• Festival Mixtape: Body & Soul 2014

    June 13, 2014 - By 

    Boasting one of the strongest festival line-ups this summer, Body and Soul returns to the labyrinthine and picturesque Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath from June 20-22. Closely connected to the tradition of the Summer Solstice –  a thousand year old celebration to honour the sun – the festival has struck a fantastic balance between the very best acts in electronica (and elsewhere) and visual/performance art over the last few years, increasingly establishing itself as an annual showcase with its very own unique draw and charm. With exactly one week to go to the festival, we have compiled a fifteen-track Body & Soul…

  • A Tribute to John Mills (Panda Kopanda)

    June 12, 2014 - By 

    On Friday, May 30 I received a phonecall to tell me that, after suffering with leukaemia since the turn of the year, my closest friend was now considered beyond medical help and would be dead within a couple of hours. This big, mountainous human being was drawing his last breaths and I could only sit and wait for the next phonecall to confirm such a grim inevitable. It turned out he had quite a few breaths left in him and he would keep us waiting until the following day. But in the end, that end came – much too soon…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of May

    June 10, 2014 - By 

    In the latest installment of Choice Cuts – a feature looking at the very best tracks released in the month previous – Belfast-based writer and voracious sound enthusiast Aaron Hamilton takes us a on an eight-track, cross-genre journey, culminating in his top three tracks of the month. Ben Khan – Youth [Blessed Vice] London producer Ben Khan’s recent EP 1992 sees him furthering his warm funk-pop sounds into even catchier and addictive territory with ‘Youth’. Thick synth pads and squealing guitars moan underneath a stomping beat that will definitely see an abundance of replays in summer 2014.   Little Big League…

  • Forty Years of Phantom of the Paradise

    June 11, 2014 - By 

    We open on a blood red, pixilated screen, so tightly rotoscoped that Ken Morse must have had to have a lie down afterwards. As the camera twists away we hear the urgent and distinctly imitable voice of Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling telling the tale of Swan (“he has no other name”), sonic savant and pop pioneer, the man who “brought the blues to Britain and Liverpool to America.” As the camera uncorks, a right handed thread, to a chorus of whining synthesizers, we find that Swan is looking to inaugurate his own Xanadu: “The Paradise – the ultimate rock palace”.…

  • Dig Early: Six Months of Psych (Part I of II)

    June 6, 2014 - By 

    Having seen a real upsurge over the last while, 2013 was a particularly stellar year for psych rock (and all its many manifestations) the world over. With mind-expandingly exceptional albums from the likes of Hookworms, Goat, Destruction Unit and Unknown Mortal Orchestra sating the psych thirst of the more cosmically-inclined amongst us, it might yet pale in comparison to the sheer abundance of first-rate psychedelia that’s been released (and is set to be released) in 2014. Here’s my picks of the year so far. Blank Realm – Even The Score [from Grassed Inn] Two years on from the psych-tinged art-rock of their debut album, Go Easy, Brisbane sibling trio Blank Realm made…

  • Frame by Frame #10: Ciaran Lavery – Left For America

    May 29, 2014 - By 

    In the grand tenth installment of Frame by Frame, Belfast-based photographer and filmmaker Colm Laverty chats to singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery and filmographer Richard O’ Connor about the superb video for the former’s ‘Left For America’. Featuring actor Ro Graham as a spontaneously-liberated everyman, the video has charmed thousands since its release two weeks ago, wonderfully emphasising Lavery’s towering songwriting talents. Hi guys. First off, tell us a little bit about each of your roles on this music video. Ciaran Lavery: I provided the track ‘Left For America’, Richie provided the magic. Richard : I was the guy behind the camera shooting…

  • Playlist: Ten Must-See Acts at Forbidden Fruit 2014

    May 27, 2014 - By 

    With the final acts being announced at the start of the month, the stage-times and running order for this year’s Forbidden Fruit festival have just been announced. Featuring the likes of The Flaming Lips, Flying Lotus and Public Enemy, this year’s festival will also include sets from Irish acts including Girls Names and And So I Watch You From Afar. Set to take place on the grounds of Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin on the June bank holiday weekend of Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1. Check out the final poster and stage-times for the festival, as well as our…

  • Classic Album: Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden

    May 16, 2014 - By 

    Mark Hollis sits alone in his front room. He is tall, shaggy haired and slightly stooped. Frameless glasses are perched on the tip of his long nose as he flicks through a library hardback on the workings of the inner ear. In the corner of the room is a piano draped in grey oil cloth. It resembles a stunted pygmy elephant with unnaturally dainty feet. The piano is covered with books and the books are covered with dust. Hollis hasn’t played it in years, in decades. Not since he perfected music, in fact. Not since he finished it. Mark Hollis…

  • Inbound: Temper-Mental MissElayneous

    June 3, 2014 - By 

    In this installment of Inbound, Loreana Rushe chats to the mesmerising Temper-Mental MissElayneous about her many influences, hiphop culture in Ireland and the power of the spoken word. Hi Elayne. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? (Your background, things you enjoy etc) All I wanted to be since as long as I can remember was different. Spumco’s Ren & Stimpy are my heroes since age 7. I wanted to correlate my artistic motives with their creator, Kricfalusi’s artistic vision to never repeat his characters facial expressions twice. I read multiple books simultaneously. Currently one of those many books is…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… April

    May 6, 2014 - By 

    April has certainly been a busy news month – in sports, we had lifetime bans and huge fines for court-side racism, as well as banana throwing (and eating); in entertainment we had Jeremy Clarkson, mostly just being Jeremy Clarkson; in politics we had a series of PR meltdowns for UKIP, many of them revolving around racism as well. Indeed, intolerance and prejudice has been widespread this month. There was no sparing the music world, either, with both Sky Ferreira and Avril Lavigne being branded racists for their respective music videos. It would be easy to be bogged down by all…