• Jape @ The Woodworkers, Belfast

    Going to see Jape for the first time in a while is always an interesting proposition, seeing as the lineup can often be entirely different from the previous occasion. Such is the case tonight – they’re still a trio, albeit with a different drummer from the Ocean Of Frequency tour, and Richie Egan is still front and centre of course, with Glenn Keating still his right hand man but things have still been rejigged, with Egan now on bass and sampler rather than guitar and keys, and Keating on electronic percussion and sequencer. It’s an interesting adjustment and seems to…

  • The Hefty Fog: Sludge in 2015 – The Early Pickings

    There’s a very noxious chemical present in sludge metal that separates it from all other forms of transgressive music. Even when placed side by side with contemporaries from every god-forsaken, drop-tuned fashion known to the underground, the crooked spoon fury of bands declaring themselves to be sludge stand out like a sore thumb. If punk rock is rebellion and heavy metal is hedonism, for instance, then sludge is a terrible nothingness that is all too human to recognize yet exemplified by sounds which are inhuman. That may sound like a bit of mental gymnastics, but no other subgenre of music has resonated with the…

  • Front of House: Chloé Nagle

    In this installment of Front of House we chat to Chloé Nagle, a freelance sound engineer and part-time teacher based in Cork. Photos by Brid O’Donovan. Hi Chloé! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure! My name is Chloé Nagle and I’m a Front of House Sound Engineer. I’m based in Cork and work on a freelance basis for various bands, venues, production and PA companies. I also teach sound part-time on the Music, Management and Sound course in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork. How did you become a sound engineer and how long have you been involved…