• Playlist: Choice Music Prize 2017

    March 7, 2017 - By 

    On Thursday evening, the 12th annual award will once again celebrate and acknowledge the best in Irish recorded music, with one winning act walking away with €10,000 on the night. Set to be chosen by a panel of twelve Irish music media professionals and industry experts, the following ten releases will vie for the prize: All Tvvins – IIVV (Warner Music) Bantum – Move (Self Released) Wallis Bird – Home (Mount Silver/Caroline International) The Divine Comedy – Foreverland (Divine Comedy Records) Lisa Hannigan – At Swim (Hoop Recordings) Katie Kim – Salt (Art For Blind Records) James Vincent McMorrow –…

  • Playlist: 12 Irish Acts at SXSW 2017

    February 28, 2017 - By 

    As positively hectic as any festival on the face of the globe, SXSW has long been established as a veritable cornucopia of film, music and interactive media from far and very wide. And with festivals of much smaller scale: where the excess of choice becomes something of a burden, planning ahead and knocking up a makeshift “must-see” guide is next to obligatory to ensure FOMO doesn’t become an all-consuming spectre during your festival stay. Just as important is getting some essential listening in before heading off in said sensory abyss. So if you’re SXSW-bound this year and want to check out some…

  • Playlist: Philip Glass at 80

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    No living musician can challenge the joint eclecticism and influence of Philip Glass‘ five-decades-and-counting career. From his countless solo piano releases, string quartets, operas and symphonies to his towering soundtrack work and collaborations with the likes of Bowie, Patti Smith, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar and David Byrne, the Baltimore master hasn’t as much left his stamp on contemporary classical music than irrevocably altered the course of it. To celebrate his 80th birthday today, we’ve compiled a 30 track, decade and genre-spanning Spotify playlist featuring some of his greatest moments.

  • Playlist: Northern Ireland Music Prize 2016

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    On Friday, November 11, 12 Northern Irish acts will vie to be awarded this year’s Northern Ireland Music Prize, essentially the Northern equivalent of the Choice Music Prize. With Downpatrick’s Ash set to received the Oh Yeah Legend Award – before playing their 1977 album in full –  shortlisted acts PORTS, Jealous of the Birds and Girls Names will also be performing on the night. Ahead of the event, we’ve compiled a Spotify playlist tracks from the 12 nominated acts, including Documenta, exmagician, Ciaran Lavery and more.

  • Playlist: 20 Irish Acts to Catch at Electric Picnic 2016

    August 29, 2016 - By 

    For all its kaleidoscopic, genre-spanning variety, there’s no denying choosing which acts to catch (and those artist to regrettably miss) at Electric Picnic can be a bit of a headache. Sure, Clashfinder is a big help (seriously, we’d be lost without it) but let us help you out if you’re EP-bound this weekend: from Girls Names, our current cover stars SlowPlaceLikeHome (above) and Saint Sister to Hilary Woods, Rusangano Family and The Altered Hours, here’s the 20 Irish acts to catch at Electric Picnic 2016.

  • Should We Stay Or Should We Go: An EU Referendum Playlist

    June 22, 2016 - By 

    With the all-important EU Referendum vote taking place tomorrow, we’ve sidestepped the unyielding electioneering to compile a genre-spanning Spotify playlist featuring fifty tracks – from The Fall, Amon Düül II and Galaxie 500 to Neutral Milk Hotel, Minutemen and The Velvet Underground – that we reckon some up the great continent in song.

  • Monday Mixtape: Tim Burgess (The Charlatans)

    April 11, 2016 - By 

    I love putting a line up together for a festival. Tim Peaks, our stage, coffee shop and general place of ace happenings will be heading to festivals from Scotland to the Isle of Wight, taking in Liverpool Sound City, Kendal Calling and Festival Number Six from May to September. Tim Peaks means I can invite some of my favourite bands along to play – some are bands from O Genesis our record label, some are old friends and a couple are new bands I’ve not had the chance to see live and others are bands that have been playing at Tim…

  • Playlist: 15 Irish Acts at SXSW 2016

    March 9, 2016 - By 

    As positively hectic as any festival on the face of the globe, SXSW has long been established as a veritable cornucopia of film, music and interactive media from far and very wide. And with festivals of much smaller scale: where the excess of choice becomes something of a burden, planning ahead and knocking up a makeshift “must-see” guide is next to obligatory to ensure FOMO doesn’t become an all-consuming spectre during your festival stay. Just as important is getting some essential listening in before heading off in said sensory abyss. So if you’re SXSW-bound this year and want to check out some…

  • Playlist: Choice Music Prize 2016

    March 3, 2016 - By 

    With The Gloaming proving well-deserved victors last time round, tonight’s Choice Music Prize is – as has almost always been the case with the award – an extremely tough one to call. Selected by an Irish industry judging panel, the following albums – perfectly diverse in score and vision – will all compete to walk away with the prize at Vicar Street later today. Girl Band – Holding Hands with Jamie (Rough Trade) HamsandwicH – Stories From The Surface (Route 109A Records) Gavin James – Bitter Pill (Warner Music Ireland) Jape – This Chemical Sea (Faction Records) Le Galaxie – Le Club (Universal Music…

  • Playlist: Björk at 50

    November 21, 2015 - By 

    Fifty years ago today, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir – an Icelandic activist of Irish ancestry – gave birth to a baby girl named Björk who would become one of the most inimitable, fiercely original and independent musicians of all time. Having boldly and consistently transformed the landscape of both Icelandic and experimental music and culture over the last four decades, we have compiled a career-spanning, twenty-track playlist featuring our favourite Björk tracks, from House-heavy debut cut ‘Big Time Sensuality’ to the sweeping brilliance of ‘Joga’, a tribute to both her native land of Iceland. Here’s to the next fifty years.