• No Fracking Way: An Interview with This Land writer Siân Owen

    April 1, 2016 - By 

    A theatrical journey through an ever-changing landscape, confronting some hugely pressing issues regarding climate change and, in particular, fracking, Siân Owen’s This Land is a play being hailed for striking a keen balance between engrossing fictional narrative and the much bigger – more important – picture. Ahead of performances at Coleraine’s Riverside Theatre (Apr 6), Omagh’s Strule Arts Centre (Apr 7), Derry’s Waterside Theatre (Apr 8) and Belfast’s The MAC (Apr 9), Brian Coney chats to Owen about the production and its portrayal of the issues. Go here to buy tickets. Hi Siân, before touching on This Land, can you give us some background on Pentabus and…

  • Beyond The Divide: An Interview with Pat Dam Smyth

    March 29, 2016 - By 

    There are few more inimitable and instantly engaging songsmiths than London-based, Northern Irish troubadour Pat Dam Smyth. Five years on from the release of his stellar debut album, The Great Divide, Smyth is currently crowdfunding for its forthcoming follow-up via Pledge Music, a release that will surely doubly confirm his standing as one of the country’s most distinctive and vital voices. Ahead of shows at Belfast’s The MAC on Friday, April 1 and Rathfriland’s Bronte Church on April 2, Smyth chats to Brian Coney about his pledge campaign, touring across Europe and finally feeling he belongs to the current era.…

  • Not Just Feeding a Scene: An Interview with Chad Ubovich of Meatbodies

    March 25, 2016 - By 

    Fronted by Chad Ubovich who has worked with the likes of Ty Segall, John Dwyer and Mikal Cronin, Meatbodies are embedded in California’s idiosyncratic garage rock revival.  Much like the bands connected to the aforementioned names – and they are plentiful – Meatbodies blend pop influences with heavier elements such as noise rock, metal and psych. This is evidenced in the other bands Chad Ubovic has worked with, from the sunny disposition of Mikal Cronin’s band mixed with the dark, dense sounds of Ty Segall’s, Fuzz, which is heavily indebted to Black Sabbath. Meatbodies rest somewhere between these two bands, exhibiting a…

  • Beauty From the Dark: An Interview with Blanck Mass

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    When he’s not mustering majestic noise as one half of Fuck Buttons, Benjamin John Power has, for the last five years, been producing his own powerful, synth-heavy sounds as Blanck Mass. Having released one of 2015’s most wonderfully challenging and downright rewarding full-length listens in Dumb Flesh, he has firmly established himself as a conjurer to be reckoned with in the realm of bracingly euphoric dark electronica. Ahead of debut Irish solo shows at Belfast’s Black Box on April 1 and Dublin’s Grand Social on April 2, Brian Coney chats to Power about his thirst for discovery, remixing John Carpenter, the imprint of…

  • The Shape of Things To Come: An Interview With Anderson

    March 21, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of the release of his new single ‘The Existential Vacuum’ and an upcoming intimate Irish tour, David O’Neill chats to Daniel Anderson about the creative process behind his acclaimed debut album Patterns. Photos by Tara Thomas. The Irish music scene has a tendency to reward those that persevere. Conor O’Brien, Damien Rice, Christy Moore have forged lasting careers after leaving their respective bands while Glen Hansard is now experiencing worldwide success after a quarter of a century slogging it out with that other band of his. Another name likely to be added to that list is Daniel Anderson. Anderson was…

  • Interview: Brame and Hamo

    March 16, 2016 - By 

    Over the course of the past year or so, young Sligo natives Brame and Hamo have been making waves across Europe from their new base in Berlin. Having releases on Dirt Crew, their own imprint Splendor and Squalour, and Dutch house merchants Detroit Swindle’ s Heist Recordings they have garnered an ever growing respect both at home and abroad with their brand of slick house and hip-hop with audible roots in Jazz and soul. Ahead of their brand new Kebab Dreams EP due out on the 21st of March, and their sold out gig in Galway on the 16th of March organised through local promoters TRIBE, Eoin Murray has an…

  • Maybeshewill: Not For Want Of Trying

    March 9, 2016 - By 

    In a revealing conversation touching upon the necessity of hard graft, the DIY ethic that underlines their craft, the importance of community and their final ever tour, Eoin Murray chats to English post-rock five-piece Maybeshewill. Photo: Heather Gutherie Firstly, how are you doing? What are the feelings hovering around in the Maybeshewill bus right now as you’re in the midst of this final tour? Good, thank you. Things are good here. We’re a little way in to the tour and it’s been a pretty emotional trip so far, but we’re all super positive and looking forward to the future. From what I’ve noticed,…

  • Interview: Hornets

    March 8, 2016 - By 

    Ahead of their rather special, secret album fundraiser on Saturday, Melanie Brehaut chats to Belfast hardcore quartet Hornets about their influences, ambitions & love of the local scene. You have a rather exciting event coming up. Can you tell us a bit about it? We’re having a bring your own event in Belfast City Centre in order to raise funds for recording our debut album. It’s limited to 80 spaces and you can receive details via sending your name over to hornetsbanduk@gmail.com. We’re playing alongside us will be Apartments and Unyielding Love. There will also be an Exhibition featuring work from Jenna Hayes,…

  • Interview: Hamell on Trial

    March 9, 2016 - By 

    When Ed Hamell decided he was done with bands, picked up a battered acoustic guitar, and decided to go it alone, he called himself Hamell on Trial. And whether he meant to or not, he set the scene for over two decades of confessional, confrontational, and apocalyptic music. Make no bones about it, when he gets on the stage, Ed Hamell is on trial. And we’re judge, jury, and executioner. With numerous brushes with mainstream acclaim under his belt, the New Yorker has managed to keep in underground for most of his career, but that acerbic style, calling to mind…

  • Premiere + Interview: Ryan Vail – Invert

    March 4, 2016 - By 

    Whether you’re a newcomer or have been following his slow-burning, revelatory evolution as of late, Derry’s Ryan Vail has always commanded a domain that he can call his own. A master of subtlety, nuance and the hallowed space between the notes, his debut EP These Words revealed fully-formed promise that has only grown (and grown into itself) in the half-decade since. Whether you look to EPs including Fade and Grow, tracks such as ‘Sunlight’ and ‘Days’, superb new single ‘Wounds’ or Sea Legs, his well-received concept collaboration with Ciaran Lavery, Vail’s music and the sphere he conjures via slowly bobbing, synth-laden electronica has always…