• Label Mixtape: K Records

    October 22, 2015 - By 

    K Records was founded in 1982 in Olympia, Washington by the beguiling Calvin Johnson, a personal project undertaken with the sole intention of making the music he enjoyed by his friends and peers more widely available. Trading with cassettes only in the 1980s as a viable cheap option for bands who didn’t want to commit to bulk pressings of vinyl or CDs, which in turn spearheaded the 1990’s DIY aesthetic, cementing them at the forefront. The ‘K’ apparently stands for ‘knowledge’ which is fitting considering it’s founder’s keen familiarity with the underground scenes not just in America, but in places as…

  • Interview: Claudio Simonetti

    October 28, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of Devil’s Night Disco this Halloween Eve in Dublin, Loreana Rushe talks to renowned composer Claudio Simonetti about performing the acclaimed soundtracks for Profondo Rosso and Suspiria live with Goblin and how horror as a genre has shaped his work. Hi Claudio. I’m very happy to be chatting to you and looking forward to Devil’s Night Disco in Dublin, which promises to be a very special show on Halloween weekend. How are you currently preparing for the double bill? We’re very fortunate to perform Profondo Rosso and Suspiria for a long time and I don’t think we’ll have any trouble in doing a…

  • Here Is No Why: Mellon Collie Remembered

    October 23, 2015 - By 

    Today marks the 20th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins. A seminal album in the canon of alternative rock, but one that struck a chord particularly with our contributors and musicians in Ireland who are self confessed Pumpkinheads. We’ve collected their thoughts and stories below on the record and why it’s left such an everlasting impression on their lives. My first glimpse of Mellon Collie was staring at the video for ‘1979’ on MTV, standing in a queue at burger king as a snotty teen. The moment I heard that song, I was overwhelmed…

  • 20th Anniversary: Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

    October 20, 2015 - By 

    There’s a moment on the song ‘1979’ when, after a subdued but ethereal sounding intro, the thumping drums of Jimmy Chamberlain burst in, augmenting the subtle electronic percussion that has hitherto anchored the track. On the one level, it’s just a simple trick of song arrangement, building up an expectation and then subverting it, but on another it’s pure magic, like when Dorothy wakes up in Oz and the world has gone from black & white to colour. There’s no reason why Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness should work. It’s a double album that came in an era when…

  • The End of an Era: Radar 2005-2015

    October 20, 2015 - By 

    “Institution” is a word that seems to be all too wantonly applied to every other gig night across the country nowadays. After ten years positively both capturing and shaping local live music in the North of the country, Radar at Belfast’s Queens Student Union is most definitely an exception to that rule. Ahead of its final (inevitably somewhat emotional) outing on Thursday night, Brian Coney chats with Radar founder and main man Damien McAdams about the decade-long highs and highlights of a soon to be much-missed Belfast institution. Hi Damien. It should go without saying but Radar is and was a…

  • Interview: David Kitt

    October 19, 2015 - By 

    David Kitt has been a quiet institution of the Irish music world for what is fast approaching two decades. In that time Kitt has released six studio albums under his own name has toured extensively, one of those tours being support of David Gray earlier in 2015. Recently, Kitt has achieved success in the realm outside of his ambient, electronic folk sphere under the moniker of New Jackson which has seen him bringing his boisterous, driving electronica to festivals throughout the UK and Europe, sharing stages with the likes of John Talabot and Mano Le Tough. Eoin Murray speaks to David…

  • Rave New World (16/10)

    October 16, 2015 - By 

    Aidan Hanratty and Antoin Lindsay preview all the very best electronic gigs, tracks and mixes of the week. GIGS Techno & Cans presents: Clouds [Live] at Hangar Friday 16 October 2015 Clouds started out making noisy techno for the likes of Tiga’s Turbo and Fake Blood’s Blood Music. They still do that, but they’ve recently dropped a cassette for the ever-fascinating Opal Tapes, signalling a shift of sorts. This gig is set to bang though, no matter who puts out their records. AH Squid Inc. Pres Paramida at Tengu Bar – Yamamori Sushi Saturday 17 October Tengu is a really sick…

  • Track Record: Gavin Glass

    October 15, 2015 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we head over to the lovely home of Gavin Glass to have a rummage around his eclectic record collection (and a nosey at his collection of guitars too!) Elvis Presley – Aloha, From Hawaii I have to put one in from The King of Rock N’Roll. I’ve been a huge Elvis fan since I was really young.  I used to constantly draw pictures of Elvis on primary school books. This album was recorded live as part of a satellite broadcast which was one of the first live concerts broadcast live worldwide. Elvis’ TCB band…

  • Call Me If You Kill Anyone

    October 15, 2015 - By 

    The second in his latest column series for us at the Thin Air, Omagh singer-songwriter Michael McCullagh AKA Son of the Hound continues a tale from his days playing in Colenso Parade. Go here to read the previous installment. We’d booked the rehearsal space on advice of other musicians. Standing on the street in Liverpool I looked around, expecting to see some commercial building among the residential houses but there was nothing. Then from a second story window came a shout. ‘Hey! It’s up here!’. It was Hanso, unruly hair and wild eyes laughing at us as he hung precariously out…

  • Interview: Neil Flynn

    October 15, 2015 - By 

    Neil Flynn is an artist who could stand as a true representation of what so many young people looking to dedicate their lives to music go through in recent years. Growing up in rural Ireland where dreams of making the music you love for a living and having it played in some of Europe’s most renowned nightclubs rarely become more than dreams, Flynn’s determination, work ethic and sincere belief in the art of electronic music has lead to him being signed to one of Berlin’s most promising labels, LOSSLESS. In the past year Flynn has released one EP, Louise and…