• Shedding Some Light: An Interview with Ciaran Lavery

    November 7, 2024 - By 

    At The Thin Air, we’ve long championed the singular journey of Ciaran Lavery, tracing his path from soul-mining songwriting to boundary-pushing projects. Now, he’s back with Light Entertainment, an immersive live theatre experience set to transform the Lyric Theatre in Belfast next Thursday, 14th November. Marking a standout moment in this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival, Light Entertainment is poised to break the mould, pulling the audience into Lavery’s psyche where music, satire and raw introspection collide. In this overdue catch-up, we reconnect with Lavery to explore the journey behind Light Entertainment – how it evolved from an album and…

  • Sweden the Deal: An Interview with Olov Johansson of Väsen

    October 16, 2024 - By 

    This Sunday, 20th October, Swedish folk royalty, Olov Johansson and Mikael Marin, better known as Väsen, will make their much-anticipated return to Belfast as part of this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival. Revered for their captivating blend of new and traditional folk music, Väsen’s one-off show will feature a special suite by composer Chris Corrigan, crafted for nyckelharpa, electric viola and live electronics. It’s set to take place in the unique immersive sound environment of SARC’s Sonic Laboratory, offering a dynamic experience for both long-time fans and newcomers alike. Ahead of the performance, Brian Coney had the chance to speak…

  • Rhythm and Resistance: An Interview with Les Amazones d’Afrique

    October 18, 2024 - By 

    Les Amazones d’Afrique are no strangers to facing down convention. Fusing hypnotic West African rhythms with socially charged lyrics, the all-female collective has become a formidable force in the global music scene. Their blend of activism and artistry has always been inseparable, and with their third album, Musow Danse, they’ve created their most urgent statement yet. Set to take the stage at Mandela Hall on 28th October, their performance stands as one of the most anticipated events in this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival, promising a celebration of resilience, power and liberation. Ahead of the performance, Brian Coney chats with…

  • Singing And Dying Is What We Are Born For: An Interview With RÓIS

    October 10, 2024 - By 

    Song as a fundamental part of the human experience, a force both profoundly quotidian and supernatural, sits at the heart of RÓIS’ new release MO LÉAN. Its guiding theme is that of death and grief and their expression through music, inspired by forms that served an exalted purpose for generations and generations of Irish people. Caoineadh or keening is a form of vocal lament that existed in Gaelic society since antiquity and only ceased as a living rite at the turn of the 20th century. Sung at wakes near the body of the deceased, generally by a single or a…

  • Quare as Folk: An Interview with Sam Amidon

    May 9, 2024 - By 

    Ahead of his highly-anticipated return to DeBarra’s in Clonakilty on 19th May, Vermont folk master Sam Amidon discusses the ways in which lineage and collaboration interact with constantly pushing forward. Go here to buy tickets to Sam Amdson at DeBarra’s Hi Sam.
It has been a typically busy period for you. One happening I would’ve loved to have experienced was the 10th-anniversary show for your LP Lily-O, Was it, as I assume, really fulfilling evening, revisiting the record in that way? It was a beautiful night! It was actually the first time the four of us who made the album (Bill Frisell,…

  • Do The Strand: A Catch-Up With Phil Kieran

    April 16, 2024 - By 

    Ahead of its final live performance of The Strand Live this Saturday, 20th April, Belfast producer and techno legend Phil Kieran talks to Andrew Moore about constant evolution, AI’s impact on music and his masterfully ambitious new studio album Photo by Sean McMahon Originally published in the Spring 2023 issue of The Thin Air Buy tickets to The Strand Live, featuring Phil Kieran and the Ulster Orchestra, here It’s 5:32pm on a grey Monday afternoon in Belfast and electronic composer Phil Kieran is quietly working away in his studio. Located in the old Strand Cinema – and the new Strand…

  • Authentic and In Control: An Interview with Shiv

    April 16, 2024 - By 

    From on a blue velvet couch in a bustling hotel lobby in Dublin City Centre, Zimbabwean-Irish sensation Shiv chats to Ciara Byrne, reflecting on her unconventional journey to becoming a musician and the contributions and pitfalls of social media as a platform for self-promotion. Diving into her new single ‘Limerence,’ collaboration, working with Bricknasty and finding her own authentic voice, Shiv lays herself bare in the wake of her musical re-emergence Photos by Seán McMahon Shiv’s new album ‘the defiance of a sad girl’ is out on 4th July. Your music career started with a recording of you being uploaded to…

  • Tight Unit, Closer Friends: An Interview With Search Results

    March 18, 2024 - By 

    Since featuring them as an Inbound artist late last year, Search Results have smitten many more listeners with their masterfully mercurial indie-rock craft Ahead of what’s set to be a packed few months, Danny Kilmartin chats to Dublin trio – guitarist Fionn Brennan, drummer Jack Condon and bassist Adam Hoban – about the road less travelled they have taken to their upcoming second LP Photos by Monika Ruman What’s in a name – why Search Results? Jack: We lost a bet with Shane Clifford. You started writing together very quickly after first meeting. What was it that brought you together…

  • Whaling On: An Interview With Blue Whale

    March 6, 2024 - By 

    Next Friday, March 15, Belfast jazz-punk band Blue Whale return with their highly-anticipated second LP, Last Immediate Images. The follow-up to 2018’s Process, it’s another masterfully shapeshifting leap forward from one of the island’s most fiercely unpigeonholeable bands. Recorded and produced by Gilla Band’s Dan Fox, the album is a remarkable expansion, and deft deconstruction, of what the Quietus once hailed as their “chaotic, yet controlled experimental rock.” Ahead of its release, Cathal McBride spoke with guitarist Ben Behzadafshar about prolonged experimentation, the magic of biding one’s timing, being ‘sound carriers’ for Damo Suzuki and more. Blue Whale launch Last…

  • A Band Apart: An Interview With Gilla Band

    February 29, 2024 - By 

    Next year marks a mind-melting decade since we hosted two sold-out headliners by Gilla Band at Belfast’s Bar Sub. Coming off the back of a trouncing set in support of Slint at the Limelight – and their second EP The Early Years – the shows confirmed the arrival of a blitzing force in forward-pushing noise rock. Three genre-defining LPs, a two-year hiatus, one name change, and heaps of well-earned international recognition later, the Dara Kiely-fronted four-piece are on the cusp of a thrilling new era. Ahead of their long-awaited return to Belfast next week, we chat to guitarist Alan Duggan…