• Premiere: Tomorrows – Nightshade

    May 22, 2019 - By 

    A self-proclaimed fuzzy account of a long night out in Dublin (hey, we’ve all been there) ‘Nightshade’ by Dublin quartet Tomorrows is a sorcerous five-minute effort that marries slick, woozy textures with an overarching air of wanderlust. Initial recordings for the track – which will feature on the band’s new album, The Night Chorus 1 – were made on an 8 track Tascam reel-to-reel machine, before being brought to Christian Best (O Emperor, Marlene Enright) who recorded the drums and mixed the track. Driving it all home is Irish artist Ursula Woods’ sublime video to accompany the single. Shot on an Autumn evening…

  • Premiere: Department of Forever – A Simulation of Here

    May 8, 2019 - By 

    Over the last two decades, Irish sound designer and musician Steve Fanagan has composed and produced under a range of monikers including Northsta5on, Moose Eats Leaf, Small Group Primate, Wrecking Ball and others. His latest nominal conduit is Department of Forever. It’s a project the dense, meditative majesty of which is laid bare on a nine-track release, Unseen Pictures, set for release via new-fangled Irish indie imprint Wow & Flutter on Friday (May 10th). Originally improvised and recorded over a few days and then chopped up, edited, reworked and constructed, the album will (just like all releases set for release via Wow & Flutter) be limited…

  • Premiere: Cal Folger Day – G.B.S. (Live)

    May 1, 2019 - By 

    You best believe we enjoy the wonky and wondrous pop of Dublin-based New Yorker Cal Folger Day. Having raved about her since 2014, the multi-instrumentalist chanteuse has recently been occupied with The Woods and Grandma, a stellar pop-opera that she released, via a documentary on Lyric FM, back in December. Featuring an all-star band comprising Phil Christie (O Emperor, The Bonk) on keys and vocals, Daniel Fox (Girl Band) on bass, Nick Boon on guitar, and Solamh Kelly (Myles Manley) on drums, the project toured across the U.S. in January. This week, Day heads off to perform Hamburg and Berlin. Backed by Aoibhinn O’Dea,…

  • Album Premiere: Larry – Larry

    April 26, 2019 - By 

    Of the myriad Irish debuts that we’ve been itching to wrap our ears around in 2019, the self-titled first album from Dundalk’s Larry must surely rank up with the most eagerly-anticipated Comprising guitarist and vocalist Joey Edwards, bassist Aoife Ward and drummer David Noonan, also of Just Mustard, the band opted record with none other than Steve Albini at Chicago’s Electrical Audio last September. The result is a nine-track release that not only bears the imprint of indie rock trailblazers Sparklehorse, Wilco, Courtney Barnett and Pixies: it’s a record that finds Larry, assured and inspired, carving out special territory within the…

  • EP Premiere: Alpha Chrome Yayo – Malediction Boulevard

    April 26, 2019 - By 

    If you’re a regular reader of The Thin Air, you’ll likely be familiar with Belfast producer and musician Alpha Chrome Yayo. Fluent in the acrolect of synth-drenched retromancy, his output to date has taken a cue from everything from Giorgio Moroder and Steve Vai to the works of William Gibson and smoke-filled arcades. New EP Malediction Boulevard is his most assured and comprehensively impressive effort to date. Bearing the imprint of Gothic influence – namely the likes of The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure and Goblin, as well as the films of Lucio Fulci and David Cronenberg – it’s a four-track blitz…

  • Premiere: Queen Bonobo – The Lord Does What He Wants

    April 25, 2019 - By 

    Currently studying music and living in Derry, Maya Goldblum aka Queen Bonobo is a singer-songwriter hailing from the tightly-knit community of Sagle, Idaho. On May 10, Goldblum will launch her debut album, Light Shadow Boom Boom, at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin in Derry. Ahead of that, we’re pleased to present a first listen of its latest single, ‘The Lord Does What He Wants’. Engineered by Niall Doran, mixed by Ben McAuley and mastered by Stephen Quinn, it’s an unraveling alt-folk gem also featuring Daryl Coyle on co-production and drums, Jack Kelly on double bass and James Anderson on percussion. “I started writing ‘The Lord Does…

  • Premiere: tribal dance – You Can’t Swim

    April 25, 2019 - By 

    It stands to reason that, among their wide range of influences, Dublin three-piece tribal dance tip their hat to fellow Irish experimental rock bands including Adebisi Shank, Meltybrains? BATS, And So I Watch You From Afar and the Redneck Manifesto. This is music propelled by the same deft, imaginative spirit that has made the aforementioned acts known and well-regarded far beyond these shores. Marrying DFA-leaning energy with J-pop-like frenzy, the band’s new single ‘You Can’t Swim’ reveals a band pursuing their own rapturous niche. Produced by Ben Bix of Meltybrains? and Sim Simma Soundsystem, it’s a song rooted in pop sensibility and a very patent desire to get…

  • Premiere: Ordnance Survey – Chrome feat. Sean Mac Erlaine & Kate Ellis

    April 25, 2019 - By 

    Next month, Dublin’s Neil O’Connor aka Somadrone will re-emerge with a new collaboration album titled Relative Phase. Recorded at the National Concert Hall Studios in Dublin throughout 2017 and 2018, the album – which is released under the collaborative moniker Ordnance Survey – features O’Connor on various instruments (see the full impressive list below), Kate Ellis on cello, John McEntire (of Tortoise, The Sea & Cake et al.) on drums, Sean Mac Erlaine on alto sax, bass clarinet and electrics, and Linda Buckley with vocal processing. Across eight tracks, it’s a fully-realised, synth-worshipping triumph of dense textures and widescreen extemporization that attempts…

  • Premiere: Oisin o’ Scolai & The Virginia Slims – Vacation

    March 22, 2019 - By 

    Backed by the Virginia Slims, Belfast-based Donegal musician Oisin o’ Scolai has been on our radar since last July. Signed to Black Tragick Records – a label founded by none other than Kilrea’s finest Robyn G Shiels – he creates folk-pop brimming with pathos, heart and nuance. Exhibit A is new single ‘Vacation’. Taking from o’ Scolai’s forthcoming debut album, Vacant Sea, it’s a heart-stung, lo-fi effort tussling with social cul-de-sacs and growing fernweh. Officially out on April 5, ó Scolaí launches Vacant Sea alongside An Auld Lad, Hatchetfield, Franklyn and more at a Black Tragick night at Belfast’s Voodoo on April 4. Pre-order it…

  • Premiere: Alpha Chrome Yayo – Cerberus 3000 (Killing Time)/A Sweet Car Named Demented

    March 21, 2019 - By 

    Last month, we had the pleasure of premiering ‘Breakfast in Daytona’ by Belfast producer and musician Alpha Chrome Yayo. It was, as we saw it, “soaked, SEGA-leaning gem” from an artist who, alongside the likes of the equally mysterious Danny Madigan, are flying the chequered flag for Belfast’s surprising, yet thriving synthwave scene. A self-proclaimed “hi-octane hellride”, new single ‘Cerberus 3000 (Killing Time’) ups the ante from ACY. Building on previous releases, the track – just like shorter, but no less inspired b-side ‘A Sweet Car Named Demented’ – is a pure-cut dose of synth-drenched, shred-heavy retromancy from the producer.…