• In Their Hands: A Conversation with Wyvern Lingo

    March 8, 2018 - By 

    Bray’s Wyvern Lingo chat to Nicole Glennon about being women in the Irish music industry,their camaraderie, activism and plans for the future. What does it mean to each of you to be a woman in 2018? Caoi: It’s socially more acceptable as a woman to dress in a garish fashion..? I don’t think about being a woman. The day our album was released, we were loading the van after our sold out gig in the Button Factory in Temple Bar, and some random prick walking past smacked my ass. When I ran after him, punched him in the back and screamed at…

  • Those Who Can, Do (and Teach): A Brief Herstory of Girls Rock School Northern Ireland

    March 6, 2018 - By 

    Established in March 2016, Girls Rock School Northern Ireland offers workshops and mentoring in electric guitar, bass, drums and vocals to women and girls of all ages. Taking inspiration and mentorship from it’s sister school Girls Rock School Edinburgh, it was the very first collective of its kind in the whole of Ireland. Since then, there is now also Girls Rock Dublin; just as Girls Rock camps and schools have been popping up across the world since the very first camp was held in Portland in 2001. GRSNI welcomes participants who self-identify as female, trans and/or gender non-conforming; they are…

  • Phil Kieran on Soundtracking EdgeFest: East Belfast Boy

    March 1, 2018 - By 

    We grab a few words with Belfast DJ, producer and jack of all trades Phil Kieran about his experience soundtracking East Belfast Boy – an EdgeFest production currently on at Belfast’s the MAC – his forthcoming EP, Polyrhythmic, and more. Hi Phil. You’ve written the music for East Belfast Boy as part of this year’s EdgeFest. How did the collaboration come about and what attracted you to the project? I was approached by Emma Jordan who is the director of the play, we have been friends for years. I mentioned to her last year I would love to have a go at…

  • Interview: All The Luck In The World

    February 26, 2018 - By 

    Following the release of their second album, A Blind Arcade, on 23rd February, Ben Connolly of Berlin-based alt-folk trio All The Luck In The World chats to Nicole Glennon about contrasting studio spaces, sonic experimentation and the importance of originality. TTA: A Blind Arcade has just been released. How are you feeling about it? BC: Overall we’re really excited about it. We put a lot into this record and then had to sit on it for almost two years, so there’s a sense of relief in knowing that the songs are finally going to make their way to people. I would say that…

  • Explorations in É: An Interview with Dowry

    February 21, 2018 - By 

    There is an ambient apposition at work through the debut single from Dowry, the solo moniker of multi-instrumentalist and composer Éna Brennan. In É unfolds with measured purpose, the instrumental track building gently in tension as it moves from a drone base through subtle orchestral counterpoints towards its dramatic, understated conclusion. Éna creates her sounds with violin and a loop pedal, inviting the listener to become entangled in the earthier low tones, and the ghostly high register notes that pull away from their mire like will-o’-the-wisps. It’s that same emotional evocation that we’ve encountered on Éna’s earlier compositions, and in…

  • Interview & Label Mixtape: Exploding In Sound Records

    February 7, 2018 - By 

    Formed in 2011, and based in New York City, Exploding In Sound Records is a tapestry of idiosyncrasy. Pile, for example, are regularly cited as the world’s greatest rock band. Big Ups’ Before A Million Universes was very possibly 2016’s finest noise rock record. The bubbling, emotional cacophony of Ovlov’s 2013 Am has developed its own posthumous devoted cult following, leading to the band reuniting for a second album; not to mention the label’s ability to function as an early outlet and jumping point for Speedy Ortiz, Porches, LVL UP and Palehound. It’s a community. Bands share members, shows and tours together, and there’s a very genuine…

  • A Slice of the Action: Meet Ireland’s Newest Record Label Pizza Pizza Records

    January 31, 2018 - By 

    With their aim of filling the void of independent bands having their music released on vinyl, Cal Byrne talks to Shane Byrne of Dundalk’s new-fangled Pizza Pizza Records about wax, big plans, keeping it DIY, world domination and – very important – favourite pizza toppings. What’s your favourite pizza topping? Plain cheese with a garlic dip is always a good call. Difontaines, Dark Horse Pizza (who sponsored our recent fundraiser by the way) or Tonys in Dundalk. Their garlic dip is class. That, or spinach & feta. 10/10 What inspired you to make Pizza Pizza records? I really like vinyl, and…

  • Interview: Brian Not Brian

    February 5, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of playing alongside him at Bullitt in Belfast on Friday, February 9, DJs Jonny Carberry and Black Bones talk starting out, crate-digging, rare gems, returning home, imprints and more with Belfast-born, London based selector and DJ Brian Morrison AKA Brian Not Brian. I think I first heard one of your mixes back in 2014, for one my fav labels Blackest Ever Black – I remember seeing the ‘Brixton via Belfast’ tag somewhere and thinking ‘Belfast! Class!’. Can you tell us a little about your life (and musical interests) in Belfast, and when and why you decided to move to London? Well, I’m actually…

  • Worlds Apart: An Interview with Brigid Mae Power

    January 17, 2018 - By 

    In the winter of 2017, Irish multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Brigid Mae Power shared the first single from her forthcoming second album, The Two Worlds, scheduled for release this February. ‘Don’t Shut Me Up (Politely)’ effortlessly encapsulated the tone of that season with its prevailing darkness. This is a soundscape that we are invited to explore in her new material. Through her lyrics and haunting arrangements, Power examines the duality that is ever present in the artist both creatively and personally. Words by Zara Hedderman You released your self-titled debut in 2016. How was it returning to an empty notebook after promoting and touring…

  • Plain Living & High Thinking: An Interview With Belfast’s Latest Promotion

    January 8, 2018 - By 

    If you’ve been keeping track of the Belfast live music scene lately, you might have noticed – despite well-intentioned pockets and open-minded promoters – that it’s somewhat fractured and currently lacking the infrastructure to cultivate a strong grassroots music community beyond those looked after by management and the likes. Two bands who have organically harnessed their substantial following in a very short space of time are the groove-strewn, endlessly soulful jam trio Electric Octopus – having toured the UK, look to extensively traipse across Europe in Spring following the release of their latest album – and stoner-doom outfit Elder Druid, who released…