• Track Record: Ian McFarlane (Squarehead / Kid Karate)

    May 4, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Ian McFarlane, bassist extraordinaire with Squarehead and Kid Karate. Here he selects the albums that have left a huge impression on him, from Parliament to Prince. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Parliament – The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein As far as I am concerned Parliament are the greatest funk band of all time. George Clinton masterminded a situation where the best musicians he could find were free to experiment and collaborate thus producing some of the most incredible music you could image. At the core of Parliament were the James Brown…

  • Track Record: A Tribute to Prince

    April 22, 2016 - By 

    In the wake of his death, we’ve searched through our archives for the Prince records that have left an indelible imprint on the music and life of the artists featured, from Wounded Healer to Cave Ghosts. Photos by Aaron Corr and Ian Pearce. Tim O’Donovan // Buffalo Woman- Purple Rain I never saw the movie the first time round. But the music was just too powerful to ignore. All the songs are so different and have such a personality of their own, but they still all sound like Prince. I love the fact that ‘When Doves Cry’ has no bass in it. I love the fact…

  • Track Record: Kevin Breen (Kid Karate)

    April 6, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Kid Karate’s Kevin Breen (and a crocodile) while he takes us through some of his favourite records from Tame Impala to Talking Heads. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Michael Jackson – Bad Who’s bad? A hee hee! Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly Hands down the best album of 2015.  Nothing has blown my mind like that in a long time. Kendrick is doing what Kanye thinks he’s doing. A great album to expand your consciousness. Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon My friend Dave Parle turned me on to this guy.…

  • Track Record: Andy Connolly (Deviant & Naive Ted)

    March 31, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we head to Limerick to hang out with Andy Connolly of Deviant & Naive Ted to reveal the man behind the mask’s music tastes, from Chick Corea to DJ Faust. Photos by Moira Reilly. Lews Tewns & Nobsta Nuts – Poverty is Thirsty Work The answer to ‘what’s your favourite record’ changes daily but today it’s most definitely this. Lews Tewns & Nobsta Nuts, AKA the Headcase Ladz, are the best rap posse to ever come out of Wales and one of my favourite rap groups of all time. They are sadly under-represented by…

  • Track Record: Sorcha Brennan (Sleep Thieves)

    March 15, 2016 - By 

    As featured in one of our print issues of The Thin Air magazine, we spent some time with Sorcha Brennan from Sleep Thieves in her lovely home in Dublin to discuss her favourite records, from Why? to Jape. Photos by Aaron Corr. Jape – Ocean of Frequency What can I say about Richie Egan’s musical output? I’ve loved every album. I think Richie is a master of the perfect turn of phrase paired with the most singable melody. I’ll never get bored of Scorpio. Austra – Feel It Break I found Austra because Niall Byrne posted a video of their…

  • Track Record: Shane Murphy (Land Lovers/No Monster Club/Switzerland)

    March 10, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we hang out with Shane Murphy to chat about his record collection, while he’s not too busy playing in three of Popical Island’s finest bands: Land Lovers, No Monster Club and Switzerland. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model I discovered Elvis Costello pretty late in life, and when I say discovered, I mean after Land Lovers were compared to him, Padraig of the band quickly gave me some homework to do. At his best with The Attractions, this was the first pairing of the two. It’s a frantic and…

  • Track Record: Anderson

    March 2, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we head over to the home studio of Dublin based singer songwriter Anderson, while he selects the records which have made a huge impact on his life from The Beatles to Joni Mitchell. Photos by Tara Thomas. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band This record is redolent of my childhood, it has been a sturdy vessel for so many of my earliest and happiest memories. As a musician the way I listen to records has changed and become much more analytical, listening to this record now only enhances my regard for…

  • Track Record: Paul G Smyth

    February 21, 2016 - By 

    In the latest installment of Track Record, Dublin pianist and Jimmy Cake member Paul G Smyth handpicks a selection of records that have left an indelible imprint on his music and life, including Tangerine Dream, Derek Bailey and Talk Talk. Photos by Aidan Kelly Murphy. Evan Parker – Saxophone Solos This album essentially ruined my life. First stumbled upon when I used to hoover up the contents of the Ilac Centre Library’s audio section as a teenager, using every family member’s cards every Saturday, and coming home on the bus with unknowns from every section. I hated it. Passionately. It…

  • Track Record: Eoin Dolan

    February 16, 2016 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record, we head West to visit nostalgia pop enthusiast Eoin Dolan in his apartment in Galway as he selects ranging from Rufus Wainwright to The Beach Boys by way of classic Irish folk music. Photos by Sean McCormack. Rufus Wainwright –  I Want One I first heard of Rufus Wainwright when he performed ‘Vibrate’ on Jools Holland a few years back. It was just him and the piano and it sounded amazing. When I eventually picked up the album I was pleasantly surprised by the lush string arrangements that accompanied each song. It showed how his writing…

  • Track Record: Michael Stevens (Lie Ins/Skelocrats)

    November 19, 2015 - By 

    In the latest installment of Track Record, Michael Stevens of Dublin bands Lie Ins and Skelocrats reveals and talks about some of his favourite records from the likes of The Wave Pictures, Charles Mingus and The Magnetic Fields. Photos by Aidan-Kelly Murphy. Compiling a list of my ten favourite records was agonising and fun. There are many, many records I had to leave out and I felt sad for them; but it was nice that I got to listen to them all anyway. As for the ones listed here, there are records that one could objectively say are better. But these…