A lot of young people in their early twenties don’t know what to do with their lives. Especially when they’re almost done with college and have to think about their future. If you ask James Shannon and Noremac where they see themselves in five years, they know exactly what they want from their lives: people should know their self-produced music and enjoy listening to it.
Meeting only four years ago, James Shannon and Orán Shelley, whose artist name is Noremac, started writing rap songs together and releasing their music on several platforms. Today the two Irish musicians perform regularly in venues like The Workman’s Cellar or The Grand Social. Making music together means a lot to them, they could barely imagine stepping on a stage without another.
My colleagues Alessia Bonori, Lucas Zaráte and I were able to meet James and Orán in one of their rehearsal and production studios in Walkinstown, Dublin. The following video portrays their passion for music and gives you some impressions of their working process.
Before they met in person, James and Orán already worked on a song together with another person. One day, Orán just typed “Irish rappers” into his Instagram search, which resulted in him discovering James. Since the pandemic, they both spend their free time in the studio, writing and producing their own music. The first song they created together is called “The Weekend”. It was also the first song they performed together on stage last year.
Even though it is just the second year the two rappers perform on small stages in Dublin, they have had the opportunity to join some concerts in The Grand Social, where they just recently performed for St. Patrick’s Day. Last month, they played at the “Sticky’s Summer Kick-Off” at the Crow Bar Terrace of the Button Factory.
Just a few days ago, the rappers released their newest song “Know Me”. For them, it “emphasises that you should never live your life based on the opinions of others”. Check it out on the link below:
If you want to see James and Orán perform live, they will be supporting their friend Aaron J at The Workman’s Cellar on 18 May. The tickets are available here, the event will start at 8 pm.
