• Preview: Women’s Work 2017 with Oh Yeah Music Centre’s Charlotte Dryden

    May 24, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of its second annual return this weekend, Brian Coney chats to Charlotte Dryden, CEO of Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre and founder of Women’s Work NI to discuss what’s in store for the latter this year. Go here for the programme for Women’s Work 2017. Hi, Charlotte. Last year’s inaugural Women’s Work seemed like huge success. How was it from a personal point of view? Oh I was immensely proud and very moved by the support. The line-up for both last year and this year’s forthcoming second outing have been first-rate. But how did the festival bloom from discussion into…

  • Looking at the Stars: Slum Cinema

    May 25, 2017 - By 

    After several years of transience and venue shifting, Dublin B-movie night Slum Cinema has found a new home at MVP on Clanbrassil Street, and kick starts its residency at the start of next month with the greatest martial arts movie of them all, Bruce Lee’s final performance, 1973’s Enter The Dragon. Started in 2012, Slum Cinema is the passion project of Canadian Anna Davies, but it’s ripe to be elevated to cult classic status if its new stint at MVP goes as well as it deserves. As described by its founder, Slum Cinema is an exploitation/vintage/trash/cult cinema club. Its previous…

  • Preview: Metropolis Live @ The MAC

    May 19, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of live-soundtracking Fritz Lang’s German expressionist masterpiece Metropolis at Belfast’s the MAC on Thursday, May 25, we talk to acclaimed composer and pianist Dmytro Morykit about the dramatic theatre of his score. Go here to buy tickets to the event. Hi Dmytro. Take us back: when did you first watched Metropolis and how did it affect you? I suppose the first time I saw it was 1983, around about the same time I saw Nosferatu. I had been reading about the Directors of the silent classics but F W Murnau made more of an impact, perhaps that was just…

  • Preview: Recreating The Velvet Underground & Nico @ The MAC

    May 16, 2017 - By 

    This Saturday (May 20) Belfast’s the MAC will host a special event celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Velvet Underground’s seminal debut, The Velvet Underground and Nico. We speak to bandleader Donal Scullion about its legacy and what to expect on the night. Go here to buy tickets, priced £12.50-£25.00. Hi, Donal. How did the idea for this show first come about? Had been chatting to Stu Campbell (The MAC), he said they were thinking of doing the 50th anniversary of that album and would I be interested in playing or organizing it. It was always a big album for me…

  • Preview: Heliopause on The Passion of Joan of Arc Film Live Score @ The MAC

    May 12, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of teaming up with This Ship Argo to live score Carl Theodor Dreyer’s classic 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc at Belfast’s the MAC on Thursday, May 18, Belfast musician Richard Davis AKA Heliopause talks to Brian Coney about the process, impetus and collaborative drive underlying the project. Go here to buy tickets Hi Richard, first off – how did the project come about? What drew you guys to The Passion of Joan of Arc? I first watched the film a few years ago when working at The Duke of Yorks cinema in Brighton with my friend & co-worker Sophie,…

  • Far At Sea: An Interview with Ailbhe Reddy and Maria Kelly

    May 5, 2017 - By 

    Two of the country’s brightest indie-folk talents, Ailbhe Reddy and Maria Kelly are on the road as part of their Far At Sea Tour, which will take them across the country over the next while. Ahead of stopping off at Belfast’s the MAC on Friday, May 12, we chat to the pair about collaboration, inspiration and why Ireland is a fertile land for folk music. Hi guys. First off, your show at the MAC in Belfast is part of your forthcoming Far At Sea tour. How did that first come about? Ailbhe: Well, Maria and I were working on getting venues…

  • Atomic Dogfather: George Clinton On His Legacy, Rejuvenation and Continued Relevance

    May 1, 2017 - By 

    Since pulling psychedelic rock and pounding soul together and giving birth to funk in the late 60s, George Clinton has had arguably one of the biggest single influences on 20th century American music. In his 70s heyday he lead a revolving roster of fifty musicians (including the legends Bootsy Collins, Edie Hazel and Bernie Warrell), recording floor-filling pop as Parliament and Hendrix-esque guitar jams as Funkadelic, while creating outrageous stage shows that put other 70s arena-rock behemoths to shame. Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Clinton produced their sophomore album) carried on his work through the 80s, while early…

  • Festival Preview: Right Here Right Now

    April 27, 2017 - By 

    Eimear Hurley caught up with Cork Opera House C.E.O. Eibhlín Gleeson and Brian Hassett of Coughlan’s Live Promotions to find out about Cork’s newest festival, Right Here Right Now, which will showcase a range of artists currently making music in the city. Following a number of successful collaborations between Cork Opera House and Coughlan’s Live Promotions over the past couple of years, the two organisations have joined forces to put together this unique festival which will take place from April 28–30 all under the roof of the Opera House. The idea for the festival came to Eibhlín when she heard singer-songwriter…

  • Album Premiere and Q+A: Ships – Precession

    April 27, 2017 - By 

    The product of two long years of writing, demoing, debating and recording, Dublin electronic duo Ships will release their debut album – and one of the Irish albums of the year – on Monday. Ahead of its official release, have an exclusive first listen to Precession and read our interview with Simon Cullen and Sorca McGrath from the fast-rising outfit below. What was the writing process like for the album? And are there are any overarching main themes? The songs were written over the space of two years or so and the idea of the album gathered momentum over time.…

  • History Repeating Itself: An Interview With William Basinski

    April 26, 2017 - By 

    William Basinski has just gotten back from running an errand. Sitting on the sunlit porch outside his home in Los Angeles, the setting, along with his demeanour, could not betray anything further from the melancholic, introspective shades of the music he has been composing for over 30 years. In fact, far from being the naval gazing artiste that one may naively expect a composer of such poignantly abstract music to be, Basinski radiates nothing but disarming warmth and good humour. Utterly forthcoming, he jokes about the dread of needing to move home within the year for fear of the effort:…