A chugging, decidedly DIY five-track dose of teeth-clenched alt-rock, Dundalk five-piece The Holy Ghost Explosion have unveiled their long-awaited debut EP, Wolves. Two years on from the release of the EP’s lead single, the EP evokes early Biffy Clyro and Reuben in equal proportion, down-tuned riffs marrying feral smatterings of cymbals and potent, pissed off vocals. Stream and/or download (for free, if you like) the EP below via Bandcamp. Wolves Extended Play by The Holy Ghost Explosion
Considered by many to be one of the country’s brightest and most promising young songsmiths, Northern Irish singer-songwriter Stevie Martin AKA Rainy Boy Sleep has unveiled the video to ‘Ambulance’, the first track taken from his forthcoming debut album, Waiting Games. Having been busy supporting the Waterboys on a few Irish shows – not to mention performing at this year’s Glastonbury – Martin has delivered quite a slick, infectious little package, the song’s earworming refrains and airy disposition gelling nicely with the accompanying video, which features the young songwriter going on a bit of a journey. Waiting Games will be released via Universal…
“Selfishness plays a very positive role for me. I have to love it to death or I can’t remain involved with it.” So says twenty-four year old Californian electronic producer Will Wiesenfeld AKA Baths. Having developed a particularly crippling bout of E Coli in 2009 that left him bed-ridden and unable to write music for months, he positively channelled this skirmish with mortality into his second full-length release, last year’s masterfully bleak and heart-wrenchingly beautiful Obsidian. If Nietzsche’s immortal adage “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” rings true, Wiesenfeld’s sophomore effort embodied a distinctly do-or-die spirit. With…
Taking place across the weekend of August 1-3, the wonderfully intimate and unaffected Forfey Festival returns to Forfey Farm near Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh with easily one of its strongest line-ups to date. As is its custom, homegrown folk and acoustic acts make up the majority of this year’s line-up, but there is also a wide range of electronic and rock artists – everyone from Hornets to Affleck – performing across the festival’s three days. Go here to buy tickets for the festival and check out our ten-track Festival Mixtape – including the likes of More Than Conquerors, Ciaran Lavery and Go Wolf (pictured) – below.
DANI brings something extremely unique to the term “singer-songwriter” here in Northern Ireland. Dabbling between slapping and tapping her guitar strings, her songs are gentle, charming little pieces which ring softly in your ears with their raw, dream-like textures. I caught up with her to discover what’s in store for her in the coming months, including her new EP in which she is collaborating with none other than Mike Mormecha of Mojo Fury and Malojian. Hi Dani. Last year you released an EP, It Speaks for Itself. How have things changed since then? Have you got anything in the works? Yeah, I released…
On Thursday, August 28, GeneratorNI will host a one-off session at Belfast’s Established Coffee, focusing on all things South By Southwest 2015. Hosted in association with UKTI, the session will advise all potential SXSW Musical, Interactive and FIlm delegates, as well as artists hoping to apply as showcasing artists. Featuring short presentations from representatives from SXSW and UKTI (UK Trade and Investment), as well as a general Q+A session and networking, this is an indispensable opportunity for artists to fully avail of what services and advice are available to them ahead of next year’s event. Artist applications for SXSW are…
Hands down one of the main draws of the festival each and every year, the line-up for this year’s Body&Soul stage at Electric Picnic has been announced. Split between the main stage, the Upstage and the EarthShip, everyone from tUnE-yArDs (above) , Perfume Genius and UNKNWN to The Altered Hours, Girl Band and Olof Arnalds have been confirmed to play the area, which will play host to some of the finest international and Irish acts. Here’s the full line-up: Body&Soul Stage Line Up tUnE-yArDs, Young Fathers, Perfume Genius, Kate Boy, Francois and The Atlas Mountains, Oum Shatt, Lau, Moodoid, Glass Animals, Olof Arnalds, Alice Boman, Dermot…
Celebrated techno producer Kassem Mosse released his debut LP Workshop 19 earlier this year, and now heads a tantalizing double bill of techno and deep house at Belfast’s Queens Student Union on Saturday, August 16, courtesy of the city’s premier electronic booking agents, Tw!tch. The German DJ and producer, real name Gunnar Wendel, has released one of the most engrossing and curious electronic LPs of the year in Workshop 19, and has several high-profile admirers in the genre in Omar-S and Joy O. Support on the night comes from Bristol producer Kowton, whose mix of heady dub influences and house textures…
Hands down one of Cork’s finest annual festivals, Indiependence returns to Mitcheltown’s Deer Park across the weekend of August 1-3, headlined by hip-hop overlords Public Enemy, London post-punk trio White Lies and Tom Odell. Better still, this year’s festival boasts some of the very finest acts, of every conceivable ilk and genre, that fall comfortably under the banner “homegrown”. Whether you look to the cosmically-inclined rapture of Cork’s The Altered Hours or Belfast-based indie-pop quartet Go Wolf, amongst several others, the veritable cream of Ireland’s musical crop will be nicely represented across the weekend. Check out the full line-up for the festival…
In the first of a new weekly “thing” here at the Thin Air (sometimes “thing” sums it up perfectly, you know?), Oh Volcano’s Owen Strathern delivers the inaugural Friday Mixtape, featuring some of his all-time favourite tracks – everyone from Talking Heads to The Magnetic Fields. Stream the playlist and read Owen’s thoughts on each track below. Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting On You): “I saw this track on Letterman and pre-ordered their album right away. The guy is mesmerising and this song is incredible.” Caged Animals – Teflon Heart: “I heard this track a few years ago and just heard an instrumental of…