• Rave New World (20/3)

    March 20, 2015 - By 

    With Antoin Lindsay temporarily AWOL (he’s moving country, ok? Enough with those crazy thoughts about being on the run from loan sharks, etc.) Aidan Hanratty delivers this week’s Rave New World on his most capable lonesome. Electronic music is a thing, and a very good thing. Embrace it like a long-lost brother, you cold, inconsiderate swine. Only joking – you’re lovely. GIGS Mud: Bodytonic present Blawan & Sunil Sharpe at The Twisted Pepper Friday, March 20 Last year Sunil Sharpe went b2b with Ben UFO. Rather than Ben going harder, Sunil went deeper, showing the breadth of this local hero’s ability.…

  • Classic Album: Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds

    March 20, 2015 - By 

    In the wake of the solar eclipse that has captured people’s imaginations, and clogged up their social media feeds, Steven Rainey takes a bit of artistic licence and delves back into Pink Floyd’s history to rediscover an album that finds them revelling in the darkness caused by the blotting out of the sun.Technically, Obscured by Clouds is a soundtrack album for the French film La Vallee, a reasonably obscure oddity that finds a woman going on a voyage of self-discovery in New Guinea. I haven’t seen it, and I’m betting you haven’t either (and if you have, fair play to you –…

  • Track Record: Myronik

    March 19, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we chat to Liam Myers AKA Myronik, an up and coming ‘future beats’ producer who sings, samples and remixes. Here he shares the records that inspire his work from the ambiance of Air to the boisterous beats of Bonobo. Photos by Colm Moore. Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness Caribou, again, was a very early inspiration with my electronic experimentation. Additionally the fact that he sings over many of his tracks sort of pushed me to do the same…I must of had a really closed-minded image of how electronic music should be made, with no vocals…

  • Cork Heads: Lorna Sherlock

    March 18, 2015 - By 

    Lorna Sherlock is the owner of Mother Jones’ Flea Market which is situated at the corner of McCurtain and York street in Cork city. Brid O’Donovan chats to her about passion for all things vintage and takes some stunning images of her shop. Where the love for antiques and vintage all began. I suppose it was my Mum. I grew up in Cavan but my mother lived in London, in Brixton. When she was growing up everything was bought in the markets. She met my Dad over in London, married my Dad and moved over here. Of course no one had anything…

  • The Road to Recovery with Slint’s David Pajo

    March 17, 2015 - By 

    Slint guitarist David Pajo has had an extraordinarily colourful career. Aside from spearheading the aforementioned Louisville post rock band’s genre-defining sound on the likes of their landmark 1991 album Spiderland, he has also released several albums under his own name, Papa M, Aerial and M, as well as playing with the likes of Zwan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, Tortoise, Royal Trux and innumerable other acts. This week last month, Pajo attempted to take his own life, having posted a long, detailed suicide note on his blog. Against all the odds, he was saved just in time. The reaction from his many…

  • Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    “It is often said that before one dies your life flashes before your eyes. This is in fact true. It is called living.” – Sir Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett’s last book, a paperback copy, sits on my shelf, pristine and unread since receiving it for Christmas and I find myself both cherishing and dreading the opportunity for one final visit to the most significant of the worlds he created, The Discworld. I can honestly say that I had no idea how important the writer of these books was to me until I read he’d died. Sitting in my workplace looking…

  • Label Mixtape: Touch & Go

    March 18, 2015 - By 

    Originally founded as a fanzine in 1979 by Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson before becoming a record label in 1981, Touch & Go was originally a platform for the Chicago hardcore punk scene, before Vee handed the reins over to Corey and Lisa Rusk in 1983, with Corey Rusk still being at the helm today. The label would go on to become synonymous with the 1980s noise rock scene, as well as 1990s math-rock, before expanding into all things alternative in later years. The label is also well known for its DIY ethic, offering artists 50-50 deals after production and…

  • Monday Mixtape: Ricki O’Rawe (Not Squares)

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    With their forthcoming second album, Bolts, set for release next month, Belfast-based trio Not Squares are steadily re-affirming their reputation as one of the country’s very best live acts. Ahead of launching the album at Galway’s Róisín Dubh on April 9, Ricki O’Rawe (pictured in the bold white-rimmed shades, above) from the band shares his favourite songs as of late – including Tyondai Braxton, Luke Abbott, Arca and Polmo Polpo – in a playlist aptly-titled Pissed and Passed Out. Take it away, Ricki. “This mix is made up of sounds that I have been digging recently. The music spans time and space but coheres…

  • Primer: Bia Beatha

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    In our first online installment of Primer we attend Bia Beatha, a monthly supper club focusing on showcasing Irish cuisine and the art of food and dining.  Photos and interview by Mark Earley. Hello Rachel! You’re the brains behind Bia Beatha. Tell us about how it all started. It’s kind of a funny one as I came up with the idea for the event in Berlin when I was there with my Mum for her birthday early last year. We were looking for somewhere to have decent German food without a tacky tourist vibe and no-one was able to recommend somewhere to…

  • Rave New World (13/3)

    March 13, 2015 - By 

    If there’s two men on this isle more readily equipped than Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty to tastefully distill the towering pantheon of electronic music as it manifests itself at this precise moment of time, in this particular corner of the world, we haven’t met them. Nor do we wish to. Here’s this week’s Rave New World. Don’t chew glowsticks. GIGS Twitch Presents: Paul Woolford and Midland at Mandela Hall, Belfast Saturday, March 14 Two heavyweights of house and techno make their way to Twitch this Saturday for a pretty unmissable back-to-back session. Paul Woolford has played Twitch a few times before…