• Open Ear Festival Announces Stage Times

    May 28, 2018 - By 

    One of the most unique and diverse festivals in Ireland, set in the beautiful off-coast sanctuary of Sherkin Island, Open Ear Festival holds its third annual outing from May 31-June 3, and times have just been announced. From avant-garde sound design and ambient music to experimental dance music and groovy electronics, it is a festival that champions the best of the best in the Irish undergrowth. As a festival of forward-thinking musical technologists, it’s nigh-on-peerless in Ireland right now. This year, the Thursday includes an opening concert featuring Dream Cycles, electroacoustic artist Roger Doyle and organist & drone artist Aine O’Dwyer in a hidden location on…

  • Somadrone – Wellpark Avenue

    December 13, 2017 - By 

    Dublin producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone has announced details of his forthcoming sixth studio album. The full-length follow-up to 2015’s stellar Oracle, Wellpark Avenue will be released on February 1. According to O’Connor, the album will mark a departure from previous outings. With “dystopia, LSD, Timothy Leary and TV music of the 1970s” all contributing to the sound of the album – elements of which have permeated his work over his two decades of activity – it will forsake drum machines and heavy synth usage in favour of a return to traditional song and instruments akin to his 2010 album Depth of Field. O’Connor has also said…

  • Somadrone Announces Sixth Studio Album ‘Wellpark Avenue’

    December 11, 2017 - By 

    Dublin producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone has announced details of his forthcoming sixth studio album. The full-length follow-up to 2015’s stellar Oracle, Wellpark Avenue will be released on February 1. According to O’Connor, the album will mark a departure to previous outings. With “dystopia, LSD, Timothy Leary and TV music of the 1970s” all contributing to the sound of the album, it will forsake drum machines and heavy synth in favour return to traditional song and instruments akin to his 2010 album Depth of Field. O’Connor has also said that the album also has “a sound that references the likes of seminal British…

  • Listening More Carefully with Somadrone

    November 13, 2015 - By 

    Ahead of the launch of his superb fifth album, Oracle, at Dublin’s Unitarian Church on November 28, Dublin musician and producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone takes to Brian Coney about progression, abstract themes and the importance of collaboration. Hi Neil. Congratulations on the release of Oracle. It’s been said of the album, “This is music equally at home on the dance floor as in your earphones.” Was that your intention from the get-go? Thanks. I guess that’s true. It’s dance music I guess, but it’s not aimed at a contemporary dance music culture, so it does not play to its rules.…

  • Somadrone – Oracle

    September 11, 2015 - By 

    Looking back it’s hard to deny that Redneck Manifesto and its members’ various solo exploits stand as some of the more intriguing Irish records of the last decade. Records like I Am Brazil and Friendship have stood the test of time, Richie Egan’s Jape have been putting out some truly excellent music as demonstrated on Ritual and Somadrone’s AKA Neil O’Connor 2013 effort The First Wave was an Eno-inflected classic in waiting. Waiting two years to provide the follow-up, Somadrone has quietly released his latest LP, Oracle, and as to be expected from such stock as this, it’s very bloody good.…

  • Watch: Somadrone feat. Jape – Invitation

    August 14, 2015 - By 

    The follow-up to 2013’s hugely impressive The First Wave, Dublin producer Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone is set to release his fifth album, Oracle, on September 18. The first track to be lifted from that, ‘Invitation’ – featuring fellow Redneck Manifesto alumni Richie Egan AKA Jape – is a hugely encouraging taste as to what’s in store from the forthcoming eight track-release. Accompanied by a video courtesy of Kevin Mc Gloughlain and Leon Giblin, ‘Invitation’ is perfectly balanced between sleep and release, its opening two minutes of teasing sparseness yielding to two minutes of throbbing, mildly kaleidoscopic electronica, each bar yielding to a new detail. Stream/download the…

  • Sensorium: BLOCK T 5th Birthday

    June 15, 2015 - By 

    Dublin creative arts organisation BLOCK T are throwing one heck of a 5th birthday party/fundraiser at the Tivoli Grounds on Saturday, July 4. Curated by BLOCK T, Ensemble Music and Nialler9, the party will feature I Am The Cosmos, Lasertom, Donal Dineen, Attention Bébé, Rusangano Family (pictured), Trinity Orchestra, RiZa, BANTUM, Haüer and SignA across two stages. There will also be DJ sets from Adultrock, Benny Smiles, Djackulate, Nialler9, Rob Le-Nan and Somadrone, as well as art installations, visuals, a live show from Slipdraft, gourmet food stalls and more. Ranging from €17.50 (early bird) to €28.00, go here to buy tickets. &nsbp;

  • Seven Quarters Announce First Line-up of 2015

    January 12, 2015 - By 

    Having had a great first year in 2014, Dublin club Seven Quarters returns to Whelan’s, Dublin, for its fifth outing on February, 27 with Dublin instrumental quartet Alarmist (picturedd) and Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone. Very much setting itself apart from other Irish club nights, Seven Quarters gives away two exclusive tracks on limited edition 7″  vinyl (hence the idea of the word “seven” referring to the vinyl – the “Quarters” part is based on the fact the club will happen four times a year. . Limited advance tickets are on sale now and the first 150 tickets come with a limited edition vinyl. Dig the poster for…

  • Track Record: Somadrone

    April 29, 2014 - By 

    Electronic producer/musician Neil O’Connor AKA Somadrone sits down with Ian Pearce to give his ten LPs that have influenced him. Somadrone’s fourth album, The First Wave, which was recorded in San Francisco and Brooklyn and released in December 2013, is available to buy now via the Bodytonic website. White Noise – An Electric Storm Sixties English Psychedelic Music, but with a twist. Delia Derbyshire, who was part of BBC Radiophonic workshop, did all the electronics, which are stunning. This record was a big one for Broadcast. I went to see them play in the Sugar Club a good few years back. It…

  • The Thin Air’s Top 100 Irish Tracks of 2013 (100-75)

    December 10, 2013 - By 

    It’s that time of year again: End Of Year” lists are steadily rolling in from every conceivable direction, many of us are still debating the BBC Sound of… verdict for next year and we’re all silently pondering our own favourite albums and EPs of the last twelve months. Closer to home, it’s been yet another ridiculously impressive year for Irish music, both North and South. Since January 1, right up until the writing of this article (December 10), a single week hasn’t gone by that wasn’t soundtracked in some way by the very best in new, homegrown music. As such –…