• Watch: For Foresters – Towels

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    Having been playing together for the better part of six years, Donegal/Dublin trio For Foresters are a self-proclaimed theatrical, poetic and expressive act comprised of Gabriel Paschal Blake, Conal Doherty and Gary Hamilton. Presenting themselves as “not just musicians but storytellers who recite their pro’s through raw, rustic tunes” their debut single ‘Towels’ is a strong and summoning effort that – whilst certainly a long time coming – has been worth the wait. Accompanied a sublime – albeit rather bleak – video courtesy of Charlie Joe Doherty featuring Michael Kennedy, the single is a swelling cloud of first-rate experimental ambient…

  • Having The Last Laugh: An Interview with Susan Calman

    January 22, 2017 - By 

    If laughter is indeed the best medicine, then Scottish comedian, actress and writer Susan Calman should be designated GP. Having imbued her diverse and far-reaching career with promoting mental health awareness via her own personal experience, Calman talks to Brian Coney about process, profile and positivity ahead of appearing at Belfast’s the MAC on February 5 (tickets and full info here). Hi, Susan. You’re setting off on a string of tour dates in February. How are you feeling about the shows? And tell us more about this particular show, The Calman Before The Storm. I’m really looking forward to getting out on…

  • New Additions to Iveagh Gardens Line-Up

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    Two new dates have been added to this year’s series of shows at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. With Fleet Foxes, Passenger and Damien Dempsey already set to play dates, it’s been announced that Baltimore’s Future Islands and Scottish indie rock heroes Belle and Sebastian (pictured) will play the annual concert series on Thursday, July 6 and Thursday, July 20 respectively. Tickets for Future Islands go on sale on January 27, whilst tickets for Belle and Sebastian go on sale on January 30. Both are priced €45.

  • 17 for ’17: Super Silly

    January 24, 2017 - By 

    There’s a need for the kind of music Super Silly are currently making. Sonically rooted in the anthemic theatricality of gospel, the warmth of R’n’B, and with a proclivity for the cutting-edge end of the urban music spectrum, theirs is a prospect that slices through the doom and gloom and offers acute relief. Take debut single ‘No Pressure’ as an example. A slickly produced showcase for the vocal dexterity of the collective of Precious, Solbas, Grooves, and Shek, the track extends to the listener the positive, familial, and inclusive attitude of Super Silly – not entirely surprising given their background…

  • 17 for ’17: Beach

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    The spirit of psychedelia is alive and well and living in the heart of Dublin, or at least that is what Dublin based five-piece Beach would have you believe. The quintet has spent the last few years finely honing their brand of everything but the kitchen sink psych into a well-oiled machine. Even a cursory glance at the band reveals a vast depth and scope at their very core. These are not minor or modest compositions. They’re huge ambitious beasts meandering through an unpredictable, almost endless series of twists and turns. As you listen closely you can pick out these…

  • 17 for ’17: Damola

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    Nigeria, Jamaica and Ireland mightn’t be known as hip-hop hotspots, but it’s these unexpected influences that seem to characterise Damola’s music. He cites listening to his parents’ Jamaican music as a child in Nigeria as his earliest influence, although he didn’t start performing until he was a teenager in Dublin, making up raps to impress his friends. Since 2014 he’s been releasing tracks and videos with the Backshed Inc. collective, allowing him the freedom to develop his increasingly idiosyncratic sound. Last year’s ‘Workflow’, in both it’s production and hard-hitting, rhythmic flow, owed a lot to the earlier work of Kendrick…

  • Watch: Bad Sea – Solid Air

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    When it was released back in September last year, TTA’s Aoife O’Donoghue said ‘Solid Air’ by Dublin duo of Ciara Thompson AKA CMAT and Alan Farrel Bad Sea had “a wistful quality that evokes nostalgic memories of hazy summer days.” Ahead of what’s expected to be a busy 2017 for the fast-rising pair, they have just unveiled Ricardo Deakin’s video for said debut single, a narrative-driven, nicely presented accompaniment impressively reflecting the hidden fragility that can often underpin a relationship. Have a peek.

  • 17 For ’17: Fears

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    There’s something otherworldly about Constance Keane, and her solo project, Fears. The music here is remove from what Keane was making as the drummer of the feminist/animal welfare punk group M(h)aol, though keeping that distinctive dark tone. Her latest single Blood, a follow-up to 2015’s Priorities is a journey through alternative pop, with dark and looming synths and minimalist vocals, reminiscent of both BANKS and FKA Twigs. Produced and written by Constance, and mastered by Huntley Miller (Bon Iver, Tallest Man on Earth, The Staves) the track wouldn’t be unusual to hear on a John Carpenter soundtrack, or indeed in…