Pearse McGloughlin (Nocturnes): Whale Song, and particularly the beautiful video directed by my brother Kevin. It encapsulates many elements which I've sought in my work over the years: ethereal atmospherics, lyrical ambition and a touch of the sublime.
Touts: The best example of us as a band and our work in general is our live set.
Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon): Wolfstooth is sort of a go-to tune of ours – it takes a little from every corner of our writing style.
Rusangano Family: Our debut album, Let the Dead Bury the Dead. We spent a lot of time trying to conceptualise what it was that we wanted to collectively say and how it should sound as a collaborative piece. We wanted to try and time- stamp where we are, who we are and what it is that we do.
Talos: Right now it would be the live show. It's taken a long time and a lot of heartache to get this right. For the first time since I started, I feel really confident in it.
AIK: Got into music because I wanted to do something that I can't wait to wake up in the morning and do. I love being creative and making music is something that challenges my mind and creativity.
Ailbhe Reddy: I used to sing songs I made up to my dog in our back garden when I was a little kid, so I've definitely always wanted to write music. I started playing guitar when I was 12 and immediately began to write songs – they were awful, of course! However, I improved as I got older (I hope) and obviously experiencing relationships as I got older gave me the real inspiration I needed to write honestly.
Maria Kelly: Online DIY musicians endlessly inspired me at a young age. The likes of Kina Grannis, Orla Gartland and Kate McGill were huge inspirations to me in terms of realising that the do-it-yourself approach is possible.
Al Dodd (Exploding Eyes): I started playing in bands pretty early on in secondary school and lost whatever interest I had in the education system. I did music, which kept me interested, and I also liked English, as I could write stories and use my imagination a bit. Both of these classes had good teachers, which made a difference.
Lizzie Fitzpatrick (Bitch Falcon): My school, Coláiste Bríde in Enniscorthy, was brilliant for music. I was in the choir class so that gave me many opportunities to skip Irish, maths and others to play awful classical guitar. I was really terrible in school, but my music teacher always let me play along dreadfully to the choir. I had no concept of timing or tuning, but he still let me play. It drove me to practice and I eventually got a grip.
Rusangano Family: School = tin-whistles and choirs. School did nothing for me in terms of music. College was okay, but a tad removed from the true nature of working in music. The institutions doing the most for young people and music are the youth services; they actually listen to the young people, and what they want.
Pearse McGloughlin (Nocturnes): As teenagers in Sligo band No Socialite, we sent our music to The Frames. We got back a message from Glen: "Do it to the metal!" I'm still not really sure what that meant, but we savoured these words from the oracle and four albums later I'm still doing it.
Talos: I think it wasn't so much told to me directly, but it was to enjoy the oblivion that comes with making music.
Touts: Stop thinking about it and do it. Music isn't a dark art.
Nigel Kenny (Bitch Falcon): Always be on time, make an effort to meet and speak with everyone working on your gig, be polite and courteous yet assertive in your dealings with promoters and, above all, put the work in.
Rusangano Family: Be nice to everyone always.
Ailbhe Reddy: A great piece of advice that I heard at HWCH last year was, "You only get one chance to be heard for the first time." I think there is a huge temptation because of the ease of uploading tracks online these days to just put every thought up to be heard. I didn't consider what I was putting out early on as much as I do now. It was a brilliant piece of advice.
Maria Kelly: Stick at it. I know that sounds obvious, but if you choose music as something you want to do in your life, try to do it every day. Make time for it every day. Write every day.
Lizzie Fitzpatrick (Bitch Falcon): I work as a nurse, and I appreciate the frustration it gives me. I hope to be in the position in the future to quit nursing and focus on music, but at the moment I appreciate every second I'm free to play music and it drives me to use my time effectively.
Maria Kelly: I'm a student at the moment, so there's college to pay for too. I've hopped between service jobs to make a little extra money, but it doesn't exactly frustrate me. To be able to make a living from music is the dream, but for now, while I'm attempting to better myself as a musician, I don't really mind working a little harder in order to get myself there.
Touts: Get more venues opened and more opportunities for young bands because in reality the younger bands are going to take the likes of U2's place.
AIK: Take a closer look at some of us you haven't yet heard about.
Al Dodd (Exploding Eyes): I suppose with the new draft on policy for culture that has been published, it would be good to not forget that Ireland has an alternative music scene that could do with stronger attention.
Rusangano Family: Listen to the artists. Ask them about their work. Fight for your artists – these are the people you represent. Get to know them, not just get your picture taken with them. Trust them. These people work as hard as you do, and many work much harder. Do not champion the past over the present. Art is supposed to be challenging, so don't play it safe.
Ailbhe Reddy: This is kind of like the Leaving Cert Irish question, "Dá mbeinn i mo thaoiseach . . ." However, I have an actual answer for this! I think that the standard of music coming out of Ireland is so high and that more funding would keep our brilliant musicians in the country. I know that it is easy to put it down to needing more funding, but unfortunately, that is what we need.
