Tag Archives: music

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Ghostking – released new EP

What you may need to know…

01. Oddball, noisy/reverby pop is the order of the day for Cork’s Matt Corrigan, operating under the pseudonym Ghostking.

02. Surfacing as a solo project from Cork’s diminutive but feverishly active all-ages music scene, Corrigan garnered local attention with a (since deleted) debut EP earlier this year.

03. Streaming above is new extended-player Journal of Public Affairs, available now for free download.

04. You know you’re onto something when an artist willingly labels themselves as “Post-Mortem”. In fairness.

Verdict: All manner of hyper-self-aware sarcasm, alongside a healthy disregard for anyone else’s opinion on same, married to some nicely barebones songwriting.

Ghostking

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ELLLL – new EP due soon on Art for Blind

What you may need to know…

01. Ellen King, aka ELLLL, specialises in a brooding, minimal, dark techno.

02. Emerging quietly from Cork’s noise and sound art scene, ELLLL’s work has taken a beatsier turn in recent years. A founder member of the GASH Collective, a platform for women in Irish electronica, she’s pictured above in the middle of her recent set for Boiler Room in Dublin, having also recently featured at Life and Open Ear festivals.

03. Streaming above is the video for recent single ROMANCE. Video compiled and edited by Louise Adelaide McKeown.

04. King’s debut EP is due for physical release by the end of the summer on Cork/Sligo/Leeds label Art for Blind Records. Catch her next at Bastardo Electrico’s next night at Cyprus Avenue in Cork, sharing a bill with Berlin electronic collective Killekill.

Verdict: A quiet but assured presence in Irish electronic music. Propulsive without sacrificing atmosphere or minimalism, the upcoming extended-play ought to be a treat.

ELLLL

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Harvester – new EP Harmonic Ruptures and launch gigs

What you may need to know…

01. Galway sludge/doom metallers Harvester are back from an extended period of (dis)quiet with their second EP.

02. First EP The Blind Summit Recordings kind of flew under a lot of radars when released in late 2012, but is a solid slab of Sabbathesque rock ‘n’ roll, the release of which led to support for Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats a year later in Dublin.

03. Streaming above in its entirety is Harmonic Ruptures. Recorded by James Eager at The Hive Studios in Kilcoole, it was mastered by go-to heft technician James Plotkin.

04. The band are doing the rounds to back the EP’s digital release, playing the Roisin Dubh tomorrow night with Okus and Ten Ton Slug, again with Okus in The Hut in Phibsborough on Friday night and in Cleere’s in Kilkenny with The Kilo 1977 on Saturday. They’ll also be at the next Siege of Limerick in October.

Verdict: A big, dirty bag of riffs that’ll keep doom worshippers and stoner-rock aficionados engaged.

Harvester

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Same D4ence – releasing the video for A Beauty Called Shannon

What you may need to know…

01. Limerick rappers Size, Hazey Haze and MCB, along with collaborators, are Same D4ence.

02. Coming to prominence in the last two years after an appearance at 2014’s Make-a-Move festival, the collective has hit the ground running, taking in appearances at Scrobarnach and Electric Picnic.

03. Last year’s Basic Instinct EP featured production from Irish hip-hop luminaries Naive Ted and mynameisjOhn.

04. Streaming above is new single for A Beauty Called Shannon, which sees Ted reprise production duties and members of Lynched provide instrumentation. Video production from Steve Savage.

Verdict: Tackling the topics of suicide, mental health, and the search and rescue operations in their hometown, it makes for uncompromising but compelling listening.

Same D4ence

Photo: Ruth Medjber

Heathers – release new single Call Home

What you may need to know…

01. Twins Ellie and Louise MacNamara (by their powers combined) are alternative/folk duo Heathers.

02. A well-travelled and seasoned outfit, they’ve trod stages worldwide, from touring Ireland with math-rockers Adebisi Shank, to the festival grind, to performing at JJ Abrams’ pre-Oscars party after the latter and his daughter became fans.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single Call Home, directed by Crooked Gentlemen.

04. Also available for download from iTunes, and streaming on Spotify.

Verdict: An opening up of Heathers’ sound, taking the duo’s strong knack for harmonies in a more polished direction.

Heathers

Pic: Ruth Medjber

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Skinny Downers – ex-bedroom project turned electronic duo comes home

What you may need to know…

01. The latest incarnation of Skinny Downers is a two-piece based in Berlin. A far cry from the project’s beginnings as a few instruments and a loop pedal somewhere in Waterford.

02. Founded by Dean O’Sullivan, formerly of the Deise’s Black Robots and Percolator, the project quickly shape-shifted to a live collective, to a band, to a duo, fronted by Sardinian punk performance artist Stella Sesto.

03. Streaming above is the band’s newest EP, Kill Figures, released in April of this year.

04. Catch them tomorrow night in Cork at The Kino, in a BYOB affair also featuring local lads Land Crabs and Kinsale’s Foreign Bodies.

Verdict: Oddly groovy, moody, sparse alternative with tinges of noise and electronica.

Skinny Downers

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Like Chandeliers – debut single and gig this week

What you may need to know…

01. Shoegazing and atmospherics from members of Jogging, Waiting Room, Women’s Christmas and Cat Palace.

02. Beginning life as a home-studio collab project, the band has recently become a live trio, with gigs to follow.

03. Debut single Circle is streaming in the widget above, having premiered over at Nialler9.

04. Debuting at Castlepalooza this weekend.

Verdict: Hits the spot for fans of downbeat pop and reverby goings-on.

Like Chandeliers

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The Shaker Hymn – new single and album now on Spotify

What you may need to know…

01. Last we saw of this Cork four-piece, they’d released the vid for single Trophy Child and were preparing for their second full-length.

02. The album, Do You Think You’re Clever?, has since been released, and was accompanied by a spate of Irish gigs that culminated in an appearance at last week’s Body and Soul festival.

03. Streaming above is the band’s newest video clip, for single Another One of You. Projected visuals by Colm O’Herlihy.

04. Do You Think You’re Clever? is finally available on Spotify, for those who are so inclined.

Verdict: A more leisurely-paced number than previous selections, which plays very well to the band’s well-honed pop streak.

The Shaker Hymn

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Funeral Suits – New single and upcoming Whelan’s gig

What you may need to know…

01. Dublin four-piece Funeral Suits offer up an artsy, electronica-inflected take on indie.

02. Making their home on Dublin indie label Model Citizen, the band have been plugging away for the past few years, gaining notice with 2012 full-length Lily of the Valley.

03. Streaming above is the video for new single The Way Back. Directed by James Fitzgerald, the clip was released last week, alongside the song’s official streams and downloads.

Verdict: One of the better-primed candidates for a bigger stage in Irish music, it certainly seems as though such ambitions are being carried in tunes the size of The Way Back.

Funeral Suits