• Watch: Lisa Hannigan – Undertow

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    A highlight from her critically-acclaimed, Choice Prize-nominated third album, At Swim, ‘Undertow’ by Lisa Hannigan is a wonderfully-woven chamber pop gem meditating on the mystery of belonging and the lure of escapism. Speaking to NPR, Hannigan said Alden Volney’s brand new accompanying video for the single aimed to capture “watery drift of the words” and to communicate that sense of floating “we felt the best way was for me to learn the song backwards, so that all around me would move upwards, not down. It took a while for the reverse words and melody to sink in — but now I tend to…

  • Stream: REPLETE – Líle

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Less than a month on from dropping Zizek at the Discotheque, Kilkenny producer Peter Lawlor AKA REPLETE is back with new deep house cut ‘Líle’. Released via Paper Recordings’ Project Fear compilation (which you can check out in full here) the single comes accompanied with three remixes from Dublin-based producer Sean Arthur AKA Kobina, Berlin-based Kilkenny producer David Sheenan AKA Vogelbat (whose new-born daughter Líle inspired the title) and Foreign Affair. This is a sturdy release with real variation over the four tracks.

  • Stream: New Jackson – Electric Blue

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    Including a fair few Irish artists, 2016 expectedly saw a deluge of Bowie tributes in the form of various covers, remixes and collaborations. Now, just over a year on from Bowie’s passing, David Kitt has offered up his own tribute in the form of ‘Electric Blue’. Produced under his New Jackson moniker and set for release in collaboration with Elliot Lion via Cin Cin Records on February 10, the single takes the basis of ‘Sound of Vision’ for a stellar, unravelling 10-minute dancefloor trip that really rewards a full (and indeed repeated) listen. Photo by Dorje de Burgh

  • The LP Belfast Launch Night

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    In the first of a new listening party series, Belfast’s House Bar on Stranmillis will host the launch of The LP on Friday, January 27. The concept is simple: people show up, buy drinks and the organisers play a great album, uninterrupted, from start to finish. First up is Childish Gambino’s third studio album, “Awaken, My Love!”, released via Glassnote Records back in December. The album play will be followed by the LP DJ set, featuring funk, soul, hip-hop, disco, house and breaks. Entry for the launch is free and there’ll be some free good, as well as drink offers. Contact thelpbelfast@gmail.com…

  • SPECTRUM: Creative Music for Curious Ears

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    Presented by Improvised Music Company in association with Note Productions and Homebeat, SPECTRUM is a new festival experience for fans of innovative music-making. Set to present three days of stimulating music “at the creative intersection where jazz, contemporary, rock and electronic music collide”, the Dublin festival – which will run from March 10-12 at Whelans and The Opium Rooms on Wexford St, Dublin – will have a focus on the live and improvised, complimented by a compelling programme of talks. From a debate on the excessive classifications of modern music led by Professor Matthew Causey from Trinity College Dublin, Paul…

  • #CorkLovesMusic

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    Presented in association with First Music Contact, the inaugural #CorkLovesMusic will see a standalone series of free music industry clinics, talks and performance events kick off in Coughlan’s on Wednesday, February 22. Set to run throughout the year, the opening event will feature one-one-clinics with FMC CEO Angela Dorgan, talks featuring Young Wonder/aboveDat producer Ian Ring, venue promoter Joe Kelly and arts journalist Ellie O’Byrne, as well as performances from Sillk, The Sunshine Factory and Ghostking. Reserve your place at the launch here and keep ’em peeled more announcements throughout the year. Leaf EP by GHOSTKING IS DEAD

  • Watch: Participant – Your Better

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant has been riding a well-deserved wave of momentum recently, cropping up on end of year and “ones to watch” lists left, right and centre. Capitalising on that drive, new single  ‘Your Better’ is a real statement of intent, conjuring the hushed intimacy of Sparklehorse with a sparse delicacy all his own. Taken from his second EP, Content, the single is masterfully propelled by Bob Gallagher’s video, an accompaniment that highlights its darker undertones with a powerful narrative metaphor. Tiernan said,”‘Your Better’ was one of those songs that seemed complete from the moment I uttered the first lyric over the…

  • Stream: Documenta – Word Song (Yucatan Cover)

    January 26, 2017 - By 

    Belfast drone pop outfit Documenta release a split CD through Tim Burgess’ OGenesis Recordings, tying in with a short Independent Venue Week tour alongside the collaborating bands. The EP consists of an original song by each of the three acts, as well as a cover of one of the other band’s songs. The cosmically-inclined trio of Documenta, Welsh dream-pop act Yucatan, and Manchester’s glistening, kaleidoscopic Horsebeach all met while playing Tim Peaks Diner in Manchester over the summer. They eventually decided to collaborate on this Independent Venue Week UK mini-tour, which kicks off at Belfast’s Voodoo tomorrow night – Friday, January 27 – with Documenta headlining, followed by Welsh &…

  • Stream: Eoin Dolan – I Can Make You Hurt at Will

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    An unused track from his 2016 self-titled debut album, ‘I Can Make You Hurt at Will’ by Galway singer-songwriter Eoin Dolan is a subtle, masterfully sombre surf-folk single touching on nocturnalism, the long winter and the hidden laws of love. Released in association with Citóg Records, the track – featuring Patrick O’Toole on lead guitar and Robin Van Der Klooster on bass – is short but sweet testament to the fact Dolan is a master craftsman of tales that confront the innate fragility of relationships and personal becoming. I CAN MAKE YOU HURT AT WILL by Eoin Dolan

  • Wanda: Feminism and Moving Image

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    A four-day feminism and moving image event and the first of its kind in Belfast, Wanda will take place in various venues across the city from February 9-12. Featuring film screenings, talks, performances and panel discussions on subjects relating to feminist moving image practice and how feminism continues to inform and inspire moving image works of many forms, the mini-festival will include screenings of feature films such as Riddles of the Sphinx (still, above) at Beanbag Cinema and Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles at Queen’s Film Theatre, as well as shorts including Niamh McKenna’s Chasing the Birds and…