Tag Archives: Ireland

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That low.

A new Structure of Earnings Survey by Eurostat finds:

The proportion of low-wage earners among employees amounted to 17.2% in 2014 in the European Union (EU). This means that they earned two-thirds or less of their national median gross hourly earnings.

The proportion of low-wage earners continued to vary significantly between Member States in 2014. The highest percentages were observed in Latvia (25.5%), Romania (24.4%), Lithuania (24.0%) and Poland (23.6%), followed by Estonia (22.8%), Germany (22.5%), Ireland (21.6%) and the United Kingdom (21.3%). In contrast, less than 10% of employees were low wage earners in Sweden (2.6%), Belgium (3.8%), Finland (5.3%), Denmark (8.6%), France (8.8%) and Italy (9.4%).

Read the report in full here

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Ghostking – ‘post-mortem’ from Cork

What you may need to know…

01. Last we saw of young Corkman Matt Corrigan’s solo ‘post-mortem’ project Ghostking, he’d just released his second E.P.

02. Latest extended-player Leaf sees Corrigan move away from guitars and reverb, and into more structured, keys-and-beats territory, for the main.

03. It’s streaming above, rolled out quietly over Spotify last weekend, and released last night on Bandcamp, etc on a free/donations.

04. No word yet on more live appearances – the lad is three extended-players into his body of work and hasn’t even done his Leaving Cert, in fairness.

Verdict: As technically accomplished as you’d expect from a musical prodigy, with a bone-dry sense of humour to boot. Grand.

Ghostking

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LE BOOM – Dub-American synth-pop

What you may need to know…

01. Chris and Aimie (no surnames) are the transatlantic synth-pop duo LE BOOM, based between Dublin and Brooklyn.

02. Hotly tipped by the Irish Times and State.ie for bigger things domestically, their work in the U.S. is paying off, with recent glowing reviews from Paste Magazine.

03. Streaming above is the video for single What We Do, a taster of their first formal release due next year. Filmed in Brooklyn, with featured dancer Breckyn Drescher.

04. Catch them next at Floating Joints XI at Connolly’s of Leap on the 17th, supporting Meltybrains?

Verdict: Super-tight synth-pop with indie touches, the duo easily has it in them to elude the big-name comparisons and put their own stamp on Irish electronica.

LE BOOM

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African Fiction – techno, techno, techno

What you may need to know…

01. African Fiction is the new nom-de-beats of former Agitate the Gravel/Elastic Sleep man Chris Somers, now holding it down as the events man at Cork’s PLUGD Records.

02. Trading shoegaze for techno, Somers utilises live synths, drum machines and guitar pedals, investing his new project with a similar density.

03. Streaming above is a sampler of what can be expected from African Fiction, in an as-yet untitled eight-minute piece.

04. Catch him this Saturday at the Triskel’s TDC space, with a live set. DJ support from OutOut, kickoff at 10.30. €4 in.

Verdict: A new chapter for one of Cork music’s hardest-working folk, with no-nonsense, ambient yet layered electronics that ought to translate well to the live stage.

African Fiction

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Agro Phobia – DIY Limerick noise

What you may need to know…

01. In 1981/1982, teenagers Brian Hartnett and Barry Warner didn’t have much in the way of musical equipment with which to take out their frustrations. So they improvised.

02. AGRO PHOBIA was the result of the two lads bashing out noises on piano, Stylophone, and whatever household implements were handy at that moment. Rhythm tracks were recorded into one tape recorder, which was then played back as ambient backing audio for the duo’s improvisations.

03. Streaming above is Waiting Room, the first song to be publicly released from the duo’s FIRST CASSETTE, a compilation of the duo’s hitherto unreleased body of work.

04. FIRST CASSETTE releases digitally this week through The Unscene, a marked shift into noisier climes for the doggedly DIY hip-hop label.

Verdict: A time capsule, alternately harsh in its sparse, detached nature and poignant in the toll time has taken on the recordings, comforting in its layers of tape distortion.

The Unscene

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William Street – hip-hop from Cork

What you may need to know…

01. A relatively new name and face to Cork’s slowly renaissant hip-hop scene, is MC Shane Kavanagh, aka William Street.

02. Quietly getting around Cork with gigs, and garnering community radio play around the country, he’s picked his time well to horse into formally releasing music.

03. Streaming above is Move E.P.: Part One, available for download from his Bandcamp now. A pair of tracks featuring production from Irish beatmakers Gerryboy and G.I.

04. Part two of the extended-player is due in early 2017, according to the man himself.

Verdict: A Cork-accented voice, with a way for verbal broadsides that’s complemented by the accent itself.

William Street

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Crowhammer – sci-fi inflected heaviness from Dublin

What you may need to know…

01. Crowhammer. A power-trio from the capital. Self-described as “Dublin’s premier narrative driven sci-fi/fantasy stoner rock/krautrock music group”.

02. The band has gigged semi-regularly around the country since their foundation, most recently including Little Gem Records‘ pre-Halloween throwdown at the bandstand in Phoenix Park.

03. Streaming above: 2013 single Wizard & Flame, available for FREE download NOW.

04. Catch them next, playing the Retro Revival Indie Club at Dublin’s Grand Social on December 9th, supporting No Spill Blood.

Verdict: Atmospheric, sludgy heft from a galaxy, far, far away.

Crowhammer

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No Spill Blood – hefty Dublin/Cork space-noises

What you may need to know…

01. At last, an excuse to talk about Dublin synth-heft power-trio No Spill Blood.

02. Coming together initially as a side-project to Adebisi Shank, and featuring members of Elk and Magic Pockets, they’ve become more than a going concern in their own right, with second album Heavy Electricity releasing in March of last year, via US label Sargent House.

03. Streaming above is the aforementioned long-player, available to stream, download and purchase on CD and vinyl.

04. Playing Dublin next on December 9th at the Retro Revival Indie Club at the Grand Social. Support from Crowhammer. Tickets €8, more info available here.

Verdict: Equally heavy and spacey, the band have lurched into the forefront of Irish independent music.

No Spill Blood