• Kosmische Kristmas 6

    December 20, 2019 - By 

    That most seasonal of Irish underground krautrock supergroups celebrate that special time of the year with a night of “music that never happens again not happening again” for the sixth year running at Plugd this Sunday, 22nd December. The band features Cruiser’s Chris Quigley & The Sunshine Factory’s Jack Horgan on guitar, The Altered Hours’ Cathal MacGabhann on keys, Gilbert & Trá Pháidín’s Micheál Fitzgerald on Bass, Fixity/The Bonk man Dan Walsh on Drums & Flute. For just five euros, you can join them as they seek freedom through repetition until 1am. Walsh and MacGabhan will spin appropriate tunes before and after. Doors open…

  • Premiere: Mark Waldron-Hyden – Did You Hide

    July 3, 2019 - By 

    Mark Waldron-Hyden, as a member of cosmic psych outfit The Sunshine Factory & founder of Sunshine Cult Records, has become an integral figure of Cork’s underground music community. Today, we’re pleased to premiere the first release under his own name, single ‘Did You Hide’. Lifted from his forthcoming debut album, Stream Segregation, it’s a somnambulant, sedated piece of experimental electronic music. The song marries the sparse otherworldliness of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to the cavernous ambience of Pauline Oliveros’ school of Deep Listening, while impressionistic, Thom Yorke-ian vocals draw in something recognisably – just about – of the now. ‘Did You Hide’ was written, recorded and produced by Waldron-Hyden using a mixture of field recording, acoustic instruments, synths and tape…

  • A Litany Of Failures Vol. II Announced

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Following the limited release of cross-Ireland Little L Records compilation, 2016’s A Litany of Failures – featuring Oh Boland, Shrug Life, That Snaake and Junk Drawer – an expanded second edition has been confirmed for release on July 13. Set to be released on 180g gatefold double vinyl, as well as through Bandcamp, Spotify and the usual outlets, it features 18 acts from Belfast, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway & Limerick. The DIY, co-op endeavour aims to provide an opportunity to perform outside each of their hometowns, shortening the mental distances between bands, and encouraging a cross-pollination of musical communities. Splitting costs between artists and the organisers, a sense of…

  • Stream: The Sunshine Factory – Exploding Head/Negative Light

    March 5, 2018 - By 

    One of our must-watch Irish acts for 2018, Cork five-piece The Sunshine Factory have been on a major roll recently. Having released Cruelest Animal, their four-track EP of first-rate slow-burning neo-psych, back in November, the band are back with a killer double-single, ‘Exploding Head’ and ‘Negative Light’. Recorded by Chris Somers live in Cork’s Crane Lane on October 30 last year, the new tracks – released via their DIY label Sunshine Cult and produced by Mark Waldron-Hyden from the band – present a masterfully claustrophobic brace of urgent, hazed-out sounds from the fast-rising Cork quintet. Negative Light/Exploding head by The Sunshine Factory

  • 18 for ’18: The Sunshine Factory

    January 25, 2018 - By 

    We continue 18 for ’18, our feature showcasing eighteen Irish acts we’re convinced are going places in 2018. Throughout January we’re going to be previewing each of those acts, accompanied by words from our writers and an original photograph from one of our photographers. Next up, The Sunshine Factory. Photo by Abigail Denniston The Sunshine Factory want to be as inescapable as The Brian Jonestown Massacre. At least, that is according to an interview with The Thin Air last November where they also name dropped the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Spaceman 3 and Joy Division as influences. Unlike so many other…

  • EP Stream: The Sunshine Factory – Cruelest Animal

    November 30, 2017 - By 

    Cork, ever Ireland’s unexpected cornerstone of hazy psych, can boast another fine release with The Sunshine Factory‘s debut EP proper, Cruelest Animal, the title track of which was released last year following a string of extremely promising demos and homemade recordings. Firmly establishing their neo-psychedelic chops with slots alongside the likes of KXP, The Orange Kyte, and tour support to psychedelic legends The Telescopes on their most recent Irish jaunt it is launched tonight (November 30) at a hometown launch at Crane Lane Theatre. The EP is released through their own independent label, Sunshine Cult Records, and was recorded with Chris Somers at One Chance Out Studios. While Cruelest Animal was recorded a year ago, it seems that a…

  • Premiere: The Sunshine Factory – Seer

    November 1, 2017 - By 

    Cork, ever Ireland’s unexpected cornerstone of hazy psych, can boast another addition to the canon in the The Sunshine Factory‘s new single ‘Seer’, which we’re delighted to premiere here. This comes alongside the announcement of their debut EP proper, Cruelest Animal, the title track of which was released last year following a string of extremely promising demos and homemade recordings. Towering out of the speaker like some meta-diegetic music recorded live from a cave to soundtrack a climactic David Lynch scene – probably one of Evil Coop walking cooly away from a major explosion – ‘Seer”s measured, primal urgency, gives way to an incredible synth motif – think Vangelis’ Blade Runner Blues – before settling into a mess of rusty, screeching guitars.…

  • The Sunshine Factory – Cruelest Animal EP

    November 6, 2017 - By 

    Cork, ever Ireland’s unexpected cornerstone of hazy psych, can boast another fine release, with The Sunshine Factory having just announced their debut EP proper, Cruelest Animal, the title track of which was released last year following a string of extremely promising demos and homemade recordings. Firmly establishing their neo-psychedelic chops with slots alongside the likes of KXP, The Orange Kyte, and tour support to psychedelic legends The Telescopes on their most recent Irish jaunt. It comes out on November 30th, accompanied by a hometown launch, through their own independent label, Sunshine Cult Records, and was recorded with Chris Somers at One Chance Out Studios. While Cruelest Animal was recorded a year ago, it seems that a healthy gestation…