• ASIWYFA’s Chris Wee on an Irish DnB Institution’s 11th Birthday @ Voodoo

    February 2, 2017 - By 

    The preservation of club nights and music scenes has long been a vital fabric at the heart of any city. For many of us, some of our fondest memories and most formative of years are down to the nights we went to and the venues that inhabited them. In today’s shaky climate it takes the most tenacious of gig promoter to overcome the social media overload and the general gig goer apathy to get people through the door. Many aspiring promoters have appeared and been quickly swallowed by the lack of enthusiasm for anything beyond a few drinks in a…

  • 17 For ’17: TOUTS

    February 1, 2017 - By 

    Three-piece Derry band TOUTS have quickly established a name for themselves in the local music scene and beyond by delivering incendiary live performances, underpinned with an ol-school punk attitude. Still in their teens, Matthew (singer/guitarist), Luke (bassist), and Jason (drummer) have opened for punk rock royalty in Derry’s own, The Undertones.  They’ve also played high-profile support slots and secured upcoming shows with Blossoms and The Coral. As a band, they have been sustained on a diet of stellar mod/punk rock throughout their formative years – who whilst indebted to pioneering artists – have quickly forged an identity of their own…

  • Starless and Bible Black: John Wetton and King Crimson

    February 1, 2017 - By 

    In 1972, King Crimson were in a bit of a mess. The band had been one of the leading lights of Britain’s art-rock scene, taking the ideas and recording approach of The Beatles to an extreme undreamed of. Their 1969 debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, rewrote the book on what rock and roll could do, but line-up changes had destabilised the band over a series of albums to such an extent where the sole remaining member was guitar virtuoso Robert Fripp, everyone else having quit in the midst of a tour, deciding they’d rather play the…

  • Playlist: Philip Glass at 80

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    No living musician can challenge the joint eclecticism and influence of Philip Glass‘ five-decades-and-counting career. From his countless solo piano releases, string quartets, operas and symphonies to his towering soundtrack work and collaborations with the likes of Bowie, Patti Smith, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar and David Byrne, the Baltimore master hasn’t as much left his stamp on contemporary classical music than irrevocably altered the course of it. To celebrate his 80th birthday today, we’ve compiled a 30 track, decade and genre-spanning Spotify playlist featuring some of his greatest moments.

  • Stream: The Thin Air’s Death Culture Blues #7

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Hey, you know what was fun? The most recent installment of Death Culture Blues, our show of experimental, cosmic and ambient sounds on the most excellent Dublin Digital Radio. Miss it? Not to worry: listen back to the show and check out its playlist in full below. We’re back with DCB on DDR this and every other Thursday night from 8-10pm. Check out their full schedule of programmes right here. 1. Polymorphie – Suite NC Part 3 2. 4treck – Pong Ping 3. The Soundcarriers – Low Light 4. Guitar Red – Disco From a Space Show 5. Rodion G.A.…

  • 17 for ’17: Maija Sofia

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Maija Sofia was reared in remote Connemara, lived in London and now resides in Dublin. Places with their own unique idiosyncrasies and experiences awaiting the inhabitants of such diverse environments. Experiences that inform the decisions we make and the things we create. Maija Sofia’s songs – soft, melancholic compositions guided by the harp and guitar –   encapsulate the creative output born from a wonderment spurred by isolation, something that is omnipresent. She has been compared to Kate Bush, Pj Harvey and Elliott Smith and there are traces of those great artists in her sound but Maija Sofia is a true…

  • 17 for ’17: ELLLL

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Ellen King AKA ELLLL is a Cork City native who started a music degree with a background in classical piano. When the opportunity arose she immersed herself in every available course on tech and minimal composition, and around 2011 she started performing as ELLLL. She was soon supporting acts like Bee Mask, Vessel and Tim Hecker in venues across Ireland, as well as travelling abroad to support Carter Tutti Void in London. A slow but steady stream of cuts on SoundCloud have become gradually less abstract and more beat-focused, retaining the singular character that’s driven her approach over recent years. A…

  • 17 For ’17: Gaze is Ghost

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    What is the distinction between a songwriter and a composer? Where is the line drawn and indeed, what does it mean? Just one listen to Strabane-born, Cambridge-based Gaze is Ghost will tell you that sometimes one of these descriptions alone is not enough. Since announcing herself onto the world with the outstanding mini-album Plume back in 2013, a sepia-toned ode to her temporary Parisian home, her reputation has been quietly on the ascendancy. Racking up support slots for Mancunian anti-punks Crywank amongst others, Laura McGarrigle’s ever growing fan base is no mean feat for an artist undoubtedly out of love…

  • Baring Her Soul: An Interview With Dublin’s Samantha Kay AKA Soulé

    January 26, 2017 - By 

    Last year was momentous for Dublin urban-electronic singer Samantha Kay AKA Soulé. She released her debut single ‘Love No More’ which featured regularly on national airwaves, played her first headline show in Dublin’s Workman’s Club, all this while concurrently working on her debut album under the guidance of Diffusion Lab. She ignites an innovation within the Irish music R’n’B scene, one that is becoming as prominent amongst a dominance of guitar lead indie and rock bands. Ahead of performing alongside Booka Brass and BARQ at Jameson’s Bow St. Session at Dublin’s The Sugar Club tonight, Zara Hedderman talks to Kay about…

  • Inbound: MUNKY

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    If you’re becoming slightly jaded with run of the mill music and want to expand your ear to something different, MUNKY are the antidote. Today, the Dublin quartet released the video for their new single ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’, four minutes of infectious disco-infused rock. Zara Hedderman spoke to their frontman, Zac Stephenson about the video, their influences and their forthcoming debut headline gig in Whelan’s on February 1. Who are MUNKY? MUNKY are Zac Stephenson (lead vocals, guitar),  Sam Russell (drums), Conor Lawlor (lead guitar) Niall Donnelly (bass). What brought you guys together to form the band? Zac: I met Conor…