• Premiere: A Bad Cavalier – ‘I’m a Wreck’

    July 1, 2015 - By 

    Ex-Panama Kings and current ASIWYFA man Niall Kennedy has been keeping himself occupied with his solo project, ambient outfit A Bad Cavalier. Debut E.P. ‘Ex Libris’, released in 2014, was self-penned, and self-performed, before Kennedy assembled a fearsome line-up, comprised of an all-star cast, including members of Ed Zealous, Hornets, Rams Pocket Radio, and Wonder Villains. With some heavyweight supports under their belt during initial live excursions lending them some hefty momentum, the lads unveil follow-up single ‘I’m a Wreck’, available for streaming below, and premiering exclusively with The Thin Air. “A supergroup of sorts, the five piece’s mix of ambient-post rock…

  • Premiere: Hope is Noise – From There With Love

    June 29, 2015 - By 

    Cork alt-rock/post-hardcore four-piece Hope is Noise are approaching their tenth anniversary under the name later this year, and their eighteenth (!) as a band altogether. Typical of the boys, though, they’ll not be celebrating the milestone with nostalgia, but with a brand new record, their fourth full-length and sixth overall. The first of a series of singles coming out through FIFA Records leading into the release later this year, ‘From There With Love’, sets the tone perfectly. Brooding, menacing and a short, sharp shock, it continues the band’s veer into more noise-rock territory, picking up where previous EP ‘This Used…

  • Deep Down South: Music and the “Cork Brand”

    June 22, 2015 - By 

    The past two weeks (for this column is now fortnightly) have been marked by two weekends of the Cork Midsummer Festival, a celebration of the arts and culture in Cork City that’s sprawled all over the city’s venues and spanned the axis of artistic endeavour. From critiques of capitalism draped in Northside accents and caffeine-fueled hyperkinesis, to the sight of a string quartet welcoming the first sunrise of the season at 5am in the company of tired but elated attendees, it’s been something else to see the extent to which the town opens its arms to the arts, and the…

  • Deep Down South: A Changing of the Guard

    June 10, 2015 - By 

    Cork metal and hardcore has been a scene that this column has attempted to shine a light on in recent times, owing to a complete lack of exposure elsewhere that completely overlooks a rich vein of talent and substance. It is this community your writer came from, and identifies strongly with. And last Sunday saw a changing of the guard, as two influential bands called it a day in a packed, heaving, sweating Fred Zeppelin’s. [r]evolution of a sun, active for most of their thirteen-year span in one form or another, brought a heft to their negative hardcore, aided by…

  • Deep Down South: (Almost) A Half-Year Review (Of Sorts)

    June 1, 2015 - By 

    Because it’s a slow news week, and your writer is a laptop-dwelling beardo still in thrall to his most base of blogger-nerd urges, this week’s Bank Holiday installment of Deep Down South is every music pedant’s favourite – the half-year review. I’m well aware we’re only just into month six of 2015 (and this column) as of today, but it’s been a hella-busy few months, and a wee bit of stocktake is more than called for. We started the year with the promise of the Quarter Block Party, a DIY arts festival co-organised by the Makeshift Ensemble and promoters the…

  • Deep Down South: A Round-Up, More YESEquality Gigs and a Big Weekend

    May 18, 2015 - By 

    ANNOUNCEMENTS, REMINDERS AND SUCH: While concentrating on the various nooks and crannies of Cork City’s multifaceted scene, this column does sometimes miss the major announcements. Our reasoning is that DIY shows do need the support and a specific platform, and most of the big festivals and events are already sorted for national press. However, we’d be completely remiss if we didn’t serve as somewhat of a reminder of what’s going on around town, especially with tonnes of stuff on the way. Adding to our coverage of the Sounds from a Safe Harbour, 100/1 and other fests in recent weeks, here’s a…

  • Interview & Guest Mix: I Am The Cosmos

    May 18, 2015 - By 

    Two years on from the release of their extraordinary, critically-acclaimed debut album, Monochrome, Dublin-based duo Cian Murphy and Ross Turner AKA I Am The Cosmos are still very much one of the country’s most exciting propositions. Choosing to perform rare live appearances and currently focusing on recording and their ongoing colloborations with the likes of Jape, Lisa Hannigan and Solar Bears, the pair play their debut Belfast show at Chromatic at The Woodworkers this Saturday, May 23 (free entry). Ahead of that show, Cian Murphy chats to Mike McGrath Bryan, as well providing us with an exclusive mix featuring the…

  • Deep Down South: Safe Harbours, Young Wonder and Old Rock Docs

    May 10, 2015 - By 

    ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SUCH The big news as last week’s column was finishing up was the announcement of another brand-new festival to be added to Cork’s ever-expanding portfolio of annual events, with the announcement of Sounds from a Safe Harbour, ‘a festival of music, art and conversation’ running September 17th to 20th around the city. Curated by The National guitarist Bryce Dessner, the festival represents another immense opportunity to showcase the city’s strengths to a wider audience, following the good buzz and recent pick-up in events and crowds that’s happened this year. Yon blurb: Sounds from a Safe Harbour is a…

  • Deep Down South: YESEquality, Moonstomps, & Math-Metal Mayhem

    May 4, 2015 - By 

    With May 22nd approaching, the marriage equality referendum is getting nearer, and YESEquality Cork is stepping up its campaign with a selection of events and rallies all over the city and county. Here are but a few of what’s been announced/confirmed so far, bearing in mind there’s a tonne of good stuff lined up for next week also. We’ll update this column during the week with more info as we have it. Tomorrow night kicks off proceedings with an open-mic night in a location to be announced (exciting!), while Wednesday night sees a public meeting in Youghal, at the Walter…

  • Interview: Woody Woodmansey

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of the legendary English drummer’s appearance at Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival’s Marquee on Friday, May 8, Mike McGrath Bryan chats to Mick “Woody” Woodmansey, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars. Hi Woody. You played on four of Bowie’s most influential and important records. How did you come into his fold, so to speak? I had played with Mick Ronson in a band called The Rats in the city of Hull, East Yorkshire. We were a blues based progressive rock outfit playing on the University circuit, supporting major acts at that time, plus we…