• EP Premiere + Q+A: Badhands – Oceans

    The popularity of the sea, particularly in recent years, has become somewhat of an astonishing phenomenon. Images shared by friends and acquaintances online of their sea swimming adventures are perpetual, even in cold winter climates. There’s no denying that the activity is both restorative and reinvigorating. For many, it has been a consistent companion in finding a release with anxiety and other personal struggles. A huge aspect to the appeal of the sea is its vastness and unpredictability, your eye can only distinguish so much in the distance and so your imagination is allowed to roam.  This is an integral…

  • Motherhood in the Music Industry: An Interview with New Pagans

    Belfast’s New Pagans make evocative music, using the tried-and-tested soft-loud dynamic to marry massive riffs with socially-conscious, challenging lyrics with a view to starting important conversations. Catching up with vocalist Lyndsey McDougall over Skype offers just such an opportunity. Forming in 2016; Lyndsey’s recollection of the band’s formation makes it sound like it was an inevitability. “I met Cahir (O’Doherty, guitar and vocals) years ago. We eventually got married but I had been a massive fan of his music (Jetplane Landing and Fighting With Wire). He knew that I had written or had always dabbled in music but I went…

  • Sampling Dog Howls: An interview with ELLLL

    Cork-born producer and DJ ELLLL creates gravitating music without the gravitas. Armed with samples of Youtube videos and voice recordings from nights out, she weaves music ranging from tactile soundscapes, to airy breaks and propagating percussion. Now based in Berlin, we caught up with ELLLL ahead of her set at Dublin’s Wigwam on Thursday to talk production and the current state of the club scene in Ireland. ELLLL plays Notions at Wigwam, Dublin on October 10th We saw three new EPs from you earlier this year. Febreeze on First Second Label, Confectionary on Glacial Industries, and Glisten on Paralaxe Editions,…

  • A Sense of Wonder in the Particular: An Interview with Perlee

    Perlee are an Irish-bred dream-pop duo based in Berlin. Made up of Saramai Leech and Cormac O’Keefe, their first release ‘Chains of Coral/Feelings of Plenty’ is out today. Saramai sits down with Maija Sofia to discuss her creative process, her inspirations and Perlee’s plans for the future. Catch them tonight in The Grand Social Ballroom as part of Ireland Music Week. So having lived in both rural Ireland and Berlin, do you think both of these geographical locations have influenced your music? Listening to the songs it feels like there’s a sense of rural wilderness but also a kind of…

  • I Think it’s Time We Talked Things Over: An interview with Stiff Little Fingers

    Inflammable Material, the ferocious debut from Belfast legends Stiff Little Fingers, is now forty years old and stands as one of the great records of the punk era. The Stiffs detailed the frustrations, anger and mind-numbing boredom of Northern Irish life during the Troubles in fearless fashion, helping to define an otherwise dark era for many. This month, the band celebrate its birthday with two Irish dates, a stop in Dublin’s Academy before returning to Belfast’s Custom House Square for the third successive year. I spoke to frontman Jake Burns about that show, his contemporaries, Brexit, and Coronation Street. Hi…

  • Heavy Pop: An Interview with THVS

    Ahead of the release of their eagerly-anticipated debut album in Belfast’s Voodoo on October 12, we catch up with THVS, a Belfast-based three-piece whose emphatic “heavy pop” craft is on the very cusp of breaking through. THVS straddle a line between heavy sounds and pop music sensibility. How has the project evolved from your previous incarnations? Michael: I think that very part of it in and of itself is the evolution, the pop sensibility. In any previous band I’ve been in that was very much balked at so I think that step has lead us to a wider sound. Who…

  • Love Do Me Right: Q&A with Eric ‘Dr Dunks’ Duncan

    This Saturday (June 20) discerning party-throwers Belfast Music Club invite DJ and producer Eric ‘Dr Dunks’ Duncan to the Ulster Sports Club back room. Disco nerd and friend of BMC Jonny Carberry had the pleasure of firing a few questions Dunks’ way. ___ JC: Hi Eric, big thanks for doing this – excited to catch you on Sat! We’ll chat about what you’re currently up to, but to rewind to 2004/2005 a little and early Rub N Tug mixes like ‘Live at Rui’s’ and ‘Campfire’ – I really loved these mixes, they seemed deeper than other things I was listening…

  • Inbound: No Oil Paintings

    In the latest installment of Inbound, we catch up with Belfast alternative folk band No Oil Paintings ahead of the reason of their new single, ‘Something Like The Truth’. Hi guys. For those new to the band, can you give us a quick intro to the band and how/when you formed? We’re an alternative folk band from Belfast. We formed the summer of 2013 as a bluegrass cover band, had several line-up changes early on from a 3 piece up to a 6 piece, ditched the bluegrass & covers and have been playing original music with this line-up for the…

  • Platform Q+A: Reevah

    Across June to September, on the first Thursday of each month, Belfast’s Babel will host a free live music showcase featuring some of the very artists and DJs from across the country. Boasting rooftop views and summer drinks, Platform will feature sets from Katie Richardson aka Hex Hue, Arvo Party and fast-rising Derry artist Roe, with supports to be announced. Kicking off the series on Thursday, June 5th is the dreamy indie-folk stylings of Aoife Boyle aka Reevah. Ahead of the show, we speak to her about new music, growing up in a creative family environment, mining art from uncertainty and more. __ You grew up in…

  • Breaking The Plane: An Interview with Oh Sees’ John Dwyer

    Released last year, Smote Reverser delivered yet another curveballing and nuanced listen from San Francisco garage-psych trailblazers Oh Sees. From the face-searing ‘Overthrown’ to the protracted groove frenzy of ‘Anthemic Aggressor’, it underscored the John Dwyer-fronted band’s rep as arguably the most prolific and forward-pushing rock band around. On Monday (May 20) and Tuesday (May 21), the band makes their long-awaited return to play Belfast and Dublin. Ahead of that, Brian Coney caught up with Dwyer to talk sci-fi, motivation, keep it exciting twenty-one albums in, what “psych” means to him and more. Photo by Thomas Girard ___ Hi John.…