• Having The Last Laugh: An Interview with Susan Calman

    January 22, 2017 - By 

    If laughter is indeed the best medicine, then Scottish comedian, actress and writer Susan Calman should be designated GP. Having imbued her diverse and far-reaching career with promoting mental health awareness via her own personal experience, Calman talks to Brian Coney about process, profile and positivity ahead of appearing at Belfast’s the MAC on February 5 (tickets and full info here). Hi, Susan. You’re setting off on a string of tour dates in February. How are you feeling about the shows? And tell us more about this particular show, The Calman Before The Storm. I’m really looking forward to getting out on…

  • Singing The Blues: An Interview With Jimmy Eat World

    December 30, 2016 - By 

    It’s hard to think of many bands as consistent and dependable as Arizona natives Jimmy Eat World. Legends and primary breakthrough act of the emo scene, they have failed to put a step wrong in their long career and yet again have delivered with their most recent album, Integrity Blues. Despite 23 years of being worshipped by thousands of sentimental teenagers and beyond, there’s no airs and graces from the band – just a few regular guys who happen to have sold millions of records. Ahead of their sold-out date at the Olympia Theatre last month, Kelly Doherty met with the…

  • Admission for One: A Companion Piece to Robocobra Quartet’s Music For All Occasions

    December 16, 2016 - By 

    A conversation The Thin Air’s Stevie Lennox had with Chris Ryan that delves further into Robocobra Quartet’s process, including authorship, membership of the band, the philosophy of creativity or ‘good art’, punk rock, some stories regarding how the lyrical content of the album came about, as well as a little ‘Phil Collins in-the-studio’ self-indulgence. Photos by Ruth Kelly Art is defined by those who have achieved autarky in their process, and if drummer, vocalist, composer and producer Chris Ryan is the brain and beating heart of the idiosyncratic avant-punk collective Robocobra Quartet, he’s fully aware the remaining organs and limbs…

  • Worth Her Salt: An Interview with Katie Kim

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Undeniably one of the finest Irish releases of the year, Salt has been widely eulogised for its intense depth of focus, as well as its distinctive compositional lure. Marking something of a promising reinvigoration for Katie Kim (AKA Katie Sullivan) in terms of direction, we caught up with the Waterford native to talk about the writing and recording of the album, getting back up on the stage, and more. Words by Aaron Drain. Photos by Brian Mulligan. While Cover & Flood dealt with similar themes, there has been a monumental shift in terms of mood and atmosphere with Salt – was…

  • Putting Friendship First: A Final Interview With Enemies

    December 14, 2016 - By 

    Wicklow four-piece Enemies hit the ground running with their full-length debut We’ve Been Talking back in 2010, eschewing the hyperactivity or aggression of many of their Richter Collective labelmates to focus primarily on melody. After a follow up – 2013’s Embark, Embrace – and a change of drummer, they return with long awaited, but sadly final, third album Valuables in December. Ahead of its release and a final show in Dublin’s Vicar Street on Sunday (December 18), Cathal McBride speaks to guitarist Lewis Jackson. Photos by Niall O’Kelly Hi lewis. How difficult was the decision to end the band? Before…

  • Truth and Release: An Interview with Little Green Cars

    December 6, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a string of December dates kicking off at Belfast’s The MAC on Thursday, Brian Coney chats to Dublin’s Little Green Cars about communication, mortality and their craft. Go here for the band’s full tour schedule. Hi guys. 2016 has of course been a great band for you as a band. What have you found to be the most rewarding part of your rise over the last while? We went through a lot together during the writing of Ephemera. It was truly a labour of love, but an emotional labour nonetheless. Touring the album has been very cathartic. It has given…

  • Death To Complacency: An Interview With Gross Net, Autumns and Fears

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a three-way release launch in a secret location in Belfast this Friday night, Philip Quinn of Gross Net, Autumns’ Christian Donaghey & Fears’ Constance Keane discuss growth, release, community & “timid Irishness disease”. Go here for the show’s event page. Hi guys. You play a secret location show together in Belfast this weekend. It’s titled ‘A Death To Complacency’. What’s the significance of the title? Philip Quinn (Gross Net): There’s an element present here in society I dub “timid Irishness disease”, whereby people just don’t knuckle down and get making something. I see the three of us as…

  • Running the Gamut: Introducing Orby Chase

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    One of many shining lights being championed by our friends at BeKreativ, Orby Chase are a recently-formed Belfast outfit on a mission. We catch up with the alt/indie quartet about the past, present and auspicious future of the band. Photo by Adam Martin Hi guys. First up: for the unacquainted, how and when did Orby Chase form? We formed in early January 2016. Josh had been doing the rounds as a singer/songwriter since the split of his previous outfit The Blindies and to reasonable acclaim. As his writing developed so did the textural palate he found himself reaching for and…

  • Kiss and Tell: An Interview With Meltybrains?

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of playing their biggest headline show to date at Dublin’s Academy on Friday night, Dublin experimental maestros Meltybrains? talk collaboration, the scene, pushing boundaries and their new EP with Brian Coney. Photo by Ian McDonnell Hi guys. Congratulations on the release of Kiss Yourself. Take us back to the very start of the conception of this release: how was the songwriting process for this one and how did things differ, if at all, to previous work? The songwriting process was a complicated affair. Some of the tracks were ideas from old demos we recorded in Conor Walsh’s hotel in…

  • Swimming With The Stream: An Interview With Callum Cairns AKA Little Rivers

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Photographer Ruth Kelly shoots and discusses new music, time management and sonic progression with Belfast indie folk singer-songwriter Callum Cairns AKA Little Rivers Hi Callum. First off, what inspired you to start writing music? I suppose I started wanting to write music when my dad brought Damien Rice’s first album ‘O  home. For some reason, I don’t remember listening to a lot of music growing up, so I’m pretty bad at my parents’ era of artists, but I’d never heard anything like that album and it fascinated me. Particularly because it started off my fondness for poetry. Do you have…