• Preview: The Night Institute Turns One

    July 21, 2016 - By 

    This Saturday marks the first anniversary for The Night Institute, one of Belfast’s newest and most popular dance music fixtures (and very likely its best weekly electronic music event) at Aether & Echo. The night was set up in 2015 by the city’s very own Timmy Stewart and Jordan (the latter of which used to run the Nocturne parties at the same venue). Their fifty-second shindig, which is on this Saturday from 11PM-3AM, will take place at their regular haunt and cap off a journey through a rip-roaring past year which has earned The Night Institute a devoted local following. To help…

  • AVA Festival 2015

    June 1, 2015 - By 

    Well, here we are.  After months of anticipation and the mandatory, giddy daily countdown, the moment has arrived for Belfast’s inaugural AVA (Audio Visual Arts) Festival.  We’ve entered the Titanic Qtr and are making our way to the goliath T13 warehouse and playing spot the raver as we increase our pace, beyond excited for what we’ll see when we get there.  When we do, a multitude of coaches indicates that although it won’t kick off for some time yet, there’ll be a sizeable crowd inside.  There is, to our relief, a mass of music fans buzzing around the gargantuan space.…

  • Q+A: Timmy Stewart

    May 28, 2015 - By 

    This Saturday’s AVA Festival in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter shines a light on the city’s vibrant house and techno scene like never before. Chris Jones speak to a true hero of the Belfast scene, house DJ, producer and Extended Play co-chief Timmy Stewart. Photo by Niall Murphy How did you first get into DJing? Did you take to it straight away? My friends and I were coming to that rebellious teenage angst age (imagine an acid house Inbetweeners) when the whole rave scene was beginning to blossom. My girlfriend at the time had an older brother who was a Belfast DJ…

  • Festival Preview: AVA Festival

    May 17, 2015 - By 

    Billed as a “one day-&-night grass roots Audio Visual Arts festival”, AVA Festival aims to promote the wealth of talent in Northern Ireland’s electronic music and visual arts scene. Taking place in the Titanic Quarter’s formidable T13 Building on Saturday, May 30, the one day event will be split into two broad sections: a daytime conference from 11am-4pm with a series of keynote speakers and panels, and an evening showcase from 4pm with some of the stars of Northern Ireland’s impressively healthy electronic and club scene. The likes of Bicep, Space Dimension Controller and Optimo are all involved in what…