• Starless and Bible Black: John Wetton and King Crimson

    February 1, 2017 - By 

    In 1972, King Crimson were in a bit of a mess. The band had been one of the leading lights of Britain’s art-rock scene, taking the ideas and recording approach of The Beatles to an extreme undreamed of. Their 1969 debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, rewrote the book on what rock and roll could do, but line-up changes had destabilised the band over a series of albums to such an extent where the sole remaining member was guitar virtuoso Robert Fripp, everyone else having quit in the midst of a tour, deciding they’d rather play the…

  • Playlist: Philip Glass at 80

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    No living musician can challenge the joint eclecticism and influence of Philip Glass‘ five-decades-and-counting career. From his countless solo piano releases, string quartets, operas and symphonies to his towering soundtrack work and collaborations with the likes of Bowie, Patti Smith, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar and David Byrne, the Baltimore master hasn’t as much left his stamp on contemporary classical music than irrevocably altered the course of it. To celebrate his 80th birthday today, we’ve compiled a 30 track, decade and genre-spanning Spotify playlist featuring some of his greatest moments.

  • Stream: The Thin Air’s Death Culture Blues #7

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Hey, you know what was fun? The most recent installment of Death Culture Blues, our show of experimental, cosmic and ambient sounds on the most excellent Dublin Digital Radio. Miss it? Not to worry: listen back to the show and check out its playlist in full below. We’re back with DCB on DDR this and every other Thursday night from 8-10pm. Check out their full schedule of programmes right here. 1. Polymorphie – Suite NC Part 3 2. 4treck – Pong Ping 3. The Soundcarriers – Low Light 4. Guitar Red – Disco From a Space Show 5. Rodion G.A.…

  • 17 for ’17: Maija Sofia

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Maija Sofia was reared in remote Connemara, lived in London and now resides in Dublin. Places with their own unique idiosyncrasies and experiences awaiting the inhabitants of such diverse environments. Experiences that inform the decisions we make and the things we create. Maija Sofia’s songs – soft, melancholic compositions guided by the harp and guitar –   encapsulate the creative output born from a wonderment spurred by isolation, something that is omnipresent. She has been compared to Kate Bush, Pj Harvey and Elliott Smith and there are traces of those great artists in her sound but Maija Sofia is a true…

  • 17 for ’17: ELLLL

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Ellen King AKA ELLLL is a Cork City native who started a music degree with a background in classical piano. When the opportunity arose she immersed herself in every available course on tech and minimal composition, and around 2011 she started performing as ELLLL. She was soon supporting acts like Bee Mask, Vessel and Tim Hecker in venues across Ireland, as well as travelling abroad to support Carter Tutti Void in London. A slow but steady stream of cuts on SoundCloud have become gradually less abstract and more beat-focused, retaining the singular character that’s driven her approach over recent years. A…

  • 17 For ’17: Gaze is Ghost

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    What is the distinction between a songwriter and a composer? Where is the line drawn and indeed, what does it mean? Just one listen to Strabane-born, Cambridge-based Gaze is Ghost will tell you that sometimes one of these descriptions alone is not enough. Since announcing herself onto the world with the outstanding mini-album Plume back in 2013, a sepia-toned ode to her temporary Parisian home, her reputation has been quietly on the ascendancy. Racking up support slots for Mancunian anti-punks Crywank amongst others, Laura McGarrigle’s ever growing fan base is no mean feat for an artist undoubtedly out of love…

  • 17 for ’17: Bad Sea

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    There’s nothing rough about the waves that Bad Sea have been making in the Irish gig scene. Their dreamy folk-country combo has seen them playing everything from Castlepalooza to Other Voices to the recent Therapy Sessions at the Workman’s Club (as part of the First Fortnight Festival). The duo, Ciara Thompson and Alan Pharrell, met on Tinder, and managed to form a powerhouse of a musical relationship out of a dating site. All that’s available for listening online at the moment is the band’s poignant debut single, Solid Air, which offers the perfect juxtaposition between Thompson’s unique and gentle swaying…

  • 17 for ’17: Our Krypton Son

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    Our Krypton Son’s ethereal sounds may seem bathed in “the glow that flashes red” from the sun of Superman’s home planet, but we don’t really need to look as far as the celestial bodies. Those auroras closer to home should take just as much responsibility for where Chris McConaghy’s melodies emanate from, piercing every so often through the coastal skies to inspire and ignite. Written in the small village of Creeslough in northwest Donegal, the sonic themes of Fleas and Diamonds swell and meander like the landscape of the county that birthed it; impenetrable yet so welcoming once breached, a…

  • 17 for ’17: Super Silly

    January 24, 2017 - By 

    There’s a need for the kind of music Super Silly are currently making. Sonically rooted in the anthemic theatricality of gospel, the warmth of R’n’B, and with a proclivity for the cutting-edge end of the urban music spectrum, theirs is a prospect that slices through the doom and gloom and offers acute relief. Take debut single ‘No Pressure’ as an example. A slickly produced showcase for the vocal dexterity of the collective of Precious, Solbas, Grooves, and Shek, the track extends to the listener the positive, familial, and inclusive attitude of Super Silly – not entirely surprising given their background…

  • 17 for ’17: Beach

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    The spirit of psychedelia is alive and well and living in the heart of Dublin, or at least that is what Dublin based five-piece Beach would have you believe. The quintet has spent the last few years finely honing their brand of everything but the kitchen sink psych into a well-oiled machine. Even a cursory glance at the band reveals a vast depth and scope at their very core. These are not minor or modest compositions. They’re huge ambitious beasts meandering through an unpredictable, almost endless series of twists and turns. As you listen closely you can pick out these…