• Stream: Maija Sofia – Persephone

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    One of our featured 17 For ’17 acts, we are pretty convinced 2017 is set to be a big year for Dublin’s Maija Sofia. Haven’t carved out her own path over the last while, the Connemara-reared artist has just unveiled her latest – and almost certainly greatest – single effort to date, ‘Persephone’. A self-described ode “to the many talented women throughout history who have been oppressed and overshadowed at the hands of an abuse” the track – which marries a wonderfully cloistered atmosphere with an intimate, lo-fi air – was produced and recorded with London electronic artist Gazel. In short: we…

  • Video Premiere: Strength NIA – La Floresta

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    Hands down their strongest single effort, ‘La Floresta’ by Derry outfit Strength NIA is a track that perfectly sums up the beating heart of the Rory Moore-fronted band’s experimental alt-pop craft to date. With its uncanny melodic surge and rhythmic panache, it makes for an extremely transmitting three-and-a-half-minutes from the fast-rising act. The single – which is set for official release on February 28 – also comes accompanied with rather brilliant video courtesy of Conor McFeely. Have a first watch and listen below now.

  • Premiere: Looking Svelte – Evolve

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    If you’ve been at least moderately au fait with the Irish alternative scene over the last few years, the name Ryan Burrowes is likely to ring a bell. From his work as main-man in Banbridge purveyors of scuzzy post-hardcore noise, Abandcalledboy, up until his recent membership in Belfast’s Robocobra Quartet, he’s tread a busy, involved path that’s always hinted at some autonomous experimentation bubbling beneath the surface. Serving as confirmation of that suspicion, his new-fangled, solo moniker Looking Svelte is a self-proclaimed pop project that will yield self-produced debut EP, Gelatine, this Friday (February 17). Featuring the influence of Triphop, noise…

  • Stendhal Festival Make Annual Call For Artist Submissions

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    Right up there with our very favourite Irish festivals, Stendhal Festival of Art in Limavady have announced that they’re on the look-out for artist submissions for their 2017 installment across August 11-12. Set to return for its seventh outing, artists interested in taking part in the multi-award winning event can complete an application form via the festival’s website here. Organiser Ross Parkhill says that the submission process is one of the team’s favourite times of the year: “We really love when submission time comes around. We try our best to keep on top of all the amazing new music that…

  • Watch: No Monster Club – Sion

    February 13, 2017 - By 

    Not exactly an outfit to needlessly sit on or tease out new material, Dublin’s No Monster Club are a band whose prolific output has never been cause to wonder about quality or consistency. Released as a single back in February last year, the slinking art-pop of ‘Sion’ is a perfect case in point, something we’ve been happy to re-visit in the form of its brand new video, an accompaniment featuring what main man Bobby Aherne calls words “vaguely meta” video footage featuring the very parade the song is written about. Sure enough, it syncs up wonderfully well.

  • Arcade Fire Set for Belfast and Dublin

    February 13, 2017 - By 

    To say the 2017 Irish Summer festival calendar is already bursting at the seams with unmissable shows would be underselling it a bit. Adding to the is the highly-anticipated return of Arcade Fire, who play Belfast’s Belsonic at Ormeau Park on Tuesday, June 13 and Dublin’s Malahide Castle on Wednesday, June 14. With special guests to be confirmed, tickets for the shows go on sale at 9am this Friday priced £45 including booking fee for Belfast and €69.50 (inc. booking fee) for Dublin.

  • Stream: Slow Riot – Pink December

    February 10, 2017 - By 

    Much like The Twilight Sad, Joy Division, Editors, Interpol and many others besides, Limerick three-piece Slow Riot have always had a strong knack in forging a stark, post-punk aesthetic with authentic pop sensibilities. Set for release on Monday, their new single ‘Pink December’ – which melds building minimalism with claustrophobic patterns reminiscent of early Cure – is no exception to that rule. We’re fans. Check it out.

  • Premiere: Scenery – Fool For You

    February 10, 2017 - By 

    Counting their main influences as Jeff Buckley, Amy Winehouse, Tame Impala, Matt Corby, Mac DeMarco and The Beatles, new-fangled Derry outfit Scenery have already struck a keen balance between throwback and contemporary. A slickly-produced single conjuring at least a couple of the aforementioned acts, ‘Fool For You’ is a swooning ballad that, falling comfortably into the former camp, reveals the band’s pop prowess and melodic flair. Scenery launch ‘Fool For You’ alongside Orchid Collective and Emer McLaughlin at Bennigans in Derry tonight. Have a first listen to the single via Soundcloud below.

  • Line-up Revealed For Open Ear 2017

    February 9, 2017 - By 

    Having made its sold-out inaugural outing last year, the intimate and independent Open Ear festival will return to the idyllic sanctuary of Sherkin Island off West Cork this June bank holiday (June 2-4). And with its focus on the best experimental, ambient, electronic, neo-classical, hip-hop/beats and noise-based sounds from Ireland and further afield, this year’s line-up – which is as proudly eclectic as the last – features the likes of Mike Slott, Eomac, The Cyclist, Naive Ted, Ambulance, Fixity and Magic Pockets. Here’s the full line-up. Early bird tickets are now available priced at €75. Go here for those.

  • Watch: Gross Net – Still Life

    February 9, 2017 - By 

    An outright highlight from his first-rate debut album, Quantitative Easing, ‘Still Life’ by Belfast’s Philip Quinn AKA Gross Net is a song that wrestles dark tidings and psychic pain in impervious fashion. With its creeping Numan-esque bass-synth climb and stark drum machine patterns, a perfect maelstrom of noise is woven across the song’s masterfully suffocating six-and-a-bit minutes. Check out Autumn Andel’s new video for the single below and make sure to check out Quantitative Easing via Belfast imprint Touch Sensitive.