• EP Premiere: Fonda – No Begonias

    May 7, 2020 - By 

    Our love for Fonda is no secret. Over the last few years, incarnations of the Liam O’Connor-fronted band have split time between Limerick, Glasgow and Galway. Its latest incarnation, compromising John Ahern of Hey Rusty, Paul Cosgrave of Slow Riot and Sean O’Mahony of Inner City Radio, feels like a definitive formation – the logical ultimate form of a band conspiring to make O’Connor’s tales come to life. Recorded last year by Chris Quigley of Cruiser and mixed by Micheàl Keating of Bleeding Heart Pigeons, the band’s new EP, No Begonias, is a masterful consolidation of their mission statement to date. From highlight ‘The Way Out’…

  • EP Stream: Philip Watts d’Alton – Reflections

    May 1, 2020 - By 

    Much too young to be considered a veteran, and far too accomplished to be considered anything resembling a newcomer, Belfast musician and producer Philip Watts d’Alton is a rare breed indeed. An in-demand producer, serial collaborator, founding member of NI alt-folk heroes Master & Dog and a craftsman in his own right, his songs stem from a place of pure, unadulterated candour and spirit. Thankfully, the music more than matches up with the intent. New EP, Reflections, more than sees to that. Across four tracks, d’Alton delivers a wholehearted, exquisitely produced EP that is well worth 15 minutes of your time. Reflections by Philip Watts…

  • EP Stream: Perlee – Slow Creature

    March 27, 2020 - By 

    Late last year, we were pleased to host Maija Sofia’s introduction to Saramai Leech and Cormac O’Keefe aka Perlee. An Irish-bred dream-pop duo based in Berlin, the fast-rising duo’s creative process and broader impetus as a recording duo came to the fore in a revealing exchange. Five months on and the pair have officially released their debut EP, the sublime, and suitably slow-burning Slow Creature. Including new single and opener ‘Conditions to Thrive’, it’s singularly elegiac release, melding minimalist alt-pop songwriting with balmy textures and nigh on filmic lyricism. If you’re fond of artists like Mazzy Star, Julee Cruise, Low, Weyes Blood and Portishead at their most restrained, expect…

  • EP Stream: Alpha Chrome Yayo – Komorebi

    August 16, 2019 - By 

    Over the last few months, Belfast-based artist and multi-instrumentalist Alpha Chrome Yayo has made a steady, increasingly prolific rise via his interstellar brand of genre-warping synthwave. Today he offers up another – considerably more ruminative – side with his new EP, Komorebi. Titled after the Japanese word referring to the phenomenon of sunbeams filtering through trees, the release – which was influenced by the likes of Terje Rypdal, Vangelis, David Shire and Ryo Fukui – is a masterfully meditative and largely ambient affair from one of the country’s most chameleonic artists. From the balmy twists and turns of its title…

  • EP Stream: Rebekah Fitch – Lies We Tell Ourselves

    April 15, 2019 - By 

    That Belfast artist Rebekah Fitch has emerged as one of the country’s most promising solo artists propositions over the last couple of years has come as no surprise to us here at The Thin Air. Tracing the fast-rising vocalist and multi-instrumentalist’s increasingly distinctive brand of alt-pop singles like ‘Not Myself’, ‘Need To Feel’ and, most recently, ‘Poison’ brim with momentum, focus and – above all else – pure inspiration. You’ll find this in abundance on ‘Lies We Tell Ourselves’, a new, four-track EP that underscores Fitch’s upward course – one that, as we’ve suggested before, is surely imminently destined for the world stage.

  • Robyn G Shiels Announces Death of the Shadows EP

    October 4, 2018 - By 

    Belfast-based doom-folk master Robyn G Shiels has announced details of a new EP, Death of the Shadows. The highly-anticipated follow-up to Shiels’ NI Music Prize-winning album, The Blood of the Innocents, the release features five tracks produced by long-time R.G. collaborator Ben McAuley. Released via his own Black Tragick imprint on November 30, each track on the EP has also received an exclusive remix courtesy of some of the North’s finest acts: Therapy?, Robocobra Quartet, Documenta, Arvo Party and exmagician. Pre-order the album below here (those that do so get a free copy of Shiels’ debut album, A Lifetime of Midnights, and a…

  • 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: I Am The Cosmos – Nothing But Love

    November 17, 2017 - By 

    The follow-up to 2016’s Letting It Go 12″ single and 2013’s Monochrome LP, Dublin-based electronic duo Ross Turner and Cian Murphy AKA I Am The Cosmos are back with a new four-track EP titled ‘Nothing But Love’. Written, produced, recorded and mixed in the National Concert Hall, Dublin and scheduled for a vinyl release via the ever-reliable Art For Blind on 12″ vinyl on December 15, it’s another masterfully propulsive, slickly effort from the pair. Each track here is straight-up dancefloor fire and no mistake. Have a first listen below. Photo by Cait Fahey.

  • EP Premiere: Paper Dogs – The Lost Art of Conversation

    September 19, 2016 - By 

    If there’s one thing the island of Ireland has no shortage of it’s straight-shooting rock bands. But one such act that has developed that foundation to skilfully – and often very convincingly – accomadate the influence of blues, funk, indie rock and much more besides is Belfast quartet Paper Dogs. Counting such heavy-hitters as Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath, amongst their key influences, the Chris Rooney-fronted band – an increasingly established staple on the live scene up North over the last while – doth their collective cap to a certain grade of genre-defining greats whilst very consciously framing that imprint with their…

  • EP Stream: Dott – Beverly Baldwin

    August 3, 2016 - By 

    Long-time TTA favourites, Dott first appeared on our radar back in January of 2012 via a demo of ‘Leave Tonight’. Four years a bit on, the Galway garage-pop quartet are back with a four-track EP distilling exactly what has kept us firmly interested in their trajectory to date. Set for release via NYC’s Mirror Universe Tapes on Friday, Beverly Baldwin was written and recorded by Anna and Evan of the band during a year spent in Toronto following their marriage in 2015. Titled after the part of Toronto where they recorded the EP in their tiny apartment, the release marries subtle…