This looks superb. It’s a pity it wasn’t physically printed but regardless, State’s Faces of 2012 digital magazine is a sexy forward look at 20 of Ireland’s most promising new bands with original photography where possible. My Mmoths interview is in there too. Check out the Soundcloud compilation of the acts after the jump. The whole thing was designed by Simon Roche but do pay attention to the State photographers.
Highlights: Hush War Cry and more at the above Delphi vs Bluestack gig, a free Girl Band & more gig on Wednesday, A Winged Victory for the Sullen (Stars Of The Lid / Dustin O’Halloran) , Lanterns on the Lake and Martyn .
A list of recommended events taking place over the next seven days in Dublin. All times are 7.30/8pm unless stated. Feel free to recommend gigs not present in the comments below.
A heavy dose of computer icon weirdness is on display in the video for ‘Pleasure Palaces’ directed by Rachel Maclean, the first single from Errors‘ new and third album Have Some Faith In Magic released January 30th on Mogwai’s Rock Action Records.
It’s a bit like Washed Out this one. The Glaswegians appear to have delved further into electronic sphere and it suits them as do the addition of surging vocals to this previously-instrumental band. A Dublin date is lined up for February 18th in The Grand Social and they’re on a UK tour throughout February.
The Sleigh Bells Reign Of Terror album is coming next month (as is a Dublin gig) and now we have the first single proper to listen to. ‘Comeback Kid’ is as rip-roaring and primal as you’d expect from Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller, bright heavy rock guitars are in check but a new slightly softer vocal sound is leaking in there. That’s down to the production (i.e. – it’s properly produced this time around) and the pinging synth backdrop which adds some whimsy to the cut-teeth guitars. Definitely a bit less-searing than ‘Born to Lose’ which debuted before Christmas and maybe it’s all the better for it, but you know, it’s still pretty loud.
Having never visited Eurosonic before, I assumed it was your usual music industry festival type-deal. Hundreds of bands and loads of industry looking for the next big thing. While the festival can fill that remit, the important part for me is the European focus. Over 250 bands from around Europe congregate in the city of Groningen, north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and live music is the main attraction. Festival bookers and promoters are here to book acts for their festivals and the EU offer subsidies to those who book Eurosonic-featured acts.
Add in the work of the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP) which encourages festivals to make a commitment to book the same act across a number of festivals in Europe (1359 shows and counting since 2003), the presence of 30 radio stations from across the continent broadcasting live from Groningen (including RTE 2FM’s Ian Wilson has been a long-serving member of the Eurosonic core group) and it makes the showcase event a must-do for bands, promoters and agents particularly.
This year, the spotlight country was Ireland and we were represented by 21 acts: Bitches with Wolves, Cashier no. 9, Emmet Tinley, Fionn Regan, Foy Vance, Funeral Suits, God Is an Astronaut, Hello Moon, James Vincent McMorrow, Jape, LaFaro, Lisa Hannigan, Mojo Fury, Rams Pocket Radio, Squarehead, The Cast of Cheers, The Minutes, Thread Pulls, Toby Karr, Wallis Bird and We Cut Corners. You can check out all the bands at Music From Ireland’s site who help organise the contingency with help from Culture Ireland. For a full report on how they got on at the festival, read my feature in this Friday’s Day and Night in the Irish Independent (/plug).
The Irish focus was the main reason I was there, as well as to participate in a media panel, but of course, I saw about 30 bands from Wednesday to Saturday, and here were my 10 favourite live shows of the week. Read More… →
Simon Bird’s music thus far has been of an experimental nature (get his V EP on vinyl soon) yet here he approaches Kavinsky’s sexy vocoder dystopian bootycall ‘Nightcall’ with a directness that his own material doesn’t have.
This cover is the first of many from the Quompilation #2 from Quarter Inch Collective which features covers of the best songs from 2011 by… Cloud Castle Lake, The Ambience Affair, Ginola, Girl Band, Logikparty, Lorem Ipsum, Jogging, No Monster Club, Turning Down Sex and Rhino Magic.
It’s released on new-fangled cassettes on January 27th wth a gig in Crawdaddy featuring the compilation bands. Check back here next week for an first listen. You’ll want to hear Cloud Castle Lake’s version of Jacques Greene’s ‘Another Girl’ for starters and who No Monster Club have covered… More details and pre-order. Artwork by Ms. Fuchsia Macaree.
36 tracks from 36 countries. Every month, MAP (Music Alliance Pact) asks music bloggers to represent their home country and to pick a track that represents a nation. The results are posted on all of those blogs on the 15th of each month, downloadable in one file or playable one by one on each blog.
Ireland is represented by Collie Collins with a track taken from his EP produced by Monto.
Despite Hot Chip having a new album pretty much recorded, Joe Goddard continues his restless streak of the last year or two in which he has given us production for DELS, this solo banger and bubblin’ under, The 2 Bears – a project he shares with Greco-Roman Soundystem’s Raf Daddy.
The 2 Bears debut album Be Strong is out this month after a year or so of OK to interesting singles. The house-tinged ‘Work’ however is an absolute standout from an album that runs the gamut of dance and electronica. I also quite like the free download bounce of ‘Time In Mind’.
Last month’s Irish MAP representativeCome On Live Long seriously impressed me live at the State Midnight Mass in The Mercantile just before Christmas and ‘Elephants & Time’ is the standout track from their Mender EP.
Equally improving with time, are Ruairi Lynch’s electronic productions with Bantum, most recently the Lay Lay EP. His remix of ‘Elephants & Time’ uses the atmospheric swirling electronics of the original and punctures it with bass-heavy percussive hits.
