• Video Premiere: Solkatt – Nocturne

    June 21, 2018 - By 

    In 2017, Peter Lawlor (AKA Replete) and Leo Pearson (whose worked with David Holmes, Shit Robot, more) were commissioned to create 90 minutes of original music for a 46-speaker geodesic dome at Electric Picnic. The installation, a part of Red Bull’s Soundome Stage, found the pair embracing sounds on a grand, cinematic scale that nonetheless maintained a danceable groove. Now, having release a couple of stellar singles over the past couple of months, the duo are readying the release of their debut album. With their third single ‘Nocturne’, the pair revive themes that gleamed through on first single ‘Je Suis’:…

  • Noise Canvas: Olan Monk interviewed

    June 21, 2018 - By 

    Porto-based, west of Ireland raised artist and musician Olan Monk‘s two EPs INIS and ANAM come paired with a single lyric each. They aren’t sung. In fact, they’re not heard at all. Nonetheless, he says, they’re the lyrics. They read as follows… ANAM extend ourselves through rifts in place multiple outcomes of wet decisions delusions made and loves we lost on distant shores breathing, being, mind less Wanderer INIS nobody enters the second zone there are always enough others to exist you drift hopelessly through other people the love they give is more than a geographic boundary a feeling extends…

  • Bare Everything: An Interview with Gary Lightbody

    June 14, 2018 - By 

    A remarkably purgative release born from addiction, vulnerability and recovery, the Jacknife Lee-produced Wildness marks Snow Patrol’s long-awaited return after seven years. Striking a midpoint between the band’s evolved pop-rock prowess with lyrics tackling darkness, alienation and living in the moment, it’s an album capturing the Gary Lightbody-fronted band at both their creatively inspired in years. In a conversation with Brian Coney, Lightbody discusses addiction, success, writer’s block, confronting one’s demons, whittling 600 songs down to 20, the importance of patience, as well as why he has no desire to write another ‘Chasing Cars’. Wildness is Snow Patrol’s first album in seven years.…

  • The Pirates Don’t Eat The Tourists: Jurassic Park, 25 Years On

    June 14, 2018 - By 

    John Hammond is Steven Spielberg. Yes, it’s an obvious analogy: Richard Attenborough’s bio-engineering CEO and the maestro who directed him are both bearded childlike innocents, starry-eyed dreamers, alchemists who conjure stunning spectacles for an adoring public and make serious bank in the process. And both have seen their legacy squandered. In the twenty-five years since Jurassic Park’s release, across four sequels, the parks and their improbable animal attractions have been misused and mistreated, spiralling, in an inevitable logic Dr. Ian Malcolm would appreciate, towards chaos. In this month’s underwhelming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom a burst of volcanic violence snuffs out…

  • In Season: An Interview with The Mad Dalton

    June 7, 2018 - By 

    Ahead of the launch of his debut album, Open Season, at Belfast’s Black Box on Thursday, June 14, Belfast-based musician and songwriter Peter Sumadh AKA The Mad Dalton talks to us about process, influence, the imprint of literature on his work, how his Scots/Canadian heritage frames his craft, the musicians that have helped bring his music to life and more. Go here to buy tickets to the launch of Open Season. Your debut album, Open Season, is set for release on June 15. You’re releasing it via a successful pledge campaign. Were you hesitant to do this and how was…

  • Track Record: Maija Sofia

    June 7, 2018 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we spend time with Maija Sofia in her home for a look through some of her favourite records, from Nick Cave to CocoRosie. Photos by Zoe Holman  Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads  There are loads of Nick Cave albums I could have put on this list, anyone who knows me personally at all know’s I’m pretty obsessed, so many of his albums are completely incredible, but I think Henry Lee and Where the Wild Roses Grow were the first two Nick Cave songs I ever heard and was like … wow,…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2018: Sunday

    June 6, 2018 - By 

    The atmosphere of Sunday was considerably busier – and a little bit rowdier – than the previous day with a lot of teenagers flocking for dance favourites like DJ Seinfeld, Bicep, DJ Deece, Dennis Sulta. The day started on a slightly messy note, with both Ross from Friends and Earl Sweatshirt announcing last-minute cancellations. Anyone who decided to wander over to the Undergrowth stage for Bicep’s 9.30 set would have been equally as disappointed – the tent was sweaty and overspilling from Dennis Sulta’s set, with no chance of entry or exit; heat emitting from the tent was like someone…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2018: Monday

    June 6, 2018 - By 

    On the last day of the June bank holiday, also one of the hottest days of the year, a modest gathering assembled at Forbidden Fruit. The line-up for day three differed greatly from Saturday and Sunday’s bill, as it catered devotees of guitar-led indie-rock with Philadelphia based The War on Drugs headlining and veteran (and nostalgia inducing) acts like Spoon, Warpaint and Grizzly Bear performing, also. David Kitt, whose set predominantly drew from his most recent record, Yous, eased the early attendees into the day’s marathon of live music. His set-up was minimal; comprised of Kitt switching between acoustic and…

  • Forbidden Fruit 2018: Saturday

    June 6, 2018 - By 

    Now celebrating its 8th birthday, Forbidden Fruit has become a staple in the Irish music festival scene, and with it and last week’s LIFE festival, the summer festival season has officially begun. A celebrator of Irish acts, with a focus on dance, R&B, and hip-hop, this year’s line-up was especially anticipated, with headliners such as Glass Animals, Justice, Bonobo, and EDM favourites like Bicep, Dennis Sulta, and DJ Seinfeld all making appearances over the weekend. It’s never easy to be one of the first acts of the day at a festival, and especially on the first day but this didn’t…

  • Video Premiere: Dott – Bleached Blonde

    May 31, 2018 - By 

    The sun is out and the mighty Dott are back with another summery tune. ‘Bleached Blonde’ is lifted directly from their new album Heart Swell, set for release on Graveface Records next week. The song is a slice of fuzzy-pop written about Anna McCarthy’s love of surfing and her self confessed lack of real talent for it. It’s a treat. Play loud. Pre-order Heart Well here.