• Irish Tracks of the Week – May 29th

    May 29, 2020 - By 

    How better to reboot our weekly round-up of the very best new Irish music than with tracks by Denise Chaila, Our Krypton Son, Naoise Roo, Brigid Mae Power, Paddy Hanna, Bantum, Just Mustard and more? Delve in below. Denise Chaila – Chaila C H A I L A by Denise Chaila Our Krypton Son – White Sun Our Krypton Son · White Sun Naoise Roo – Sick Girlfriend Just Mustard – October (Live) Sinead White – The World Stops Spinning Song Sung – Telling Tales Havvk w/ Participant – Operate HAVVK · Operate Ft. Participant Brigid Mae Power – Wearing…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Tracks of 2019 (#100-76)

    December 16, 2019 - By 

    Ahead of our annual Top 50 Irish Releases of the Year (that is to say EPs, compilations, reissues & albums) list later this week, we’re counting down our Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2019 daily. While we always say it, we had a hard time cutting down the list – however, we hope this list will highlight the ongoing mission to promote island-wide solidarity between musicians and listeners alike, turning you on to something you otherwise might never have listened to, whether that be hip-hop loaded with kitchen sink realism, fist-clenched DIY LK indie rock, boundary-crushing experimental composition, or any flavour in between. And rather than giving the game away too soon, we’ve opted for the age-old descending option, starting with 100-76. Dig…

  • Participant shares sprawling and atmospheric folk single ‘Medicine’: Listen

    February 27, 2019 - By 

    Dublin’s Participant has shared the second single from his forthcoming Modern Retelling EP. ‘Medicine’ is yet another intimate and atmospheric cut from songwriter and multi-instrumentalist – real name Stephen Tiernan – following October’s stirring and string-laden folk number ‘Coast’. Sadly fitting that the patiently emerging artist would release this track this week, just days after news broke that Talk Talk’s visionary Mark Hollis had passed away aged 64. ‘Medicine’ holds a similar ambience and gentle pace to much of the band’s latter day work, with sparingly plucked guitar and up-close vocal delivery building slowly toward a sprawling, rich and climactic peak with lush strings and a piano hook…

  • Stream: Participant – Next Year

    April 25, 2017 - By 

    Taken from his Sampler EP, Dublin’s Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant has unveiled ‘Next Year’. The EP, which was released exclusively on cassette in March, features five singles on Side A and a collection of samples and field recordings on Side B. A delicate slice of atmospheric folk, Tiernan’s acoustic guitar and tempered vocals are gradually joined by additional textures, keys and faint strings, giving the track a neo-classical edge with hints of Ólafur Arnalds creeping through. With candid lyrics confronting themes of complacency, self-worth and commitment, Tiernan said of the track: “‘Next Year’ is a song that for me deals with the idea of…

  • Watch: Participant – Your Better

    January 25, 2017 - By 

    Dublin’s Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant has been riding a well-deserved wave of momentum recently, cropping up on end of year and “ones to watch” lists left, right and centre. Capitalising on that drive, new single  ‘Your Better’ is a real statement of intent, conjuring the hushed intimacy of Sparklehorse with a sparse delicacy all his own. Taken from his second EP, Content, the single is masterfully propelled by Bob Gallagher’s video, an accompaniment that highlights its darker undertones with a powerful narrative metaphor. Tiernan said,”‘Your Better’ was one of those songs that seemed complete from the moment I uttered the first lyric over the…

  • Watch: Participant – A Change

    October 1, 2015 - By 

    Featuring images of 1980’s Ireland lifted from a VHS cassette of corporate videos encouraging tourism, the video for ‘A Change’ by Dublin-based musician Stephen Tiernan AKA Participant possesses a curious, otherworldly charm, wonderfully reflected in the track’s jittering, symphonic alt-pop spell. The first single to be lifted from Tiernan’s forthcoming Content EP, the track fuses heartfelt lyrics and field recordings & samples with acoustic guitar and burgeoning ambience; plinking synth notes and synth strings marrying in a haze of experimental pop triumph. Participant performs at Dublin’s Mercantile on Friday night as part of Hard Working Class Heroes 2015 (9.20pm –…