• Interview: Sea Pinks

    Ahead of the launch of their stellar fifth (and second studio) album, Soft Days, at Belfast’s Lavery’s tomorrow night, Cathal McBride chats to Neil Brogan of Belfast guitar-pop trio Sea Pinks about progression, variation and recording their most emphatic record to date. Soft Days sounds like the most varied Sea Pinks album so far, was that a conscious choice when you were writing and recording it? I think the songs just came out that way, but I did want it to sound more varied. I’ve been doing this band for five years so you have to try and keep it interesting…

  • Inbound: Bagels

    Dublin’s Bagels have got no time to waste. Having spent the guts of half a decade honing their craft, the group are ready to make 2016 their year. Having recently released their first single, The Cast of Cheers inflected ‘To An End’, we had wee sit down with the band’s own Adam Redmond to talk about influences, the trappings of youth and the group’s curious choice of name. Words by Will Murphy. How long has it been since your first started playing together? It’s been the best part of five years now. Jaysus, aren’t we old. We started when we…

  • Inbound: Apartments

    Belfast’s very own two-piece emo/punk band Apartments are a rare breed in the music scene around Northern Ireland. Hosting influences from many underground bands in the punk scene, there a few bands across Ireland that mix the apathetic lyricism, the emotive vocal delivery and the fast paced, aggressive tones of the two piece. The duo have two releases behind them, the latter being a 6-track EP entitled Rush and have been slowly winning people over with their honest, almost self-depreciating music. We caught up with the pair recently to find out about their background, their plans and the music scene…

  • Interview: Butterfly Child

    Will Murphy chats to Belfast born, LA based Joe Cassidy of seminal 90’s dream pop act Butterfly Child about releasing his latest record – his first since 1997 – John Peel and discussing Northern Irish politics with Scott Walker. Hi Joe! How has it been getting back into the releasing an album routine? It’s been really weird. I don’t know how much you know about what I did because it’s all old news, but I haven’t put out a Butterfly Child record since 1997. It wasn’t like I stopped making music though. I’ve been working on multiple other things with a…

  • Interview: White Collar Boy

    Dublin duo White Collar Boy have been turning heads of late. With an increasing focus on their live show over the past few years, the pair have already impressed with their warped electronica; from the leftfield garage of 2013’s SUUU/Tide EP, to the accessible slow burn of 2012’s Kinsale. Having met each other at Primavera and subsequently forming in 2011, the pair have supported the likes of Factory Floor, Com Truise and Creep on tour, and are ready to mark the apex of their journey so far by releasing their debut LP in 2016. Euphoric lead single ‘Away From Reality’…

  • Snooker Looping: Steve Davis, DJ

    Having recently been announced to DJ at electronic mecca Bloc in March – an unmissable prospect in itself – snooker legend Steve Davis chats to Loreana Rushe about his deep, decades-spanning love of collecting and discovering music and swapping the snooker table for decks for the century break of his life. Hi Steve! It’s brilliant to chat to you, I’m a big snooker fan for a 30 year old woman but I’m not here to talk to you about it unfortunately, so let’s get to talking about your love for music! When did you first start collecting music and how large…

  • HOUSE @ the MAC: From Vogue to MikeQ

    Not only a stand-out event at this year’s Outburst Queer Arts Festival in Belfast, the premiere of HOUSE at The MAC on Thursday night is almost certainly set to be one of the most inspired happenings of the year. Having descended from the legendary Harlem Drag Scene, the New York House and Ballroom Community is one of the most exciting underground scenes in the world. HOUSE brings three of the city’s most innovative performance makers and cultural agitators together for an immersive performance and discussion that presents a very rare and intimate glimpse into the history of the House and…

  • Listening More Carefully with Somadrone

    Ahead of the launch of his superb fifth album, Oracle, at Dublin’s Unitarian Church on November 28, Dublin musician and producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone takes to Brian Coney about progression, abstract themes and the importance of collaboration. Hi Neil. Congratulations on the release of Oracle. It’s been said of the album, “This is music equally at home on the dance floor as in your earphones.” Was that your intention from the get-go? Thanks. I guess that’s true. It’s dance music I guess, but it’s not aimed at a contemporary dance music culture, so it does not play to its rules.…

  • Interview & Introduction To: Fractured

    You may not have noticed yet, but Dublin-based filmmaker John Mulvaney is doing an invaluable service for the Irish underground scene in his short-form documentary series, Fractured. Each short film zones in on members of some of the best under-the-radar heavy and/or experimental artists in the country, piecing together a range of evocative cinematographic fragments of the musicians and their surroundings, soundtracked to candid aural insights from the respective musicians and their music. Mulvaney’s evident passion and respect for the music has continually led to a carefully crafted portrait of each artist, with every instalment accumulating to more than the…

  • Reeling In The Year with Ciaran Lavery

    2015 has been a real breakthrough year for Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery. Having zig-zagged across the UK and Europe over the last few months, he has been hailed far and wide as one of the most naturally gifted, utterly engrossing songsmiths of his generation. Touching on everything from life on the road, the weight (or lack thereof) of expectation and special Christmas shows “With Strings” at Belfast’s MAC, Lavery chats to Brian Coney. See below for premiere of Lavery’s ‘Little More Time’ With Strings. Hi Ciaran. It’s been a really busy 2015 for you. Looking back to the start of the…