• Exhibition: SANDMAN @ The Complex

    July 27, 2017 - By 

    Tonight sees the opening of SANDMAN in Dublin’s The Complex. SANDMAN is the second exhibition from Stream, an artist-led project, and follows on from their successful first show in the same space in April. The brief for this show saw Stream ask “the artists involved to produce work which considers the human tendency to worship; to elevate objects, ideas or people to semi-divine or miraculous status. We would like the artists to contemplate the role of worship or superstition within our current Western culture and our future culture, from a religious or secular perspective” The exhibition’s theme also draws on elements of…

  • Stream: EHCO – Raise It Up feat. Jessica Lord

    July 13, 2017 - By 

    Wicklow-based producer Eoin Whitfield has shared the first track from his new project, EHCO.  ‘Raise It Up’, a collaboration with vocalist Jessica Lord, is a crisp and bright electronic number that brings much of the same melodic nuance to the fore as Whitfield’s former band and sorely missed TTA favourites Enemies did. Given his production expertise and knack for a harmonic flourish, we’re very keen to hear plenty more from this project which, when brought to a live setting, will feature a six-piece live band.

  • Stream: Wyvern Lingo – I Love You, Sadie

    June 25, 2017 - By 

    Hands down one of the real musical success stories in Ireland of the last couple of years, we have firmly enjoyed following the rise and rise of Bray alt-pop Wyvern Lingo. With a launch party set for Dublin’s Grand Social on Friday, August 25, new single ‘I Love You Sadie’ is another instant gem bursting at the seams with the threesome’s slick marriage of exquisite, RnB-inflected harmonies, groove-laden patterns and their collective ear for a killer hook. Be prepared to the hit that repeat button as soon as those initial three minutes run out. Tickets for the Grand Social show are…

  • Watch: SlowPlaceLikeHome – When I See You… Ice Cream

    June 19, 2017 - By 

    Having graced the cover of the fifteenth issue of our soon-to-return physical magazine, Keith Mannion’s SlowPlaceLikeHome have long been one of our favourite Irish acts. The follow-up to 2016 single ‘Tiger Lilly’, new track ‘When I See You…Ice Cream’ is a playful burst of electro-pop betraying SPLH’s signature brand of somnambulant wonder but with an evolutionary twist. Released today via Strange Brew Rekkids, the single was written between Knather Woods, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, and the Algarve in Portugal. It was recorded and produced in its entirety by in Keith’s bedroom studio in Donegal and mastered by Antony Ryan (Morr Music label)…

  • Stream: Bicep – Aura

    June 15, 2017 - By 

    Hold the phone: London-via-Belfast electronic duo Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar AKA Bicep are back with one almighty banger. Lifted from the pair’s forthcoming Ninja Tune-released debut album – set to drop on September 1 – ‘Aura’ is a slick, beat-heavy and brilliantly propulsive five-minute effort that aims straight for the sonic jugular.

  • Stream: Kieran O’Brien – Only A Dream

    June 14, 2017 - By 

    Last October we wrote about Galway ambient-folk artist Kieran O’Brien‘s After The Storm EP, a heartfelt, raw and honest exploration of personal rediscovery, nature and memory. Returning now with ‘Only a Dream’ taken from his forthcoming EP, O’Brien continues to explore similar themes with an added verve and a wealth of vibrant atmosphere. Stylistically, the track shifts slightly from the folkier leanings of After The Storm and instead takes a swing at the dream-pop pace and textures of Real Estate, The War on Drugs and fellow Galway artists like New Pope. It is a path that is well-trodden by upcoming artists and one that is all too often…

  • Stream: Rory Nellis – All I Ever Wanted Was a Chance

    June 13, 2017 - By 

    Set to headline a free Thin Air show at Lavery’s in Belfast on Thursday night, Rory Nellis remains one of our favourite solo artists from these shores. The fifth consecutive single from his forthcoming album, There Are Enough Songs In The World, ‘All I Ever Wanted Was A Chance’ is a full-band alt-pop gem that tussles with disenchantment and apathy in masterful fashion, revealing a darker yet no less incandescent shade to Nellis’ expansive musical palette.

  • Premiere: Rabble Babble – Joe’s Bust

    May 29, 2017 - By 

    Dublin young bloods Rabble Babble have shared the first of a trio of singles documenting the misadventures of protagonists Joe and Gal and their associates on a night out in Dublin. ‘Joe’s Bust’ is a straight spoken narrative written by bandleader Pa Ski and delivered by Molly Callan Cassidy detailing your standard undercover cop drug grab in a nightclub with enough fists flying and twists to keep us gripped, like we’re hearing the story through giddy ears on the next day’s rollover, mulled over a slow Guinness. Sonically it’s an affair that has as many funk and neo-jazz nods as it does post-punk and…

  • Premiere: Swimmers Jackson – Summer’s Here

    May 26, 2017 - By 

    An “ode to the welcome stretch in the Dublin summer’s evenings, spent largely at the Portobello section of the canal in South Dublin” ‘Summer’s Here’ by Dublin’s Niall Jackson AKA Swimmers Jackson is the most charming summer song™ that we’ve heard from an Irish artist in quite some time. Equal parts celebratory and wistful, the single finds Jackson – who has been living out of the country for 18 months now – marrying breezy reflection with some rather beautiful harmonies. Have a first listen to the track and check out Bouts’ bassist Jackson’s eighteen-track, self-explanatory Summer Songs playlist below.

  • Stream a 50 Track Thin Air Tuesday Throwdown Sampler

    May 23, 2017 - By 

    You know, we often get people asking us, “Hey, what kind of stuff do you play at your free, weekly Tuesday Throwdown in the Back Bar of Lavery’s in Belfast – a night that runs from 9.30pm until late and spans every conceivable genre under the sun, minus perhaps polka and classical music?” And to those people, we say: here’s a 50 track sampler – featuring everyone from Slint, Broadcast and Thundercat to Can, Julia Holter and Yo La Tengo – that you can expect to hear, week in, week out. We’re back there tonight, 9.30pm to late as usual.…