Few Irish acts have carved out a niche as distinctive as Waldorf & Cannon. Comprising Philip Wallace and Oisin Cannon, the Derry/Donegal duo’s alternative multi-instrumentalism has proven equal parts emphatic and earworming on singles including ‘Omit The Logic’ and ‘We Are Your Government’. New single ‘Cut Loose’ ups the ante and then some. Doubling up as the duo’s finest most potent single effort to date, the song explores the perils of 21st-century living and prescription medication addiction across four minutes. Produced and recorded by Wallace – or Waldorf – in his Co. Donegal studio earlier this year, it features additional guitar from…
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Over the last few years, North Cork singer-songwriter John Blek has consistently underscored his rep as one of the island’s most deeply engaging artists. On albums such as 2020’s The Embers and 2016’s Cut The Light, he has offered up carefully-crafted folk majesty of the highest order. It’s something Blek wonderfully doubled down on last year, with the release of ‘Ether & Air,’ the final part in the artist’s Catharsis Project – a four-album exploration into themes of the sea, the earth, the embers, and the air. A year on, Blek returns with arguably his strongest single effort to date, ‘Lyric &…
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A new two-day event, Haunted Dancehall, is set to take over National Concert Hall next month. Across October 1st-2nd, the event will take place across 5 rooms at the Dublin venue with a host of homegrown and international experimental and electronic artists. As well as Oneohtrix Point Never performing his first Irish show in 11 years, South East London artist Coby Sey, Caterina Barbieri (pictured) making her Irish debut, and the incredible Ana Roxanne, the programme will also feature Lalla Sakini, Elaine Howley, Fears, Blackhaine, Roger Doyle, Frog of Earth and more. Check out the full current line-up for the Foggy Notions event…
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The Irish Museum of Modern Art will host a special event celebrating the role of Black women and non-binary people in the evolution of dance music this week. Taking place on Thursday 1st September as part of the IMMA Nights series, the free event will explore the often undervalued contributions of Black women and non-binary people throughout the history of dance music – as DJs, producers, promoters, dancers and vocalists – from its origins in cities like Chicago and Detroit in the ‘80s to its global status today. Featuring talks, film and music, the evening has been co-programmed by Ashley…
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Dublin Digital Radio have announced the return of its annual celebration of sound artists, electronic experimenters and DJs, Alternating Current. Coming a year from its exceptional inaugural outing, the second iteration of the festival will return to the airwaves and Dublin city this October. Beginning on the 28th, the programme will feature specially commissioned radiowork by artist and resident of the station, Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha, which will be broadcast on ddr. On Saturday, 29th, the event will once again take over the Depot at The Complex in Dublin City. Divided into two concerts – Deep Listening and Beyond the Human – the likes of BABY NITS,…
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Modern Dundalk trad icons The Mary Wallopers are set to return to the road following a hugely successful, outright decimation of UK and Irish stages and crowds last time around. To accompany this news, they’ve released a video for brand new single, ‘Frost Is All Over’, their update of the Irish folk song, taken from their forthcoming album – out in autumn. The band themselves say “Frost is All Over is a traditional Irish song about taking everything in your stride and not caring about what everyone says you should care about. We added the verse about landlords as we feel they are a sensitive sort who need reminding of how…
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Where on earth would we be without Féile Na Gréine? Currently underway in venues throughout Limerick city, the not-for-profit festival is, without question, one of the purest embodiments of DIY, forward-pushing art & music to be found anywhere on this island. Kicking this year’s festival off in style, organisers nabbed the sublime Poor Creature – the new collaborative project from Ruth Clinton of Landless and Lankum’s Cormac MacDiarmada – for a set as part of their Bring Your Own Lunch (BYOL) series. On perfect par with an unforgettable BYOL set by Naive Ted last year, the pair deliver a wonderfully enthralling set of…
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Ah, the merciless march of time. A friend to absolutely no one yet its very existence means we’re no longer totally averse to confab about the best music released this year. There may be five whole months to go but, as it stands, we’re sitting very pretty indeed. It’s a fact that was underscored on Friday just passed with the release of ‘Letting Go’ by long-time TTA favourites Fonda. The music-making moniker of Limerick artist Liam O’Connor, the project has yielded some pure-cut gems over the last few years — from 2016’s sublime ‘Dreaming‘ to the No Begonias EP, released back in 2020. Having amicably parted ways with the…
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Six years on from Neglected Ambient Shirts Volume 1, and an incalculable amount of transmogrifications later, Arthur Itis is back with the sequel, and sure enough, it’s another belter. Following the glitchy experimental pop of Occam’s Razor and intimate analog hiss of acoustic collection Longhand, it’s his third LP in about 8 months. Recording took place across the last five years, and ahead of its release tomorrow, we’re delighted to reveal it in its entirety today. Another curveball in a career full of them, its downtempo experimentations reveal the one constant across Arty’s not-insignificant body of work: a resolute willingness to document and push his own creative and personal…
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Without a slither of shadow of a doubt, Féile Na Gréine is the purest representation of what Limerick has to offer in the realm of independent, forward-pushing Irish music (look no further than our review of its thrilling 2019 edition). The brainchild of incalculable volunteers and creative sounders from the city, this year’s line-up is its biggest and best yet. Taking over various venues such as Pharmacia across 19th-21st August, it brings together a whole heap of TTA favourites including Fixity, Girlfriend, Frog of Earth, Junior Brother, Messyng, Natalia Beylis, Son Zept, Post Punk Podge, Zeropunkt, Brigid Mae Power, Banríon, Emmy Shigeta…