Tag Archives: Ireland

RBOTN

Rabid Bitch of the North – Green Eyes

What you may need to know…

1. Belfast’s Rabid Bitch of the North trade exclusively in a falsetto-laden, old-school strain of thrash metal, with pockmarks of the genre’s NWOBHM predecessors for good measure. Precisely zero fecks are given at any point for your opinion on the matter.

2. Green Eyes is out now via Greek label Alone Records, on the hallowed medium of 7″ vinyl, with an accompanying woven patch (for your battle jacket) also available. The suitably retro video (above) was directed and edited by Full Scope Films.

3. They’re great craic live, in fairness. We caught them at an installment of the Siege of Limerick all-dayer a while back and had fun. Their lean, tight, power-trio setup just does their tunes justice.

4. They’re supporting American metal legends Argus at On The Rox in Dubland on March 13, alongside heavy-metal traditionalists Stereo Nasty. Tickets €15 on the door with merch stalls on the night.

Verdict: While possibly not everyone’s cup of tay, even in the preponderously fractured & diverse world of metal and its derivatives, there’s no knocking RBOTN’s dedication to providing a decent dose of unassuming, unpretentious thrash. Fair balls.

Rabid Bitch Of The North

Talos

Talos – In Time

What you may need to know…

1. In case you missed it last week, Cork-based electronic-pop pinup songsmith Eoin French, aka Talos, dropped his much-anticipated new single In Time over at Nialler9’s blog.

2. Big, big things await the architecture tutor with a penchant for sweet vocals and spacey, shoegazing sensibilities, after a 2014/5 that saw singles Tethered Bones and Bloom take flight in a serious fashion, leading to myriad festival appearances all over Ireland and Europe, including Eurosonic in the Netherlands.

3. The video is directed and edited by longtime collaborator Feel Good Lost, also responsible for the strong visual identity of Cork Scandipop bedfellows Young Wonder, and recently directing videos for All Tvvins and Le Galaxie. One of Ireland’s most influential creative professionals.

4. Firmly established on the independent Irish music scene, Talos is looking set to go mainstream this year, getting the come-to-bed eyes from Hot Press in their recent Hottie awards/reader poll. He scooped two nominations, one for Best Song, the other for Most Promising Artist.

Verdict: Broadsheet recently saw the live configuration of the project play Quarter Block Party in Cork. He gets better every time we see him, but there’s some heavy-duty backup, including live cellos. Catch him live now, before he blows up properly.

Talos.

Mick-T-Woc

 

T-Woc – Jetstar Vol. II E.P.

Here’s what you might need to know:

1. Producer from Wicklow releasing through Limerick’s The Unscene label, responsible for putting out some of the cream of Irish hip-hop in recent years.

2. Wonky, bassy, dubby instrumental hip-hop with a gentle tinge of psychedelia and noise. “On a bit more of a tropical tip these days”, says himself.

3. Supported Eek-A-Mouse on Irish tour, and has produced an acclaimed mix for All City Records, among other things.

4. New E.P. Jetstar Vol. II came out this week on The Unscene’s Bandcamp page, available for streaming and download in the platform’s usual ridiculous array of formats.

5. This release was preceded with the first ever press release your writer has ever received that has been written entirely in the form of dialogue.

Verdict: Dig in. Quality, quirky, dubby instrumentalness that’s well worth a lash.

bantum&loah

Batnum & Loah – Take it

What you may need to know

1. Bantum, aka Ruairí Lynch, is an exiled Corkman living and producing in Dubland. His 2013 magnum opus ‘Legion‘ is among the best Irish electronic/pop records committed to wax in recent years. A consistent releaser of singles/EPs with unreleased B-side material, too, a rarity in this day and age.

2. Loah, an Irish/Sierra Leonean vocalist tipped for big things by Irish music blogs like Goldenplec and The Thin Air, puts in an absolutely breathtaking vocal, layered with beautiful harmonies. We’re eagerly awaiting her debut EP this year.

3. This stunning video was directed by Peter O’Brien, produced by Motherland, and features dancer Laura Sarah Dowdall. No lighting was used bar the street light seen here.

4. True to form, the digital download and Spotify stream comes with a stripped-down ‘blues mix’ as a b-side/bonus track.

5. Bantum used to live with Keith from Limerick two-piece giveamanakick, which is class when you think about it.

Verdict: A major step forward for two of Ireland’s most talented artists.

Bantum & Loah,

Ireland 1972 5 Nations

For the weekend that’s nearly in it.

Saturday, January 29, 1972.

The final 5 Nations game between France and Ireland to be staged at Stade Colombes, Paris.

The championship that never was.

Five new Irish caps, all fine, young, inordinately hairy men, They heaved against the veterns de rugby francais and gritted it out for an historic and most unlikely victory (France 9 Ireland 14).

Paul McWeeney writing in the following Monday’s Irish Times said:

It was a sobering thought before the match, when asked if I had ever seen Ireland win at Colombes, to realise that, in fact, only myself and one or two other of my British press colleagues had ever had the pleasure, nor was I all that optimistic that I would ever see it again.

Puissant!

Previously: Frogger 1983

Retro Rugby on Broadsheet.ie

Photo credit: Lineout Coach

 

Screen Shot 2016-02-04 at 11.01.05

A table and pie chart showing the amount of money each European Council member state will be giving towards the €3billion EU/Turkey deal

The European Council last night announced details of its €3billion deal with Turkey – to “stem the flow of migrants to Europe”.

This followed the commitment made to give this money to Turkey, at an EU summit on November 29, 2015.

Ireland will be giving €22.9million to the so-called Turkey Refugee Facility.

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which is currently holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, said:

“[The agreements] aim at targeting human traffickers and launching projects which will help give those in and around the refugee camps the hope of a better future. Europe is following  up on its decision to make 3 billion euro available for the Turkey Refugee Facility and we will continue to work hard with our Turkish partners to turn this into concrete results.”

Nothing to worry about, at all, at all.

At all.

Refugee facility for Turkey: Member states agree on details of financing (European Council)

Previously: ‘Greece Is A Scapegoat For The Disintegration Of The EU’



http://youtu.be/Qek0Woye3Cc

For the weekend that will be in it.

A look back at Saturday, April 4, 1987.

At the Cardiff Arms Park, Ireland put in an oddly schizophrenic performance but prevailed over Wales.

Edmund Van Esbeck writing (through rose tinted spectacles) in the Irish Times said:

A season that started with such bright promise and hope, but faltered in the midway period has ended in a triumph and triumph this was. Never has the appellation “the fighting Irish” been more appropriately applied to an Ireland rugby team..

..the heart of Irish rugby still beats with strong rhythm. It was a great day for the fighting Irish last Saturday.

Mmf!

Previously: How Green Was Their Valley?

Retro Rugby on Broadsheet.ie