• Stream: An Taobh Tuathail Vol. 9

    September 10, 2020 - By 

    The arrival of An Taobh Tuathail Vol. 9 doesn’t come a second too soon. Long a highlight of the Irish music calendar, Cian Ó Cíobháin’s annual compilation, which is based on music played on his stellar leftfield radio show of the same name, is as reliable and filler-free as many of us have come to expect. Thankfully, Vol. 9 isn’t an exception to the rule. Featuring over 120 tracks (roughly akin to ten hours of music) the compilation includes TTA favourites such as Elaine Howley, Natalia Beylis, Mark Waldron-Hyden, Maria Somerville and Elma Orkestra, alongside international acts like Mica Levi, Mary Lattimore, Carla dal…

  • Stream: An Taobh Tuathail Vol. 8

    July 20, 2017 - By 

    Make absolutely no bones about it: An Taobh Tuathail on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta has long been something of an institution here in Ireland. Presented by the tireless Cian Ó Cíobháin, the long-running underground radio show – which broadcasts midweek on the Casla-based Irish-language radio service – has cemented that reputation with a series of compilations comprising some ATT favourites of the time. Arriving 10 years after the first collection on CD, Vol 8 – which is available via Spotify below – is 60 tracks in length, traversing electronica, folk, psychedelia, ethereal R&B & neo-classical in typically refined and informed fashion. As…

  • Track Record: Cian Ó Cíobháin (An Taobh Tuathail)

    May 30, 2016 - By 

    Presenter of Ireland’s best radio show, An Taobh Tuathail on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Cian Ó Cíobháin reveals some of his all-time favourite records. Photos by Sean McCormack. Sonic Youth – EVOL Looking back, it now seems to me that this was the album that ‘trained’ my ears to appreciate more experimental sounds.  Picture it.  Prior to discovering this, one of Sonic Youth’s strangest records, originally released in 1986, I had been mostly listening to what was on the radio and perhaps just been eased into ‘indie’ music by The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.  I can’t recall how or…

  • Hyperbolex with Ray Wingnut: The Alternative Radio Times

    October 7, 2015 - By 

    “What do you mean you didn’t do much? You taught a generation of broadcasters that you needn’t be an asshole to be on TV!” This reassuring compliment to a self-deprecating Dónal Dineen hits me right in the sweet spot. The comment was by Ger Gilroy, host of the Saturday Panel segment of Newstalk’s Off The Ball sports radio show.  Dineen is on to talk about Kerry football but the subject has swung briefly to his days on the seminal No Disco music television show.  I’m loving all of this. The discussion has beautifully tied together three of my outspoken passions;…

  • Download: An Taobh Tuathail Vol 7

    July 22, 2015 - By 

    Not merely the finest Irish radio programme, An Taobh Tuathail on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta is nothing short of a consistently impeccable underground music institution. Presented by Cian Ó Cíobháin, the show has proven an indispensable go-to criterion for fresh, unusual and glorious sounds for innumerable listeners both across the country and throughout the world since starting way back in 1999. Eight years on from the release of its first collection, the seventh volume of ATT’s free, all-but annual compilation – featuring tracks by the likes of Orcas, Loner Deluxe, Kode9, Colleen, Rival Consoles, Nils Frahm, Sufjan Stevens and Mica Levi – is a perfect place to…