Hands down the most happening annual psychedelic event on this small green island, Dr. Crippen’s Waiting Room will return to Belfast’s Voodoo on March 10 and March 11 with a first-rate cosmically-inclined bill. As well as live sets from Blumehaus and Schreinein, a host of DJs from across Europe will congregate and serve up the very best psych sounds for over two nights. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page.
Having declared “No More Delays – Name the Date for a Referendum”, the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment will organise and spearhead a huge march this International Women’s Day (Wednesday, March 8) from Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance at Parnell Square East. Asking the public to “demand a Referendum to Repeal the Eighth Amendment and respect women’s lives, health and choices” the march will kick off at 5.30pm and run until 7.30pm. Go here for the march’s Facebook event page.
Co-presented by Cork Opera House and Coughlans Live Promotions, Right Here, Right Now is a new Cork festival “celebrating the vibrant, eclectic music scene in Cork City” from April 28-30. Set to feature over 20 artists including Shookrah, Hank Wedel, Interference, Mick Flannery, The Shaker Hymn (pictured), John Blek & The Rats, Clare Sands, Marlene Enright, Jack O’Rourke and more, the festival hopes to offer “a unique snapshot of a time and place through the lens of the city’s artists.” The festival will take over Cork Opera House for the whole weekend with shows in the Main Auditorium, in The Right Room…
Having previously went under the name Mr. Rosso, Dublin two-piece Isaac Clarke and Henry Ernest AKA Ro Gang will release their second album, H.E.R. – an album reportedly informed by everything from Young Thug to Burt Bacharach – via Little L Records on March 15. The first single to be taken from that, ‘Smoking’ is a typically riotous affair melding far-out lo-fi tangents with chorus-pedal-soaked tones. We’re sold. Have a first look at the video for the single – a VHS-shot effort featuring Clarke and Ernest trying, and failing, to crash a party – below.
As positively hectic as any festival on the face of the globe, SXSW has long been established as a veritable cornucopia of film, music and interactive media from far and very wide. And with festivals of much smaller scale: where the excess of choice becomes something of a burden, planning ahead and knocking up a makeshift “must-see” guide is next to obligatory to ensure FOMO doesn’t become an all-consuming spectre during your festival stay. Just as important is getting some essential listening in before heading off in said sensory abyss. So if you’re SXSW-bound this year and want to check out some…
Having released of the best albums of the last few years in 2015’s sprawling – and very aptly-titled The Epic – it’s been announced that L.A. saxophonist, bandleader and collaborator with the likes of Kendrick and Rtj Kamasi Washington will play Dublin’s National Concert Hall on Thursday, June 29. Tickets – which range from €27.50 to €36 – will go on sale from March 3. Revisit or discover The Epic in full below.
Craig McCloskey from Belfast bands Hornets and Destriers selects and waxes (ahem) lyrical about some of his most prized records, including Chelsea Wolfe, Baptists, Code Orange Kids, The Chariot and Booker T. & The M.G.’s. Photos by Dee McEvoy. Hornets release their new album, Witch Hunt, on 12″ coloured vinyl and digital download in April. Chelsea Wolfe – Apokalypsis Chelsea Wolfe is relatively huge now, what with her song used in one of the Game of Thrones trailers, but I still prefer her older records that sound way less electronic/produced and a bit more folk-ey. I love the intro track on this record,…
Comprised of Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, Billy Fuller and Will Young (not this guy, no), Bristol’s Beak> will play Belfast’s Limelight 2 on Saturday, April 1. Hands down one of the UK’s most consistently engaging electronic acts, the trio have released two full length albums and one EP of Kraut-tinged mastery since forming back in 2009. Tickets for the band’s Limelight 2 show go on sale on Friday, March 3 at 9am, priced £16.50 and booking fee.
Featuring the ever encahnting Laura Sheeran, Dublin “cosmic-pop” quartet Tomorrows have unveiled the video for their new single ‘Ricochet’. Filmed by David O’Carroll of The People We Meet, Sheeran’s nocturnal traipse through the streets of Dublin town strikes a perfectly playful contrast with the track’s buoyant melodic flow. The single is a highlight from Tomorrows’ Trout Records-released album Another Life, which you can stream in full/buy here.
Whether teased out via whim or intention, collaboration is often the key to unearthing untested majesty. In the case of Jealous of the Birds and Ryan Vail, ‘Love is a Crow’ recently saw two worlds collide in perfectly curious fashion with the former’s spoken word spirals and vocals melding with the latter’s bubbling electronica and chopping rhythms. Taking the collaborative buzz one step further, Dee Lucille AKA DIE HEXEN’s remix of the track is a spectral masterclass, quietly dragging the original through a velvet netherworld of Badalamentian synth-work, heaving textures and warped vocal refrains. Have an exclusive first listen to that below.