• TV Eye: The Booth At The End

    Fan of Black Mirror? The Twilight Zone? In the very first of a new series, TV Eye, Stevie Lennox looks at one of Netflix’s more engrossing darkly propositions, The Booth At The End. I’m a junkie for a show that blurs the lines of morality and asks the big questions  – think The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, Utopia. If any of those names stand out to you, The Booth At The End is your new jam – for about five hours, at least. At this point, there are only two five-episode seasons available with promises of a more ambitious third…

  • Inbound: Hare Squead

    In this installment of Inbound we chat to Jessy and Tony from Dublin based hip-hop trio Hare Squead about the foundation of their sound, sidetracking profanity, their forthcoming debut album and more. Photos by Alessio Michelini. So tell us about Hare Squead. Who are you, and what’s your deal? We are just three polite boys from Dublin who like to sing and perform, and make people happy. We want to be joyful and energetic and we want to spread that to other people. Discuss each members individual strengths and traits and what you bring collectively. We decided to write these about each other, just…

  • Playlist For Kanye: Beck’s 20 Best Songs

    Kanye, we’re gon’ let you finish but Beck is easily one of the most innovative, exciting and singular artists of our generation. We love you, Kanye, we really do, but Mr. Hansen has consistently churned out some of the most downright exceptional sounds – party-starting jams, neo-psychedelic throwdowns and brooding odes –  over twelve studio albums, three EPs, forty singles, fourteen soundtracks and thirty-nine genre-spanning  collaborations. He’s good, Kanye – he’s very good – and to prove it, if you’ve got the time in your very busy schedule, here’s a playlist comprised of Beck’s 20 best songs. It took us ages…

  • AAA Tour Edition: Bear’s Den

    In this special installment of AAA (Access All Areas) we hop on tour with London alt-folk trio Bear’s Den as they took in the Workman’s Club in Dublin and Voodoo in Belfast with support from Rukhsana Merrise last weekend. View both full galleries of their tour below,  filled to the brim with photos by Shaun Neary and Sara Marsden. The Workman’s Club in Dublin by Shaun Neary Voodoo in Belfast by Sara Marsden

  • Cork Heads: Cathy O’Donoghue

    In the latest installment of Cork Heads, Brid O’Donovan chats to Cathy O’ Donoghue, owner of Turquoise Flamingo, a vintage clothing and accessories online store and blog. She also co-runs Oh Me, Oh My DIY creative workshops in secret locations. The Things you do as a Child. Arts and crafts with my mum I suppose. We lived out in the country and we had no neighbours. I have one sister who didn’t come along until I was five so she wasn’t fun until I was eight or nine. I was a bit of a tomboy but I was girly too.…

  • Track Record: Tim O’Donovan (Buffalo Woman)

    Tim O’Donovan – one half of synth pop duo Buffalo Woman and a long time DJ based in Dublin – shares his favourite records from Prince to Jean Michel Jarre. Photos by Aaron Corr. Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain I never saw the movie the first time round. But the music was just too powerful to ignore. All the songs are so different and have such a personality of their own, but they still all sound like Prince. I love the fact that ‘When Doves Cry’ has no bass in it. I love the fact that Purple Rain was…

  • Screen/Play #1: Tortured Artists in Whiplash and Frank

    Damien Chazelle’s testosterone-pumping Whiplash, released last month, is a musical coming-of-age story with the form of a boxing movie; never more so than in a pivotal ‘training montage’ in which the young hero, the talented but arrogant jazz drummer Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller), works to regain his lost first-stringer position. In a move obviously designed to provoke the music student, band conductor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who rules his classroom with equal parts terror and humiliation, has replaced the ambitious Andrew with a drummer of lesser ability. Andrew channels his frustration and rage into a gruelling, cymbal-smashing practice session, applying…

  • Deep Down South: Like Light to a Fuse

    Cork City has been a fuse waiting to be lit. All this time, exciting, inimitable, indomitable people, have been creating, and facilitating, providing space, trying, and failing, learning, and improving, and resolving to do better. Coming together, helping each other. This weekend was a light to that fuse. The Quarter Block Party didn’t just meet or even exceed expectations, it utterly transcended them. A huge and varied multimedia programme, spanning music, art, theatre, discussion and good vibes, it delivered on all fronts. There’ll be a review with all the details and critique either tomorrow or Wednesday, and your writer will…

  • Rave New World (6/2)

    In the latest installment of Rave New World, the impossibly heedful, ineffably excellent Antoin Lindsay & Aidan Hanratty delve into best new electronic tracks and mixes of the week, as well as various unmissable upcoming nights and releases. Gigs Ken & Ryu – EP Launch Party at The Menagerie, Belfast Friday, February 6 James McConville AKA Ken & Ryu is launching his Fantasy Ink EP at The Menagerie tonight alongside Defcon, Jamie Nelson and Paul McCarthy. I reviewed the EP on these very pages and the party should be equally as enjoyable. AL Twitch Present Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea at The Mandela…

  • Front of House: Donal O’ Luanaigh

    Donal O’Luanaigh (or Chief to those of you who know him well) is one of the ‘chief’ lighting technicians at Vicar Street in Dublin. We discuss his work and how he bring light to all your favourite bands on stage. Photos by Shaun Neary. Hi Donal! Can you tell us about yourself? Hi! I’m Donal, 32 years old from Dublin, I work as a freelance lighting designer/engineer/technician/crew, delete where applicable. ‘Lampy’ is probably the most commonly used term. You’re most likely to find me in Vicar Street but there’s no job too big or small. How did you get your nickname…