• Monday Mixtape: Jeffrey Lewis

    April 30, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of a solo acoustic Irish tour from May 5-11 (full details here) New York musician and illustrator Jeffrey Lewis selects some of his all-time favourite tracks, including The Fall, Focus and Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. Ish Marquez – Gin is Not My Friend Ish Marquez, best underground soul singer from the Bronx streets! Sam Cooke meets Kurt Cobain on NYC subway at 3am in 1976 and they make up songs till dawn and sing to the sunrise on a tenement rooftop until the cops shut them down, and it just might sound like Ish Marquez. I used…

  • Track Record: Sam Geraghty (Safari and Classic Yellow)

    April 30, 2018 - By 

    Sam Geraghty from Dublin-based bands Safari and Classic Yellow, shares some of his favourite records with us, from Elvis Costello to Visage. Photos by Zoe Holman. Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model One of my all time favourite albums. Every song is outstanding. Bonus points for being a European pressing, so ‘Watching the Detectives’ is included. Paul Simon – Graceland The music of Paul Simon has been in my life from a very young age. I’ve been in love with Graceland since my early teens, and even got the opportunity to see it performed in full live in Hyde Park…

  • This Ain’t No Picnic: An Interview With Alpha Male Tea Party

    April 26, 2018 - By 

    Alpha Male Tea Party are a three piece math rock band from Liverpool that have made a name for themselves with hard hitting off kilter riffs and an idiosyncratic sense of wit. The lads are about to set out on an Irish Tour in order to promote their latest album, Health, with shows in Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Cork and Limerick. Jack Rudden had the pleasure of chatting to the group’s guitarist, Tom Peters, about their latest release, the math rock scene and Abraham Lincoln before they hit the road. Your five date tour kicks off on the second of May. What has…

  • Monday Mixtape: The Hot Sprockets

    April 9, 2018 - By 

    We asked Dublin indie-soul maestros The Hot Sprockets to share some tunes that inspired them during the making and recording of their latest album ‘Dream Mover’ which was released last week. As a band lately, we’ve really opened our horizons as to where we can go as musicians these batch of songs and artists had a huge influence on our sound and mindset for Dream Mover. Some are direct production references and others for their stylistic and instrumental approach. Enjoy! DREAM MOVER by The Hot Sprockets

  • Fears: h_always

    April 6, 2018 - By 

    Content note: Suicide & self harm.  Under the Fears moniker, Constance Keane hasn’t ever shied from making music that challenges pervasive feelings of anxiety, just as her previous outlet, the sonically-opposing M(h)aol, used primal, abrasive noise-punk as its own vehicle to address greater issues. And, as with anyone who holds complete autonomy over their creativity, it’s often assumed that it’s just one aspect of someone in tune with themselves. By her own admission, Constance has worked hard to accept, utilise, and channel that into a busy and fulfilling professional & artistic life. However, following a traumatic event in Autumn 2017, Constance fell into a suicidal state, and following several trips to A&E, she was admitted to a psychiatric…

  • Making It Rain: A Chat with O Emperor

    March 30, 2018 - By 

    The trajectory of O Emperor is rooted in familiar origins. They did what schoolmates do and formed a band. That band were picked up by Universal shortly after, landing them a #6 in the Irish album charts. They took their time and constructed a studio for the follow-up. here’s a point where the Radioheads & Beatles’ of this world effortlessly toe the line between artistic and commercial success, and its often the dependence and freedom of a studio itself to bring out the alchemy present in the band. Those moments where everything seems to magically synergise at once can’t be replicated…

  • Track Record: Jack Rudden (Search Party Animal)

    March 29, 2018 - By 

    In this instalment of Track Record, we hang out with Jack Rudden from Search Party Animal while we he talks us through some of his favourite records, from Slint to Sufjan Stevens. Photos by Zoe Holman. Sufjan Stevens -Age of Adz This is a perfect album. You can disagree if you like, but that will not change the fact that this is a perfect album. I don’t know where to begin with this one really. I could talk about every track on this double LP for hours. There’s just so much to cover. The gorgeous lyrics, the seamless combination of baroque orchestration and synthesizers,…

  • Track Record: Zoë Gough (Dreaming of Jupiter)

    March 23, 2018 - By 

    Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Zoë Gough from Dublin alternative pop/soul trio Dreaming of Jupiter chats about the work of ten female artists who have inspired her over the years. Photos by Kristina Hajdu. Kate Bush – The Kick Inside My Dad introduced me to this album when I was very young. I think it may well have been the first music I ever heard! I knew every word to every song by the age of 6 or 7 and remember sitting in the back of the car on the way to school and miming along. I love all of Kate’s…

  • Political Partying: An Interview with Room For Rebellion

    March 8, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of its next takeover in London, Belfast and Dublin on March 23, we talk awareness, action and momentum with Jess Brien, Anna Cafolla, Isis O’Regan, Hollie Boston and Cait Fahey of Room For Rebellion, a “political party” who host synchronised events in aid of Abortion Support Network. Go here to buy tickets for Room for Rebellion Hi guys. Take us back to the roots of Room for Rebellion. When and how did it come about? Room For Rebellion was first set up by Isis who felt implored to do something about the state of women’s healthcare in Ireland. Anna and…

  • Alien She’s Manifesto For Creative Aliens

    March 6, 2018 - By 

    Make a work that you would make if you were the only person in the world. Don’t worry about pleasing others. A true work will find the people who need it, always, and they will be the people you need to. Trying to please with your work will bring the wrong people to you. Take up space with your work. Use your voice, your unique identity. Stand strong and tall on your own two feet. Shake your body. Feel the vibrations of your song and art. Let it energize and motivate you. Love your thoughts and words. They belong to…