• EP Premiere: Patrick Gardiner – Carcassonne

    April 1, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of its launch at Belfast’s Voodoo on April 9, we’re pleased to present an exclusive first listen to Carcassonne, the second EP from Co. Down singer-songwriter Patrick Gardiner. A subtly eclectic mix of incisive, occasionally wry and consistently considered acoustic tale-telling, the five-track release sees Gardiner’s earnest words drive forth full-band tracks underpinned with some instantly memorable melodic threads and pop nuances. Better still is Gardiner’s guitar-playing throughout, proving very much representative of a craftsman who has played and commanded the instrument from a young age. Go here for the Facebook event page for the launch show and stream the EP below.

  • Rave New World (27/3)

    March 27, 2015 - By 

    With Antoin Lindsay still AWOL (he’s ok, though – don’t be panicking and phoning his parents or anything) Aidan Hanratty whittles down the very finest electronic gigs, releases and mixes for this week’s Rave New World GIGS There’s so many gigs this weekend. It’s hard to whittle it down really. Objekt is playing twice – once at Cyprus Avenue in Cork (tonight) and once at Hangar in Dublin (tomorrow, alongside Snakehips and DeFekT), Derrick May is in Dublin tonight, as is George Fitzgerald, while Randomer, Prins Thomas and Mark E all come to town this weekend. In Belfast, residents Defcon and…

  • Roving Eye: The Young Folk in Birmingham

    March 24, 2015 - By 

    In second installment of Roving Eye, Tara Thomas sets out for Birmingham with Dublin alt-folk quartet The Young Folk as they do a tour of coffee shops. Last Monday morning found me catching the red eye to Birmingham to meet with The Young Folk. I had the pleasure of sharing the flight with a still merry stag party who used the forty airborne minutes to relive every moment of their weekend, much to the bemusement of the other passengers. Birmingham is the most densely inhabited city in the UK outside London. A city steeped in innovation and revolution has produced a…

  • Bookmark: Joe Lindsay

    March 25, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Bookmark we chat to Belfast broadcaster and DJ Joe Lindsay about some of his all-time favourite books. Photos by May Chan. Lou Reed – Victor Bockris I am a huge fan of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. I couldn’t believe when I started in radio that my first interviewee was to be Victor Bockris. I loved his book Uptight: The Story Of the Velvet Underground and there I was, about to interview him about his new book on Lou Reed. The dark lord of three chords. White noise and black leather. The Velvet Underground opened some many…

  • Visual Arts Outlook (23/3)

    March 23, 2015 - By 

    In the first of a new weekly feature, Mary Stevens delivers a weekly Visual Arts Outlook, featuring an Stuart Brisley’s Headwinds, an exhibition by Niall de Buitléar and Get In Lane at Belfast’s Catalyst Arts, which refers to “the stifling necessity for graduates to decide on their future direction.” The Mac Belfast Stuart Brisley – Headwinds. Panel Discussion: The Cenotaph Project & The Public Sphere. Thursday March 26 – 7.30 – Booking Required. It’s refreshing to see the Mac opening an academic discussion around the current show Headwinds by Stuart Brisley. This event invites Stuart Brisley, Maya Balcioglu, Dr Sanja Perovic,…

  • Track Record: Lisa Lemur

    March 31, 2015 - By 

    Lisa O’Grady aka Lisa Lemur is a Cork based event promoter, sacred harp singer and musician. She recently organised the International Women’s Day event in Gulpd cafe. Lisa’s eclectic taste ranges from the minimalism of Arthur Russell to the ostentatious Os Mutantes. Photos by Melanie Mullan. Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted Credit goes to my friend Bernadette’s big sister Margaret for introducing us to Pavement when we were sixteen and Slanted and Enchanted had just come out. Blown away beyond belief! A love affair had begun! I remember buying the real tape (after the taped one was wrecked) in Comet records in Cork…

  • Monday Mixtape: Cathy Pellow (Sargent House)

    March 23, 2015 - By 

    We’re very pleased to present this week’s Monday Mixtape, featuring none other than Sargent House founder and owner Cathy Pellow. A true champion of independent music and some of the very best artists around, Pellow’s mixtape features several unreleased tracks from the likes of R. Ariel, Mutoid Man, And So I Watch You From Afar and No Spill Blood, as well as released material from acts including Helms Alee and Wovenhand. And So I Watch You From Afar – Wasps (from Heirs, out on May 4) Blis. – Floating Somewhere High and Above (from Starting Fires In My Parents House) Empty Houses –…

  • Rave New World (20/3)

    March 20, 2015 - By 

    With Antoin Lindsay temporarily AWOL (he’s moving country, ok? Enough with those crazy thoughts about being on the run from loan sharks, etc.) Aidan Hanratty delivers this week’s Rave New World on his most capable lonesome. Electronic music is a thing, and a very good thing. Embrace it like a long-lost brother, you cold, inconsiderate swine. Only joking – you’re lovely. GIGS Mud: Bodytonic present Blawan & Sunil Sharpe at The Twisted Pepper Friday, March 20 Last year Sunil Sharpe went b2b with Ben UFO. Rather than Ben going harder, Sunil went deeper, showing the breadth of this local hero’s ability.…

  • Classic Album: Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds

    March 20, 2015 - By 

    In the wake of the solar eclipse that has captured people’s imaginations, and clogged up their social media feeds, Steven Rainey takes a bit of artistic licence and delves back into Pink Floyd’s history to rediscover an album that finds them revelling in the darkness caused by the blotting out of the sun.Technically, Obscured by Clouds is a soundtrack album for the French film La Vallee, a reasonably obscure oddity that finds a woman going on a voyage of self-discovery in New Guinea. I haven’t seen it, and I’m betting you haven’t either (and if you have, fair play to you –…

  • Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    “It is often said that before one dies your life flashes before your eyes. This is in fact true. It is called living.” – Sir Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett’s last book, a paperback copy, sits on my shelf, pristine and unread since receiving it for Christmas and I find myself both cherishing and dreading the opportunity for one final visit to the most significant of the worlds he created, The Discworld. I can honestly say that I had no idea how important the writer of these books was to me until I read he’d died. Sitting in my workplace looking…