• Watch: Rusangano Family – Lights On

    April 6, 2016 - By 

    Following on from their hugely successful venture to SXSW in Austin, Texas in March, Limerick Hip-Hop trio Rusangano Family are set to drop their debut LP Let the Dead Bury the Dead this Friday April 8th. To whet our appetites ahead of what is set to be one of the most exciting Irish releases of the year so far from an act whose live performances have been lauded for their energy and abandon the group have gifted us with a video for new track ‘Lights On’. Lyrically, the verses by God Knows and  MuRli deal with themes of ambition, influence and the…

  • Line-Up Revealed For Dublin’s Out To Lunch Weekender

    April 5, 2016 - By 

    A completely separate event from Belfast’s festival of the same name, the line-up for this year’s Out To Lunch Weekender at Dublin’s Yamamori Tengu on August 13 and 14 has been announced. Cologne based DJ and Producer Lena Willikens, snooker legend Steve Davis (read our interview with him here), Traxx, Ben UFO, DJ Sprinkles, Mr. Ties and Mark Ernestus have been confirmed to play four-hour sets. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Korean artist Peggy Gou, Compassion Crew, Lerosa, Lumigraph, Barry Redsettaz, Kenny Hanlon, Wino Wagon, Cait Dip and Damien Lynch will also perform. Tickets are available to buy now here.

  • Stream: Kojaque – Sunday Roast Mixtape

    April 4, 2016 - By 

    This Sunday saw the release of Dublin hip-hop producer and MC Kojaque’s Sunday Roast Mixtape, a collection of seven tracks that add to the aspiring artist’s already striking repertoire. Kojaque – real name Kevin Smith – garnered a considerable intrigue in May of last year with the tense beauty that was ‘Midnight Flower’ along with its equally stark video which showed Smith lip-syncing with the track, head submerged underwater for its entirety. ‘Midnight Flower’ was a dark, uneasy introduction that maintained a delicate poignancy despite itself. Sunday Roast continues down much the same path, giving further cause to perhaps see Kojaque…

  • Michael Kiwanuka Set For Ireland

    April 4, 2016 - By 

    With his highly-anticipated second album, Love & Hate, set for release via Polydor on May 27, Michael Kiwanuka has announced that he will return to Ireland this Autumn to play shows at Belfast’s Limelight 2 on Friday, October 14 and Dublin’s Academy on Saturday, October 15. Tickets for both shows on sale this Friday, April 8 at 9am priced £15 + BF and €22.00+ respectively. Check out new Kiwanuka single, Black Man In A White World, below.

  • Watch: Laura Sheeran – Light A Fire

    April 2, 2016 - By 

    Set to headline the second installment of Psykick Dancehall – our new Dublin night with Medium Presents at Bello Bar – tonight, Laura Sheeran has unveiled the video for her first single in four years, ‘Light a Fire’. Very aptly accompanied by its DIY, decidedly spectral video, the track wields space and texture in extraordinary fashion, with sparse beats and cloistered, portentous vocals dancing subtle shamanistic patterns across four minutes confronting fervid recollection and the workings of memory in the death and dying of love. Sheeran plays alongside BAD BONES and Katharine Philippa tonight. Event page here.

  • AVA Festival Reveal First Keynote Speakers, Panel Sessions and More

    March 30, 2016 - By 

    Having had an exceptional inaugural outing last year (check out our review right here) Belfast electronic festival AVA will return to T13 on Saturday, June 4 with the very solid aim of celebrating and nurturing talent from across the length and breadth of the country. With more yet to be revealed, Detroit techno pioneer Juan Atkins, DJ and writer Dave Haslam, Belfast’s Bicep, Association of Electronic Music director Mark Lawrence, Shanti Celeste (pictured), Lizzy Bowman, Halina Wielogorska, Sarah McBriar, Ableton, Pioneer, Native Instruments, Belfast Underground Records are amongst the first names confirmed to take part in panels, talks, workshops and sessions throughout the day.…

  • Body & Soul Announce Second Wave of Acts

    March 30, 2016 - By 

    With the likes of Floating Points, Mercury Rev and Sun Kil Moon already announced, the second wave of acts have been revealed for this year’s Body & Soul Festival. Set to return to Ballinlough Castle in Co. Westmeath during the Summer Solstice Weekend of June 17-19, The Gloaming, Hudson Mohawke, Neon Indian (pictured above), Optimo, Gold Panda, Bleeding Heart Pigeons, David August, Brian Deady and Holly Macve are the latest acts to join the bill. Check out the current line-up below and go here to buy tickets.

  • Watch: Overhead, The Albatross – Indie Rose

    March 29, 2016 - By 

    As you might well know by now, Dublin instrumental six-piece Overhead, The Albatross don’t exactly to things by halves. A visual epic (we never use that word, so you know we mean it) traversing countless locations and individuals, the video for their new single ‘Indie Rose’ is a slow-burning, wonderfully shot accompaniment- directed by Luke Daly and produced by Bold Puppy that masterfully mirrors the impassioned, increasingly purposeful drive of their music. ‘Indie Rose’ is the opening track from Overhead The Albatross’ forthcoming debut album, Learning to Growl, which is released on May 13.

  • Stream: Participant – Leave Me Here

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Last October we were very impressed by ‘A Change’ by Dublin-based musician Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant. Smitten by the track’s “curious, otherworld charm”, our verdict could well be – and is, in fact – equally applicable to his new single, ‘Leave Me Here’, a wonderfully nuanced effort traversing more brooding, inward-looking territory for the artist. An sublime outtake from his November, 2015 EP Content, Tiernan said, “[Its] lyrical ideas had served as the blueprint for Content for a long time. A fear of progress and happiness, the idea that you might need to struggle as an artist. I shouldn’t have been surprised when…

  • Album stream: exmagician – Scan The Blue

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Having delivered a blinding set as part of our Output showcase with Nialler9 back in February, Belfast’s exmagician also featured as one of our 16 For ’16 acts back in early January. Re-launching from the embers of Cashier No. 9, Danny Todd, James Smith and co. fully  command in their psych-soaked, decidedly mesmerizing indie rock realm more than ever before, a fact perfectly illuminated on their debut album, Scan The Blue, which is released via Bella Union today. Buy it here and stream it in full via Spotify below.