• A million vivid details: Max Cooper interviewed

    November 15, 2018 - By 

    Merging ambient textures and modern classical elements with the banging clamour of accessible dance beats, Belfast born Electronic composer Max Cooper has been studiously perfecting his brand of music for over 10 years now. Drawing on his deep rooted interests in science and technology, the artist has created a uniquely cerebral body of work, built upon cavernous soundscapes that alternatively surge and flutter with elemental energy. Conceived in relative isolation and primarily concerned with the infinitesimal intricacies of the unknowable human mind, Max Cooper’s latest offering, One Hundred Billion Sparks is, suitably, both epic in scale and minutely detailed;  a tour…

  • If I Couldn’t Define it, I Thought I Was Doing Something Good: Introducing Son Zept

    November 7, 2018 - By 

    A couple of weeks ago, we premiered Son Zept‘s 40-minute debut EP, released through Belfast experimental electronic imprint Resist. Ahead of it, we met with Liam McCartan to discuss his involvement in Belfast’s Sonic Arts Research Centre – where he’s currently composing for a PhD – and Resist, where he’s been instrumental in its growth from club night to label, alongside founders Koichi Samuels & Helena Hamilton – where in terms of enabling his prolificity, “it’s a constant dialogue – we already have a 2 or 3 EPs idea”. Being staunchly individual, but instrinsically linked to both institutions, the Q2B EP strikes a midpoint between the bodies he’s most involved with and McCartan…

  • Look At Now: O Emperor interviewed

    November 2, 2018 - By 

    Almost a decade ago, O Emperor released their debut record Hither Thither to critical acclaim. From there, the Waterford-bred quintet would go on to constantly redefine how bands in Ireland could record and share music without, forever shirking the limits and binds of being tied to a major label. From the grandiose psych-folk of their debut to the weird, gritty krautrock, komische, garage rock and psych of Vitreous and the Lizard EP, the five-piece have proved themselves time and time again to be a group who have defied expectation at every turn. The outfit’s announcement in September that they would be disbanding, while disappointing…

  • Album Stream + Interview: Woven Skull

    October 31, 2018 - By 

    Photo: Colum O’Dwyer Back at the end of 2016, we included Leitrim experimental/psych outfit Woven Skull in our 17 for ’17 round up of acts to watch in the coming year. We like to think we were fairly on the money with the trio, who both on an individual level and as an outfit delivered dividends throughout 2017 and well into this year… Mondola player Natalia Beylis, for one, developed her breathtaking field recordings and drones project with the release of The Sunken Hum Vol 1: Field Rhythms & Drones and Scchh​.​.​.​phh. Guitarist Aonghus McEvoy, meanwhile, continued his solo and…

  • Inbound: Ex-Isles

    October 31, 2018 - By 

    Last month, Belfast duo James Joys and Pete Devlin AKA Ex-Isles released one of the strongest debuts from an Irish act in recent memory. Masterfully nuanced and politically-minded, the expansive chamber pop of Luxury Mass conjured everyone from John Grant and Scott Walker, to David Sylvian and ANOHNI, all while introducing a project mustering its very own magic. With the pair currently working on the follow-up to Luxury Mass, and a busy 2019 forecast, James Joys talks to us about their “dark swoon”, impetus, collaboration, literary and musical influence, and crafting music that explores our growing alienation from agency over our own lives under capitalism. Ex-Isles…

  • One Vision: An Interview with 20:20

    September 30, 2018 - By 

    Tucked away in a side-street of bustling Belfast City is Accidental Theatre, a relatively-fangled DIY space that plays hosts to a cavalcade of events, both illustrious and wonderfully unassuming. Sitting somewhere in between the two is 20:20, a monthly charity songwriter night that takes over the venue’s upstairs – and singularly cosy – book bar. Giving rise to a whole new kind of “intimate” gig experience, the night takes place on the second Wednesday of every month and – full testament to its stripped-back, yet carefully-curated M.O. – delivers something special, time and time again. Ahead of its next outing on October 10th…

  • A Series of Unexpected Surprises: An Interview With Julien Baker

    September 20, 2018 - By 

    Speaking to Julien Baker feels like talking to your friend in a bar. Her unassuming nature and down to earth discussion can almost make you forget what a successful, accomplished person you’re dealing with. Despite being only 22 years old, Baker has managed to forge an illustrious career with her emotive, gentle indie rock. Having shared stages with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and Paramore, with two critically-acclaimed albums already under her belt, she is humble about her success. “I try to be personally aware that any response to the record at all has exceeded what I expected,”…

  • Something Positive, Something Sincere: An Interview with Wooden Shjips

    September 6, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of shows at Belfast Empire Music Hall (Sept 17th) and Dublin’s Whelan’s (Sept 18th) Ripley Johnson of San Francisco psych alchemists Wooden Shjips talks to Cathal McBride about songwriting process, positivity and playing to “up for it” Irish audiences. It’s been a full five years since the last Wooden Shjips record. What made 2018 the right time for a return? Well, it was 2017 that we reconvened to make the record. Hard to say why, really. For me, I just got the urge to work with the guys again so proposed a simple plan for making it. The plan was…

  • Transpositional Vibration Analyst: An Interview With Will Carruthers

    August 23, 2018 - By 

    Best known as bassist in Spacemen 3, Spectrum, Spiritualized, the Brian Jonestown Masssacre and Dead Skeletons, amongst many others, Will Carruthers is also a memoirist, poet, book-binder and artist. Ahead of the launch of a new exhibition of his art at Belfast’s Framewerk, he talks to us about the challenges and victories of creation, how living in Belfast has influenced his art, identifying as a transpositional vibration analyst and more. Hi Will. What are your earliest memories – foggy, clear-cut or otherwise – of creating visual art? When I was five my Mum put a big piece of paper on the…

  • Inbound: ABQ

    August 21, 2018 - By 

    Off the back of their debut single ‘Takes So Long’, Paul Shevlin of London-based Belfast quartet ABQ (AKA Albuquerque) talks process, pressure, the power of the right producer and keeping up with the scene back home. Hello ABQ. You have been playing together in different guises over the last few years, but the band still feels very new. For those of us not in the know, what’s the backstory to ABQ and what’s changed? It was a fairly natural transition from previous projects to ABQ. We’ve all played in and around the NI music scene for years and when an…