• Rave New World: Referendum Special (22/5)

    May 22, 2015 - By 

    In a special Referendum weekend installment of Rave New World, Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty take a look at some of the very best electronic gigs, tracks, releases and mixes. GIGS Beat BBQ present Rhythm Plate at Aether & Echo, Belfast Sunday, May 24 Some all day Bank Holiday fun at Aether & Echo with deep house duo Rhythm Plate bringing the vibes. They’re starting up on the rooftop then moving downstairs to the main club, so make sure to pace yourself on the Guinnesses. A raft of local support including Nez and Chris Hanna will be featuring too. AL Arthur Russell’s…

  • Dott’s USA Tour Diary: Part 3

    May 21, 2015 - By 

    In the third and final installment of Dott’s US Tour Diary the gang head to the Low Country for the last leg of their tour. They have a whale of a time in Savannah and Charleston before finishing off their time in the US with a visit to their friend Andrew in Atlanta. Read Part One and Two of the Dott’s Tour Diary  March 30: Hang Fire, Savannah, Georgia With very cloudy heads from an over-night flight we landed in Atlanta and met our driver for the next few days Taylor. Taylor turned out to be one of the best things (of…

  • Front of House: Blue Monkey PR

    May 21, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of Front of House, Mike McGrath Bryan chats to Blue Monkey PR agent Darren Johnston about his background in the industry, its role within a burgeoning Cork music scene and how others can get involved in the music PR industry in the current climate. Photos by Melanie Mullan. Hi Darren, could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved with Blue Monkey? Well, I’ve worked within the music scene in Cork for the last 10 years both in bands as a musician and supporting bands through various means and I’ve been involved with…

  • Insert Coin: Nicky Case

    May 20, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Insert Coin, Eoghain Meakin chats to Nicky Case, a digital artist and game developer about his work and his intriguing Coming Out Simulator.  Nicky Case is a game designer and interactive media guru. Over the years he’s honed his craft and skills and made games with a wide ranging dialogue about the obsessions, preoccupations and curiosities in our society. His :The Game: series took a scattershot look at love, art, celebrity, pop culture and a good few things in between. While his recent Parable of the Polygons illuminates by simplification the issue of living in an increasingly diversified…

  • Front of House: Louise McElvanna (CQAF)

    May 19, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of Front of House, Brian Coney chats to Louise McElvanna, Event Manager at the likes of Open House Festival, Belfast Festival at Queens and the recent Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Photos by Sara Marsden. Hi Louise. You’ve just finished working at this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. First off, any highlights? Hello The Thin Air. It’s always a mad 11-day whirlwind. There were so many highlights for me, but The Staves show was amazing, I just love them. I’m considering applying for the position of fourth Stave, but I’m not actually sure there’s a vacancy going! It was also…

  • Monday Mixtape: Christian Donaghey (Autumns)

    May 18, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, Derry musician Christian Donaghey – best known for his noise-pop project Autumns – selects and talks about some of his all-time favourite songs, featuring the likes of The Telescopes, Psychic Tv and Medicine. Autumns support Blue Whale at our BYOB, filmed show at Belfast’s The Loft this Saturday night (May 23). They will also support The KVB in Berlin on June 17. James Chance and The Blacks – Contort Yourself There’s two versions of this song, the other is by James Chance and The Contortions. I love this version a lot more because they made guitars…

  • Cork Heads: Una Feely

    May 19, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Cork Heads, Brid O’Donovan chats to Una Feely, the Campaign Coordinator for Yes Equality Cork. She also co-founded IndieCork and is part of the Management Committee. IndieCork runs from October 4 -11 this year. Yes Equality Cork My official title here is Campaign Coordinator, so basically it’s all the logistics around the campaign. What we are trying to do is to activate people into coming out and voting yes in the campaign and also to reach people who might be soft yeses, who are thinking about voting yes but with a little bit more information and they will…

  • Festival Preview: AVA Festival

    May 17, 2015 - By 

    Billed as a “one day-&-night grass roots Audio Visual Arts festival”, AVA Festival aims to promote the wealth of talent in Northern Ireland’s electronic music and visual arts scene. Taking place in the Titanic Quarter’s formidable T13 Building on Saturday, May 30, the one day event will be split into two broad sections: a daytime conference from 11am-4pm with a series of keynote speakers and panels, and an evening showcase from 4pm with some of the stars of Northern Ireland’s impressively healthy electronic and club scene. The likes of Bicep, Space Dimension Controller and Optimo are all involved in what…

  • Rave New World (15/05)

    May 15, 2015 - By 

    Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty delve into very best new electronic tracks and mixes of the week, as well as unmissable upcoming nights and releases. GIGS Twitch Present Motor City Drum Ensemble b2b Antal at Mandela Hall, Belfast Saturday, May 16 Twitch are on a roll recently and this weekend they’re bringing back two of the best DJs they had last year. Motor City Drum Ensemble is one of the finest selectors of disco and house you’ll find and I still regularly bring up Antal’s set at Twitch last year as being one of the best I witnessed all year.…

  • Visual Arts Outlook (12/5)

    May 12, 2015 - By 

    This week’s main event in the Visual Artists Ireland “Get Together” which happens on Ireland’s National Day for Visual Artists. This year at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) the “Get Together” is the best way for emerging artists to network and see what’s out there for them. There will be established artists talking about their practice, speed curating for advice and discussion of your work, the announcement of the VAI members award and the launch of the 126 Gallery Footfall Report on Artist Led Spaces in Ireland. This all takes place among a whole host of other events and…