• Stream: Sun Collective – Ogham Scars

    April 15, 2021 - By 

    Blurring the lines between chamber pop, indie rock and contemporary folk, the craft of Dublin’s Sun Collective strikes a midpoint between delicate and resolute.  Featuring from Saint Sister’s Gemma Doherty on harp, it’s an M.O. that their new single, ‘Ogham Scars’, takes and runs with. Marrying the gossamer beauty of a long-lost Cinematic Orchestra track with the burgeoning deep ambience of latter-day Massive Attack, it’s a triumphant return, produced by Ross Turner and recorded by Ber Quinn. Speaking about the song, the group’s frontman Caimin Gilmore says, “I robbed the title (& possibly the entire meaning) of ‘Ogham Scars’ from the work of painter, John Noel…

  • Lisa Hannigan @ The Duncairn, Belfast

    November 6, 2017 - By 

    Lisa Hannigan and her band have just edged into the first verse of their fifth song at Belfast’s Duncairn Centre for Culture & Arts. I’ve quickly nipped to the bathroom, where I overhear this brief tête-à-tête between two gentlemen: “Some gig, isn’t it?” “I’ve only just arrived. Stuck in traffic.” “Oh, Jesus.” As I leap up the stairwell back into the venue space, it suddenly hits me: the “Oh, Jesus” immediately (and very tellingly) severed the exchange between the two strangers. When it comes to a Lisa Hannigan show, it really is in your best interests to be present from the very first note…

  • Sun Collective – Sun Collective

    July 18, 2017 - By 

    Over the course of its musical history, Ireland has had a symbiotic relationship with the art of folk music from stalwarts like Luke Kelly, The Clancy Brothers and Planxty to recent greats like Declan O’Rourke, Villagers, The Gloaming and Lisa Hannigan. As culture moves however, the prevalent ties to tradition that once permeated the country’s musical culture have been seen to fray ever-so-slightly. Mass-produced pop-rock dominates Irish ticket sales, festival main stages and radio airplay, shoving aside a genre so formative to parts of the Irish identity. In the midst of this it becomes crucial to find new ways of recontextualising…

  • Sun Collective – Sun Collective

    May 30, 2017 - By 

    Lushly arranged Irish eight-piece Sun Collective release their debut album, Snarky Puppy-style, with a show at  on Saturday June 10. Led by songwriter & composer Caimin Gilmore – who plays as the double-bassist with Lisa Hannigan – they’re comprised of classical and jazz musicians from some of Ireland’s leading groups, including Crash Ensemble. Written by Gilmore and Shane Sugrue and crafted over four years at studios in London (SARM West, of Island Records & Miloca Studios), Dublin (Steve Shannon, The Hive) and Australia. The ensemble features string trio, two pianos, three high male voices, double bass & percussion, filtered through the lens…