• Inbound: Brand New Friend

    September 8, 2016 - By 

    As the seasons inevitably turn and summer ambles into autumn, sometimes you need music to augment the mood and bridge that interim between the party and the comedown; the wind-down from long evenings boozing by the canal and the sinking realisation that it all has to finish up sometime. That seems as good a time as any to welcome a brand new friend into your life – four of them, more accurately – playing a blend of sad and raucous, joyous and melancholic songs about love and other less important things. Initially Taylor Johnson’s solo endeavour, the addition of his…

  • These Are The Voyages: 50 Years of Star Trek

    September 8, 2016 - By 

    In June 1969, US television viewers were treated to the unforgettable spectacle of William Shatner portraying a woman inhabiting his body. The final episode of Star Trek, ‘Turnabout Intruder’, featured Captain Kirk and his crew struggling to defeat a mentally unstable woman who had captured his body, planning to take over the USS Enterprise, and wreak havoc upon all and sundry. Shatner, never the most… subtle… of performers, threw himself into the role, straining to capture the full spectrum of emotions of a woman, trapped in a man’s body. Like I say, the results are pretty spectacular, for all the…

  • Rave New World: Bjarki, Frankie Grimes, Shanti Celeste

    September 9, 2016 - By 

    Aidan Hanratty takes you through the essential electronic gigs, tracks, mixes and releases of the week. Gigs Collate presents Bjarki Live, The Bunatee, Belfast Friday 9 September Iceland’s Bjarki hit the big time last year with ‘I Wanna Go Bang’, a silly banger on Nina Kraviz’s трип label, having previously featured on that imprint’s first two compilation releases. Since then he’s dropped “Б”, and Lefhanded Fuqs is due in the coming weeks. You can catch his blistering live set tonight at The Bunatee, but be warned, it will… bang. Sorry. Axel Boman, Kornél Kovács & Pedrodollar, Opium Rooms, Dublin Saturday…

  • Inbound: Rory Grubb

    September 2, 2016 - By 

    Rory Grubb may be a singer-songwriter, but he isn’t exactly the kind of artist that term brings to mind. Third album Water House, his first in seven years – apparently “pieced together in rural Kilkenny between 2010 and 2012, over two very cold winters, in buildings without insulation” but only now seeing the light of day – amplifies the idiosyncrasies of previous album Sketches From The Big Sleep and brings them closer to the surface, as he mixes acoustic and electronic instrumentation along with homemade instruments like his impressive electric ceramophone – an array of ceramic pots spanning the musical…

  • Inbound: THUMPER

    September 1, 2016 - By 

    Dichotomies can define a band or artist throughout their bodies of work, their lives and their legacies. When things beloved by musicians run in contrast, the results are often frightening, awkward, yet compelling and almost always (sometimes accidentally) in the spirit of their time. Case in point: Dublin quintet THUMPER’s most recent release ‘Magnum Opuss’, thrown out via Little L Records on that label’s customary lash of handmade tapes, as well as via Bandcamp. Sonic Youth might serve as an obvious reference point, but the no-wave tendencies are tempered by a way with hooks best exemplified in ‘Dan the Man’,…

  • Inbound: Girlfriend

    August 31, 2016 - By 

    There is an overriding sense of darkness and foreboding surrounding Dublin’s lo-fi punks Girlfriend. With song titles like ‘kill them all (your feelings)’ and ‘the stuff you think about late at night and never tell anyone about’ which adorn their debut EP 3AM rituals, it’s clear that on the surface anyway, this band have shrouded themselves in this veil of death and misery through which no light can pierce. As the four-piece say, their music is to be consumed “at 3AM while sitting in a circle of salt surrounded by black candles casting spells on enemies/friends/local fiends/lovers”. Tongues are firmly…

  • Primer: Steven Maybury

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    Steven Maybury’s latest shows, Anicca and Dukkha, highlight an emerging artist whose practice is evolving and diversifying in the most interesting of fashions. In this edition of Primer Aidan Kelly Murphy sits down to chat about his work, influences and plans for the future. Did you always have an interest in the arts and want to pursue a life as an artist, or was it something that evolved naturally? It’s a strange one because I grew up with my father being a picture framer so I was always surrounded by artworks. I used to work with him cleaning the artists’…

  • Track Record: Conor O’Brien (Villagers)

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    As featured in the current issue of our physical magazine, Villagers’ Conor O’Brien handpicks a selection of records that have left an indelible imprint on his music and life, including Nina Simone, Bill Callahan, Fela Kuti, Julee Cruise and Mos Def. Photo by Loreana Rushe. Bill Wells Trio – Also In White I don’t really know anything about Bill Wells except that he’s a Scottish musician with fantastic eyebrows and I didn’t even know that when I starting listening to this album, which made it all the more magical. All I can say it that it leaves a proper mark on your soul…

  • Playlist: 20 Irish Acts to Catch at Electric Picnic 2016

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    For all its kaleidoscopic, genre-spanning variety, there’s no denying choosing which acts to catch (and those artist to regrettably miss) at Electric Picnic can be a bit of a headache. Sure, Clashfinder is a big help (seriously, we’d be lost without it) but let us help you out if you’re EP-bound this weekend: from Girls Names, our current cover stars SlowPlaceLikeHome (above) and Saint Sister to Hilary Woods, Rusangano Family and The Altered Hours, here’s the 20 Irish acts to catch at Electric Picnic 2016.

  • Rave New World: Prosumer, Andrew Lyster, Caskré

    August 26, 2016 - By 

    Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty look at the best tracks, mixes and releases of the week. Gigs Twitch Present Prosumer @ The Bunatee, Belfast Saturday 27 August Everyone’s favourite Berliner-turned-Edinburgher lands in Belfast to bring his unique and eclectic selections to kick off the Bank Holiday. He’s already played at Twitch this year with Head High and he obviously made enough of an impact to be invited back so soon. This time he’s on his own though, and you’d be mad to miss it. AL Pyg presents Legowelt at Pygmalion Saturday 27 August Dutch techno maestro Legowelt is always busy,…