On the record

JIM CARROLLon music

REGULAR On the Record readers will know about The Far Side, the radio show which I presented on Dublin’s Phantom FM from 2008. The show began on the night Barack Obama was elected US president and it was apt that it ended this week on the night he was returned to the White House.

The Far Side on Phantom was, you could say, a one-term show.

Presenting a weekly radio show has been a fantastic experience, though there were also some frustrations. For a start, you just can’t possibly shoehorn all the new music and old favourites you want to play into a two-hour slot because there’s always way more music than you can get around to playing.

Readers and listeners regularly requested podcasts and streams, but the station was unfortunately unable to provide these. In 2012, it seems a little odd not to have a radio show available on demand, especially when the technology is present and correct.

Which is where Radio On the Record comes in. Radio OTR is a radio channel programmed by me (so you know who to blame) and powered by Deezer’s streaming service, with a

deep and wide selection of music to soundtrack your day. You’ll be glad to hear that there will be no inane DJ chatter between the tunes.

I’ll add and subtract tunes every week to the playlist so if there’s something you want to hear – and it’s available on Deezer – please get in touch. You can also expect further radio experiments on OTR in the future, so stay tuned.

New music

GEORGE EZRA

Bristol-based singersongwriter with a soulful, sand-blasted, blues voice and sparse, spine-tingling, elegant songs to match. Something here for fans of The Tallest Man On Earth, Daughter and Ben Howard.

[ georgeezra.com ]

PLAYLOUNGE

London-based duo playing noisy, spikey, buzzy, oddly poppy tunes on debut EP Thrash Magic. Playlounge sound a lot like their heroes (No Age, Japandroids, Lemonheads) without ever veering into photocopy territory.

[ playlounge.bandcamp.com ]

ANIMAL BEATS

Limerick-raised, Dublin-based indie kids pushing a rock/pop line with interesting hooks and riffs in the mix. Curtains is their strongest calling card to date, a tune which best catches what lead singer John McDonnell’s voice can do.

[ facebook.com/animalbeats1 ]

Now playing

Jessie Ware

Devotion (PMR)

Splendid slo-mo, soulful works of art from the lady who could have been a football hack and should have won the Mercury Music Prize

Wave Machines

Ill Fit (Neapolitan)

Finger-poppin’ vibes from the Liverpool band’s forthcoming second album, Pollen.

Robert Plant

Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down (Rounder)

Theme tune to Boss, the US TV series with Kelsey Frasier Grammar as the mayor of Chicago. Stars Hannah Ware, Jessie’s sister.

Mor Thiam

Ayo Ayo Nene

Senegalese drummer (and Akon’s dad) Mor Thiam produced this gloriously hypnotic groove back in 1973.

Beck

Where It’s At (Geffen)

Two turntables, a microphone, the Dust Brothers at the controls and Beck at full throttle.