• The Thin Air’s Top 15 Irish EPs of 2017

    December 22, 2017 - By 

    Looking back at the sheer breath and wealth of EPs that were released from artists across the country this year made us giddy with joy and excitement. The boundless evolution of style, diversity, experimentation and confidence on display in 2017 was as momentous as we had ever seen or heard and, as such, narrowing this list down to 15 was no easy task. The following is a list of artists who we felt pushed themselves to new, ambitious heights and creative territories this year, who delivered both on record and in live settings and who proudly represented the fecund growth…

  • Premiere: Carriages – Hardest Mile

    September 21, 2017 - By 

    Dublin duo Harry Bookless and Aaron Page AKA Carriages are an act that we’ve followed closely over the last few years. Spearheading an experimental folk aesthetic that comprises nature, open spaces and facets of the modern world, their music masterfully blurs the lines between the external world and internal processes, as well as electronic textures and organic sounds. Doubling up as the debut release on Homebeat Presents (an imprint we’re very excited about looking ahead to next year and beyond), the pair’s forthcoming new EP Movement is a five-track masterstroke melding Bookless’ found sound electronic atmospherics and elemental production with the inimitable soulful and…

  • Premiere: Carriages – Moving Parts

    August 24, 2016 - By 

    Dublin duo Harry Bookless and Aaron Page AKA Carriages aren’t an act to shy away from idiosyncratic process. Following on from the stellar ‘Like a Child’ – released back in March – their latest single, ‘Moving Parts’, began life as a recording of Harry’s nephew Alex, who was 3 years old at the time, singing as he played with some percussion instruments. According to the pair, “A short loop was cut from the recording and a chord sequence was written around it and this became the basis for the song. Aaron wrote the lyrics and melody around Alex’s singing and the main hook…

  • Stream: Carriages – Like a Child

    March 9, 2016 - By 

    The third release from the pair, ‘Like a Child’ by Dublin’s Harry Bookless and Aaron Page AKA Carriages started as a percussion loop recorded using flower pots and a garden sweeping brush. A curious birth betraying the twosome’s wonderfully idiosyncratic leanings, the final product is a slick slice of minimalist electronica in which repetition (not least in the song’s chorus of “Like a child I run to you”) comfortably tunnels in one’s auditory cortex. Released on March 23 – and followed a week later with a remix by Bantum – stream ‘Like a Child’ via Soundcloud below.

  • Hard Working Class Heroes 2015 – Friday

    October 6, 2015 - By 

    Fast forward through your own boring life and the cycle starts again. Another night of wall to wall quality music with the criminal schedule clashes an unfortunate reminder of the standard for the night. By 8pm the Mercantile is host to its first few shuffling visitors and Lie Ins fuzzy pop-rock. It’s comprehensive, bouncy stuff but maybe a little unexciting. However the room slowly fills and by the time Staring at Lakes overcome what seems to be a host of technical difficulties the place could almost be called busy. Despite the Mercantile venues shit wedding party charm, half a song…

  • Forfey Festival

    July 7, 2014 - By 

    Taking place across the weekend of August 1-3, the wonderfully intimate and unaffected Forfey Festival returns to Forfey Farm near Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh with one of its strongest line-ups to date. As ever, homegrown folk and acoustic acts make up the majority of this year’s line-up, but there is also a wide range of electronic and rock artists – everyone from Hornets to Affleck – performing across the festival’s three days. With more acts still to be announced, the current line-up is: Callum Stewart, Beulah Kim, Wonder Villains, Travis Is A Tourist, The Emerald Armada, Skeletons, Rupture Dogs, RAMS’ Pocket Radio, More Than…

  • Forfey Festival announces first twelve acts

    May 14, 2014 - By 

    Now in its ninth year – the year “of the Rex”, no less – Forfey Festival have announced the first dozen acts to play the festival this Summer. With many acts yet to be announced, the first twelve acts confirm to play are The Emerald Armada, Skeletons, Rupture Dogs, RAMS’ Pocket Radio, More Than Conquerors, Joshua Burnside, Hornets, Go Wolf, Ciaran Lavery, Carriages, Bee Mick See and Affleck. Forfey 2014 takes place from Friday, August 1 to Sunday, August 3. Tickets will be available to purchase soon.  

  • Gig of the week: Joshua Burnside, Affleck & Carriages @ White’s Tavern

    March 25, 2014 - By 

    Our gig of the week will see Northern Irish alt-folk troubadour Joshua Burnside release his new single, ‘Desert Wine/Platonia’, at White’s Tavern on Thursday, March 27. Supported by electro-pop trio Affleck and Dublin electro-folk duo Carriages, it will mark Burnside’s return to the venue, where he launched his exquisite EP, If You’re Going That Way, last June. ‘Desert Wine/Platonia’ is Burnside’s first release via Broken Melody Records. Check out our interview with them here. Entry is £4, doors are at 8pm. Go here for the show’s Facebook event page and stream ‘Desert Wine’ and ‘Platonia’ via Bandcamp below.