BALLYMUN, CO. DUBLIN

2003 -

OVERVIEW The Infomatics is an award-winning hip-hop band from Dublin. The origins of the group date back to about 2003 when Barry O'Conaill [aka Boc] and Graham Birney [aka Bugs] started jamming together. At the time Graham was part of Irish reggae band #King Sativa. Graham's younger brother Aidan [aka Dero] would later join the collective as MC. Barry met Stephen Gunn [aka Konchus Lingo] while studying at Coláiste Dhúlaigh. Stephen's brother, Damien, had previously played with DC Nien and Tokyo Olympics. The four formed the original lineup of The Infomatics. The band set about performing live. In about 2005, the group started working on what would become its debut album. It was around this time that the band recruited Jorge Laguna on drums to help enhance its live sound. The initial output of the recording sessions appeared on the band's 2006 Demo CD. The CD was very well received and resulted in the band getting prestigious slots to the likes of Nas. The band released its debut single 'Wake Up' in February 2008. The band's debut album 'Kill Or Create' followed a couple of months later. The long player featured tracks such as 'You'll Get By', 'Truth Speakers' and 'Back To Front'. The latter became the band's second single release in August of that year. In 2009, the band participated in The Raw Sessions TV series. The premise of the show was to give a number of performers one day to write and record an original piece of music. The series included Dirty Epics, Hoarsebox, Majella Murphy, Noise Control, Rarely Seen Above Ground, Sickboy and Sweet Jane as well as The Infomatics. The infomatics outshone Noise Control in Round 1 and Majella Murphy in the semi-final. The final featured Dirty Epics and Rarely Seen Above Ground and took place in the Button Factory on 26 June. The Infomatics won the competition which resulted in the band being named the 'Sony Ericssson Artist Of The Year'. They also received a week's recording in Grouse Lodge and an appearance on the cover of Hot Press. The two original songs recorded by the band - 'The Long Finger' and 'Let Me Fly' were included on the 'The Raw Sessions' compilation CD which was given away with Hot Press magazine. In more recent times, the individual band members have been working on a number of personal projects. However, in July 2011, the band made the track 'New Era' available as a free download from Bandcamp. This was the first example of the new material which the band has been finalising. 2008 - Release of 'Wake Up' single [February] - Release of 'Kill Or Create' album [04 April] - Release of 'Back To Front' single [15 August] 2009 - The Infomatics win the first series of 'The Raw Sessions' on RTE TV - The Infomatics are named 'Sony Ericssson Artist Of The Year' 2011 - Release of 'New Era' single [16 July] - The Informatics perform as part of the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival in Dublin [06 - 08 October]