View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Universal Music Group (@universalmusicgroup)

Originally birthed in Pakistan, Coke Studio was set up in 2008 to provide an international platform for both emerging and established artists. Now on its fourteenth season, the studio recorded sessions have included a myriad of musical genres whilst promoting multiculturalism. To expand the programme to a global scale, Coca-Cola has partnered with Universal Music to broaden and develop the studio’s programme to help emerging talent.

Richard Yaffa, EVP, Global Brands of Universal Music Group has spoken on the new partnership, “Collaborating with these incredible artists and the Coca-Cola team on both the music and creative vision for this launch was magic, Our companies are aligned in our deep commitment to showcasing phenomenal talent, to partnering with artists from all over the globe and to supporting them in sharing their music while creating opportunities to expand their fanbase.”

All seven covers of the classic rock track will be featured in a new documentary entitled The Conductor, which will also include behind the scenes footage and further musical content. The new documentary and recorded covers are available now and can be accessed via Coke Studio’s Youtube channel. The powerful short pays homage to the legacy of Queen’s 1986 single and aims to showcase themes associated with Real Magic, Coca-Cola’s new brand that expresses philosophical ideas of creativity and unison.

The Coca-Cola Company’s Head of Global Music Culture Marketing Joshua Burke has given the following statement, “We set out to do something different with Coke Studio. Coca-Cola has always had a strong connection with music, working with stand-out emerging talent in different communities in all corners of the world, as well as a strong heritage in connecting people across borders and cultures. Coke Studio brings these two things together in a way that’s powerful and future-facing, supporting the development of talent in the music industry, while also connecting new audiences to new music – and to each other.”

Burke continued to discuss the new documentary short “We see ‘The Conductor’ as both a homage to the legendary Queen and an opportunity to refresh and reinterpret one of their greatest tracks in different ways across cultures and musical genres, for a new generation. There’s magic in that too.”

Click here for Coke Studio’s Youtube hub.

The cover was recorded for an Apple Music Home Session, a new idea launched by the digital music service last year. Within the session the band also promised to perform one of the group’s own songs, the group also performed the single ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, taken from their debut album ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’. The original recording released by Billie Eilish was the singer’s third single to be taken from her forthcoming album ‘Happier Than Ever’ set to be released 30th July 2021 via Darkroom, a sub-label of Interscope records. Eilish rose to popularity in 2015 with the release of the debut track ‘Ocean Eyes’, which led to a meteoric rise through her first number-one single ‘Bad Guy’. Much like ‘Bad Guy’ and‘Ocean Eyes’, ‘Your Power’ was co-written with her brother Finneas O’Connor.

The cover sees the group provide a fresh approach to their version whilst projecting their popular Indie style onto the American singer’s recent single. The Inhaler’s reworking showcases lead singer and guitarist Elijah Hewson’s impressive vocal range and includes the conventional indie instrumentation of electric guitar, keyboards and percussion. The group’s version has been received well by fans, this is no surprise with the track’s atmospheric soundscape which perfectly reflects the lyrical theme and the powerful build up to an emotive ending.

The band which hails from Dublin consists of members, Robert Keating on bass, Josh Jenkinson on guitar, Ryan McMahon on drums and frontman and guitarist Elijah Hewson, son of music legend and philanthropist Bono.  In 2020 they were up and comers within the industry and were included within the top 5 of BBC’s Sound off…, a yearly survey from professionals and critics to establish the ones to watch. After forming in 2012, the group released their debut single which was self-released. ‘I Want You’ was released in 2017 and was included within a compilation album.

Five more singles were released before their first studio album was announced earlier this month through record label Polydor. The group’s debut album was revealed on on 9th July 2021 and reached number one within the UK Album charts this week. In support of their debut album the band also performed the same set from their Apply Music Home Session during a BBC Radio 1 session, the session was performed at Maida Vale Studios located in London and was aired on 14th July 2021 at 6 pm.

Within the broadcast the group spoke to Annie Mac regarding the cover and the process taken to achieve the results, Hewson described how it took “months of training” to accomplish the vocal register heard in the cover, commonly referred to as falsetto. This vocal technique is obtained by the artist singing notes in which is abnormal for a typical voice to reach. Hewson also confirmed the group’s reasoning for picking ‘You Power’ to cover. “We wanted to do something that was popular. I think [Eilish] is a really good inspiration for people who wanna get into the pop world, When you hear her songs, you really know that it comes from her heart. And I think the song has a great message. I think we did a good job, and hopefully she likes it and we didn’t butcher her song. It’s a great song.”

The group’s debut has given the members a lot to celebrate, the album reached number one within the UK charts with 18,000 chart sales. On 16th July 2021, it was announced that the group clinched the top spot, the band took to Instagram to thank their fans.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Inhaler (@inhalerdublin)

The group’s win also marked an important record, the release is the first album number one win from an Irish band in 13 years. The last Irish group to reach number one was the Script’s debut album released in 2008 entitled ‘The Script‘. The quartet’s debut also broke a record on its Vinyl sales, the album became the fasted selling debut album on wax for a group since 2001.

Fans will be able to hear the band’s debut and potentially their recent cover live later this year. The group will hit the road this September, starting their tour in Sheffield and finishing in December with four hometown shows in Dublin.

Inhaler UK and Ireland Tour Dates

09/08/2021 – Colours – London
14/08 – Boardmasters – Newquay
15/08 – Pryzm – Kingston
16/08 – Deaf Institute – Manchester
18/08 – Blitz – Preston
19/08 – Colours Hoxton – London
23/08 – Old Fire Station – Bournemouth
24/08 – The Brook – Southampton
05/09 – Neighbourhood Weekender – Warrington
10/09 – Trnsmt Festival 2021 – Glasgow
17/09 – This Is Tomorrow Festival – Newcastle
28/09 – Octagon Centre – Sheffield
29/09 – O2 Academy Leeds – Leeds
01/10 – Keelesu (Keele University Students’ Union) – Newcastle Under Lyme
02/10 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
03/10 – O2 Academy Bristol – Bristol
05/10 – Rock City – Nottingham
06/10 – O2 Academy Forum Kentish Town – London
07/10 – The Adrian Flux Waterfront – Norwich
09/10 – Uni The Mountford Hall – Liverpool
10/10 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
12/10 – O2 Ritz- – Manchester
11/12 – The Workman’s Club – Dublin
12/12 – Limelight 2 – Belfast
14/12 – Limelight – Belfast
15/12 – Dolan’s – Limerick
16/12 – Cyprus Avenue – Cork
17/12 – INEC Acoustic Club – Cill Airne
19/12 – The Academy, Middle Abbey Street – Dublin
20/12 – The Academy, Middle Abbey Street – Dublin
21/12 – The Academy, Middle Abbey Street – Dublin
22/12 – Academy 2 – Dublin