacher who just also happened to be one of the most talented choreographers to have ever come out from Africas Ivory Coast. Her voice was astoundingly beautiful and the songs and sounds of her own African culture at that particular concert became a seed of inspiration in a fresh wave of musical creativity that led our musician into writing a few albums worth of material specificaly geared to surround, capture and and highlight that female choreographers voice.The singer, it seems, was just as impressed by his musical creations as he was by her voice and in 1997 Aida and 'Professor' Skully formed their unique two piece musical masterpiece called Metisse.
'Metisse' - the French for 'mixture' is exactly what it is... a blending of the Celtic Irish electronic music of Skully with the intensely expressive and powerfull African traditional and soulfulness of Aida as expressed in the French language. As the demos of their new musical mixture found their way into the offices of the worlds record companies, the return of post brought offer, after offer, for recording contracts and signings.Sony Publishing offered them a worldwide publishing deal even though they hadn't yet signed a recording contact with anyone...and the sound engineers of every record company to hear them out were all so impressed that they all refused to tamper with Skully's home studio recordings as they were all made to a quality that was higher than their own best technicians could accomplish.Skully's recording, engineering and production skills were it seemed, second to no one elses in the entire music industry worldwide.
A contract with Telstar looked very promising, but when it became apparent that the label were more interested in marketing and commercialisation than anything artistic Skully bought their album 'It's My Fault' back from Telstar. This brave move, that could quite well have ended up bankrupting them, instead led to much greater freedom and success as they returned their 'French speaking' household to Skully's native Cork. It soon transpired that one of their greatest fans was Madonna (whose own trance and dance creations of recent years were very much inspired by the duo) and when Madonna embarked on the film project 'The Next Best Thing' she chose the 'very best' for the soundtrack by using the music from her favourite band 'Metisse' . The singles and album quickly made their way to the top of the Billboard and every top compilation album producer concievable requested tracks from Metisse for their upcoming releases from 'The Ministry of Sound' and 'Chillout' to 'Essential Soundtracks'.
A 'Metisse V Horslips' track -using the now world famous Dearg Doom riff from the founders of Celtic Rock- became the Irish football teams theme tune as well as the RTE World Cup theme for the 2002 World Cup...The same year also saw the pair play to crowds of between twelve to a hundred thousand throughout europe. RTE also use Metisse creations for their 'Nationwide ' news programme and their music has been featured in countless TV programs throughout Ireland, the UK, Canada and the United States in programs such as 'ER, The Bill, Dead Like Me etc. When the UK electrical giant 'Curry's' were looking for an artist to help them test and advertise the most powerfull new sound audio systems for home use on the market today it seemed only natural to approach the sound engineer that the worlds most reknowned sound authorities described as the very best...Professor Skully is very much in demand.
Metisse's second album was entitled 'Nomahs Land' and again it drew heavily on Aidas haunting African cultural vocalisations and Skully's rich electronic and classical soundscapes to draw its listeners on to a deeply moving and emotionaly empowered musical journey that keeps up the emotional momentum from the very first note until the very last...When the couple (very amicably) seperated (they are still very close and live five minutes apart )Skully's musical escapades continued (as do Aida's ) with a number of musical collaberations and a solo release with a very unique and 'tasty' approach...
Skully's solo album aptly entitled 'without a voice' features wave after wave of laid back, funked up, upbeat and chilled out musical genius - including the purely musical renditions of former Metisse masterpieces such as 'Nomah's Land' but an extra stroke of genius came in his first solo American release that paired him up with the world famous American 'gourmet' and 'hand made' fudge company, the 'Seaport Fudge Factory' in San Diego. The company ships its gourmet confectionary worldwide but in 2008 they made a very special selection of chocolate entitled the 'Sweet Chocolate Seranade' which includes a special selection of Skully's songs on disc including 'It Rained that Morning' and 'Nomah's Land for Three Piano's'...a move that is very likely to start a wave of 'Skullymania' among the worlds female chocolate lovers!
Further projects over the last eighteen months include 'STILL' featuring the vocals of LA female soul singer 'Esther' and 'Irish Makeover', a chillout makeover of famous Irish folk songs and tunes featuring many established gifted vocalists and another traditional tune first made famous beyond Irelands borders by the Celtic rockers Horslips entitled 'The King Of The Fairies' (a classic reworking of the original 1976 and 2004 versions of the Horslips track 'Trouble' is also found on Skullys other original solo profile in the links below) . There are also upcoming plans for a tour of the Irish Makeover set along with further collaberations with vocalist Kate Murphy and further dance albums in the process of being mixed right now.The musical empire of Professor Skully is expanding rapidly so there are plenty of links to explore for this Master of Irish trance, dance and electronica - including the link to find and order that exclusively tasty chocolate fudge mix to drive the women folk wild...so get stuck in by exploring the following at...

FUDGE FACTORY:

http://www.seaportfudgefactory.com/skullyshirin.html