• Best Album & Single Shortlists for NI Music Prize Revealed

    September 30, 2021 - By 

    The Best Album and Best Single shortlists for this year’s Northern Ireland Music Prize have been revealed. Supported by PPL, the Best Album shortlist includes the likes of This Ship Argo’s Always The Bees: Never The Honey, Fir Wave by Hannah Peel (pictured), Arvo Party’s Inheritiance, Isles by Bicep and Into The Depths of Hell by Joshua Burnside. See the full list below. Andrew McGibbon – Northern Gothic Arvo Party – Inheritance Bicep – Isles CATALAN! – Veritas Dani Larkin – Notes for a Maiden Warrior Hannah Peel – Fir Wave Jealous of the Birds – Peninsula Joshua Burnside –…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – March 5th

    March 5, 2021 - By 

    It’s been yet another banner week for Irish music. Dig into the best new sounds of the past seven days below, featuring new sounds from Choice Music Prize Album of the Year winner Denise Chaila with God Knows and MuRli, Lighght, Laurie Shaw, Kojaque, Tolü Makay, CATALAN! and more God Knows x Denise Chaila x MuRli – Water Hatfield Field – Survival Is Triumph Enough EP Survival Is Triumph Enough by Hatchet Field Laurie Shaw – Forest Floor Forest Floor (Single) by Laurie Shaw Slomatics – Kaān Split with Ungraven by Slomatics Tolü Makay – Used To Be Conchur White…

  • Watch: CATALAN! – Ungoogleable

    November 2, 2020 - By 

    The solo vehicle of Belfast-based, North Coast musician Ewen Friers, CATALAN! is also a project that is wonderfully collaborative at its core. On his recently-released debut album, Veritas, Friers is joined by a veritable cast of familiar faces, including Cheylene Murphy and Ryan McGroarty of Belfast dream-pop twosome Beauty Sleep. If you’re yet to experience that particular ensemble live, new single ‘Ungoogleable’ captures just how well this collaborative spirit goes. Bombastic and earworming in equal measure, have a first look at the song’s brand new video below.

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – August 28th

    August 28, 2020 - By 

    From the sledgehammer riffing of Shifting, electronics of Son Zept and Marcus Woods, indie-pop returns by Æ MAK, Catalan and We Cut Corners, to arguably Ireland’s most exciting rising hip-hop star in Denise Chaila, check out this week’s round-up of best new Irish music. Denise Chaila – Holy Grail Son Zept – Lush Lab B by Son Zept Æ MAK – I Dance In The Kitchen (feat. Seba Safe) Shifting – Big Ed It Was Good by Shifting SENU – Jetlag 2 Catalan – Fortune We Cut Corners – Muscle Memory Muscle Memory EP by We Cut Corners Marcus Woods – Repose Tactics Maria Doyle Kennedy – Keeps…

  • Irish Tracks of the Week – July 10th

    July 10, 2020 - By 

    From The Bonk, Wyvern Lingo, Jehnova and Elaine Mai, to CATALAN!, luthorist, Brién and Gemma Bradley, here’s the very best Irish songs released this week, all in one place. Wyvern Lingo – Don’t Say It The Bonk – Fool Me Twice CATALAN! – Roussillon Serenade Brién – Sundriede Sundried by Brién Jehnova – All In Elaine Mai – Somewhere Else Gemma Dunleavy – Stop The Lights luthorist – kxflip Our Krypton Son – Arbor Bird Vivid Dreamer – This Is Not Living Gemma Bradley – Obsessed

  • Monday Mixtape: CATALAN!

    July 6, 2020 - By 

    In the latest installment of Monday Mixtape, Belfast-based musician Ewen Friers aka CATALAN! waxes lyrical about some of his all-time favourite songs, from WHY? and DakhaBrakha, to Orlando Weeks and Orchéstre Baka Gbiné. Los Cotopla Boyz – Me Malviaje Con Las Ganlletas Get your week started right – Los Cotopla Boyz blowing away the cobwebs, this was their debut track. I like how this is danceable and direct from the get-go but ends with that sort of proggy introspective outro, somehow it works. Orchéstre Baka Gbiné – Kopola Staying on the international voyage that is this playlist here’s a crucial track…

  • And So I Watch You From Afar Announce OK? Festival

    March 2, 2020 - By 

    North Coast instrumental rock trailblazers And So I Watch You From Afar have announced details of a new music and arts festival in support of mental awareness and suicide prevention. Created to “celebrate community and to encourage asking the question… are you ok?” OK? will unite some of the country’s best acts at Belfast’s Telegraph Building on Saturday, March 28th. Raising money for Aware NI, PIPS and Help Musicians, the show will feature sets from ASIWYFA, SOAK, General Fiasco, David Holmes, Phil Kieran, Joshua Burnside, New Pagans, Catalan!, Pillow Queens, Junk Drawer, Jordan Adetunji, Careerist, Cherym, Problem Patterns and Gnarkats.…

  • Premiere: CATALAN! – Espionage

    July 16, 2018 - By 

    Despite having played only a handful of dates since emerging in July last year, Ewen Friers’ self-coined insurgency rock project CATALAN! has made a considerable dent on the Northern Irish music scene over the last few months. His latest effort, ‘Espionage’ has felt like bona fide single material since we first caught wind of it at a show in Belfast back in October. In characteristic Friers fashion, it commingles wide-eyed hope with full-blown melodies, and fuzzed-out bombast with lyrics that bring defiant people in foreign lands vividly to life. Curated by Friers, CATALAN! play the downright unmissable Coaster in Portrush this Friday…

  • Line-Up Announced For Inaugural Coaster

    May 28, 2018 - By 

    Hosted by Ewen Friers’ CATALAN!, New Pagans (pictured), fast-rising experimental alt-folk artist Joshua Burnside and Belfast dream-pop trio Beauty Sleep are amongst the names set to play the inaugural Coaster in Portrush on July 20. A self-proclaimed “summer gathering on the North Coast celebrating local music” the event will take place at the Atlantic Bar and Babuska. See below for the current line-up (including  The Thin Air DJs) below and go here to buy tickets, which are priced at a very reasonable £11.00 including booking fee.

  • Curfew Festival Announced For Twelfth of July

    May 11, 2018 - By 

    Making its return for the first time in many years, Belfast’s alternative, inclusive Twelfth of July proceeding Curfew, takes place across two of Belfast’s finest small venues – The Black Box & Voodoo. The whole day is kindly run by original runner Pete Jez’ Solid Choice Industries. In direct opposition of ‘the other one’, we don’t have to pretend to enjoy the rad tunes. The only cultural division to be seen is in the cross-genre venue booking -Voodoo is set to host the riff-centric acts, headed by Dublin’s synth-driven space-metal trio No Spill Blood, sludgy heavy rock trio Slomatics, Dublin hardcore act Destriers, space punks Wild Rocket, sludge-doom act Nomadic…