• Playing The Long Game: An Interview With American Football

    August 31, 2017 - By 

    Few bands will ever have the underground cult status of American Football. The Illinois quartet are credited with the creation of one of emo’s most romanticised albums and have been part of the most anticipated return in the emo revival. Ahead of playing The Button Factory in Dublin on Monday, Kelly Doherty chats to Steve Lamos about their return. Where did the decision for American Football to get back together come from? A couple people came to us in light of the first album being reissued and asked us to play. I don’t think we had really considered it before…

  • We’re New Here: An Interview with Last Days Of Elvis

    August 21, 2017 - By 

    Anxious and introspective on record, Berlin-based Last Days of Elvis are anything but when interviewed. On first impressions, their debut Must Be A Mistake draws stylistic comparisons to The National and Nick Cave but underneath lies diligently crafted expressions of fragility and angst. Ahead of their upcoming UK and Ireland tour, our Dominic Edge discuss life in Berlin, toilet ambience and recording at Funkhaus Studios with vocalist, guitarist and stew-enthusiast Andrew Stark. Tell us more about your name – is it in admiration to the King, or am I wide of the mark? To be honest, I think we just really…

  • Interview: Looking Forward with Tim Wheeler of Ash

    July 17, 2017 - By 

    In between the victory lap of a 1997 anniversary tour and a new studio record set for release next year, Ash are spending the summer playing clubs and festivals across the UK. Jonny Currie spoke to frontman Tim Wheeler ahead of the band’s highly-anticipated headlining slot at Stendhal Festival in Limavady next month. If money was no object, what would be your dream festival line-up alongside Ash? Oh, that’s a good one. I’d say probably… Mudhoney, Weezer and Brian Wilson. You and the band are playing Limavady in August, but outside of touring with Ash are you back in Northern…

  • Q+A: Intended Context with Wastefellow

    July 6, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of his slot at RHA’s Hennessy Lost Friday in Dublin tomorrow (Friday) night, we catch up with one of our favourite Irish producers at the minute, Wastefellow, to discuss his alter-ego, keeping busy, what tomorrow night holds in store and more. Go here for more info & ticket link You’ve had a busy Summer thus far, with slots at Forbidden Fruit, and elsewhere. Any highlights? It’s been excellent so far! Forbidden Fruit was the first show after a break of a few months, and it was a great way to get back to it. It was an early slot,…

  • Q+A: This Is The Kit

    July 4, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of her show at Baker’s Bar tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 5) as part of this year’s Clonmel Junction, Bristol and Paris-based artist Kate Stables AKA This Is The Kit talks to The Thin Air about her highly-anticipated fourth studio album, signing to Rough Trade, collaborating with Aaron Dessner and more. Tickets to the show are €24 and doors are at 9pm. Hi, Kate. I’m really looking forward to hearing Moonshine Freeze. From the material I’ve heard thus far, it sounds very promising. Where did you record the album and who all played a big role in it coming together? We recorded…

  • Q+A: Jesca Hoop

    June 30, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of her slot in Mitchelstown Cave as part of this year’s Clonmel Junction Festival on Saturday, July 8, Californian singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop talks to Zara Hedderman about inspiration, collaboration and aesthetic as a form of fuel. Go here for more info about the show You’re set to perform in a cave for your appearance at Clonmel Junction Festival. Will this be the most unusual stage surrounding that you will have performed in? Are you looking forward to perform in a cave? Well, if this cave is as reverberant as others I have been in then yes, I am very much looking…

  • Disillusionment and Self-Discovery with Shookrah

    June 28, 2017 - By 

    Having featured in the sixth issue of our magazine back in early 2015, Cork RnB maestros Shookrah have evolved into something quite special over the last couple of years. Following a memorable set at Body&Soul at the weekend, Senita Appiakorang and Emmet O’Riabhaigh open up about process, metamorphosis, new material & their peers. Hi guys. First thing’s first: for those not in the know, how did you Shookrah first come about? When and where were the seeds sown? Senita: We all loosely knew one another from college and mutual friends. There was a glory period we called “the holy trinity”…

  • Q+A: Bear Worship WAS Here

    June 25, 2017 - By 

    Karl Knuttel – or Bear Worship, to use his professional name – has just released his nine-song debut album, WAS. It’s an exotic, hypnotic record that seems to exist in a time and place all of its own. Here, he talks to David Turpin about the process of making the album. I’d like to ask about the title of the album, WAS. It’s a very emphatic one-word title, and yet it also happens to be a very ambiguous word. I guess what I wanted to represent with the title is that every person wants to feel like they matter. Making…

  • Q+A: Steffi

    June 23, 2017 - By 

    The Fabric and Fabriclive mix series have been on a roll recently, with stellar entries from Special Request, Call Super and Nina Kraviz recently added to the canon. The latest addition, Fabric 94, is from Dutch DJ, producer and label owner Steffi. A longtime resident at Berlin’s Panorama Bar (the house-focused corner of techno monolith Berghain), she enlisted an intriguing cast of long-time friends and new faces, asking each one to make a track specifically for the mix. What came out of it is a deep and dark journey with plenty of minor key drama, subaquatic basslines and nary a…

  • Preview: Stendhal Festival 2017

    June 12, 2017 - By 

    Ahead of its return to Ballmully Cottage Farm in Limavady on August 11 and 12, Stendhal Festival organisers Ross Parkhill and John Cartwright talk to Caolan Coleman about this year’s outing, the festival’s expansion to date and the current health of Irish music. Go here to buy tickets to Stendhal Festival 2017 My friend came home from university the other week clutching a letter marked ‘Medical Emergency’ that turned out to be from you guys. How important is clever marketing to a smaller festival like yours? Ross: We are always up for trying new things, keeps things interesting. Nothing beats…