• Interview & Introduction To: Fractured

    November 20, 2015 - By 

    You may not have noticed yet, but Dublin-based filmmaker John Mulvaney is doing an invaluable service for the Irish underground scene in his short-form documentary series, Fractured. Each short film zones in on members of some of the best under-the-radar heavy and/or experimental artists in the country, piecing together a range of evocative cinematographic fragments of the musicians and their surroundings, soundtracked to candid aural insights from the respective musicians and their music. Mulvaney’s evident passion and respect for the music has continually led to a carefully crafted portrait of each artist, with every instalment accumulating to more than the…

  • Irish Tour: Johnny Marr

    October 20, 2015 - By 

    Johnny Marr is a man in a rush right now. This past March’s sophomoric effort Playland arrived a little more than a year after his solo debut The Messenger and he’s already trying out new material live. “This is a new song, but don’t be afraid,” he says with a smile before launching into ‘Spiral Cites’ to the approval of the crowd. It seems architect of some of the indie pop’s best loved songs seems to be working at a pace we haven’t seen since the mid 80’s when classic songs were falling out of Rickenbacker back in his bedroom…

  • Irish Tour: Weird Al Yankovic

    October 8, 2015 - By 

    Vicar Street, Dublin Weird ‘Al’ Yankovic doesn’t really make sense. A parody artist, whose satirical swipes at popular culture have mostly revolved around food, who has somehow not only managed to survive over 30 years in the business and score a number 1 album on the billboard charts, but has also been a constant presence in a plethora of cultural touchstones. Although he is mostly a fringe player or is the butt of a joke. How has someone like Al managed to survived longer than probably 80% of the groups he has pastiched? If last night’s performance in Vicar Street…