• Death To Complacency: An Interview With Gross Net, Autumns and Fears

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a three-way release launch in a secret location in Belfast this Friday night, Philip Quinn of Gross Net, Autumns’ Christian Donaghey & Fears’ Constance Keane discuss growth, release, community & “timid Irishness disease”. Go here for the show’s event page. Hi guys. You play a secret location show together in Belfast this weekend. It’s titled ‘A Death To Complacency’. What’s the significance of the title? Philip Quinn (Gross Net): There’s an element present here in society I dub “timid Irishness disease”, whereby people just don’t knuckle down and get making something. I see the three of us as…

  • Running the Gamut: Introducing Orby Chase

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    One of many shining lights being championed by our friends at BeKreativ, Orby Chase are a recently-formed Belfast outfit on a mission. We catch up with the alt/indie quartet about the past, present and auspicious future of the band. Photo by Adam Martin Hi guys. First up: for the unacquainted, how and when did Orby Chase form? We formed in early January 2016. Josh had been doing the rounds as a singer/songwriter since the split of his previous outfit The Blindies and to reasonable acclaim. As his writing developed so did the textural palate he found himself reaching for and…

  • Bookmark: Dan Hegarty (2FM)

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    RTÉ 2FM legend and author Dan Hegarty handpicks and  a selection of his favourite books, featuring Charles Bukowski, Scroobius Pip, Jack Kerouac and Richie Taylor & Tony Clayton-Lea. Photos by Peter O’Hanlon. Dan Hegarty’s Buried Treasure and Buried Treasure 2 are available to buy now via Liberties Press.  Irish Rock: Where It’s Come From, Where It’s At, and Where It’s Going – Richie Taylor & Tony Clayton-Lea This book really made me aware of how many amazing artists this little island of Ireland has offered up over the years. Prior to this, I would have known the obvious ones; great acts…

  • Green Day Set For Irish Shows

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    Having released their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio, in October, it’s been announced that Green Day will play outdoor shows in Belfast and Dublin next summer. Supported by Rancid, the Billy Joe Armstrong-fronted trio will play Belfast’s Ormeau Park on June 28 and Dublin’s Royal Hospital Kilmainham on June 29. Tickets – which go on sale this Friday at 9am – are priced £45.00 and €59.50 including booking fee respectively.

  • Southern Hospitality Board Announce Hiatus

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    Having spent the last couple of year’s as one of Leeside’s most tireless and passionate promoters, Southern Hospitality Board has announced that they are going on an “undefinable hiatus”. Founded by Aisling O’Riordan and Caoilian Sherlock following the clouse of the Pavilion back in 2014, SHB kicked off their gig-promoting tenure with a show at Triskel Arts Centre with Girl Band in October 2014 and will host possibly the final ever show, The Sudden Club Weekender featuring Rozi Plain, The Shaker Hymn and Anna Mieke Bishop, at The Kino on Sunday, Decemeber 2011. In a Facebook post, the promoters pre-emnpting…

  • Fleet Foxes Set For Iveagh Gardens Show

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    Having recently revealed that their third studio album is almost completed following an extended hiatus, Fleet Foxes have announced that they will play Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens on Friday, July 14. The date marks the band’s first Irish date since June 2011 at Cork’s The Marquee. Tickets for the Iveagh Gardens show go on sale on Thursday (December 1) at 9am. Re-live a Fleet Foxes classic below.

  • RTÉ Announce Partnership with Choice Music Prize

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of its return to Dublin’s Vicar Street on Thursday, March 9, RTÉ has announced a new partnership with the Choice Music Prize. The partnership will see both RTÉ2 and RTÉ 2FM play a lead role in supporting what has become one of the highlights of the Irish musical calendar as part of a new agreement. Speaking about the announcement, Director-General at RTÉ Dee Forbe said, “Supporting Irish music and Irish musicians is a core part of what RTÉ does and this partnership will allow us to take our support one step further. Through RTÉ2 and RTÉ2FM, two established brands…

  • Monday Mixtape: Ruadhan O’Meara (Magic Pockets, No Spill Blood)

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    In the latest instalment of Monday Mixtape, Ruadhan O’Meara of Dublin’s Magic Pockets and No Spill Blood handpicks ten “extremely smelly synth/prog moments”, including Hawkwind and Harald Grosskoph. Magic Pockets launch their debut album, Volcano of the Bleeding Skies, at Tivoli Backstage in Dublin on Friday night (December 2). Hawkwind –  The Forge of Vulcan A hidden gem from Quark, Strangeness and Charm”. Basically it’s just Simon House, thumping an Anvil over a busy sequence and organ progression. Totally badass. Bobby Beausoleil – Lucifer Rising Part II From the soundtrack to Kenneth Anger’s film. He was in the Manson family, and…

  • Kiss and Tell: An Interview With Meltybrains?

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of playing their biggest headline show to date at Dublin’s Academy on Friday night, Dublin experimental maestros Meltybrains? talk collaboration, the scene, pushing boundaries and their new EP with Brian Coney. Photo by Ian McDonnell Hi guys. Congratulations on the release of Kiss Yourself. Take us back to the very start of the conception of this release: how was the songwriting process for this one and how did things differ, if at all, to previous work? The songwriting process was a complicated affair. Some of the tracks were ideas from old demos we recorded in Conor Walsh’s hotel in…

  • Premiere: Conor Mason – On The Surface

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Conjuring the wistful wanderlust of both Grandaddy and Villagers ‘On The Surface’ by Derry singer-songwriter Conor Mason is a song that “looks at feelings that arise when considering things that we can’t yet explain, the mystery of the unknown”. Taken from a forthcoming EP set for release at the end of January, it’s a real gem, too: mining solace from uncertainty, culminating in a call to recognise the beauty outside the static in our heads, it makes for a wonderfully crafted five minutes, revealing Mason to be a master of hook, harmony and heart.