• Watch: Malojian – Bathtub Blues

    May 11, 2015 - By 

    The follow-up to the sublime ‘Communion Girls’, released back in February, Stevie Scullion AKA Malojian has unveiled the video for jaunty new single, ‘Bathtub Blues’. A brilliantly breezy effort, the video for the track features Scullion and his music-making cohorts Joe McGurgan and Mike Mormecha performing the track in a bathroom. We see what they did there. Malojian launch their new album, Southlands, at Belfast’s No Alibis on May 29 and 30. Buy tickets here and watch the video for ‘Bathtub Blues’ – directed by Tommy Keery – below.

  • Monday Mixtape: Ryan Vail

    May 11, 2015 - By 

    Having just released well-received mini album Sea Legs mini album with local alt-folk singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery, Derry electronic musician Ryan Vail is now moving on to writing a solo piano EP to be released on local label Quiet Arch in the Autumn. He took time out of the studio to pick his top ten tracks for us along with some thoughts on each. Peter Broderick – Colours of the Night Got to see Peter play this live at the CQAF. Always have been a fan of his work. This blew me away live.   Radiohead – Bloom Bit of a classic in our house. The King…

  • Stream: Young Wonder – Sweet Dreaming (Tusks Remix)

    May 7, 2015 - By 

    With the launch of their debut album, Birth, taking place at London’s Electrowerkz tonight (May 7), Cork electro-pop duo Young Wonder are an Irish act very much on the up. Having released a stream of the original a couple of weeks ago, the pair have now unveiled a wonderfully understated remix of ‘Sweet Dreaming’ by London’s Tusks, a re-working that really drives home the track’s darkly, earworming melodic flourishes. Where the original is a dusky, beguiling effort, Tusks’ remix is a much more nocturnal affair; something for soundtracking that solitary headspace back home after a night out. Win tickets to the duo’s…

  • EP Stream: Keian – Lia

    May 7, 2015 - By 

    Far beyond bustling venues of the capital and endless streams of self-congratulatory press releases, Ireland is home to some decidedly more furtive, sub-rosa artists. Conjuring the intimate post-rock solipsism of Hood and Blue Aeroplanes with the wispy, inward-working bedroom electronica of World’s End Girlfriend, Lia by Dublin-based Irish-Iranian songwriter and producer Keian Roohipour AKA Keian falls under the aforementioned bracket, proving an initially unassuming yet very promising triptych of considered alt-pop. At the root of the material is an experimental knack that transcends sub-genre which, along with the music’s altogether charming lo-fidelity, coalesces to deliver something that proves encouraging for future material. Keian’s debut release, Lia was recorded, produced…

  • Belfast Photo Festival 2015

    May 7, 2015 - By 

    Presenting one of the leading International Festivals of photography in the UK and the Visual Arts Festival of Northern Ireland, Belfast Photo Festival will return to the city from June 4-30 with an extraordinarily varied programme. With a whole host of exhibitions, workshops, masterclasses, talks, tours, screenings and portfolio reviews on the cards over the four weeks, the festival – which has been two years in the making – will include work by major international photographers alongside Northern Ireland’s finest photographic talent. Highlights from this year’s outing for the festival include To Camera, a group exhibition at the Golden Thread Gallery,…

  • little xs for eyes w/ Paddy Hanna @ Whelan’s, Dublin

    May 6, 2015 - By 

    Kicking things off nicely is Paddy Hanna with his introspective, delicate folk. His greatest, and most striking strength is his voice, reminiscent of BBC’s Jack Steadman, Alt-J’s Joe Newman and even our own Conor O’Brien. His mellow, gossamer guitar playing may be lost on the early crowd who are yet to break from their tight circles and shadowy corners. But in Paddy, though no stage master, there’s clearly something to like for lovers of the genre. The crowd begins to grow. Mid week gigs are all the thing it seems. But then again, who wouldn’t want to get out of…

  • Watch: Arborist – Twisted Arrow

    May 6, 2015 - By 

    Released as a stream back in March, Belfast-based folk songsmith Mark McCambridge AKA Arborist has unveiled the video for his new single, ‘Twisted Arrow’, featuring guest vocals from none other than Kim Deal. Directed by Stephen Agnew, it’s a suitably mellow accompaniment to the Americana-tinged single, which was officially released on Monday. Watch the video below.

  • Stream: Rams Pocket Radio – Resevoir

    May 6, 2015 - By 

    Having laid low for a few months, Lisburn singer-songwriter Peter McAuley AKA Rams Pocket Radio has re-emerged with ‘Resevoir’, a strong, electronica-infused effort hinting at some very promising things in the making. Driven by McAuley’s immediately recognisable vocals and a wonderful string trio, the track was mixed and engineered by Rocky O’Reilly at Belfast’s Start Together Studio. Stream/download ‘Reservoir’ below. Reservoir by RAMS’ Pocket Radio