• Truth and Release: An Interview with Little Green Cars

    December 6, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a string of December dates kicking off at Belfast’s The MAC on Thursday, Brian Coney chats to Dublin’s Little Green Cars about communication, mortality and their craft. Go here for the band’s full tour schedule. Hi guys. 2016 has of course been a great band for you as a band. What have you found to be the most rewarding part of your rise over the last while? We went through a lot together during the writing of Ephemera. It was truly a labour of love, but an emotional labour nonetheless. Touring the album has been very cathartic. It has given…

  • Inbound: Farah Elle

    December 5, 2016 - By 

    Currently writing and recording her debut album at home, Libya-born Dublin singer-songwriter, pianist and BIMM graduate Farah Elle’s decision to drip-fed her ever-growing fanbase a series of previews over the last few months has certainly worked in her favour. Blending a slick melange of hip-hop and R&B influences – with the odd rumble of ska thrown in for good measure – she has carved out a sound that is defined both by her Arabic-influenced vocals and a knack for creating songs that feel perfectly laidback without sidestepping the emotive urgency that underpins it all. Having marked her arrival with ‘Silk’…

  • Stream: The Thin Air’s Death Culture Blues #1 on Dublin Digital Radio

    December 5, 2016 - By 

    When it launched back in October, we really liked the sound of Dublin Digital Radio’s broadcast manifesto of “providing a quality platform for the various communities striving to create a socially and culturally progressive city in a landscape netted with political stasis and tepid bureaucracy”. Now, a couple of months later, we’re very pleased to present a stream of the first instalment of Death Culture Blues, our brand new, two hour weekly show on DDR, presented by TTA editor Brian Coney and featuring the very best in experimental, ambient and cosmic sounds, including some of our favourite Irish artists at…

  • Made To Measure: Lily Bailie

    December 5, 2016 - By 

    One of many shining lights being champions by our friends at BeKreativ, we chat to Belfast costume designer Lily Bailie about the overlap between music and visuals in her work. Hi Lily. Tell us about your earliest memories in taking an interest in costume design? As a child my mum always hand-made my fancy dress costumes. She used to be a fashion designer so could make me any costume I wanted, from a mermaid to a cat to a princess. I just loved getting creative and making everything by hand. You’re currently based in Edinburgh and Belfast. How do the cities…

  • The Final Cut, And The Ultimate Act of Protest

    December 1, 2016 - By 

    And now, the tide must turn. With the election of Donald Trump to the Oval Office, the cultural climate in America will inevitably change. These are uncertain times, even more so than in previous elections, as the world waits to see what President Trump will actually do. But regardless of the shape of his presidency, it’s almost certain that there will be an artistic response, capturing the fears and anger from that part of the population who no longer understand the world they’ve woken up in. The George W. Bush era was soundtracked by the pop-punk politics of Green Day…

  • Death To Complacency: An Interview With Gross Net, Autumns and Fears

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of a three-way release launch in a secret location in Belfast this Friday night, Philip Quinn of Gross Net, Autumns’ Christian Donaghey & Fears’ Constance Keane discuss growth, release, community & “timid Irishness disease”. Go here for the show’s event page. Hi guys. You play a secret location show together in Belfast this weekend. It’s titled ‘A Death To Complacency’. What’s the significance of the title? Philip Quinn (Gross Net): There’s an element present here in society I dub “timid Irishness disease”, whereby people just don’t knuckle down and get making something. I see the three of us as…

  • Running the Gamut: Introducing Orby Chase

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    One of many shining lights being championed by our friends at BeKreativ, Orby Chase are a recently-formed Belfast outfit on a mission. We catch up with the alt/indie quartet about the past, present and auspicious future of the band. Photo by Adam Martin Hi guys. First up: for the unacquainted, how and when did Orby Chase form? We formed in early January 2016. Josh had been doing the rounds as a singer/songwriter since the split of his previous outfit The Blindies and to reasonable acclaim. As his writing developed so did the textural palate he found himself reaching for and…

  • Bookmark: Dan Hegarty (2FM)

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    RTÉ 2FM legend and author Dan Hegarty handpicks and  a selection of his favourite books, featuring Charles Bukowski, Scroobius Pip, Jack Kerouac and Richie Taylor & Tony Clayton-Lea. Photos by Peter O’Hanlon. Dan Hegarty’s Buried Treasure and Buried Treasure 2 are available to buy now via Liberties Press.  Irish Rock: Where It’s Come From, Where It’s At, and Where It’s Going – Richie Taylor & Tony Clayton-Lea This book really made me aware of how many amazing artists this little island of Ireland has offered up over the years. Prior to this, I would have known the obvious ones; great acts…

  • Monday Mixtape: Ruadhan O’Meara (Magic Pockets, No Spill Blood)

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    In the latest instalment of Monday Mixtape, Ruadhan O’Meara of Dublin’s Magic Pockets and No Spill Blood handpicks ten “extremely smelly synth/prog moments”, including Hawkwind and Harald Grosskoph. Magic Pockets launch their debut album, Volcano of the Bleeding Skies, at Tivoli Backstage in Dublin on Friday night (December 2). Hawkwind –  The Forge of Vulcan A hidden gem from Quark, Strangeness and Charm”. Basically it’s just Simon House, thumping an Anvil over a busy sequence and organ progression. Totally badass. Bobby Beausoleil – Lucifer Rising Part II From the soundtrack to Kenneth Anger’s film. He was in the Manson family, and…

  • Kiss and Tell: An Interview With Meltybrains?

    November 23, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of playing their biggest headline show to date at Dublin’s Academy on Friday night, Dublin experimental maestros Meltybrains? talk collaboration, the scene, pushing boundaries and their new EP with Brian Coney. Photo by Ian McDonnell Hi guys. Congratulations on the release of Kiss Yourself. Take us back to the very start of the conception of this release: how was the songwriting process for this one and how did things differ, if at all, to previous work? The songwriting process was a complicated affair. Some of the tracks were ideas from old demos we recorded in Conor Walsh’s hotel in…