Aidan Hanratty delivers the lowdown on all the very best electronic gigs, tracks, mixes and releases of the week.
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We’re halfway through the year so we asked our contributors to select five of what they believe to be the very best releases so far, picking out personal sonic highlights from each of the great albums and EPs of 2015. Some reoccurring favourites include Courtney Barrett, Young Fathers, Kendrick Lamar and Sleater Kinney. Niall Cregan Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly A true great rap album that will be remembered years down the line as a game changer, with such a varied instrumentation, the complexity of each song is proportional to how hard to dive into the record. Turnover – Peripheral Vision A…
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It’s a busy week ahead with the first Thursday of July bringing the usual round of Late Night Art Openings here in Belfast, writes Mary Stevens. However Thursday is not the only night this week when good things are happening. There is a closing event for Product Recall at the Galway Arts Center on Friday evening at 6.30pm with work from the Red Bird Youth Collective who have collaborated with US artist Sarah Baker. The final event of the seemingly endless BASS Belfast Artists’ Sonic Showcase Event #6 at Framewerk takes place on Saturday evening with the final lineup of…
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In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, Neil Allen, frontman with Northern Irish alt-folk band The Emerald Armada reveals some of his all-time favourite songs, including Temple of the Dog, The Eagles, LCD Soundsystem and John Martyn. The Emerald Armada headline this year’s Spectrum Festival at Belfast’s QUBSU on Friday, July 6. Temple Of The Dog – Hunger Strike One of the best team ups of all time. It was the first time Eddie Vedder went vocally head to head with Chris Cornell. Stone from Pearl Jam said, “That’s right, our boy can sing too!’ Great tune. LCD Soundsystem – All…
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It’s tricky to put a band like Yes in historical context. In their pomp, they were one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Who. They filled arenas with people, and they filled slabs of vinyl with complex, multi-layered progressive rock. Along the way, they filled plenty of rock critics with a sense of anger mixed with despair, and they filled a generation of kids with the desire to grab guitars and do the exact opposite of what’d made them so successful over the course of the 1970s.…
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If you were to put us on the spot and ask us, “Which Thin Air feature do you enjoy the most?” we’d almost certainly say Track Record. Next up to select and discuss some of their all-time favourite records is Chris Ryan, frontman with Belfast-based band (just “band” – we’ve used up all our high-falutin descriptors for these guys) Robocobra Quartet. Punk rock ahoy. Photos by Colm Laverty. Sound of Ruby – From Under The Sands of the Desert EP (Tian An Men 89) Saudi Arabia’s answer to Butthole Surfers. Sound of Ruby are one of my favourite bands of all time…
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In the latest installment of Front of House, Laura Carland chats to Rocky O’Reilly of Start Together Studios about the origins of the studio, making music as part of Malibu Shark Attack, his career highlights to date and much more. Photos by Colm Laverty. Hi Rocky! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Hi, my name is Rocky O’Reilly and I’m a recording engineer , producer and mixer. I co-own Start Together Studios in Belfast where I spend most of my time recording all sorts of music from doom metal through to indie-pop and rap music. How did you first become involved in music? I guess it was…
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Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty deliver the lowdown on all the very best electronic gigs, tracks, mixes and releases of the week. GIGS Celtronic present Derrick May, Clark, Francesco Tristiano, Objekt and The Cyclist at St. Columb’s Hall, Derry Saturday, June 27 Probably the most ridiculous lineup Celtronic, or Derry, has ever witnessed is tomorrow. Derrick May is the closest thing to a deity in techno. Warp’s Clarke has been smashing it for ages and is currently releasing his best material for years. Francesco Tristiano is a classically trained pianist who plays house and techno whose repertoire includes as absolutely stunning version of…
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When we came up with the idea for Track Record as a feature, Gib Cassidy was top of our list. He has spent years working in all the best record shops in Dublin and even set up his very own, Elastic Witch (sadly missed) so his taste is unparalleled. We’re delighted we’ve finally pinned him down due to his busy schedule playing with Girl Names for a rummage through his records. Here, he selects the key choices representing his broad collection, from Arthur Russell to Alice Coltrane. Photos by Aaron Corr. The Slits – Cut (Island, 1979) The Slits debut album is…
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In the middle of the month we have many exhibitions that are ongoing, with less openings this week, writes Mary Stevens. The BASS Belfast Artists’ Sonic Showcase Event #5 Alice Burns, Saul Rayson and Helena Hamilton, will certainly be a great night and takes place on Saturday evening at 7pm at FRAMEWERK. We also have the continuation of To Camera at the Golden Thread and Silent Valley by Liam Crichton at Platform Arts in Belfast, so if you haven’t seen them yet I would recommend a visit. Project Arts Center – Dublin Riddle of the Burial Ground 11 June -01…