Charlie has spoken. EU Internal Market commissioner Charlie McCreevy has decided it’s time for peace talks in the long-running barney between electronics companies and musical-rights societies over copyright levies.
(more…)
Arrr, me hearties! The first intake of singing pirates for Hal Willner’s Rogues Gallery show in Dublin on July 18 have been announced.
Those enlisted by the much-experienced producer include Teddy Thompson, Waterson Carthy, Gavin Friday, Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, the awesome Julie Fowlis, Baby Gramps, Ed Harcourt, Rachel Unthank and The Winterset. More will be added in the coming weeks.
This live show, based around Willner’s album of pirate ballads, sea songs and shanties, is part of this year’s Analog festival in Dublin’s docklands, which also features Tortoise, Efterklang, Silje Nes, Liars (video below) and Taraf De Haidouks.
On The Record hearts Sigur Ros album titles. Album number five, “Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust” (or “With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly” in English), is released on June 20. Download album sampler “Gobbledigook” for free from the Electric Picnic-bound band here.
The Adventures Of Flannery is Johnny Gogan’s documentary on the always engaging Cathal Coughlan. It will be screened at Dublin’s IFI on June 15th.
The vastly overrated, mind-numbingly boring and outrageously bland Coldplay play a pre-Xmas show at Belfast’s Odyssey on December 18th. Be thankful Dublin’s Point is unavailable due to building work.
Remember that Morrissey show on June 28 that we told you about here? Well, it’s back on. The venue is now the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin 8 and not Luggala, in the middle of Co Wicklow as originally was the case (though we hear that POD’s A Day In The Life festival may still be going ahead at Luggala). Tickets for Mozzy in Dublin, priced €55, go on sale on Friday morning.
Lauren Murphy was in Brighton the other week for The Great Escape, the new-ish festival which likes to think of itself as SXSW-On-Sea. She saw many, many things including some cracking bands. Here’s the A&R report featuring her Top 7 acts from this year’s fest.
(more…)
I noticed a very interesting ad from MCD on the DART from the Springsteen shows at the weekend. They’ve stuck four of their summer outdoor shows together - the ones which are not selling, obviously - and are promoting them under the banner of ‘use public transport to get to the show’. That’s the connection they’re using to advertise the Boyzone, Radiohead, Prince and Linkin Park shows together on the same poster.
Leaving aside that there’s still a bit of a walk involved if, say, you’re getting the DART to Prince at Croke Park from either Clontarf Road or Connolly Station, it’s noticable how public transport have become so prominent in the rock’n'roll despatches these years. Whether it’s Radiohead encouraging their fans to use public transport to get to the shows (though it would help if they’d have the gigs on in easy-to-access city centre venues rather than the ‘burbs - and this applies as much in the United States as Ireland) or Oxegen promoting their green side, encouraging eco-friendly travel options have become the way of the walk.
But you have to wonder if this really has any effect on gig-goers. Ireland’s public transport infrastructure is far from world-class, mainly because successive adminstrations have been so car-friendly in their planning, that taking the bus or train is often just not an option. They may get you within 30 minutes of the venue, but only if there are no delays, hold-ups or strikes by langers taking the hump over something or other in Cork.
Yet there is definitely a demand for this. A few people on one of the Crazy Ol’ Tom (™ On The Record) threads have already posed questions about getting public transport to the Phoenix Park, for instance, and the Dublin Bus/Bus Eireann coaches to gigs always seem to be heavily subscribed. It would be interesting to know just how much public transport plays in deciding if people go to gigs or not. It’s probably down the list compared to price and line-up, but does it even come into the equation?
We’re big fans of Adrian Crowley and his excellent “Long Distance Swimmer” album round these parts so we were delighted that he accepted the invitation to join our On The Road club. Adrian is currently doing UK shows supporting both Silver Jews, Devon Sproule and Vetiver so expect more posts from him in the weeks to come.
(more…)
If you lose out in tomorrow’s Ticketmaster lottery, please don’t come complaining to us. Instead, spend the €131.25 you would have splurged on a night out with Crazy Ol’ Tom (™ On The Record) on FIVE tickets for the Future Days festival at Vicar Street on June 14 with Dan Deacon, Jape, Deerhunter, High Places and White Williams. The choice is yours: five fabulous acts for €22.50 or Crazy Ol’ Tom (™ On The Record) for €131.25.
Canucks The Most Serene Republic are in Ireland this week and play shows in Dublin (Whelan’s, Wednesday), Galway (Roisin Dubh, Thursday) and Cork (Cyprus Avenue Friday)
Thanks to Aiken Promotions, we have a pair of tickets to give away for each show in our dastardly competition.
As all you bright and well-connected On The Record readers know, the Stanley Cup play-offs are underway at the moment and the Detroit Redwings slaughtered the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 in Game One on Saturday night…. You did know that, right? Hold on, you did realise that ice-hockey’s premier mash-up was on at the moment? No?
Well… Whatever, all you have to do is study the following clips of ice-hockey action (warning: one of them is X-rated) and imagine what RTE football pundits Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady, Johnny Giles and, sure why not, Bill O’Herlihy would have to say about them. That’s right, Jim has fixed it, you are the pundits. Remember to tell me which show (Dublin, Galway or Cork) you’d like to go to see. Entries close noon Wednesday and the wittiest ones win.
Goal!
Handbags
Ouch!
And here are the band in action. I’m assuming they’re ice-hockey fans
(1) I don’t think I’ve ever been at live shows in Ireland where the audience spanned every possible generation as much as they did over the last three nights in the RDS. From the gentleman who was proudly attending his 77th Bruce Springsteen show to the 18 year old kids singing along to every single word of “The Promised Land”, this was a show for all the family.
(2) It was Friday night fever for me. Yes, I thought Thursday’s gig was fantastic (that version of “Thunder Road” was breathtaking) and Sunday’s show was epic (especially the encore which began with “Tenth Avenue Freezeout” and had “Ramrod” and “Glory Days” coming after usual show closer “American Land”, as if the band wanted the night to go on forever), but there was something about how the band rocked, how the sound was so punchy, how the set-list ran and how Bruce was on fire which made Friday the pick of the weekend. Maybe it was pay-day for the E Street Band - as well as for some of the working stiffs in the audience - and that explained the euphoria.
(3) People now like to throw their kids at Bruce. For some reason, parents feel happy to lob their kids at Bruce in the hope that he will either kiss them or dance with them, as if he was running for public office. There was nearly a stampede in the pit every time Bruce appeared at either end of the runway as parents flung their kids at him, even though he now sometimes resembles Max Cady close-up. Sorry Bruce.
(4) After Friday’s show, the E Street Band took over a bowling alley in Stillorgan for the night. True story.
(5) There was a terrible rumour doing the rounds that Bono was going to do a guest turn on one of the nights. Thank our lucky stars that one turned out to be false. By the way, Southside Johnny, who turned up to share a mic on the first night, really is the dead spit of Steve Earle.
(6) This really is how bands should do big open-air shows. No need for elaborate stage-sets, no point bothering with pyrotechnics, no call for choreographed dancing: all you need as a red-hot band, a singer giving his all and a set of fantastic songs that you really need two and a half hours to get through. I suppose the problem is that most acts don’t really have those three crucial elements.
(7) After just a couple of months, “Livin’ In The Future” has already become a classic and not just because of its generous quota of “sha na na” moments. In fact, a lot of the new songs are bedding down well
(8) The one dull spot of the whole weekend? That would be the truly terrible RTE TV documentary on Bruce which they aired (naturally) at silly o’clock on Friday night. While the interviews with Springsteen, done by pol corr David McCullough, were grand and dandy, the programme seemed to have been edited together by a couple of work experience numpties and looked shoddy, cheap and disjointed. But, hey, do we really expect anything else from RTE when it comes to music? They’ve become the station who prefer to put their time, money and effort into trying to hype a stupid glove puppet.
(9) Watching Springsteen and co for three nights was a life-affirming joy. For all the shows and bands that I get to see and hear week in and week out, nothing beats watching these masters at work. I’m not really a fan of these big outdoor extravaganzas - give me a new band in a small room and I’m far happier - but Springsteen made the vast expanses of the RDS seem like a sweaty, loud room.
(10) Bruce’s pole-dancing showed that perhaps Little Stevie was not the only one hanging out at the Bada Bing these last few years.
(11) Anyone know if there are tickets left for the last European show in Barcelona’s Camp Nou on July 20?
As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday May 24, 10pm-midnight.
The Hold Steady “Sequestered In Memphis” (Rough Trade)
Albert Hammond Jr “In My Room” (Rough Trade)
Paul Weller “Echoes Around the Sun” (Island)
Foxboro Hot Tubs “Stop Drop & Roll” (Jingle Town)
No Age “Teen Creeps” (Sub Pop)
The Blacks “Raincoat” (Tricycle City)
Wilco “Glad It’s Over” (Nonesuch)
Jape “Phil Lynott” (Co-Op)
The Bug & Tippa Irie “Angry” (Ninja Tune)
Ragga Twins “Tan So Back” (Soul Jazz)
Alphabeat “Fantastic Six” (Charisma)
Mexican Institute of Sound “Escribeme Pronto (DJ Gorky Remix)” (Cooking
Vinyl)
Ratatat “Mirando” (XL)
Leila/Martina Topley Bird “Deflect” (Warp)
What Time Is It? It’s Boss Time! One hour of Bruce Springsteen for the weekend that’s in it
“Born To Run” (Live)
“Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” (Live)
“Atlantic City”
“The Promised Land”
“Spirit In The Night”
“It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City” (Live)
“Thunder Road” (Live)
“War” (Live)
“Radio Nowhere”
“Darlington County”
“Open All Night”
“The River”
Bud Rising, one of the country’s most prominent music sponsors, is currently reviewing its involvement in the sector.
(more…)
Is it possible for a festival to be eco-friendly? The people behind the Irish Green Gathering, which will take place for the second year at Woodbrook Estate, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford from August 8th to 10th, think so.
Acts already confirmed include Giveamanakick, Jinx Lennox, Fred, Large Mound, Rarely Seen Above Ground, Channel One, Guggenheim Grotto (video below), Grand Pocket Orchestra, Ikeaboy, Ilya K, The Torann Drummers, The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, Gavin Moore, Ian Whitty & the Exchange, Gorbachov, Adebisi Shank, Dub Investigation, Ugly Megan, Pocket Promise, 79 Cortinaz, Avi Vine, Engine Room Orchestra, Deaf Animal Orchestra, Sweet Jane, Kevin Blake and Margaret Healy, with DJ sets from Lyric FM’s John Kelly, Today FM’s Donal Dineen and 2FM’s Dan Hegarty.
The festival’s green credentials will be demonstrated in the shape of workshops, discussion groups and films on green issues and low-carbon green lifestyles, as well as stalls hawking the latest in green-ware and gadgets.
Weekend tickets (€65) and day tickets (€25) are now on sale.
When it comes to music programming, the Galway Arts Festival has always shown a lot of love for singer-songwriters, and this year Tom Baxter and KT Tunstall play the festival Big Top on July 23rd.
However, there’s plenty to offset that one. Iconic veterans Blondie play the tent on July 24th, while the Dandy Warhols and Ash buddy up for a double-bill the night after.
Buena Vista Social Club siren Omara Portuondo appears on July 20th, and excellent desert bluesmen Tinariwen (video below) and Cape Verde diva Mayra Andrade play on July 22nd.
Send your tuxedo to the dry-cleaners pronto - Duke Special is about to do a posh gig. The Duke performs at the National Concert Hall, Dublin on August 22nd with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Twin Kranes continue their getting-to-know-you waltz with Andy Votel’s Twisted Nerve label, with appearances at various label showcases, including Barcelona’s Primavera Festival on May 27th.
Today FM’s Ann-Marie Kelly’s series How To Be looks at the Franciscan friars based in Limerick’s Moyross this Saturday at 6pm
As predicted by On The Record a couple of weeks ago (and subsequently “borrowed” by other news sources who still managed to get the number of nights wrong), Tom Waits plays three shows in Dublin this summer. These will be in an all-seated marquee in the Phoenix Park (to be called The Ratcellar). Tickets will be €116.25 and €131.25 and will go on sale on Tuesday next at 9am
About last night…. Broken Social Scene at Vicar Street were good, but No Age at Whelan’s were sublime. The BSS gig was a wonderfully ramshackle greatest hits set right from the heart of Queen Street, but No Age were awesome, throwing down a mean, energetic set of superbad bangers. If you haven’t checked out their amazing “Nouns” album yet, make amends today. As for that stupid turkey, it’s fantastic news that Dustin and his woeful, unfunny song and act was turfed out of the Eurovision. Why do we persist in thinking that a glove puppet in a shopping trolley is actually funny? Can’t wait to hear what Liveline is going to like today. Thank you Europe. I’m voting Yes to Lisbon after this.
Great minds think alike and this also applies to commissioning editors and sub-editors at the Irish Sunday papers who suffered a nasty dose of the Ys at the weekend. Here’s Jennifer O’Connell in the Sunday Business Post writing about Generation Y. And, what do you know, here’s Christine Bohan in the Sunday Tribune also talkin’ about the Y Generation. Next weekend, how about a few pieces on Generation Z?
From the Bleedin’ Obvious Department: Rolling Stone looks at how high ticket prices could hit the live music business. Jeez, they should ask some of the Irish promoters about that one.
Also from the Bleedin’ Obvious Department: Rolling Stone (again) on bands need to do other things to make cash now that they can’t flog CDs.
The reason why you hear the same tunes over and over again on the radio is because they test well, per the Guardian. And oh yes, Irish stations ruthlessly test their playlists too. One music programming dude told me a while back that Irish audiences always respond really well to singer-songwriters. Fact, sadly.
We’re not the only ones to heart Lykke Li. Here’s an interview from The Times.
Anyone for some fuming Radiohead fans? Don’t all rush at once. According to Billboard, a bunch of Yorkalists are up in arms over problems and delays encountered in getting to a recent ‘Head gig due to really bad weather conditions and the location of the venue in wildest Virginia. Lovin’ this comment:
If you gave even one tiny llama turd about environmental impact, you would never have scheduled a show at a venue 40 miles away from downtown D.C., nowhere near public transportation of any kind
There you are now. The first ever appearance of a “llama turd” in On The Record. Thanks Thom.
Dallas to Live Nation: pay up. Turns out the live music giant owes the good people of the Texan city $800,000. That’s about €118, isn’t it?
How to save the music industry (part 24,516). Wired details the five point plan which consumer research agency The Leading Question and music business info bods Music Ally believe might - might - just save the business. Most of them make sense, especially number five:
Trust the DJ: Online means anyone can access or own John Peel’s entire record collection, but the instant and massive availability of music on demand means you need a trusted guide like John Peel more than ever. The new layers of value will come from the social connections that come about through music as much as from the music itself.
And finally, here’s how the Recording Industry Association of America catches music pirates. Now you know.
Well done to all concerned who pulled off the Animal Collective late-night show in Whelan’s in Dublin last night.
The gig was supposed to be on in Tripod but was cancelled when the band missed their ferry. Well, they obviously got another ferry or a flight because a lot of mobile phones started to go mad from 7pm onwards with texts about the rescheduled show at Whelan’s.
By all accounts (more texts from the likes of Pedro), it was a fabulous gig - though there seems to be at least one fan who is not amused by what happened.
UPDATE Animal Collective give their side of the story here
If we knew they were coming, we’d have a baked a cake or a rhubarb tart (awesome amount of rhubarb in the garden at the moment). We’re talking, of course, about Rock the Vote. They launched their Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign this morning and, joy, are promising a slew of new videos in the run-up to the big day. Fantastic news.
Here, is Mary still working for them? And is their then chief bottle-washer Patrick Cosgrave still having a kip?
Riley, the DJ who does the show after me on Phantom on Saturday nights, is a great man for blowing the dust off CDs you’d half-forgotten about. A while back, it was Into Paradise’s “Churchtown” album which made for some nostalgia-tinged memories. Last Saturday, he arrived into the studio brandishing a copy of “Live for Ireland”, the album released after the Self-Aid love-in in May 1986. Sadly, a bit like the notion behind the concert itself, few of the performances have stood the test of time. But 22 years ago, every Irish musician of note who could hold an instrument in their hands converged on the RDS in Dublin to “highlight and help the unemployed”, to quote the sleeve-notes.
We were much more innocent in those days before the country became the republic of leisure it has been for the decade or so. Back then, the notion of having an all-day concert to come up with money and jobs for the unemployed was one to which many people subscribed.
Besides the concert at the RDS featuring the great, the good and the Cactus World News, there was also a RTE telethon where jobs and cash could be donated by the general public. If you had a spare job going in your office, hotel or shop, you could ring up the national broadcaster and they would add it to the total. The belief was that performances by U2, Paul Brady, Thin Lizzy, Scullion, Chris Rea (honourary Irishman back then), Christy Moore, Chris De Burgh (if your name was Chris, apparently, you were in), the Pogues, Bagatelle and The Fountainhead would encourage people to stand up, grab the phone and find jobs under their beds.
Shake your head now at such nonsense, but a couple of thousand jobs of one kind or another were plucked out of thin air. Whether these jobs actually came about as a result of the event or even produced long-term employment is a moot point. As we saw with events like Live 8 and Live Earth, rock extraganzas don’t solve economic, political or environmental problems, but are excellent opportunities for acts to use TV coverage to give their own releases a promotional boost.
Hey, now there’s an idea. Maybe we need a Self Aid 2 to help a ton of new Irish acts flog some of those CDs and paid-for downloads they’re having problems shifting? You could always use the idea that a big ol’ concert would help to re-address the economic downturn which is just around the corner. I’m sure one of the mobile phone companies would be happy to come onboard with some sponsorship love (Self Aid - Make The Most of Now sounds like a good tag to me). Any takers? Or am I opening a can of worms here?
As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday May 17, 10pm-midnight.
Arveene & Misk “Rave Against The Arveene” (White)
Health “Triceratops (Acid Girls Remix)” (Lovepump United)
Skatt Brothers “Walk the Night” (Casablanca)
Liquid Liquid “Cavern” (Domino)
Brendan Canning “Hit the Wall” (Arts & Crafts)
Wolf Parade “Language City” (Sub Pop)
The Blacks “Raincoat” (Tricycle City)
White Denim “Look That Way At It” (Full Time Hobby)
Santogold “Lights Out” (Lizard King/Atlantic)
Lykke Li “Let It Fall” (LL)
Kleerup “Until We Bleed” (EMI)
Ratatat “Shiller” (XL)
Lee Dorsey “Yes We Can Part 1″ (Polydor)
The Sisters Love “Give Me Your Love” (Motown)
Soul Messengers “Our Lord & Savior” (Royal Kingdom)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble “Marcus Garvey” (Self-release)
Innocent Youths “Lou Sent Me” (Summer)
Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson “Around the World” (Sonar Kollektiv)
Kylie Auldist “Everybody Here Wants You” (Tru Thoughts)
Carly Sings “Mirror” (Carly Sings)
Doctors & Dealers “Summertime Love” (Bluesong)
Kimya Dawson “Tire Swing” (K)
Nina Simone “Give Me A Pigfoot & A Bottle Of Beer” (Charly)
Blind Willie Johnson “John the Revelator” (Legacy)
Bon Iver “The Wolves (Act 1 & 2)” (Jagjaguwar)
Typical: you wait weeks and weeks for news of some summer festivals to come along and then several appear all at once.
(more…)
It’s already been a bumper year for Irish albums, with notable releases from Gemma Hayes, Chequerboard, Republic Of Loose, Crayonsmith and Jape.
Others to add to that list in the coming weeks and months include the much talked about - and blogged about - Carly Sings, who releases her debut album The Glove Thief on June 6th.
Not all Dublin singer- songwriters sit on the folky fence and alt-pop activist Conor Furlong releases his Eternal debut album on May 30th.
Expect to see Lisa Hannigan’s debut finally making an appearance in 2008 as well. She’ll be roadtesting songs from that set on her summer-long tour, which kicks off in Cork’s Cyprus Avenue on June 6th.
The Flaws were one of the brightest sparks in the class of 2007. A band who refused to let record-label incompetence stand in their way, they released their fine debut album, Achieving Vagueness, under their own steam.
Today sees the release of a new single, Out Tonight, followed by a bout of gigging, including appearances at the Glastonbury, Castle Palooza, Indie Pendence and Electric Picnic festivals.
However, they start off this run in a venue with a roof on it, in an all-ages show at Dundalk’s Spirit Store tomorrow afternoon.
Make a June Bank Holiday weekend date with Mr Scruff, the Mancunian tea-dancer who plays shows in Cork (Savoy, May 30th), Galway (Black Box, May 31st) and Limerick (Trinity Rooms, June 1st). His Dublin date will be at the Button Factory on June 14th.
Get an advance preview of tracks from Cork-born house producer Mark O’Sullivan’s new album, Fragments From a Long Country, at his MySpace site.
Arcade Fire are moving into the film soundtrack business, supplying the score for The Box, the new film from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly.
On The Record understands that Morrissey will play a second Irish show this summer and the venue is likely to be Luggala Estate, Co Wicklow on June 28.
As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday May 10, 10pm-midnight.
The Presets “A New Sky” (Modular)
The Tough Alliance “Neo Violence” (Sincerely Yours)
CSS vs Tom Tom Club “Lets Make Love (Streetlife DJs mix)” (White)
Warrior Queen & The Heatwave “Things Change” (Soul Jazz)
Kid Sister “Girlie Rock (Flosstradamus mix)” (Fools Gold)
Vampire Weekend “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Black Dominoes Remix)” (White)
The Ettes “Marathon” (Self-released)
Port O’Brien “I Woke Up Today” (American Dust)
Chikita Violenta “Laydown” (Noiselab)
The Virgins “Rich Girls” (Anything)
Wilco “Glad Its Over” (Nonesuch)
Arms “Kids Aflame” (Melodic)
El Guincho “Cuando Maavilla” (Discoteca Océano)
Animal Collective “Water Curses” (Domino)
Of Montreal “Gronlandic Edit” (Polyvinyl)
Spaceman 3 “Big City (Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve remix)” (White)
Fleet Foxes “Drops In The River” (Sub Pop)
Lykke Li “Complaint Department” (LL)
Florence & the Machine “Girl With 1 Eye” (Moshi Moshi)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums “I Can’t Tell In His Eyes” (Leaf)
Shearwater “Rooks” (Matador)
Deerhunter “Like New” (Kranky)
Windmill “Planning Stopped” (Melodic)
Grizzly Bear “Knife” (Warp)
Final Fantasy & Ed Droste “Possibly Maybe” (Stereogum)
Four Tet “Castles Made Of Sand” (Domino)
Martin Denny “Enchanted Sea” (Liberty)
Voice of the 7 Woods “The Smoking Furnace” (Twisted Nerve)
Zero 7 “This World” (Ultimate Dilemma)
I’m away from the computer screen for the next 10 days or so and will not be updating the blog during this time.
Comments will be updated (big thanks to Conor) so please keep talking amongst yourselves. You can use this post to connect with your favourite randomers, discuss Tom Waits or work out just why there are as many gigs happening in June as in May.
Normal service resumes on May 15. Or May 16. Depends on the weather.
As played on Phantom 105.2, Saturday May 3, 10pm-midnight.
Yacht “Platinum” (Marriage)
MIA “Paper Planes (DFA Remix)” (XL)
LCD Soundsystem “Big Ideas” (Columbia)
Santogold “You’ll Find A Way” (Lizard King/Atlantic)
Crystal Castles “Alice Practice” (Last Gang)
Duchess Says “Rabies” (Alien8)
Simian Mobile Disco “Clock” (Wichita)
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip “Look for the Woman” (Sunday Best)
Flying Lotus “Riot” (Warp)
Oppenheimer “Take the Whole Midrange And Boost It” (Fantastic Plastic)
Born Ruffians “Hummingbird” (Warp)
Magic Wands “Black Magic” (Ark)
Holy Fuck “Royal Gregory” (Young Turk/XL)
Von Sudenfed “Fledermaus Can’t Get It” (Domino)
Gil Scott-Heron “The Bottle” (Strata-East)
Kylie Auldist “That’s Why” (Tru Thoughts)
Goldfrapp “Happiness (Metromony remix)” (Mute)
The Notwist “Alphabet” (City Slang)
David Holmes “McCready Rides Again” (Oh Yeah)
Portishead “Hunter” (Island)
Nick Cave “Into My Arms” (Mute)
Halves “The Lamp Dies….” (Hate Is The Enemy)
Chequerboard “Toy WInds” (Lazybird)
Essie Jain “Haze” (Leaf)
Mara Carlyle “Vietnamerie” (EMI)
Dorothy Ashby “Wine” (Cadet)
Gil Evans Orchestra “Bilboa Song” (Impulse)
Yes, it is beginning to appear that June is the new May. Here’s the full line-up for the first Future Days festival, brought to you by Foggy Notions and Forever Presents, to be held in various Dublin venues in June.
Thursday June 12 - Matmos and Si Schroeder - Andrew’s Lane Theatre
Friday June 13 - Low, Atlas Sound and The Holy Roman Army - Andrew’s Lane Theatre
Saturday June 14 - Dan Deacon, Jape, White Williams, High Places and more - Vicar Street
Sunday June 15 - Bonnie Prince Billy, Baby Dee and Paul Curreri - Vicar Street
Sunday June 15 - Metronomy and Spilly Walker - Andrew’s Lane Theatre (late)
Info on tickets to come. And as if we needed an excuse for this….
The biggest music event of the week was not that Coldplay downplay, but rather the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.
(more…)
Further evidence that the record industry is in need of a radical pick-me-up came when the Recording Industry Association of America released its stats for 2007.
The good news: digital formats now account for nearly a quarter of all US music sales, with a headline figure of 809.9 million paid-for song downloads, a whopping 38 per cent increase on 2006.
The bad news: CD sales continue to slip and slide, down 17.5 per cent on 2006’s figures.
The really bad news: while sales volumes may be up, revenue is down 11.8 per cent on the previous year. That means less money in the pot, less money to invest in new bands and less money to pay the wages.
Those seeking a taster for David Holmes’s forthcoming album should check out the new compilation from the Oh Yeah music centre in Belfast.
Holmes has contributed a new track, McCready Rides Again, to the Oh Yeah Sessions ‘08 release.
The compilation also features tunes from the hotly tipped In Case of Fire, The Jane Bradfords, Kowalski, Panama Kings and others. Eight of the tracks were recorded at Oh Yeah’s in-house studio.
There are some shows which are selling out this weather. All tickets for funkmaster Maceo Parker’s gig at the Mermaid Arts Centre as part of the Bray Jazz Festival tomorrow night have been snapped up.
This year’s FeileAfrica fest in Cork runs from May 22nd-25th with shows from Gregory Isaacs, Afrocelt Sound System’s N’faly Kouyate and many others.
Master At Work Kenny Dope will spend the June bank holiday weekend in Ireland with shows at Dublin’s Tivoli (May 31st) and Limerick’s Baker Place (June 1st
Meet my new favourite Mexican band. It used to be Molotov, but it’s now Chikita Violenta. And they sound mighty.
(more…)
