• Introducing The All-New Co-Present

    May 12, 2016 - By 

    Having just released the first video in their new cross-country series Spotlight On, The Co-Present are set to underline their reputation as an impassioned, fully independent pillar of Irish music. After some re-branding and time off, presenter/producer Dwayne Woods and sound technician/show co-founder Gav Hennessy have evolved the project from a rather wonderful Dublin-based online radio station on Radiomade.ie to something that hopes to focus on the very best musicians and music venues in every corner of the country. We caught up with Woods to discuss the all new Co-Present’s very exciting future. Hey Dwayne. So, what’s different about the all-new Co-Present and what do you hope…

  • An Aural Aurora: Northern Lights on Tour

    May 11, 2016 - By 

    With words from Aaron Drain and photos by Colm Laverty and Mickey Rooney in Belfast and Limavady, we go on tour with Northern Irish folk collaboration tour Northern Nights AKA Matt McGinn, Ben Glover and Stevie Scullion. Black Box, Belfast The hottest, sunniest, most welcome day of the year so far and it’s an afternoon of thoroughbred local music that’ll prove the final piece in this most glorious of puzzles. The turnout is overwhelming – a sold-out show for the boys making up ‘Northern Lights’ is a particularly poignant factor given that this afternoon will not only be the penultimate CQAF show, but the…

  • Rave New World (06/05)

    May 6, 2016 - By 

    Aidan Hanratty and Antoin Lindsay return with the best electronic gigs, tracks, releases and mixes of the week. Gigs Hidden Agenda & Sense: Tom Trago & William Kouam Djoko at Button Factory, Dublin Saturday 7 May 2016 Dutch maestros Tom Trago and William Kouam Djoko come to Dublin for a night of slinky melodic techno. AH Sunday Shivers with Wino Wagon at Electric Garden & Theatre, Galway Sunday 8 May 2016 Shivers is kicking off the Sunday arm of its parties, and thus the Wino Wagon rolls into town — that’s DJ Isle O’ Man and DJ Dark Delight, who featured on that Future…

  • Track Record: Ian McFarlane (Squarehead / Kid Karate)

    May 4, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Ian McFarlane, bassist extraordinaire with Squarehead and Kid Karate. Here he selects the albums that have left a huge impression on him, from Parliament to Prince. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Parliament – The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein As far as I am concerned Parliament are the greatest funk band of all time. George Clinton masterminded a situation where the best musicians he could find were free to experiment and collaborate thus producing some of the most incredible music you could image. At the core of Parliament were the James Brown…

  • Album Premiere + Track-by-Track: Jealous of the Birds – Parma Violets

    May 4, 2016 - By 

    Deservedly tipped as an Inbound act in the seventh issue of our magazine back in May last year, it’s far from facetious to say that Portadown’s Naomi Hamilton AKA Jealous of the Birds has experienced nothing short of a remarkable rise over the last few months. Conjuring a perfectly solipsistic netherworld, where each syllable is intent and every heart-strung admission is illuminated with the wisdom of her deep engagement of both ephemeral and inner worlds, her debut studio album, Parma Violets, is a halcyon masterclass that wonderfully expands upon her early bedroom recordings. Having said “my only hope is that the songs sound like a…

  • Picture This: Your National Visual Arts Guide – Bank Holiday Weekend

    May 1, 2016 - By 

    Paul Seawright – News Operations III Ah the summer. Will it come? Shall we be teased again for another few months? This weekend’s Bank Holiday is scheduled to be a washout around the country. Needless to say we here at The Thin Air strongly hope this prediction is wrong, but if not there are plenty of exhibitions happening around the country to keep you entertained – and dry! Community, environment and reflection form common themes across the exhibitions highlighted in this edition of Picture This. Environment, in both the natural sense and as a habitat, from the structure of Neomorph…

  • An Interview with Northern Lights: Ben Glover, Malojian and Matt McGinn

    April 29, 2016 - By 

    Under the collective guise of Northern Lights, three of the North’s very finest singer-songwriters in Ben Glover, Stevie Scullion AKA Malojian (pictured) and Matt McGinn are gearing up for the second half of their touring dates right across the country. Each unto their own a revelatory craftsman of folk and Americana, their teaming up is most definitely an inspired proposition. Ahead of more dates at the start May (see below), Caolan Coleman chats to the threesome about the birth and impetus of the Northern Lights project, their individual trajectories and endeavours, as well as their plans for 2016. Wednesday, May 4: Roe Valley Arts Centre,…

  • Monday Mixtape: Podge McNamee (HamsandwicH)

    April 29, 2016 - By 

    Podge McNamee from HamsandwicH shares the songs that have influenced his life and music. Photo by Tara Thomas. Rollerskate Skinny – Speed to my side  One of the most outrageously great Irish singles ever written, in my opinion. The best use of a Boss pitchshifter pedal too. It ticks all the boxes. Poetic, epic, blistering distorted guitars & a chorus that seems to just get better each time it kicks in. I always listened to this song with my friend Jason (who was obsessed with them) to get the blood rushing on long drives to festivals such as Witness, Oxegen and Electric…

  • Rave New World (29/04)

    April 29, 2016 - By 

    Aidan Hanratty and Antoin Lindsay return with the best electronic gigs, tracks and mixes of the week. Gigs Galway May Bank Holiday DUB Weekender Friday 29 April It’s a bit of a heavy lineup in Galway tonight, headed by Digital Mystikz man Mala. His second album, Mirrors, is due soon, inspired by his travels in Peru, and now is as good a time as any (well, save maybe 2005) to catch this legend play. Irish talent Don Rosco, Bob from Standard Crew, Jonezy and Welfare are on support. AH Discotekken & Membership present: Asquith, Ethyl & Flori at Bar Tengu, Dublin…

  • Where He’s Meant To Be: An interview with Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat

    April 28, 2016 - By 

    As one half of the band Arab Strap with Malcolm Middleton between 1996 and 2006, Aidan Moffat quickly became one of the most influential voices in Scottish indie music. His unmistakable thick brogue and frank, confessional and often hilarious lyrics are reflected in so many newer Scottish bands while Moffat himself has guested with the likes of Mogwai and Frightened Rabbit over the years. Since Arab Strap’s amicable split, Moffat has undertaken all kinds of projects, from spoken word to his collaborations with Bill Wells to his electronic work as L. Pierre, to name a few. In 2014 he toured…