• Forbidden Fruit 2018: Saturday

    June 6, 2018 - By 

    Now celebrating its 8th birthday, Forbidden Fruit has become a staple in the Irish music festival scene, and with it and last week’s LIFE festival, the summer festival season has officially begun. A celebrator of Irish acts, with a focus on dance, R&B, and hip-hop, this year’s line-up was especially anticipated, with headliners such as Glass Animals, Justice, Bonobo, and EDM favourites like Bicep, Dennis Sulta, and DJ Seinfeld all making appearances over the weekend. It’s never easy to be one of the first acts of the day at a festival, and especially on the first day but this didn’t…

  • Watch: Loah – Unveiled

    January 27, 2018 - By 

    Loah has shared the video for ‘Unveiled’, taken from one of our top EPs of 2017, This Heart. Directed by Ellius Grace and choreographed by Jade O’Connor , the video stars Uchenna Chukwudinma and was filmed in London and The Sally Gap. The video seems to document a slow, determined odyssey toward freedom and space as Chukwudinma walks away from the bustling, suffocating city and into the windy majesty of nature to be welcomed by a small community’s embrace. It’s a perfect pairing with one of the most subtly affecting songs from This Heart, a stripped back affair with Loah’s voice being accompanied by the ever-wonderful Niwel Tsumbu who featured…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 15 Irish EPs of 2017

    December 22, 2017 - By 

    Looking back at the sheer breath and wealth of EPs that were released from artists across the country this year made us giddy with joy and excitement. The boundless evolution of style, diversity, experimentation and confidence on display in 2017 was as momentous as we had ever seen or heard and, as such, narrowing this list down to 15 was no easy task. The following is a list of artists who we felt pushed themselves to new, ambitious heights and creative territories this year, who delivered both on record and in live settings and who proudly represented the fecund growth…

  • Loah – This Heart

    June 15, 2017 - By 

    Sallay Matu Garnett AKA Loah‘s debut EP This Heart is, at it’s core, a magical fusion of folk, soul and R’n’B. An effortless blend that draws on elements of eminent female artists such as Grace Jones and Fiona Apple as well as her own own classical music training. What she dubs ‘ArtSoul’ – soul music, which incorporates the scope of all the musical art that Loah loves, including classical, folk, blues – is a carefully curated mix of different sounds and different cultures. Not only that, This Heart  is a proud artistic celebration of Ireland’s multiculturalism, and an opportunity for Garnett to…

  • Loah and Behold: Catching Up With Sallay Matu Garnett

    May 25, 2017 - By 

    Sallay Matu Garnett has been steadily honing her musical style as Loah, over the last five years. During this time she has collaborated extensively with some of Ireland’s prominent musical figures such as Hozier, Glen Hansard and Bantum. Quickly, critics and audiences became increasingly interested in the music she was writing and releasing as a solo artist. Garnett’s music is informed and inspired an eclectic mix of genres that she was exposed to growing up in both Sierre Leone and Ireland. Where there are traces of traditional West African harmonies you can also hear Western influences throughout her repertoire. Such…

  • Stream: Loah – This Heart

    May 17, 2017 - By 

    Having snuck a little preview, we are very excited about the release of This Heart, the debut EP from Irish/Sierra Leonean artist Loah. A release of extraordinary finesse and inimitable pop sway, it was recorded a 6 month period with a fine array of some of Ireland’s most eminent jazz, African, and classical musicians, including Brazilian drummer Andre Antunes, saxophonist Michael Buckley, Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, percussionist Eamonn Cagney, a string quartet of musicians from the Crash Ensemble, and Loah’s sister Fehdah on backing vocals. Talking about the release, Loah said: “This is a collection of tunes that all deal with similar…

  • Stream: Loah – The Bailey

    March 15, 2017 - By 

    Two years ago last month we featured Irish-Sierra Leonean artist Sallay Matu Garnett AKA Loah as the cover star of the fourth issue of our physical magazine. And in the 25 months since, Garnett has evolved into something very special indeed. Currently in Austin, Texas as part of this year’s SXSW, the Dublin-based singer has unveiled her latest single, ‘The Bailey’, a stellar five-minute effort taken from her forthcoming This Heart EP. A full-band, politically-charged effort, the song tackles personal freedom and choice in relation to exterior forces. As ever, Garnett’s sublime vocals take centre-stage. This Heart will be released via Ensemble Music on…

  • Watch: Bantum & Loah – Take It

    February 10, 2016 - By 

    Cork born, Dublin based producer Ruari Lynch (AKA Bantum) and Irish/Sierra Leonean vocalist Loah are two artists who have been keen to take their time with regard to individual releases over the past couple of years. The last piece of released music from Bantum was his 2014 collaborative EP with Eimear O’Donovan and Owensie while, despite her soulful and much lauded live performances, we will not be hearing a debut EP from Loah until later this year. What a treat it is then to hear these two artists collaborate on brand new track ‘Take It’, a swelling electronic arrangement embellished…

  • Ensemble Music First Birthday Party

    September 29, 2015 - By 

    Simon Bird, Conor Walsh, Dublin Laptop Orchestra and Loah were amongst the acts who performed at Ensemble Music’s first birthday at Dublin’s Freemason’s Hall at the weekend. Our photographer Melanie Mullan was there to capture the night.