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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Young Phantom – playing Connolly’s of Leap on Saturday
What you may need to know…
1. Young Phantom is the alter-ego of Cork-based Mark Mavambu. Growing up around a variety of music and pop-culture reference points, he’s parlayed their influence into a worldly-wise, cool and collected extension of his own personality.
2. After garnering attention as part of Tralee collective ApocalypsE, Mavambu has since set about creating a body of work encompassing hip-hop, spoken-word poetry, literature (his debut novel is currently in the writing), and fashion (as modelled in the pic above).
3. Streaming in its entirety at the link above is his first full-length, September. Though not his début proper (that’s due later this year), it’s a look at his and his collaborators’ fusion of hip-hop, electronic and ambient that underlies his stream-of-consciousness oratory.
4. Next appearing in Connolly’s of Leap this Saturday, as part of Word Up Collective’s second show at the venue, along with AikJ and Katie Laffan. 9pm, tenner door tax.
Verdict: One of the most exciting artists to emerge in Irish DIY/independent music in the last few years.
God is an Astronaut – rescheduled Dublin date & Cork date
What you may need to know…
01. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years and nigh-on grandfather status in the post-rock genre, Glen of the Downs’ favourite sons God is an Astronaut have continued to evolve and innovate.
02. One of the country’s most successful musical exports of the past two decades, the band last year announced a new deal with metal label Napalm Records, and subsequent worldwide touring.
03. Their most recent album, Helios/Erebus, is streaming in its entirety in the widget above, and available for download on its own, or in a frankly fantastically-priced bundle alongside the rest of their discography to date.
04. Before heading to North America throughout September, the band have two Irish shows: a rescheduled date for Whelan’s in Dublin on July 2nd, and Cork’s Cyprus Avenue on the 23rd.
Verdict: A phenomenal band that carry over all of their spacey, yet intricate sonic adventuring to their live show. Seldom seen in these parts anymore, and unmissable when they are.
What you may need to know…
1. Led by and named for frontman Max Zaska, this Dublin outfit has been garnering high praise for jazzy, forward-thinking funk and soul, and continues the momentum with new single Got to Go.
2. The accompanying video, streaming above, features a Countdown theme with a DIY vibe, and lots of Post-Its. Co-imagined, shot, and edited by Patrick Ryan.
3. The band launches Got to Go this Saturday with a date at The Sugar Club. Support from Kojaque. Tickets available here.
4. Fun fact, fact fans: people coming and going through the ranks over the years include Karen Cowley (Wyvern Lingo), Dylan Lynch (Little Green Cars), and some other obscure singer-songwriter… Hozier, or somesuch.
Verdict: Big grooves for them what wants them, even if they are little overly sunny for this time of year.
1. Neither a band nor an album in the traditional sense, Not Earth comes about from a single four-hour recorded improv session in Cork’s Big Skin studio, featuring the trio of Dan Walsh (drums), Darren Keane (bass) and David O’Máthúna (synth).
2. Says Darren: “We’ve played in various bands over the years but first played together as a trio in 2014 at an improv night run by Dan. Something clicked then and we jammed a few times culminating in the recording session.”
3. Recorded, edited and engineered by Walsh, who cut the jams down to an album’s length, the resulting LP was mastered by Tim Fitzgerald (fka Twin Lights).
4. The album launched last night at Gulpd Cafe in Cork’s TDC, as part of Record Store Day weekend shenanigans, and is available for download from Bandcamp. This Sunday sees the Cork Improvised Music Club, under whose auspices the project’s initial jams occurred, host an open workshop in the same venue.
Verdict: Some fairly wild jams picked from the ether of improvisation. Spontaneity meets density and dexterity.
