• 15 For ’15: Elastic Sleep

    January 2, 2015 - By 

    Set to feature in physical form in our forthcoming January magazine, we continue 15 for ’15, a feature looking at fifteen Irish acts we’re absolutely convinced are going places in 2015. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll going to be previewing each of those acts, accompanied by words from our writers and an original photograph by our wonderful team of photographers. Next up is Cork dream-pop band Elastic Sleep. Photo by Brid O’Donovan. There is much to be said for patience. After well-loved Cork pop combo Terror Pop abruptly bid adieu in mid-2012, the band’s core membership took their time about regrouping. Quietly and…

  • 15 For ’15: Alana Henderson

    January 1, 2015 - By 

    Set to feature in physical form in our forthcoming January magazine, we’re pleased to present 15 for ’15, a handpicked selection of Irish acts we’re absolutely convinced are going places in 2015. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be previewing each of those acts, accompanied by words from our writers and an original photograph by our wonderful team of photographers. First up is Belfast-based songstress Alana Henderson. Photo by Joe Laverty. End of year lists are a funny thing. Every year the music industry churns these things out and every year the same names appear top of the…

  • The Thin Air Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2014 (74-01)

    January 1, 2015 - By 

    In the second (admittedly rather hefty) part of a two part feature, we count down our Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2014, from #74 to #01. Delve in. Go here to check out the first part of the countdown. 74. BeeMickSee – We Took A Dive Featuring his best friend and collaborator Paul Danver, ‘We Took A Dive’ by Belfast-based rapper Brendan Seamus AKA BeeMickSee tells the “tale of my harrowing relocation to Belfast in the mid 90s” and features on the The Belfast Yank. We Took a Dive by Bee Mick See 73. Droids – Burn Down Another rampant, riff-fuelled throwdown…

  • Rave New World (19/12)

    December 19, 2014 - By 

    In the grand second weekly installment of Rave New World, Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty delve into very best new electronic tracks and mixes of the week, as well as unmissable upcoming nights and releases over the festive period. Gigs The Respected Beggars Present: Dego with Kaidi @ The Menagerie, Belfast – Friday December 19 Get down to The Menagerie tonight for The Respected Beggars’ Christmas party where they’re having Dego and Kaidi provide vibes all night. Dego is probably best known as being one half of the legendary 4Hero and hasn’t played in Belfast since 1991, so this should be a special one.…

  • The Thin Air Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2014 (100-75)

    December 30, 2014 - By 

    Twelve months, a billion tracks (probably) and a ridiculously impressive crop of new, emerging musical talent the island of Ireland over: yes, 2014 was been very generous indeed on the ol’ new music front. In a year when (the altogether sonically disparate) Girl Band and SOAK signed with Rough Trade, Adebisi Shank broke hearts in parting ways and Hozier “did a Kodaline” by going positively stratospheric – more on that later – innumerable lesser-known acts have also been slogging away in the garage, creating some of the very best sounds here or anywhere else on the face on the planet. In the first of a two-part feature,…

  • Rave New World (12/12)

    December 12, 2014 - By 

    In the first weekly installment of Rave New World (Huxley would’ve approved, right?) Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty delve into very best new electronic tracks and mixes of the week, as well as unmissable upcoming nights and releases. Get diggin’. Gigs Twitch Present: Levon Vincent at Mandela Hall, Saturday, December 13 In Belfast all roads lead to Twitch on Saturday where, in a slight change to their usual venue in The Bunatee, they have house maestro Levon Vincent playing in the Mandela Hall. Anyone who was lucky enough to catch Belfast boys Bicep there earlier in the year will attest…

  • Brian Eno: Ambience For One

    December 8, 2014 - By 

    In a year when much has been written about the return of the Aphex Twin it is easy to forget its been a vintage year for that other studio super boffin, Brian Eno. His excellent collaborations with Karl Hyde, Someday World and High Life were released in May and June respectively. Someday World is an intelligent pop record – full of catchy, intricate melody lines, while High Life with fewer longer tracks sounds more improvisational – some of the best bits sound like out-takes from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. June also saw the release of the expanded version of Jon Hassell’s City: Works of Fiction. Hassell, an American…

  • Classic Album: Grateful Dead – Live/Dead (1969)

    December 4, 2014 - By 

    The very best music takes you to a different place, a different headspace, to the one you’re in before you hear it. And on the Grateful Dead’s masterful 1969 live album Live/Dead, they grab the listener and pull them head-first into another dimension. You don’t have to be on drugs to enjoy this, but that’s not to say they didn’t need them to create it. The psychedelic era of the late 60s is a problematic time in music history. On the one hand, it saw a generation of talented people reach deep into themselves, and begin to push at boundaries and…

  • Classic Album: Cocteau Twins – Treasure

    November 28, 2014 - By 

    When was the last time you heard something that sounded like it came from another world? We can often be blasé about things now, and with everything being up for grabs and accessible thanks to the ol’ information superhighway, it’s that little bit harder to find something fresh. So try and imagine what it was like when a band from the Scottish industrial town of Grangemouth arrived with something that sounded like it had fallen directly from the kingdom of heaven itself? Minds were, indeed, blown.In no uncertain terms, the first two records by the Cocteau Twins can be filed under ‘goth’. You…

  • Classic Album: The Raincoats – The Raincoats

    November 25, 2014 - By 

    1979 was the peak year for post-punk. Picking up the torch from the already stale and fast dying punk scene, adopting its spirit but injecting it with a new sense of invention, artistry and a range of eclectic influences in place of punk’s self inflicted limitations, there were genre defining debuts from Joy Division and Gang Of Four, as well as classic follow ups from the likes of Wire and Public Image Ltd among many others. The Fall even released not only their first but also their second album that year, featuring two almost entirely different lineups, immediately starting as…