The full line-up has been revealed for this year’s AVA Festival. Taking over the Titanic Slipways in Belfast across June 3-4, the festival has announced that Overmono, LSDXOXO, ELLLL, Jon Hopkins, Gemma Dunleavy, Ross From Friends and many more will join previously announced acts including Bicep, VTSS and I Hate Models. Check out the full line-up below. Go here to buy tickets.
SOAK has announced details of a new album, as well as Irish dates later in the year. The Derry singer-songwriter, born Bridie Monds-Watson, will release their third album, If I Never Know You Like This Again, via Rough Trade Records on 20th May. The follow-up to 2019’s Grim Town, the album is made up of what Monds-Watson describes as “song-memories”. It was co-written with long-time collaborator Tommy McLaughlin and recorded at Donegal’s Attica Studios. Accompanying the announcement is news of upcoming Irish dates in February and May. See below for those, as well as the the lead single from If I…
The man, the myth, the skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is set for a Q+A in Dublin. Taking place at Citywest in Dublin on 29th July, An Evening With Tony Hawk will explore the Californian’s “lifetime of pushing boundaries”. If the poster artwork is anything to go by, we’re in for a wild ride. Tickets are priced from €33.50 and go on sale on Friday, 28th February at 9am. VIP packages are also available including the opportunity for a meet and greet with Hawk and a limited-edition signed Birdhouse skate deck
CMAT has returned with a stellar new single, ‘Lonely’. Taken from her forthcoming (and massively anticipated) debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, it’s another wonderfully-woven country-pop gem from the Meath sensation otherwise known as Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. “It took me years to finish this song because I couldn’t figure out the point of it,” CMAT said. “Then the pandemic happened, and suddenly I realised that everybody was in the boat that I had been long accustomed to (my sea legs are beefy in this regard). I realised that the point of isolation is maybe to learn to…
The shortlist for the 2021 RTÉ Choice Music Prize Album of the Year has been announced. Presented in association with IMRO and IRMA, the shortlist is yet another strong genre-spanning affair, featuring the likes of Bicep, For Those I Love, Kojaque, Villagers and Elaine Mai. Check out the full shortlist below. Bicep – Isles (Ninja Tune) Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill – In the Game (Rosaleen Records / Rosa Productions) For Those I Love – For Those I Love (September Recordings) Orla Gartland – Woman on the Internet (New Friends Music) HousePlants – Dry Goods (Bone China Records) Kojaque – Town’s…
It’s not always been easy but over the last few years, we’ve stuck to the script of keeping our releases of the year round-up to a neat top 50. Granted, it stung to omit the odd thing here and there, but it always felt apt and to the point. The smaller the number, the more essential the releases, right? These last twelve months have revealed that notion not to be necessarily true. In fact, as the following one hundred albums, compilations, and EPs luminously attest, this year, it’s categorically false. Frankly, we’ve never been more content to be wrong. 100. Rory…
Via singles including ‘Signs’ and ‘Rising Tides’, Dublin-based artist Conor Walsh aka wornoc has carved out a niche in forward-pushing alternative-electronic sounds from these shores. At the heart of his craft is a sensibility rooted in the push-and-pull of post-rock – all gossamer phrases one moment and surging release the next – inspired by the likes of God Is An Astronaut, Olafur Arnolds and Bonobo. New single ‘Deep Within’ is a distilation of just that. Inspired by a memory of his time spent in Norway on the island of Stord, it’s a halcyon trip, building sparse synth and guitar motifs before a swelling finale. Accompanying the…
Over the years, Belfast musician Hornby has melted fizzogs and blown a fair few minds as the guitarist in bands such as We Are Knives and The Continuous Battle of Order. Earlier this year, his five-track debut offering in the guise of Hatchet Field, Survival Is Triumph Enough, proved a ruminative detour and a masterfully skeletal affair. Released via Belfast imprint Black Tragick – whose roster boasts the likes of Peng Weng and head hellion/hallion Robyn G Shiels – its foreboding death folk struck a sparse, altogether special chord, laying bare the subtleties of an artist who can be full-blown,…
Belfast quartet Big Daisy have unveiled a new festive single titled ‘Poinsettia’. Capping off a busy year emerging as one of the island’s first indie-pop propositions, it is – true to form – a wonderfully lo-fi gem from the four-piece, honing in on the true spirit of the season. “‘Poinsettia’ is a Christmas love song,” said the band.” The main lyric “Christmas without you baby, I would be so blue” is sang with heart at the thought of being without your true love at Christmas time.” Stream the song – which was recorded in the attic of Big Daisy’s home by the…
Featured dark and twisted tales, read by Eimear Keating, The Jealous Wall is one of Dublin Digital Radio’s most essential monthly slots. On Wednesday, 29th December, she takes the show beyond the airwaves for a storytelling event at the Jealous Wall itself, at Belvedere in Mullingar, Westmeath. Beginning with live music by experimental artist Frog of Earth, the event will come to a head with a series of carefully handpicked short stories, featuring upcoming writers from the Midlands. Taking place entirely outside, and therefore COVID compliant, the event kicks off at 6.30 pm and admission is €12.50/€8.00 (OAP/Student). Alcohol (wine and…