• Shooting From The Hip: Meet Dublin’s Hipdrop Records

    September 1, 2016 - By 

    Hipdrop Records is a new Dublin label championing the often overlooked but always exciting sounds of Ireland’s funk, afrobeat and world music artists. With an obscenely talented opening camp of musicians and years hustling in event organisation we talked to co-founder Keith Fennell about changing the record, fun and family. Words by Eoghain Meakin. Photos by Lucy Foster. So what is Hipdrop records? How did it come about? Hipdrop Records is an independent label for Funk, Soul and World music setup by me and my long term business realist, Dan Whelan. The ethos of the label is in the name…

  • Inbound: Girlfriend

    August 31, 2016 - By 

    There is an overriding sense of darkness and foreboding surrounding Dublin’s lo-fi punks Girlfriend. With song titles like ‘kill them all (your feelings)’ and ‘the stuff you think about late at night and never tell anyone about’ which adorn their debut EP 3AM rituals, it’s clear that on the surface anyway, this band have shrouded themselves in this veil of death and misery through which no light can pierce. As the four-piece say, their music is to be consumed “at 3AM while sitting in a circle of salt surrounded by black candles casting spells on enemies/friends/local fiends/lovers”. Tongues are firmly…

  • Picture This: Your National Visual Arts Guide – Journeys

    August 30, 2016 - By 

    Journeys come in many sizes, shapes and forms. They can be physical, they can be metaphorical, in truth they can be anything. The four shows covered in this edition of Picture This represent four journeys the artists have taken along the way to the final show hosted in each gallery. We see a physical journey in VISUAL Carlow as Enda McCarthy retraces the steps barges took as he travels from Dublin to Carlow. In Dublin we see IMMA’s journey over the last 10 years as she expands her collection in the face of financial adversity. Katrina Palmer takes her audience…

  • Column: Lisa Hannigan

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    Having just released her highly-anticipated third studio album, At Swim, Lisa Hannigan pauses to reflect on her recent string of Irish dates with Ye Vagabonds. I hadn’t played in so long before my Irish shows. So before my new record, At Swim, came out, I just wanted to dip my touring toe back in and play these new songs with a different band and try to figure that all out on stage. Ireland has always been the warmest and most welcoming place for me and I would venture to say most artists, so I just really want to go all over…

  • Primer: Steven Maybury

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    Steven Maybury’s latest shows, Anicca and Dukkha, highlight an emerging artist whose practice is evolving and diversifying in the most interesting of fashions. In this edition of Primer Aidan Kelly Murphy sits down to chat about his work, influences and plans for the future. Did you always have an interest in the arts and want to pursue a life as an artist, or was it something that evolved naturally? It’s a strange one because I grew up with my father being a picture framer so I was always surrounded by artworks. I used to work with him cleaning the artists’…

  • Track Record: Conor O’Brien (Villagers)

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    As featured in the current issue of our physical magazine, Villagers’ Conor O’Brien handpicks a selection of records that have left an indelible imprint on his music and life, including Nina Simone, Bill Callahan, Fela Kuti, Julee Cruise and Mos Def. Photo by Loreana Rushe. Bill Wells Trio – Also In White I don’t really know anything about Bill Wells except that he’s a Scottish musician with fantastic eyebrows and I didn’t even know that when I starting listening to this album, which made it all the more magical. All I can say it that it leaves a proper mark on your soul…

  • Playlist: 20 Irish Acts to Catch at Electric Picnic 2016

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    For all its kaleidoscopic, genre-spanning variety, there’s no denying choosing which acts to catch (and those artist to regrettably miss) at Electric Picnic can be a bit of a headache. Sure, Clashfinder is a big help (seriously, we’d be lost without it) but let us help you out if you’re EP-bound this weekend: from Girls Names, our current cover stars SlowPlaceLikeHome (above) and Saint Sister to Hilary Woods, Rusangano Family and The Altered Hours, here’s the 20 Irish acts to catch at Electric Picnic 2016.

  • Rave New World: Prosumer, Andrew Lyster, Caskré

    August 26, 2016 - By 

    Antoin Lindsay and Aidan Hanratty look at the best tracks, mixes and releases of the week. Gigs Twitch Present Prosumer @ The Bunatee, Belfast Saturday 27 August Everyone’s favourite Berliner-turned-Edinburgher lands in Belfast to bring his unique and eclectic selections to kick off the Bank Holiday. He’s already played at Twitch this year with Head High and he obviously made enough of an impact to be invited back so soon. This time he’s on his own though, and you’d be mad to miss it. AL Pyg presents Legowelt at Pygmalion Saturday 27 August Dutch techno maestro Legowelt is always busy,…

  • Creative Rubbish: Meet Dublin artist Rob Crane

    August 25, 2016 - By 

    One of many Irish creatives being championed by our friends at BeKreativ, Rob Crane is a Dublin based artist working in various mediums but particularly with found objects such as cans, creating unique one-off pieces of sculpture art titled ‘pissheads’ and what he describes as ‘original creative rubbish’. He chats to us about what drives his artistic processes and his plans for the future. How did you get interested in art and where did it begin? I became interested in art and stuff mainly from 80s and 90s cartoons and movies. I would draw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters…

  • A Time and A Place: An Interview With Lisa O’Neill

    August 23, 2016 - By 

    While it may seem trite to state that music, like most art, is often shaped by its environment, it is a theme that’s so intrinsically linked to creative expression that it simply cannot be ignored. So it’s unsurprising then, when listening to the melodic alt-folk, and often traditional-leaning music of Lisa O’Neill, that the actual act of listening itself becomes more than just transformative, but transcendental – your mind’s eye can become fixated on lyrical allusions or musical tropes associated with specific locales, real or imaginary, that allow deeply rewarding connections to be forged. For O’Neill, her upbringing in rural…