Category Archives: Music

Every kind of sound imaginable.

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Kojaque – Sunday Roast mixtape and upcoming YESTIVAL appearance

What you may need to know…

1. We’ve been sleeping on Kojaque. A confessional, Dublin-accented patter is married to polished, jazzy self-production.

2. Garnered attention online last year from the likes of Noisey, for the video to single Midnight Flower, in which he rhymes for over three minutes with his head underwater.

3. Streaming above is his recently-released Sunday Roast mixtape in its entirety. It’s also available for download here, via his own Soft Boy Records.

4. Next appearing at Mother’s inaugural YESTIVAL on May 21 at the Tivoli, Francis Street, Dublin, a fest marking the first anniversary of the marriage equality vote. Also confirmed are Peaches (!), the Rubberbandits and Sugar Rush (girlband/supergroup featuring Panti) among others.

Verdict: Capable of vitriolic outbursts and noise, but more given to cool, cracked-leather holdings of court, suited to his more subdued sonics.

Kojaque

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exmagician – Job Done

Here’s what you may need to know…

1. Some of the component parts of Belfast rockers Cashier No. 9 have returned, regrouping after a hiatus as exmagician, and maintaining their relationship with UK indie institution Bella Union.

2. The band have picked up where they left off, with Job Done, streaming above, showcasing their ever-expanding predilection for big aul’ songs, fleshed out with layered, reverb-heavy production.

3. The song comes from the band’s debut album, Scan the Blue, available now from the usual streaming and download haunts and in physical formats from Bella Union.

4. The duo turn up next at the Interlude Fest at the RHA Gallery in Dublin, on June 24-26.

Verdict: Grand psych-pop tack for the encroaching summer and the long evenings therein. Approved.

exmagician

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Wastefellow – Wonder

Here’s what you may need to know…

1. Diolmhain Ingram Roche is the name and face behind Wastefellow, an experimental electronic project that draws from a wide array of Ingram Roche’s influences, from Tim Hecker to Sunn O))).

2. Another from the Little L Records stable, debut EP Amazed A-Maze is available for free download from the label’s Bandcamp. It’s a conceptual piece, drawing on deja vu and ennui, equating real life’s loops with his own sonic ones.

3. The label also has a frankly ridiculous sale on, with its entire discography to date (over a hundred releases) in a digital bundle for a little over six quid.

4.  The video for lead-off single Wonder comes from 21-year-old director Conor Donoghue, who’s taken the whole glitch/digital artefacting phenomenon to the streets of Dublin.

5. Wastefellow’s next appearance is at LIFE Festival, with a DJ set as part of Dublin promoters Welcome’s contribution to proceedings. 27-29 May, for those what wants it.

6. Our top newshounds were, as of press time, unable to confirm if this was the inspiration for Ingram Roche’s nom-de-guerre.

Verdict: Glitchy, blissed-out, yet somewhat unsettling visuals accompany glitchy, blissed-out yet somewhat unsettling electronics.

Wastefellow

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Crevice: Playing Bello Bar tonight in Dublin, Cork improv trio Crevice (pictured) bring their voices together with layers of electronics, to create shifting, undulating soundscapes. Featuring members of The Altered Hours, ex-Saint Yorda and many other projects and solo outlets, their debut gig at IndieCork festival 2015 won them the inaugural IndieCork Music award. Tonight’s show is their Dublin debut.

The Jollars: Rebel County drunk punks are on a mini-tour this weekend. Tonight sees them play Cork’s Fred Zeppelin’s, tomorrow night they’ll play Ballina’s Fesant Fest, and on Sunday, they’ll finish up in Belfast. Old-fashioned oi for them what wants it, with Lagansiders/ex-Runnin’ Riot men United Bottles co-headlining.

The Shaker Hymn: Having released new LP Do You Think You’re Clever?, the band’s attention now turns to the album’s third single, Waters of Sea Change. The video is streaming now and the band continues touring the country.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3CPVngxMRpU

Young Phantom: Launching a crowdfunding campaign for his upcoming Lone Wolf EP, a conceptual piece on youth mental health, Cork rapper/beatsmith Mark Mavambu is offering various bundles of his work and other perks. Find out more here.

IMLÉ: Multi-genre Gaeilgeoirí have this week launched new single Síos an Bóthar, with a video shot and edited by the track’s lead vocalist, Fergal Moloney. Dealing with the issues of mental health and negative internal monologues.

Windings: New tunes from the long-running Limerick outfit, in a dark and foreboding frame of mind ahead of album number four, Be Honest and Fear Not. Stray Dogs is the leadoff single from the LP, while the other A-side, Helicopters, is a once-off collab with fellow Limrocker and skratch/noise hero Naive Ted. Gigs just announced nationwide in support.

Enjoy all.

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aboveDat – Addicted ft. Christiana Underwood

What you may need to know…

01. Comprised of legendary Cork DJ Stevie G and Ian Ring (one half of much-fancied electronic-pop duo Young Wonder), aboveDat have this week released debut single Addicted.

02. Releasing via Stevie’s own Soul Jamz label, Addicted is available for download via iTunes from May 6th.

03. Featuring vocals from Leeside-based songstress and regular Stevie collaborator Christiana Underwood, the tune is an admitted ’80s throwback, all strident synths. It’s streaming in the widget above.

04. The duo has DJ appearances coming up throughout 2016, stay tuned to their social media for more.

Verdict: Groovy, summery stuff from a soulful supergroup.

aboveDat

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Lynched – playing the BBC Folk Awards tonight at the Royal Albert Hall

1. Dublin traditional/folk four-piece Lynched are the antithesis of safe, diddly-aye stagnation in the genre, commenting fearlessly on austerity, social issues, trad tropes and modern Irish identity.

2. Having existed in various guises for over a decade, Lynched as we know them today came together when the Lynch brothers met bandmates Cormac and Radie at various trad sessions around Dublin around 2012, and began arranging songs the duo had been working on for the prior few years, as well as some lesser-known traditional pieces.

3. Streaming above is Cold Old Fire, the title track from their second album, recorded by Danny Diamond of Slow Moving Clouds in Merrion Street’s Irish Traditional Music Archive in 2014.

4. This was the tune that helped get them kicked off RTÉ Radio on Culture Night a few years back, when showrunners attempted to steer their set away from the recession ballad (how’s about that recovery!) before removing them from proceedings. Nevermind, though: they wound up on Jools Holland after.

5. Tonight, they’ll be a world away from upsetting the official narrative, representing themselves and performing at the BBC Folk Awards, live at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Streaming tonight on BBC iPlayer, because why should public-service broadcasters provide “niche-interest” television or anything, it’s only what they’re funded to do, like.

6. Fight!

Verdict: Alongside The Gloaming, as well as the likes of Daithí, Moxie, Slow Moving Clouds and others, Lynched are not trad’s future: they’re the genre’s present. Passionate and progressive while retaining a world-weary authenticity.

Lynched

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Daithí ft. Sinéad White – Love’s On Top

What you may need to know…

1. Fiddle player and producer Daithí branches out more firmly with new EP Tribes, released this past February, in pursuit of sounds “not just inspired by traditional music, but by the culture, the scenery and atmosphere of the west of Ireland“.

2. Mentored by Young Wonder man Ian Ring, and cutting his teeth by fusing electronica with traditional music, he notched up supports for The XX, Santigold, and DJ Shadow before unveiling 2013 debut album In Flight.

3. Streaming above is Galway city-inspired leadoff track Love’s On Top, a prime example of the artist’s new direction, featuring Dublin singer-songwriter Sinéad White.

4. The next appearance of Daithí’s live improv show is at Whelan’s in Dublin, on Thursday May 12th. A late show, kickoff at 11.30, tickets €10.

Verdict: A further departure away from lingering influences and into a wider frame of reference, all the while exploring themes and sounds of his native West.

Daithí

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Le Galaxie – playing around the country this weekend

What you may need to know…

1. Dublin’s Le Galaxie bring unashamed, unabashed dancey, indie, ’80s-y synthpop to the fore, and have done so while becoming one of the country’s best live bands, when not dabbling in DJing under the moniker.

2. Having done the rounds previously as alt-rockers 66e, the four-piece regrouped in 2008, quickly garnering a following around the country and making their way around the world, from headlining Body & Soul, Sea Sessions and Castlepalooza, to SXSW and the Secret Garden Party. This summer sees them take on London’s Lovebox fest and Fiberfib fest in Benicassim, Spain.

3. 2011 saw them release debut album Laserdisc Nights II to wild applause from Irish music media, followed by 2012’s Fade 2 Forever EP.

4. Streaming above is the video for Love System, a live favourite and a tune that’s been tapped as a leadoff for two releases now, featuring on Fade 2 Forever before assuming its final, sleazily sax-laden form on Universal-released second album Le Club with this Feel Good Lost-directed visual accompaniment.

5. Their next excursion is for the May bank hollier – Friday sees them hit Waterford’s Central Arts, before heading out to the Wild West: the reopened and reawesomised Connolly’s of Leap happening this Saturday night. Sunday sees them play Dingle’s Féile na Bealtaine fest.

Verdict: The soundtrack to any neon, futuristic cinemascape you can imagine, from cool long-shot cities, to weepy end-credit belters, melted down and poured onto the tumult and movement of a packed dancefloor.

Le Galaxie