• Inbound: Gracepark

    August 7, 2019 - By 

    Hailing from Artane in North County Dublin, Gracepark is an eight-piece art collective consisting of three rappers (Matthew, Conor and Dara), one singer (Femi), one producer (Charlie), two photographers/videographers (Cian/Luan) and their manager (Remi). It’s a project that combines aspects of visual artistry with numerous variants of the Hip Hop genre, creating a sound that is unheard of elsewhere in Ireland’s Hip Hop community. They are undoubtedly one of the most exciting collaborative efforts on the Irish music scene. Jack Rudden had the pleasure of meeting up with the collective to discuss Stephen King, the prolific nature of Hip Hop…

  • Inbound: The Claque

    April 18, 2019 - By 

    Girl Band’s incendiary LP Holding Hands With Jamie found itself landing on Albums of the Year lists far and wide in 2015, but health issues have seen the band lie dormant for the last two years. Cue the excitement then that guitarist Alan Duggan has convened a new group, The Claque, alongside Paddy Ormond of jangle-pop maestros Postcard Versions and vocalist Kate Brady. Debut single ‘Hush’ sees the trio pool their talents, combining Duggan’s brutal mechanical noise with Ormond’s distinct sense of melody and Brady’s pop sensibilities. With a debut Dublin show pencilled in for 27th April and summer dates…

  • Inbound: Ex-Isles

    October 31, 2018 - By 

    Last month, Belfast duo James Joys and Pete Devlin AKA Ex-Isles released one of the strongest debuts from an Irish act in recent memory. Masterfully nuanced and politically-minded, the expansive chamber pop of Luxury Mass conjured everyone from John Grant and Scott Walker, to David Sylvian and ANOHNI, all while introducing a project mustering its very own magic. With the pair currently working on the follow-up to Luxury Mass, and a busy 2019 forecast, James Joys talks to us about their “dark swoon”, impetus, collaboration, literary and musical influence, and crafting music that explores our growing alienation from agency over our own lives under capitalism. Ex-Isles…

  • Inbound: ABQ

    August 21, 2018 - By 

    Off the back of their debut single ‘Takes So Long’, Paul Shevlin of London-based Belfast quartet ABQ (AKA Albuquerque) talks process, pressure, the power of the right producer and keeping up with the scene back home. Hello ABQ. You have been playing together in different guises over the last few years, but the band still feels very new. For those of us not in the know, what’s the backstory to ABQ and what’s changed? It was a fairly natural transition from previous projects to ABQ. We’ve all played in and around the NI music scene for years and when an…

  • Inbound: Silverbacks

    June 13, 2017 - By 

    Having just released one of our favourite Irish EPs of the year so far, Sink The Fat Moon, Dublin indie rock five-piece Silverbacks chat to Will Murphy about lo-fi aesthetic, the imprint of the 90s on their sound and their plans for the rest of the year. Your sound picks up where the likes of Pavement, The Pixies and other fuzzier 90s groups left off. What about that era appeals to you so much? Everyone in the band is drawn to guitar bands and I quite like when that’s paired with lyrics of a humorous nature. You find bands like…

  • Inbound: Foreign Owl

    April 11, 2017 - By 

    Foreign Owl is a band whose members have found their musical home in Derry by way of a protracted route through the Southern prefecture of Fukuoka, Japan and the mean streets of Burt, Donegal. Members, Eoghan Donegan (Guitarist/Singer), along with brothers Míchéal (Bass/Singer) and Ciarán McCay (Drums/Singer) struck up a friendship after meeting at Japanese drumming (Taiko) classes in Derry. What started out as a mutual appreciation of film, soon germinated into a real desire to express themselves through music, inspired by their surroundings, art and Japanese culture. Along the way, Radio Foyle’s Stephen McCauley has championed the band by…

  • Inbound: MUNKY

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    If you’re becoming slightly jaded with run of the mill music and want to expand your ear to something different, MUNKY are the antidote. Today, the Dublin quartet released the video for their new single ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’, four minutes of infectious disco-infused rock. Zara Hedderman spoke to their frontman, Zac Stephenson about the video, their influences and their forthcoming debut headline gig in Whelan’s on February 1. Who are MUNKY? MUNKY are Zac Stephenson (lead vocals, guitar),  Sam Russell (drums), Conor Lawlor (lead guitar) Niall Donnelly (bass). What brought you guys together to form the band? Zac: I met Conor…

  • Inbound: Hiva Oa

    December 15, 2016 - By 

    Despite having released a debut album and EP back in 2012 while based in Edinburgh, Hiva Oa had gone pretty quiet until recently. As it turns out, a relocation back home to Ireland was on the cards for core members Stephen Houlihan and Christine Tubridy, not to mention a change in direction. Where that previous work traded on a sparse, minimal folk sound mainly built around guitar and cello with occasional forays into loops and effects, their aptly titled new EP mk2 (part 1) sees those electronics completely take over their sound, with single ‘A Great Height’ perfectly juxtaposing sinister…

  • Inbound: Jesse Heffernan

    December 8, 2016 - By 

    Jesse Heffernan’s musical style has developed and matured naturally with each experience and influence met by the Dublin singer songwriter throughout his varied trajectory. The laid back, atmospheric tendencies of his expanding catalogue draws from the modes of articulation perfected by classical figures (Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison and John Martyn) and specific elements of contemporary musicians such as the lo-fi guitar reverb of King Krule’s early single, ‘Out Getting Ribs’, which is re-enacted on Heffernan’s ‘Electric Shoes’ This diversity gives density to his mellow melodies and soulful vocals which effortlessly lull you into a state of uninterrupted calm, a rarity…

  • Inbound: Pale Rivers

    December 6, 2016 - By 

    Cork’s Pale Rivers burst into life at the start of October with the track ‘August 6th’.  As far as debuts go, this came with an immediate energy and purpose, straight away showcasing the band as a future force to be reckoned with. Built on big synths and rousing guitars it boldly leans toward a sound suited for a larger stage, the ambition oozing from every note. Eoin Hally’s vocals begin with a feeling of reservation but it’s not long before they become an uninhibited, visceral plea of sorts. The raw, honest lyricism allows the track to avoid the possible pitfalls…