• 10 for ’20: Denise Chaila

    February 18, 2020 - By 

    In the latest installment of 10 for ’20, Kelly Doherty tips Limerick-based Zambian-Irish rapper and poet Denise Chaila for huge things in 2020 and beyond. Photo by Tara Thomas Few Irish artists are swimming as smoothly in a wave of excitement and anticipation as Denise Chaila. The rapper and poet, despite having only two solo singles to her name, has been turning heads across live venues and major publications for the last couple of years. Winning herself a cover spot on the Irish Times’ 50 People To Watch in 2020, a celebrity fan in BBC Radio 6’s Cillian Murphy and…

  • Infinitesimal Hinge: In The Fold

    February 17, 2020 - By 

    In a 2016 interview the composer and saxophonist Matana Roberts asks, “Where is the new language for how we talk about difference?” Sceptical about current protest movements’ uncritical resurrections of previous vocabularies of struggle – which, in their reliance upon dualisms of black and white, us and them, reinforce the structural underpinnings of three decades of culture warring that led, quite logically, to brexit, Trump, Bolsonaro, and other demagogues around the world whose only overtures are ones of blame and resentment – Roberts’ suggestion is that only replicating older articulations of opposition dulls our ability to construct a language fit…

  • Monday Mixtape: Strange New Places

    February 17, 2020 - By 

    Including almost certainly the greatest pop song ever written, fast-rising Belfast five-piece Strange New Places reveal some of their all-time favourite songs. Ash Loyalty Festers – Onsind A haunting exploration of a society abandoned by a racist upper class and a life framed by the failures of nationalism, this song builds its message with beauty and power. Topped off with an overdub of political analysis by Akala, this track is everything folk-punk should be. Your New Old Apartment- Signals Midwest, Sincere Engineer This track is so affecting, so sad, hopeful and sincere, that for many days straight I listened to…

  • Track-by-Track: Arborist – A Northern View

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    Released last week, A Northern View cements Mark McCambridge aka Arborist’s rep as one of the country’s most distinctive songwriting voices. Whether you look to opener ‘A Stranger Heart’, the sublime ‘Here Comes The Devil’ or, in fact, any one of the album’s eleven carefully-crafted tales, it’s a filler-free feat of mottled, forward-pushing folk-pop from the Belfast-based artist. Let’s go one further: for our money, it’s the Irish album of the year so far. Ahead of its official launch at the Menagerie in Belfast on February 28th, McCambridge gives us generous track-by-track breakdown of the release below. A Northern View by arborist A…

  • Monday Mixtape: Cherym

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    From Pixies to Lana Del Rey, Hannah Richardson, Nyree Porter and Alannagh Doherty aka Derry pop-rock trailblazers Cherym take us on a guided tour of their all-time favourite songs. Photo by Ciara McMullan Hannah Charly Bliss – Black Hole Charly Bliss are ultimately my favourite band. This was the first song I heard of theirs. I love how Evas sugary sweet vocals are complimented by the fuzziness of the guitars. The music video for this is everything you expect it to be, full of colour and glitter. Literally everything I have ever loved in a band. Tancred – Sell My Head…

  • 10 for ’20: Acid Granny

    February 4, 2020 - By 

    In the first installment of 10 for ’20 – our new series previewing ten Irish acts we’re convinced are set for great things in 2020 and beyond – Justin McDaid introduces one of the country’s most singular live acts, Dublin quartet Acid Granny. Photo by Ivan Rakhmanin There’s a celebrated quote on a famous theory attributed to a clever man. Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with Acid Granny for an hour and it seems like time is being pulped into some sort of amniotic goo where we all converge…

  • Monday Mixtape: Silverbacks

    February 3, 2020 - By 

    From Broadcast to Sonic Youth, Kilian and Daniel from Dublin indie rock five-piece Silverbacks take us on a guided tour of the acts and tracks that made an imprint on their recent singles ‘Drool’ and ‘Sirens’. Stones by Sonic Youth At the time we wrote Drool I have been listening to Sonic Nurse a lot. Similar enough drumbeat to Stones too ey? – K Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups I’ll be honest, I don’t know any other songs by this band but this song used to be in an old iTunes library on Daniel’s laptop years ago. The noodly guitar riff…

  • The Thin Air Podcast: Just Mustard

    January 29, 2020 - By 

    This week’s installment of the Thin Air podcast features Dundalk band Just Mustard and their track ‘Pigs’. A hypnotic highlight from their debut album Wednesday, guitarist/producer David Noonan, singer KT Ball and drummer Shane Maguire talk about the song’s writing and recording process with Danny Carroll.  Serving as a blueprint for the band, we found out how ‘Pigs’ informed the band’s development and gave them a new way of approaching their songwriting.

  • Monday Mixtape: Joel Harkin

    January 27, 2020 - By 

    In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, fast-rising Letterkenny alternative ambient folk artist Joel Harkin waxes lyrical on some of his favourite songs, from Phoebe Bridgers and Kitt Philippa, to John Martyn and SOAK. John Martyn – Small Hours I really like how if you didn’t know that there would be singing later in this song that it would surprise you, it doesn’t give you much indication from the start that there will be. It’s very relaxing and it feels very poignant. I love all of the ambient sound and the interesting vocal style. Kitt Philippa – Moth This song…

  • The Thin Air Podcast: Careerist

    January 15, 2020 - By 

    This week, we speak to Belfast band Careerist about the track ‘Negative One’. A highlight of their excellent debut album Weird Hill (released on Pizza Pizza Records in November), singer/guitarist Carl Eccles and bassist Nathan Rodgers talk to Danny Carroll about the influences that inspired the song, and the recording process. We also get insights from producer Chris Ryan (Robocobra Quartet) about how the song developed in the studio.