• The Thin Air Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2014 (100-75)

    December 30, 2014 - By 

    Twelve months, a billion tracks (probably) and a ridiculously impressive crop of new, emerging musical talent the island of Ireland over: yes, 2014 was been very generous indeed on the ol’ new music front. In a year when (the altogether sonically disparate) Girl Band and SOAK signed with Rough Trade, Adebisi Shank broke hearts in parting ways and Hozier “did a Kodaline” by going positively stratospheric – more on that later – innumerable lesser-known acts have also been slogging away in the garage, creating some of the very best sounds here or anywhere else on the face on the planet. In the first of a two-part feature,…

  • Rave New World (12/12)

    December 12, 2014 - By 

    In the first weekly installment of Rave New World (Huxley would’ve approved, right?) 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. Get diggin’. Gigs Twitch Present: Levon Vincent at Mandela Hall, Saturday, December 13 In Belfast all roads lead to Twitch on Saturday where, in a slight change to their usual venue in The Bunatee, they have house maestro Levon Vincent playing in the Mandela Hall. Anyone who was lucky enough to catch Belfast boys Bicep there earlier in the year will attest…

  • Track Record: Chris Couzens (Slomatics)

    December 12, 2014 - By 

    In the latest installment of Track Record, Chris Couzens from Belfast-based doom overlords Slomatics gives us an insight in his wonderfully wide-ranging record collection. Photos by May Chan. Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast My grandmother bought me Powerslave by Iron Maiden for Christmas in 1984. It made a big impression on me as an eight year old and I’ve been hooked on music since. I could have easily picked any or all of the first eight Maiden records in this list. I went with Number Of The Beast because of the iconic Derek Riggs cover. It’d be impossible…

  • Track Record: Oh Boland

    December 19, 2014 - By 

    We head back to Galway for Track Record, this time to hang out with Oh Boland, where Niall Murphy (vocals) mostly discusses his favourite albums and Eanna (MacDonnacha, bass/vocals) sneaks in with a few words about Weezer’s Blue Album. Photos by Sean McCormack. The Sonics – Here Are The Sonics One of the first garage bands they say. It’s hard to disagree, and what a band. That super primitive sound, mad rackety rock n’ roll played by pimples on a one day studio bender. That guitar sound is just to die for! Total belligerence. The beat is total energy and Gerry Roslie…

  • Track Record: Neal Keating & Kayleigh Forsythe

    December 12, 2014 - By 

    In this special edition of Track Record, we head over to the apartment of Neal Keating, who is the frontman with hardcore band Frustration, and Kayleigh Forsythe, a very talented jewellery designer to have a look through some of their favourite records. Special guest appearances from their two Persian cats Wilbur and Frankie, who do everything in their power to steal the limelight from the couple! Photos by Isabel Thomas. Have Heart – The Things We Carry There’s very few records that you can legitimately say changed your life. This record did that for me. When I first heard it, I was working a really bad…

  • Brian Eno: Ambience For One

    December 8, 2014 - By 

    In a year when much has been written about the return of the Aphex Twin it is easy to forget its been a vintage year for that other studio super boffin, Brian Eno. His excellent collaborations with Karl Hyde, Someday World and High Life were released in May and June respectively. Someday World is an intelligent pop record – full of catchy, intricate melody lines, while High Life with fewer longer tracks sounds more improvisational – some of the best bits sound like out-takes from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. June also saw the release of the expanded version of Jon Hassell’s City: Works of Fiction. Hassell, an American…

  • Q+A: Idlewild

    December 8, 2014 - By 

    Jonny Currie talks to Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones about recording their new album, memories of Belfast, and preparing for the upcoming tour. It’s been five years since the band’s last album Post-Electric Blues – was it easy to pick up where you left off in terms of writing and recording for Idlewild again? Surprisingly so. From about the age of eighteen it’s all we’d ever really known. It never felt like a living because we were so caught up in what we were doing. Although towards the end of the process with the last record it felt like it was like…

  • The Magic Numbers Irish Tour

    December 5, 2014 - By 

    Pop-rock juggernauts The Magic Numbers were in Ireland this week, for a tour rescheduled from September after an ill-timed throat issue afflicted vocalist Romeo Stodart. Undaunted, they traversed the country, with The Thin Air in tow at various tour stops. With fourth album ‘Alias’ in the can, and on the home stretch for pre-Xmas touring, the band were in rare form, and we were there for all of it with access-all-areas photography, and our thoughts from each night. MONDAY DEC. 1ST – GALWAY @ THE ROISÍN DUBH: Not Faemous took to the stage to a small crowd, and played quite pleasing…

  • Classic Album: Grateful Dead – Live/Dead (1969)

    December 4, 2014 - By 

    The very best music takes you to a different place, a different headspace, to the one you’re in before you hear it. And on the Grateful Dead’s masterful 1969 live album Live/Dead, they grab the listener and pull them head-first into another dimension. You don’t have to be on drugs to enjoy this, but that’s not to say they didn’t need them to create it. The psychedelic era of the late 60s is a problematic time in music history. On the one hand, it saw a generation of talented people reach deep into themselves, and begin to push at boundaries and…

  • Interview: The Magic Numbers

    December 2, 2014 - By 

    Currently on the road around Ireland, including tonight’s Cork show at the Half-Moon, indie/pop quartet The Magic Numbers are touring in support of this year’s album ‘Alias’. TTA sat down for a quick chat with bassist/vocalist Michele Stodart to get caught up. TTA: Fourth album ‘Alias’ released this past summer, how have you found the reception to it? Michele: I think the response has been great so far. The proof is at the gigs, where everyone’s singing along to songs from the new album. That’s such a rewarding feeling. Coming back from a long hiatus, and being between a lot…