• Inbound: Pat Lagoon

    July 6, 2023 - By 

    Pat Lagoon isn’t surprised that you don’t know many hip-hop acts from Waterford. The Irish MC caught local inspiration from artists such as Waterford-via-Congo producer Murka Murcury and the Flatbush Zombie-stylings of rap collective Sons Phonetic, whilst taking in the transatlantic sonics of Kaytranada, Mac Miller, Anderson Paak and Mick Jenkins. Combined, it makes for a melting pot of funk, soul, hip-hop and trap influence. Dropping his first track, ‘Love Bites,’ in 2018 before going on to release a string of singles and an EP with Rikshaw, temptation to join the Irish brain-drain and relocate to somewhere like London has…

  • Inbound: The Personal Vanity Project

    May 9, 2023 - By 

    Formed during lockdown by producer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and all-round Limerick indie king Chris Quigley, The Personal Vanity Project is a new proposition sourced from high-spec parts in drummer/vocalist Brendan McInerney (Bleeding Heart Pigeons) and James Reidy (His Father’s Voice) on keyboards/space FX. Quigley gave us the full scoop: “The starting point was me hearing about this rumoured Kevin Shields drum’n’bass record that was never released, which left me thinking, ‘Oh I wonder what that would have sounded like?’. Terrible, really bad. So I made a few bits, but gradually found myself drifting towards something more interesting – which was this…

  • Inbound: I Dreamed I Dream

    April 4, 2023 - By 

    “I started living in Claire’s wardrobe without her knowing, and slowly integrated into the house and band. It’s all going quite well!” This is just one side of the I Dreamed I Dream (IDID) origin story, as told by Niamh Hayes. Ultimately, though, the Cork-based quintet – comprised of Hayes, Claire Aherne, Elle Kelleher, Julie Landers, and Laura Dineen – came together through a mutual love of music, which united them at various gigs over the years before becoming buddies let alone bandmates. Formed in 2022, the band have quickly become an exciting live proposition, opening for the likes of…

  • Inbound: Bengo

    September 7, 2022 - By 

    Recent years have seen the culture of Ireland, music or otherwise, in constant flux. A new generation of heads has embraced a new sound, one that is led predominately by black artists who have thankfully dragged the country into the global world of Afropop and beat. It’s here we find producer and songwriter Daryl Bengo, or simply Bengo. Officially getting his start in music as a member of the now-gone Fresh Ré, Bengo cut his teeth playing the piano in church, watching his father. Now, the son of the preacher man is a solo artist that counts collaborations with Alicia Raye and…

  • Inbound: NIMF

    September 6, 2022 - By 

    Last July, we had the joy of premiering ‘Cloudy Dreams,’ a three-minute gem by Arklow’s Aoibhín Redmond aka NIMF. Representing her experiences as an autistic musician, and the need to indulge in her imagination, it married acoustic motifs with found sound and homespun electronica, as well as influences including Kero Kero Bonito. Four months on from that luminous introduction, the sugar-spun DIY pop of ‘Space’ plumbed prismatic new depths. Delving into what Redmond referred to as “the beautiful worlds within our own minds,” which open up “endless possibilities when overwhelmed by the day-to-day,” it was a dreamscape that hit like…

  • Inbound: Henry Earnest

    August 11, 2022 - By 

    Photography: Kate Lawlor “Who knows where the water will take you,” whispers Jenn Dreamcycles in ‘Water’, the opening track from Dublin artist Henry Earnest’s recent album, Dream River. Speaking over glittering ambient keys and gently lapping field recordings, her narration sets the tone for an album that marries bedroom indie rock with euphoric hyperpop production and blissful, cinematic compositions. Across seven tracks, Earnest wades gracefully into life’s unpredictability, and embraces a fully natural creative flow that can be heard in every note.  Earnest has been making music since he was about 14. An affiliate of the Herzog TV collective, his…

  • Inbound: Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra

    April 8, 2022 - By 

    Pixie Cut Rhythm Orchestra look poised for a strong 2022. Off the back of the cutting ‘I didn’t love you when I said I did,’ the Dublin trio recently released ‘Empty Envelope,’ a contemplative dream-pop lamentation that earned comparisons to Pillow Queens and the Cranberries. The single was inspired by a dream that frontwoman Sarah Deegan had in which she received an envelope in the post. “It was from my ex,” she explains. “I opened it and it was empty. It felt like a good metaphor for the relationship – a nice outward appearance but inside there’s really nothing there.”…

  • Inbound: Ricky Chong

    April 7, 2022 - By 

    There’s something genuinely refreshing about Ricky Chong. The Sligo-based DJ and producer mixes house and disco records with a deft hand, digging deep for radiant cuts that stomp and soar with NRG, funk and soul. A resident at Sligo’s Faint club night as well as Dublin’s The Big Romance, he’s been building his profile for a couple of years now, but his love for music that kicks and swings stretches back to his childhood. Growing up, his dad’s collection was a treasure trove of jazz, funk, disco and sounds from around the world such as Oscar Peterson’s We Get Requests,…

  • Inbound: Amerik

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    In the early 2000s, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello’s method of overcoming physical distance in musical collaboration was so unusual that they named the resulting project – The Postal Service – after it. In 2021, it’s the new normal. Funny, then, that Adam Booth, Belfast producer of instrumental music under the moniker Amerik, chose the current climate for his first collaborative effort. Perfectly timed as we all prepare to get a little closer to each other, his second EP, Bouquet, brings together Gareth Dunlop, Travi The Native, Little Rivers, and Pete Wallace for a richly seasoned collection of heartfelt sounds…

  • Inbound: SORBET

    March 12, 2021 - By 

    Over the last few years, you might have spotted Chris Ryan’s name on the credits of any number of Ireland’s most essential musical releases, in just about any capacity. Producer of work alongside the likes of Just Mustard, Careerist & the rising NewDad, and the beating heart of jazz-punk ensemble Robocobra Quartet – most recently namechecked on The Guardian in the same breath as Slint & Tortoise as an influence on ‘post-genre’ outfit Black Country, New Road. Last year, under the SORBET pseudonym, he released the Life Variations EP via Bureau B – home of experimental & electronic pioneers like Faust & Cluster – and…