• HOUSE @ the MAC: From Vogue to MikeQ

    November 17, 2015 - By 

    Not only a stand-out event at this year’s Outburst Queer Arts Festival in Belfast, the premiere of HOUSE at The MAC on Thursday night is almost certainly set to be one of the most inspired happenings of the year. Having descended from the legendary Harlem Drag Scene, the New York House and Ballroom Community is one of the most exciting underground scenes in the world. HOUSE brings three of the city’s most innovative performance makers and cultural agitators together for an immersive performance and discussion that presents a very rare and intimate glimpse into the history of the House and…

  • Ladies and Gentlemen, We’re Floating in Vape.

    November 16, 2015 - By 

    Vastly becoming a popular alternative to cigarettes, Vaping is gently floating towards a cultural connoisseur phenomenon like chemex coffee, craft beer and cronuts. Ciaran McCausland attends Vapefest 2015 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, immersing himself in the billowing flavoured haze to discuss what attracted him and other like minded individuals to the cult of vape. I think it was when I saw the two oul fellas standing outside Thurles Cathedral collecting coin for Fine Gael, each brandishing a vaping contraption, that I decided that vaping had gone mainstream in Ireland. “See” I said to my wife, “even those dying looking old…

  • Rave New World (13/11)

    November 13, 2015 - By 

    With Antoin Lindsay in Amsterdam this weekend, Aidan Hanratty returns for his latest look at the very best electronic gigs, tracks, mixes and releases of the week. GIGS Jayda G Dip at Jigsaw Friday 13 November Secret byo party business. Vancouver DJ and Fett Burger collaborator Jayda G comes to Dublin to play in an intimate city-centre space. This one will go late. Twitch – Surgeon & Twitch DJs at The Bunatee Friday 13 November He’s just released the fascinating Electronic Recordings from Maui Jungle Vol. 1 on Editions Mego (under his own name, Anthony Child), but Surgeon will no doubt be hitting it…

  • Listening More Carefully with Somadrone

    November 13, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of the launch of his superb fifth album, Oracle, at Dublin’s Unitarian Church on November 28, Dublin musician and producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone takes to Brian Coney about progression, abstract themes and the importance of collaboration. Hi Neil. Congratulations on the release of Oracle. It’s been said of the album, “This is music equally at home on the dance floor as in your earphones.” Was that your intention from the get-go? Thanks. I guess that’s true. It’s dance music I guess, but it’s not aimed at a contemporary dance music culture, so it does not play to its rules.…

  • Interview & Introduction To: Fractured

    November 20, 2015 - By 

    You may not have noticed yet, but Dublin-based filmmaker John Mulvaney is doing an invaluable service for the Irish underground scene in his short-form documentary series, Fractured. Each short film zones in on members of some of the best under-the-radar heavy and/or experimental artists in the country, piecing together a range of evocative cinematographic fragments of the musicians and their surroundings, soundtracked to candid aural insights from the respective musicians and their music. Mulvaney’s evident passion and respect for the music has continually led to a carefully crafted portrait of each artist, with every instalment accumulating to more than the…

  • Reeling In The Year with Ciaran Lavery

    November 12, 2015 - By 

    2015 has been a real breakthrough year for Aghagallon singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery. Having zig-zagged across the UK and Europe over the last few months, he has been hailed far and wide as one of the most naturally gifted, utterly engrossing songsmiths of his generation. Touching on everything from life on the road, the weight (or lack thereof) of expectation and special Christmas shows “With Strings” at Belfast’s MAC, Lavery chats to Brian Coney. See below for premiere of Lavery’s ‘Little More Time’ With Strings. Hi Ciaran. It’s been a really busy 2015 for you. Looking back to the start of the…

  • Inbound: exmagician

    November 12, 2015 - By 

    Cashier No. 9’s debut album To the Death of Fun was a quiet triumph for the Northern Irish music scene; a record that showed off the quartet’s songwriting imagination whilst still being respectful to their heroes – thanks in no small part to David Holmes’ lightness of touch on production duties. Whilst Cashier officially became defunct earlier this year, creative duo Danny Todd and James Smith have returned with a new EP under the exmagician moniker. Lead single ‘Kiss That Wealth Goodbye’ feels instantly more urgent than the pair’s previous output, who liken their latest material to “…the dirt under…

  • Visual Arts Outlook (11/11)

    November 11, 2015 - By 

    If you don’t have a car, buddy up with someone who does, because you might need one of you are going to get to all the great stuff happening this week across Ireland. Failing that, obviously just head out to the ones closest to you (I won’t judge, I don’t drive either). Limerick and Galway are the places to be this week, and I can really recommend that you make the effort to head out to some of the events and exhibitions they have going on over the next couple of days. (See below) On Friday at 9.30 there is…

  • Monday Mixtape: Neil Brogan (Sea Pinks)

    November 9, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of the release of their new LP, Soft Days, via CF Records on January 8, Neil Brogan of Belfast band Sea Pinks talks us through some of his current favourite tracks, including the likes of Robert Wyatt, Broadcast and Van Morrison. Little Wings – By Now I don’t buy vinyl very often because I can’t afford to, so when I do buy a record I either end up getting obsessed if I like it or bitterly resenting it if I don’t. Explains by Little Wings is one I bought a little while ago and thankfully it’s one I don’t hate. I like the…

  • Roving Eye: The Strypes in Hamburg

    November 8, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of her regular feature Roving Eye – in which she travels across far and wide shooting some of the best Irish acts on tour – Tara Thomas captures a heady Hamburg date on The Strypes’ latest European tour. Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany is steeped in music legend from Brahms to the Beatles. It’s maritime history has resulted in vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods and palpable social tolerance. Making my way from the airport to a hotel in the infamous St Pauli quarter it’s easy to understand how this northern German metropolis is also gaining a reputation as an entertainment…