• The Thin Air Podcast: Laurie Shaw

    In this episode, the final in the series, we meet Laurie Shaw. Laurie’s been producing albums at a prolific rate for many many years and in this interview, we talked about the 2022 release Sceptre, focusing on the album’s lead single ‘Captain’s Log’. A loose, swashbuckling song, ‘Captain’s Log’ gave us an opportunity to chat about Laurie’s approach to DIY recording, how he visualises his albums, and when all’s said and done – trying not to be worried about it too much. You can support Laurie’s music here: https://laurieshawofficial.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. Captain’s Log 2. S Club Party (by S Club…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – 4th July

    It’s Friday so that means yet another week of incredible Irish tracks, from For Those I Love to Efa O’Neill’s Place:Ireland compilation plus new releases from Laurie Shaw, Pebbledash, Lōwli, Padraig Cooney & Bedtime Now, Stoat, Cruel Sister and more. For Those I Love – No Scheme Various Artists – Place: Ireland Place: Ireland by Place: Laurie Shaw – Magnetosphere Magnetosphere by Laurie Shaw Stoat – I Contain Multitudes I contain multitudes by Stoat HBE.UK + Moonfish + Leo Miyagee – Vintage Chaos Pebbledash – Cartography Cartography by Pebbledash Pádraig Cooney & Bedtime Now – The Hardest Thing The Hardest…

  • The Thin Air Podcast: Philip Christie (The Bonk)

    In this episode, we talk to Philip Christie of The Bonk about their song ‘Future 87’. First released in May 2022 and featured on their excellent LP – and our album of 2023 – Greater Than Or Equal To The Bonk, we’ll hear about how the song evolved from a jam committed to a 4-Track Tape in 2017, as well as looking at the limitations and creative decisions that shaped the recording. You can support The Bonk’s music here: https://thebonk.bandcamp.com/ Tracklisting: 1. Future 87 2. Think (by James Brown) 3. Crazy He Calls Me (by Billie Holiday) 4. Thick Lines…

  • Common Threads Announces 2025 Line-Up and Dates

    Across the island, we’re absolutely spoiled for world-beating festivals that marry place with purpose. From the Atlantic coast to deep city venues, Ireland continues to conjure immersive events that defy template. Common Threads, returning to the Burren this October, is once again throwing its hat into the ring with something quietly radical. Now in its third year, the festival is a three-day trail of music, art and discovery set in the singular surroundings of North Clare’s Burren. Running from 10th-12th October, it brings together a wide-ranging cast including Martin Hayes, Morgana, Daithí, RÓIS, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Lullahush, Bantum, Aindrias…

  • Video Premiere: Deadman’s Ghost – Chthonic Currents

    It’s been a little while since we last heard from Deadman’s Ghost – the boundary-dissolving project of Belfast sound artist Jason Mills – but his return is nothing short of spellbinding. Having released some masterfully shapeshifting LPs, among them Hypocratical Oath, Saccadic Rhythms, The Broken Zoetrope and Cerebral Frontier, Mills has long operated in his own slipstream, merging avant-garde electronics, drone, folk instrumentation and ambient textures into work that feels truly scopic and deeply uncanny. Now, he re-emerges with A Votive Offering, a potent new album on Cruel Nature Records (out 22nd September on vinyl, cassette, and digital). It’s a collection…

  • Monday Mixtape: Stoat

    Ahead of the release of their new album I Contain Multitudes this week, self-confessed “inconsistent indie” band Stoat select and discuss the tracks that have influenced them the most from The Felice Brothers to Frank Ocean. Oliver! Soundtrack – Reviewing the situation Cormac: There’s always been a vein of musical theatre running through Stoat’s music. I listened to the Oliver! soundtrack probably a thousand times as a kid, and have always wanted to play Fagin on stage … me and John have both been in stage productions of the show, but alas, neither of us got that role (weirdly, we…

  • Turnstile Set for National Stadium Show

    Undisputed good band of the moment, Turnstile bring their Never Enough tour to the National Stadium in Dublin on Halloween night. Off the back of playing a phenomenal rise off the back of their fourth album of the same – notwithstanding a stand-out set at this year’s Glastonbury at the weekend – the Baltimore hardcore heroes play the show with support from High Vis on Friday, 31st October. Tickets priced €39.20-€49.20 and go on sale this Friday, 4th July at 10AM.

  • Back to the Lodge: The Conncert Returns in August

    Some events feel like they’ve always been there, as if they simply emerged, fully formed, from the soil of their setting. The Conncert, the one-day DIY festival that debuted last summer on the shores of Lough Conn in Co. Mayo, was one of those. Held in a former fishing lodge turned pub, it didn’t just host the island’s world-beating independent scene: it honoured it. In doing so, it instantly became a highlight of the Irish live calendar: a deeply felt, fiercely DIY gathering that pulled together artists from all over in a shared act of sound, soundness and self-made magic.…