• Worth Her Salt: An Interview with Katie Kim

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Undeniably one of the finest Irish releases of the year, Salt has been widely eulogised for its intense depth of focus, as well as its distinctive compositional lure. Marking something of a promising reinvigoration for Katie Kim (AKA Katie Sullivan) in terms of direction, we caught up with the Waterford native to talk about the writing and recording of the album, getting back up on the stage, and more. Words by Aaron Drain. Photos by Brian Mulligan. While Cover & Flood dealt with similar themes, there has been a monumental shift in terms of mood and atmosphere with Salt – was…

  • Putting Friendship First: A Final Interview With Enemies

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Wicklow four-piece Enemies hit the ground running with their full-length debut We’ve Been Talking back in 2010, eschewing the hyperactivity or aggression of many of their Richter Collective labelmates to focus primarily on melody. After a follow up – 2013’s Embark, Embrace – and a change of drummer, they return with long awaited, but sadly final, third album Valuables in December. Ahead of its release and a final show in Dublin’s Vicar Street on Sunday (December 18), Cathal McBride speaks to guitarist Lewis Jackson. Photos by Niall O’Kelly Hi lewis. How difficult was the decision to end the band? Before…

  • Truth and Release: An Interview with Little Green Cars

    December 6, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a string of December dates kicking off at Belfast’s The MAC on Thursday, Brian Coney chats to Dublin’s Little Green Cars about communication, mortality and their craft. Go here for the band’s full tour schedule. Hi guys. 2016 has of course been a great band for you as a band. What have you found to be the most rewarding part of your rise over the last while? We went through a lot together during the writing of Ephemera. It was truly a labour of love, but an emotional labour nonetheless. Touring the album has been very cathartic. It has given…

  • Love and War: An Interview with Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe

    October 14, 2016 - By 

    As their average fan will happily tell you, Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe isn’t as much outspoken as he is nail-on-head, uncannily on-the-money about pretty much everything he cares to discuss or pass comment on. To say, then, that he “gives a good interview” – no matter how brief – would be a fairly towering understatement. With two eyes on the horizon, Newcombe talks to Robert Higgins ahead of the release of BJM’s fifteenth album, Third World Pyramid, touching on creativity, sobriety and imminent war. You’ve always been a prolific songwriter, but the past year has been busy even by your standards. What do…

  • Far From Nowhere: An Interview With Malojian

    October 6, 2016 - By 

    Having released Southlands last year to critical acclaim, Malojian’s subsequent announcement that they’d be jetting off to Chicago to record the follow-up, This Is Nowhere, with the illustrious Steve Albini was just cause for much excitement within the NI music community. Now, on the cusp of its release, we pinned down Stevie Scullion – Malojian’s driving force – to get the scoop on recording with Albini, the writing of the new album, and more. Words by Aaron Drain. Photos by Colm Laverty Catch Malojian at the following Irish shows over the next three months. October 7: The Fat Gherkin (Solo…

  • “I hate to stay still and pat myself on the back”: An Interview With Ciaran Lavery

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    Having spent the last few years steadily carving out his standing as one of the country’s most-loved and increasingly established solo artists, Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery commands sensitivity and candour like very few songsmiths, Irish or otherwise. Despite confirming his arrival with his sublime debut album Not Nearly Dark and Kosher EP in 2013 and 2014 respectively, it was Sea Legs, his collaborative mini-album with Derry producer Ryan Vail, that positively underscored Lavery’s knack and versatility as artist that has often said he has zero desire to be solely filed under “acoustic guitar-wielding singer-songwriter”. But it’s Lavery’s second full-length album…

  • Interview: King Kong Company

    July 18, 2016 - By 

    Not merely one of the country’s most singular, genre-warping acts, Waterford six-piece King Kong Company are right up there with the very best live propositions around. Having just released their emphatic self-titled debut album, Brian Coney talks to the band about working with The Prodigy producer Neil McLellan on the release, capturing their live energy in the studio, their diverse range of influences and what the future holds in store. Hi guys. You’ve been getting some great reviews for your new, self-titled album. It was originally set to be released last year. Was perfectionism (or at least only wanting to release something you were…

  • The Pressure is Off: An Interview with Joe Mount of Metronomy

    July 13, 2016 - By 

    Metronomy are just one of those bands. On average the group have released a full record every two to three years, each one to more acclaim and appreciation than the last. From their wonky, wild sophomore record Nights Out to the refined pop reflections of Love Letters they’ve been a group whose steady rise through the ranks has looked almost easy. So easy in fact that it’s hard to imagine that it’s been a whole decade since the release of their outrageous debut Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe). ‘I suppose I’m part of the furniture,’ muses Joe Mount.…

  • Where He’s Meant To Be: An interview with Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat

    April 28, 2016 - By 

    As one half of the band Arab Strap with Malcolm Middleton between 1996 and 2006, Aidan Moffat quickly became one of the most influential voices in Scottish indie music. His unmistakable thick brogue and frank, confessional and often hilarious lyrics are reflected in so many newer Scottish bands while Moffat himself has guested with the likes of Mogwai and Frightened Rabbit over the years. Since Arab Strap’s amicable split, Moffat has undertaken all kinds of projects, from spoken word to his collaborations with Bill Wells to his electronic work as L. Pierre, to name a few. In 2014 he toured…

  • Killing Mockingbirds: An Interview with Jordan

    April 27, 2016 - By 

    As regular fixture and co-founder of Aether & Echo’s Nocturne and The Night Institute parties, Jordan has been at the centre of a lot of what’s been happening in Northern Irish dance music over the past few years. Killing Mockingbirds, the debut EP from the homegrown DJ-producer who cut his teeth in the electronic music world as a student in Leeds, is a five–track house music affair which drafts in Adesse Versions and Borrowed Identity to lend their sensibilities to the record in the form of two remixed tracks. Killing Mockingbirds (which was made available to the public last week)…