• Album premiere: Meb Jon Sol – Southpaw Niños

    October 13, 2014 - By 

    Belfast-based folk singer-songwriter Michael McCullagh AKA Meb Jon Sol has been on something of a far-reaching musical expedition since his Colenso Parade days. A far cry musically from the starry-eyed indie pop of the latter – now defunct – Omagh five-piece, McCullagh’s debut solo album bears the lyrical and thematic imprint of wisdom and experience throughout, each track underpinned by the inner workings of wanderlust or quixotic wondering. Preceded by “yeo!”-generating singles ‘Leave All Your Troubles With Me‘ and ‘Captain of this Ship‘, Southpaw Niños strikes a keen balance between self-reflection and knowingly cavalier abandon, McCullagh’s quasi-mystical, eager tales of the open road and distant…

  • A Brief History of Post-Punk

    October 10, 2014 - By 

    Unlike many genres of music susceptible to the prefix ‘post-’, post-punk stems from largely traceable foundations. Just as the first wave of punk rock formed via so-called ‘protopunk’ pioneers in Velvet Underground, The Stooges and MC5, post-punk represented the inevitable manifestation of punk rock’s reaction against itself. In other words, despite what it apparently implies, post-punk did not arrive ‘after’ punk: it formed and co-existed alongside it, mirroring its DIY values whilst looking towards a more rigorous aesthetic of artistic complexity beyond punk’s stripped-back musical revolution. Whilst not exactly an outright ‘Year Zero’ or some pre-determined period of rebirth at…

  • AAA: Le Galaxie ‘Carmen’ video launch @ The Academy, Dublin

    October 10, 2014 - By 

    Last night Le Galaxie launched their interactive partnership with Pulse by Absolut at Dublin’s Academy with the release of their video for ‘Carmen’, the Dublin band’s new single featuring May Kay from Fight Like Apes. Le Galaxie granted Shaun Neary exclusive backstage and soundcheck access leading up to the main event. Over the course of the evening, Lorcansface worked his make-up magic on the lads, covering Mick’s glorious beard in shades of blue that would give Tim Harrington a serious run for his money. Le Galaxie were also joined on stage by Elaine Mai for their sleek Summer anthem ‘Lovesystem’. The entire night was a…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Track of September

    October 7, 2014 - By 

    Not just a pretty face (“Not even a pretty face!”) Aaron Hamilton is a man of fine and discerning taste. So much so, he has his own monthly column here at the Thin Air dedicated to looking back at the very best tracks released in the month previous. As we’re edging our way very cosily into October, here’s his Choice Cuts from September, the equally parts terrific and tumultuous month that was. Busdriver – Retirement Ode (Big Dada) The opener from Busdriver’s just-released masterclass in experimental rap Perfect Hair, Retirement Ode lists the costs involved in the production of the album…

  • Inbound: Jess Kav

    October 6, 2014 - By 

    In the latest installment of Inbound, Brian Coney talks to multi-talented Dublin singer Jessica Kavanagh AKA Jess Kav about everything from her early influences, studying jazz in college, performing as part of Hozier’s band and her hugely eclectic musical journey to date. Hi Jess. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in music? I’m Jess Kav and I am a professional singer in Dublin. I started off in a stage school when I was younger, then got into the live scene from about eighteen. Since then I have been working with an array of different bands. They…

  • Interview: The Hold Steady

    October 2, 2014 - By 

    Having released their stellar sixth studio album, Teeth Dreams, back in March, Brooklyn indie rock heroes The Hold Steady are experiencing something of a much-deserved resurgence as of late. Formed back in 2004, the Craig Finn-fronted band will stop off in Belfast and Dublin on October 17 and 18 respectively, as part of a forthcoming European tour to promote the aforementioned album. Ahead of those dates, Will Murphy has a chat with Finn about the band’s songwriting process, the recording and release of Teeth Dreams and his support for – wait for it – Queens Park Rangers. It was about…

  • Farewell, Adebisi Shank

    September 26, 2014 - By 

    Adebisi Shank’s clarification of their situation helped put a lot of thoughts to rest. “Last gigs for a while”, cool, they must be really taking a stab at America or such now they have Sargent House behind them. “Last gigs in Ireland ever”. Uh, okay, really counting on this to succeed as a statement against how the workings of music in Ireland are gamed against independent music in terms of radio, PR, etc.? A statement on their Facebook put all the talk of expansion, abandoning Ireland, etc. to rest. “Dear friends, We hereby announce the end of a band called…

  • RBMA Interview: Ryan Vail, Noel Watson & Boxcutter

    September 24, 2014 - By 

    Nothing short of a downright unmissable four-day mini-festival, Belfast will host its first ever Red Bull Music Academy Weekender at the weekend. Ahead of the showcase – set to take in a whole host of workshops, screenings, lectures, live shows and DJ sets – we talk to three of the acts set to perform from Thursday, September 25 to Sunday, September 28: Derry producer Ryan Vail, shapeshifting electronic maestro Barry Lynn AKA Boxcutter and House pioneer Noel Watson. Check out the full schedule for the Weekender, as well as our chat with the trio below. Go here to buy tickets. So, your set to play…

  • Premiere: BeeMickSee – We Took a Dive

    September 22, 2014 - By 

    Ahead of its official launch on September 27, we’re happy to present an exclusive first listen of ‘We Took a Dive’ by Belfast-based rapper Brendan Seamus AKA BeeMickSee. Featuring Seamus’ best friend and colloborator Paul Danver, the track – telling the “tale of my harrowing relocation to Belfast in the mid 90s” – will feature on the forthcoming BeeMickSee album, The Belfast Yank. Seamus will launch ‘We Took A Dive’ at Queen’s Student’s Union, Belfast, with a full band in tow, on Saturday, September 27. Support on the night comes from Aggressors BC, The Late Twos, Hot Cops and a Wonder…