• Stream: tapedesk – three euro and forty cent

    April 7, 2017 - By 

    You know what’s missing from your Friday? Yes, you guessed it! An experimental, ambient vocal work composed using flipped coins (adding to a total of €3.40), eight notes, a notebook, and something to record the results onto. And that’s about all we know about tapedesk, a mysterious artist out of Dublin whose first release is both playfully cynical and utterly beguiling. As this 15-minute piece plays through its eight movements it is easy to become absorbed in the sound of the looped, droning vocals. Reminiscent of fellow Dublin experimentalists Rollers/Sparkers or even, at a push, pioneering vocal manipulator Meredith Monk, this is  a welcome helping…

  • Watch: Swords – Sitting On Walls (Live)

    April 7, 2017 - By 

    Dublin based trio Swords have revealed a video for a live performance of ‘Sitting on Walls’. Taken from their second album, Tidal Waves, which came out last year, ‘Sitting on Walls’ is a touching ballad for fans of Sharon Van Etten and Broken Twin. Diane Anglim’s brittle yet resolute vocal carries the track while a piano, bass and drum combo that wouldn’t seem entirely out of place on earlier Mogwai album gives it a rewarding backbone. The video was produced and directed by Amelia Caulfield and Gearoid Connaughton with live sound being mixed by Micheal Sheil. Tidal Waves is out now and can be purchased here.

  • Fox Colony – Patterns

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    Belfast-based emo-tinged indie rock trio Fox Colony release their debut EP, Patterns on May 4. Associates & former bandmates of indie-pop outfit Brand New Friend, the young band recorded Patterns with Start Together Studios’ Rocky O’Reilly and have an uncanny ability to craft a tune without being afraid of wearing hearts – or accents – on their sleeves. The EP takes some cues from the current emo-pop revival of Modern Baseball, with the occasional glimmer of early ’90s alt. rock dischordance seeping in. Patterns will be available from Bandcamp – both digitally on CD – from May 4. Fox Colony launch Patterns at McHugh’s Basement on May 4, with…

  • Stream: Sea Pinks – Into Nowhere

    April 7, 2017 - By 

    Never ones to be shy of new tunes, Belfast-based jangle-pop trio Sea Pinks have just announced their sixth album, Watercourse, and with it, have made new single ‘Into Nowhere’ available to stream. Watercourse is the band’s sixth album since their 2010 inception, the trio, fronted by singer/guitarist Neil Brogan – also of Cruising – started recording the album at Belfast’s Start Together Studios with Ben McAuley – producer with Documenta, Girls Names and Robyn G Shiels – in Summer 2016 through until the Autumn, initially with the intention to write just an EP. You can stream ‘Into Nowhere’ below, and pre-order Watercourse on Bandcamp – due for release on May 26 through…

  • Sea Pinks – Watercourse

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    Dreamy Belfast-based jangle-pop trio Sea Pinks release their new album, Watercourse on May 26 through Belfast-based indie label CF Records. Being their sixth album since their 2010 inception, the trio, fronted by singer/guitarist Neil Brogan – also of Cruising – started recording the album at Belfast’s Start Together Studios with Ben McAuley – producer for Documenta, Girls Names and more – in Summer 2016 with the intention of recording an EP, until they had recorded 16 songs, which ultimately were pared down to 10, for yet another concise Sea Pinks LP, some of which were mixed by Collin Dupuis, known for work on Angel Olsen‘s My Woman.…

  • Moira Calling Reveal Main Stage Acts

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    Arguably Northern Ireland’s most promising new small festival outside of Belfast, Moira Calling have unveiled the acts set to the play the Main Stage when it returns for its second outing later this year. Taking place in the the Co. Armagh village across September 8-9, Eliza and the Bear, Flyte, Emerald Armada, Girls Names (pictured), Stomptown Brass, Brand New Friend and Franklyn will all appear at the Main Stage on the 9th. Organiser Jillian Marsden of promoters Brown Lemonade said, “Last year when we started this we could never have imagined being here a year later, with a full-blown music festival and a host of…

  • Distorted Perspectives 2017

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    Right up there with our favourite small Irish festivals, Distorted Perspectives – easily the country’s leading bastion of contemporary sound, psych and avant-garde art – will return to Letterkenny’s Regional Culture Centre across April 28-29. Now entering its fourth year, it will host Will Carruthers (Spacemen 3/Spiritualized), K-X-P, Hannah Peel (pictured), exmagician, Robocobra Quartet, SlowPlaceLikeHome, Tuath, Scenery, The Gatefolds, Aul Boy, The Barbiturates and Free Acid Sunshine across the two days. As well as said sonic feast, there will be a host of DJ sets from the likes of Turn It On, Chromaticism and Art for Blind records, as well as free screen-printing workshops courtesy of…

  • Women’s Work Programme Launched

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    With its inaugural outing last year proving a resounding success, Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre has announced the programme for this year’s Women’s Work Festival. A unique festival for the city celebrating women in music, the purpose of Women’s Work is to raise the visibility of women who are generally in the minority in music, by hosting a range of activities that are open to all genders and include showcases, gigs, special events, panels, talks, and exhibitions. This year’s programme includes over 50 acts, creatives and DJs across 6 dedicated days, with additional content across the whole month of May. Up to…

  • Watch: R.S.A.G. – Meet You There

    April 6, 2017 - By 

    Kilkenny’s Jeremy Hickey AKA R.S.A.G is an artist that has always kept us second-guessing. From the likes of his debut Organic Sampler to 2010’s Be It Right of Wrong, the multi-instrumentalist has always struck a strong balance between familiar and forward-thinking, which is something he has yet again achieved with his new single ‘Meet You There’. Featuring visuals by partner in AV crime Paul Mahon AKA Geppetto, it’s a masterfully propulsive, perfectly danceable slice of electro-pop by the virtuoso drummer. We have this one on repeat.