• Look At Now: O Emperor interviewed

    November 2, 2018 - By 

    Almost a decade ago, O Emperor released their debut record Hither Thither to critical acclaim. From there, the Waterford-bred quintet would go on to constantly redefine how bands in Ireland could record and share music without, forever shirking the limits and binds of being tied to a major label. From the grandiose psych-folk of their debut to the weird, gritty krautrock, komische, garage rock and psych of Vitreous and the Lizard EP, the five-piece have proved themselves time and time again to be a group who have defied expectation at every turn. The outfit’s announcement in September that they would be disbanding, while disappointing…

  • Watch: O Emperor – Girl

    September 6, 2018 - By 

    Having re-emerged back in January with their first single in two years, ‘Make It Rain’, Waterford five-piece O Emperor have just gone one better and released one of our Irish tracks of the year in the form of ‘Girl’. Featuring some first-rate dreamscape-like visuals courtesy of director Paul Savage, it marries doo-wop croon and psych-tinged dream-pop textures with slack hip-hop influence.  Ahead of full details about the band’s forthcoming new album, due this year, delve in below.

  • Making It Rain: A Chat with O Emperor

    March 30, 2018 - By 

    The trajectory of O Emperor is rooted in familiar origins. They did what schoolmates do and formed a band. That band were picked up by Universal shortly after, landing them a #6 in the Irish album charts. They took their time and constructed a studio for the follow-up. here’s a point where the Radioheads & Beatles’ of this world effortlessly toe the line between artistic and commercial success, and its often the dependence and freedom of a studio itself to bring out the alchemy present in the band. Those moments where everything seems to magically synergise at once can’t be replicated…

  • Stream: O Emperor – Make It Rain

    January 29, 2018 - By 

    O Emperor are back with ‘Make It Rain’, their first new music in over two years. The Cork via Waterford five-piece have “[Emerged] from a sustained period of blurblobitude” with a sound that pushes forward the krautrock, afro-disco and psych leanings of their past two releases, 2015’s Lizard EP and 2013’s Vitreous LP. And about time too. Since their 2012 debut Hither Thither, the band – which, if you didn’t know, features one of our 18 for ’18 artists Phil Christie AKA The Bonk on vocals and piano – have steered further and further away from folkier territory and into more obscure realms. It was heard in the eerie krautrock of…

  • Win Tickets to O Emperor @ Quarter Block Party 2018

    January 8, 2018 - By 

    Waterford psych-pop five-piece O Emperor will mark their long-awaited return as part of this year’s frankly unmissable Quarter Block Party on Friday, February 2. Better still, we have a pair of tickets to give away to the show. Quarter Block Party will take over Cork city’s historic spine across February 2-4, with venues in Peter’s Church, Triskel Christchurch, Spailpín Fánach, and AMP set to play host to a stellar range of pop-up and public music, theatre and dance events. Co-presented by Makeshift Ensemble and Southern Hospitality Board, the Old Quarter will, for the fourth year running, put the focus on all that Cork…

  • EP Stream: O Emperor – Lizard

    November 2, 2015 - By 

    Set for vinyl release via Trout Records on November 6, Lizard feels like a real arrival for Waterford quintet O Emperor . A four-track EP of harmony-driven psych-pop conjuring the likes of Gruff Rhys, Ariel Pink and Tame Impala’s more restrained efforts, it’s a suitably kaleidoscopic masterstroke revealing a band on the cusp of potentially extraordinary things. O Emperor play the following dates in November and December: November 15: Theatre Royal, Waterford November 26: Sugar Club, Dublin November 28: Roisin Dubh, Galway November 30: Shacklewell Arms, London December 3: The Pavilion, Ireland

  • Stream: O Emperor – Switchblade

    September 21, 2015 - By 

    Back in 2013, Brendan Fennessy from Waterford five-piece O Emperor took part in our Track Record feature, selecting the likes of Tame Impala and The Stooges as some of his most treasured records. Two years on, his band have distilled the spectral psych-pop of the former and the pounding punk panache of the latter on their new single ‘Switchblade’. Set to feature on the band’s forthcoming, Trout Record-released EP Lizard, the track is a prismatic slice of throwback alt-pop, suggesting we might well be in for something rather special with the new release. O Emperor play the following shows over the next few months:…