Body and Soul took place last weekend at Ballinlough Castle Estate in Westmeath featuring live performances by Fever Ray, Denise Chaila, Kurt Vile, Goldfrapp, Kojaque, Kneecap, Ailbhe Reddy, Juinor Brother, Jealous of the Birds, Nealo, Negro Impacto, Ordnance Survey and more. Photos by Ian Davies Day 1: Day 2: Day 3:
Outside of his work on keys and percussion for Dublin math-rock heroes The Redneck Manifesto and stints playing with Jape and David Kitt, Neil O’Connor has been quietly plugging away for years as one of Ireland’s finest electronic musicians and composers. While his Somadrone project started out in the realm of twitchy electronics and ambient vibraphone textures on early albums like Fuzzing Away to a Whisper, over the years it’s become more a fleshed out beast, adding weary vocals and occasional guitar on top of ice cold synths, like an intriguing blend of shoegaze and house. While we haven’t had…
As one of the island’s most forward-pushing electronic propositions, Neil O’Connor has long intrigued and challenged as an artist over the years. It’s something that comes into sharp focus in his guise as Ordnance Survey. Next month, O’Connor unveils Field Work, a new LP via Scintilla Recordings. Produced mostly at his home in Drumcondra, Dublin, the album was born out of the use of field recordings made in and around the capital, as well as clips from television archives, the Dart, bicycles and vocal samples from Kerry 40 years ago. A simmering blend of understated synth, samples, piano and found sound,…
Over two decades into producing music under various monikers, most notably Somadrone, Neil O’Connor is rightly regarded as a giant in Irish electronic music. Last year, in the guise of Ordnance Survey, he revealed yet another string to his bow. Accompanied by the likes of Sean McErlaine, Linda Buckley, and Tortoise’s John McEntire, Relative Phase was a delicately emphatic release that wielded nuance and restraint. Next month, O’Connor will unveil its follow-up. Backed by an array of musicians from traditional and contemporary music, Ampere is set for release on October 1st. Lead single ‘Moving Statues’ is a sublime snapshot of what to expect. Featuring Dónal Lunny…
It’s Thursday in the cursed year of our Lord 2020, which can only mean one thing. Yes, from 10 pm tonight (September 3rd), the country’s very best weekly broadcast Live From Guerrilla Studios returns with another stellar line-up. Having already played host to the likes of The Bonk, Maija Sofia, Junior Brother and Myles Manley, tonight’s live episode will feature sets from Aoife Nessa Frances and Elaine Malone. There will also be some additional pre-recorded revelry from Jinx Lennon and Ordnance Survey. Join Ray Wingnut, in-house turntablist Djackulate, Moojoo the merch monkey and more from 10pm over at the Live From Guerrilla Studios YouTube…
Next month, Dublin’s Neil O’Connor aka Somadrone will re-emerge with a new collaboration album titled Relative Phase. Recorded at the National Concert Hall Studios in Dublin throughout 2017 and 2018, the album – which is released under the collaborative moniker Ordnance Survey – features O’Connor on various instruments (see the full impressive list below), Kate Ellis on cello, John McEntire (of Tortoise, The Sea & Cake et al.) on drums, Sean Mac Erlaine on alto sax, bass clarinet and electrics, and Linda Buckley with vocal processing. Across eight tracks, it’s a fully-realised, synth-worshipping triumph of dense textures and widescreen extemporization that attempts…