• Monday Mixtape: Martin Carr (The Boo Radleys/bravecaptain)

    May 16, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, Martin Carr of 90’s alt rockers The Boo Radleys and his solo output as bravecaptain selects some of his favourite and most inspirational tracks from James Yorkston to King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. Being a musician I don’t get time to listen to as much music as I would like but this is a snapshot of what I’ve played recently. I thought I might have grown out of this by now but even if all new music was outlawed this instant there would be still be enough to discover until the end of all days.…

  • Picture This: Your National Visual Arts Guide – Collaboration and Identity

    May 13, 2016 - By 

    A multitude of practices across a wide-range of disciplines are featured in this edition of Picture This – and in some cases this diversity can be found in a single show. A general thematic arc of Collaboration and Identity exists within the four shows highlighted in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Laois. Collaboration, be they between artists, spaces and mediums, is present in all shows and forms the core of These Days are Persistent and Changeable (Belfast) and You Make Mine/I Make Yours (Cork) both of which feature works by groups rather than individual artists. Steven Maybury’s Anicca (Dublin) is built…

  • Rave New World (13/05)

    May 13, 2016 - By 

    Aidan Hanratty and Antoin Lindsay return with the best electronic gigs, tracks, releases and mixes of the week. Gigs Pyg & Discotekken present Hunee at Pygmalion, Dublin Friday 13 May 2016 Amsterdam-based Hunee played here not so long ago, but his sets are simply joyous so it’s always worth catching him play. As I type this the weather is simply glorious, so I imagine his choice of tunes will match that vibe perfectly. AH Matrixxman at Opium Rooms, Dublin Saturday 14 May 2016 Matrixxman, who’s released records on such labels as Ghostly, Dekmantel and Unknown To The Unknown, recently tweeted the following: 2…

  • 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,…