• Track Record: Oisin Furlong (Thumper)

    In this installment of Track Record, Oisin Furlong from Thumper and Anamoe Drive selects the records that have left a lasting impression on his life from Parquet Courts to Paddy Hanna. Photos by Kate Lawlor King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Mind Fuzz I remember around the time that King Gizzard’s third album came out I heard the lead single Cellophane and loved the repetitive garage psych vibe. When I discovered that the ‘single’ was just a 3 minute portion of a 10 minute long tune on the record with one unchanging bass-line, it was one of those moments…

  • Track Record: Maija Sofia

    In this installment of Track Record we spend time with Maija Sofia in her home for a look through some of her favourite records, from Nick Cave to CocoRosie. Photos by Zoe Holman  Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads  There are loads of Nick Cave albums I could have put on this list, anyone who knows me personally at all know’s I’m pretty obsessed, so many of his albums are completely incredible, but I think Henry Lee and Where the Wild Roses Grow were the first two Nick Cave songs I ever heard and was like … wow,…

  • Track Record: Jack Rudden (Search Party Animal)

    In this instalment of Track Record, we hang out with Jack Rudden from Search Party Animal while we he talks us through some of his favourite records, from Slint to Sufjan Stevens. Photos by Zoe Holman. Sufjan Stevens -Age of Adz This is a perfect album. You can disagree if you like, but that will not change the fact that this is a perfect album. I don’t know where to begin with this one really. I could talk about every track on this double LP for hours. There’s just so much to cover. The gorgeous lyrics, the seamless combination of baroque orchestration and synthesizers,…

  • Track Record: Cian Ó Cíobháin (An Taobh Tuathail)

    Presenter of Ireland’s best radio show, An Taobh Tuathail on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Cian Ó Cíobháin reveals some of his all-time favourite records. Photos by Sean McCormack. Sonic Youth – EVOL Looking back, it now seems to me that this was the album that ‘trained’ my ears to appreciate more experimental sounds.  Picture it.  Prior to discovering this, one of Sonic Youth’s strangest records, originally released in 1986, I had been mostly listening to what was on the radio and perhaps just been eased into ‘indie’ music by The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.  I can’t recall how or…

  • Track Record: Ian McFarlane (Squarehead / Kid Karate)

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Ian McFarlane, bassist extraordinaire with Squarehead and Kid Karate. Here he selects the albums that have left a huge impression on him, from Parliament to Prince. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Parliament – The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein As far as I am concerned Parliament are the greatest funk band of all time. George Clinton masterminded a situation where the best musicians he could find were free to experiment and collaborate thus producing some of the most incredible music you could image. At the core of Parliament were the James Brown…

  • Record Store Day 2016

    In the early years of Record Store Day, depending on where you lived in Ireland your choice of independent record shops to visit may have been limited or even nonexistent. But despite the growth of downloads and streaming in the eight years since the day started, while some old shops have died away, many more have sprung up in their place, and many of those who had nowhere to go in 2008 are now spoiled for choice. As the number of limited edition releases grow and major labels further muscle in on the event it’s easy to grow cynical and…

  • Track Record: Kevin Breen (Kid Karate)

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Kid Karate’s Kevin Breen (and a crocodile) while he takes us through some of his favourite records from Tame Impala to Talking Heads. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Michael Jackson – Bad Who’s bad? A hee hee! Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly Hands down the best album of 2015.  Nothing has blown my mind like that in a long time. Kendrick is doing what Kanye thinks he’s doing. A great album to expand your consciousness. Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon My friend Dave Parle turned me on to this guy.…

  • Track Record: Andy Connolly (Deviant & Naive Ted)

    In this installment of Track Record, we head to Limerick to hang out with Andy Connolly of Deviant & Naive Ted to reveal the man behind the mask’s music tastes, from Chick Corea to DJ Faust. Photos by Moira Reilly. Lews Tewns & Nobsta Nuts – Poverty is Thirsty Work The answer to ‘what’s your favourite record’ changes daily but today it’s most definitely this. Lews Tewns & Nobsta Nuts, AKA the Headcase Ladz, are the best rap posse to ever come out of Wales and one of my favourite rap groups of all time. They are sadly under-represented by…

  • Track Record: Eoin Dolan

    In this installment of Track Record, we head West to visit nostalgia pop enthusiast Eoin Dolan in his apartment in Galway as he selects ranging from Rufus Wainwright to The Beach Boys by way of classic Irish folk music. Photos by Sean McCormack. Rufus Wainwright –  I Want One I first heard of Rufus Wainwright when he performed ‘Vibrate’ on Jools Holland a few years back. It was just him and the piano and it sounded amazing. When I eventually picked up the album I was pleasantly surprised by the lush string arrangements that accompanied each song. It showed how his writing…

  • Track Record: Al Higgins (Le Galaxie)

    In this installment of Track Record, we call into to Al Higgins from Le Galaxie for a cup of tea and a chat about some of his most favourite and influential records from The Cars to Chromeo. Photos by Francisco Michel. Deutsch Electronische Musik – Volume 1 I bought this after watching one of those BBC4 music documentaries on Krautrock. That’s term that still doesn’t make sense to me and it’s also a bit offensive, but then I suppose it is easier to say than Deutsch Electronische Musik. This always goes down well at parties and I am constantly having to…