• Watch: Tucan – As It Was

    In the very best sense possible, Sligo instrumental band Tucan have released easily one of the most gloriously messed up videos we’ve seen in quite some time for their new single, ‘As It Was’. Directed by Bobby McGlynn and Bryan Quinn, the video – featuring some extraordinary acting by Jonathan Gunning – features cinematography by Peter Martin and was filmed at The Model in Sligo last year. We challenge you to find a video featuring such an array of facial expressions – some more maniacal than others – from a single actor. Taken from Towers, ‘As It Was’ sees Tucan reinvent themselves…

  • Watch: Michael Mormecha – Mixtapes

    Lifted from his forthcoming debut solo album, Mojo Fury frontman Michael Mormecha has unveiled the video to his first ever solo single, ‘Mixtapes’. A wonderfully idiosyncratic affair, nicely placed between Mojo’s symbolic sorcery and Mormecha’s more acoustically-inclined work as Clown Parlour, the track’s intrigue and charm resides in its masterfully stripped-back approach. Watch the video for ‘Mixtapes’ – directed by DogKennel productions, and featuring Mormecha perform the song in the woods – below.  

  • Inbound: Big September

    Featuring original photography by Alessio Michelini, we catch up with Wicklow indie rock five-piece Big September to talk about the recording and release of their debut album, the escapism inherent in their music and the band’s ahwe abundance of self-confidence looking towards the next few months. Hi guys. You released your debut album a month ago to a great response. How does it feel having it out there? It feels amazing. We had such a laugh making it and it makes it so much better that it did so well. We’re really thankful to everyone who bought it – it means so much to…

  • EP Stream: SertOne – Mouthful

    Liverpool-based, Portadown-derived beatmaker SertOne has released a tasty new five-track EP, titled Mouthful. Available in both digital and cassette form, the EP – released via Fly High Society – is a brilliantly bass-led effort, layering warm textures with skittering rhythms and stabs of balmy synth. According to SertOne’s Bandcamp page, the EP “fuses the sounds of modern electronic music with the exciting new sounds emerging in the forms of Chicago’s Drill & Footwork.” And fuses extremely well at that, we reckon. Stream the EP below now. Mouthful EP by SertOne

  • EP Stream: Making Monsters – Attention

    Having released the stellar ‘Nosebleed’ just last week, Derry alt-metal band Making Monsters have released their new five-track EP, Attention. Produced, mixed and mastered by Neal Calderwood at Manor Park Studios, the EP – an extremely impressive and powerfully attacking release – is the follow-up to the band’s promising 2012 self-titled debut EP. Check out the band’s forthcoming tour dates and stream Attention via Bandcamp below. Attention by MakingMonsters

  • No Tomorrow: The Bonnevilles & Rhinos @ Voodoo

    Presented by yours truly, The Thin Air, the next installment of our monthly gig/club night No Tomorrow at Voodoo Belfast on Saturday, July 5 will see two of the country’s finest garage-rock duos lay masterful waste to eardrums, limbs and everything in between. Headlined by garage-blues twosome The Bonnevilles – a duo (pictured) with an incredible live reputation, bursting with energy and sweaty zeal – the show will also feature the Paul Currie-fronted Rhinos, a new fangled Belfast garage-noise duo who have had tongues wagging and ears rattling from the get go. Back-to-back, it’s safe to say that we’re very…

  • Chic announced for Belsonic

    Having had quite a remarkable rebirth over the last couple of years, funk/disco legends Chic have been announced to play Belsonic festival on Tuesday, August 19. With several other shows from the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Biffy Clyro set to place at the annual Belfast festival in mid-August, Chic’s performance will be their only Northern Irish show of 2014. The Nile Rodgers-fronted band last played Belfast at the Waterfront Hall last October. Tickets for the show go on sale at Friday, June 20 at 9am via Ticketmaster.  

  • ASIWYFA, General Fiasco and more for Rock Against Racism show

    Belfast venue The Limelight have announced a hugely impressive Rock Against Racism line-up for Friday, June 20. Set to play on the night is the veritable cream of the crop of Northern Irish music: North Coast post rock quartet And So I Watch You From Afar, rockers The Answer (Acoustic), General Fiasco (also acoustic; a rare appearance from a band on hiatus), Lisburn alt-rock masters Mojo Fury, Belfast-based prog-rock band Kasper Rosa, alt-punk four-piece Empty Lungs and more acts yet to be announced. According to the organisers, the special fundraiser – presented for The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minoriries…

  • Stream: Dear Desert – Give It Up

    Comprised of Richie Fenon, James O’Donnell of Hush War Cry and Brendan Millar of Futures Apart, the band , new-fangled Dublin electro/indie-pop trio Dear Desert have unveiled their debut offering, ‘Give It Up’ – and what a resounding first offering it is. Conjuring the likes of Belfast band Go Wolf and The Radio Dept., the track betrays a real confidence and command that is often lacking from debut singles, the track’s lush amalgam of balmy synth lines, echoing beats and soulful vocals melding to deliver a subtly spellbinding four-minute track. Stream the track – produced by Darragh Nolan – via Soundcloud below.

  • Festival Mixtape: Body & Soul 2014

    Boasting one of the strongest festival line-ups this summer, Body and Soul returns to the labyrinthine and picturesque Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath from June 20-22. Closely connected to the tradition of the Summer Solstice –  a thousand year old celebration to honour the sun – the festival has struck a fantastic balance between the very best acts in electronica (and elsewhere) and visual/performance art over the last few years, increasingly establishing itself as an annual showcase with its very own unique draw and charm. With exactly one week to go to the festival, we have compiled a fifteen-track Body & Soul…