• The Record: Stonemasons

    August 20, 2015 - By 

    Featuring in studio photos by Liam Kielt, we chat to Belfast-based alt-rock trio Stonemasons about the writing, recording and release of their vehement new five-track EP, Lost Layers.  Hey guys. For complete newcomers, how did the Stonemasons come about and get off the ground? Pod (Kerr, bass/vocals): We all grew up around the same area of North Antrim. Blaney was playing guitar in a pop-punk called Breaking Even and McCann and myself were playing covers with a different drummer. We initially met through from beating lumps out of each other on a hurling pitch until a hazy 18th birthday party where we got chatting about…

  • The Record: Enemies

    July 13, 2015 - By 

    When we get to see a band on stage it’s hard to reverse engineer the process and think about how and why the performers got there. On stage it’s about performance and precision. Some swagger, some sway but what they all have in common is the process. The particulars may vary but they’ve all engaged in the craft. Whether solo or sextet, singer-songwriter or composer they’ve all started with a melody, the faintest whisps of an idea or, maybe, nothing at all. It’s a process that Enemies, playful math-rock maestros that they are, take very seriously. Over the space of…

  • The Record: Sissy

    May 11, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of its launch on at TenterHooks Gigspace on Sunday, June 28, we catch up with Dublin lo-fi three-piece band Sissy to discuss the writing and recording of their forthcoming 7″, as well as the reception to their music to date. Photos by Carlos Daly. Hi guys. What’s been the general reaction to the first EP, and ‘Sail & Rail’ particularly, given the subject matter and events over the past year? Leigh (Guitar/Vocals): ‘Sail and Rail’ has become our most popular song. The response to that has been tremendous. It feels like shouting about abortion, when there can be such…

  • The Record #003: Empty Lungs

    January 14, 2014 - By 

    In the third installment of The Record, Liam Kielt tottered along to Belfast’s Start Together Studio to capture alt-punk band Empty Lungs laying down some new songs for a forthcoming release. Have a gander at those shots and Brian Coney’s interview with Kevin Jones from the band below. And once you’re finished, feel free to check out our in-studio pieces with the equally excellent Bouts and Jape! Hi Kev. Liam captured you guys recording at Start Together studio late last year. What were you guys recording and when can we expect to hear it? We were recording two new tracks…

  • The Record #001: Jape

    May 3, 2013 - By 

    In the first of our regular The Record feature, photographer Ian Pearce captures Dublin electronic-rock Jape writing and recording in Malmö, Sweden in January and March of this year. We’re reliably informed that writing and recording process is still taking place and that as soon as it’s ready it will be released – in fact two albums could possibly sprout from the sessions. The studio is situated in what Pearce describes as “a sort of industrial estate near the central station in Malmö. You have to walk over a bridge to get to it. Pretty grim in the winter especially when…