Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley impressed a lot of people here last year with the quirky guitar pop of her debut solo album Grey Will Fade. hotpress catches up with her as she wows the masses at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival.
Fuelled by a DIY approach and a passion for all things musical, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) has notched up some significant achievements in his 27 years. Danielle Brigham meets the producer/musician/label owner/whatever-you-want-him-to-be!
Widely regarded as one of the best steel guitarists in Ireland, Drogheda-based Richard Nelson has been a much in demand session musician, playing and touring with the likes of Daniel O’Donnell and Mary Duff over the years. But don’t hold that against him! In his debut album Moment’s Notice, Nelson has teamed up with the cream of the Irish jazz crop -Dave Redmond on bass, Hugh Buckley on guitar, Phil Ware on piano and Kevin Brady on drums – to produce a collection of jazz standards that sound anything but.
There are more outlets than ever before in Ireland offering tanning services. So why has the Government failed to regulate what is clearly a high risk activity?
With his last album, the brilliant, beautiful and ever-blossoming Rounds, still on high rotation on my domestic jukebox, it was with much delight that I received this, the fourth offering from London laptop genius Kieran Hebden.
Danielle Brigham catches up with new Britrock darlings The Futureheads to discuss their recent gigs in, respectively, a ski resort and the biggest shopping mall in the world, touring with Franz Ferdinand, appearing on The OC soundtrack and their collaboration with Bloc Party.
Having followed Kylie’s career throughout my Australian adolescence, it was with great excitement that I went along to the Point to be reunited with the diminutive singer for the Showgirl: Greatest Hits tour. On the final night of a five night run at the Point, I was intrigued, but not surprised, to see that Kylie had drawn such a cross-section of society.
Antony is one of those rarities for whom the term 'born to sing' is instantly applicable. The deft way in which his voice draws you in is hugely impressive.
Having put his psychiatric problems very firmly behind him, hip hop genius Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva has returned with another landmark album, Awfully Deep. Interview by Danielle Brigham.
It was almost a year ago that I met my Swedish flatmate and first began my love affair with The Knife. I took one listen to ‘Heartbeats’ – the first and still the best track on Deep Cuts – and knew that I’d become privy to something very special. With repeated listening (and selective leaking), I kept The Knife close to my heart. So it was with great trepidation that I learned of the release of Deep Cuts in the rest of Europe.
Teen prodigy George Murphy followed in the footsteps of some of the biggest names in Irish music when he recently performed for the inmates of Wheatfield prison in Clondalkin. Danielle Brigham reports. Photos: Cathal Dawson
The Shamcocks did! Well, it is if you’re one of eighteen women – lesbians all – who’ve decided that it’s time to throw off the shackles and bring a new form of alternative entertainment to the highways and byways of Ireland. Prime mover Jude Cosgrove talks to Danielle Brigham.
When not locking themselves away in 18th-century farmhouses and getting freaked out by UFOs, Mani-endorsed English rockers Kasabian are setting ablaze the UK indie scene and claiming, “If you cut our skins, we bleed rock’n’roll.” Danielle Brigham talks to the group’s consummately charming frontman, Tom Meighan
Never ones to rest on their laurels, The Native Tongues trailblazers, ’80’s survivors and self-described “students of hip hop” have re-emerged with all guns blazing, hoping to recover their mantle as the true guardians of the genre (like you haven’t heard that before). The good news for De La fans is that they have managed exceedingly well.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Australians are surf fanatics from birth. However, that doesn’t mean that participating in the sport isn’t a hugely rewarding experiance, as Hot Press’ resident Antipodean Danielle Brigham discovered when she travelled to Bundoran ahead of the town’s eagerly anticipated ocean festival.
Michael Franti has taken a personal stand against George Bush by leading a peace delegation to the Middle East. Now back in the States where he’s vigorously campaigning against the president, he talks to Danielle Brigham about his experiences in two of the world’s most deadly war zones.
Only a team like Alphastates could masterfully create an ‘anthem’ for the Irish summer replacing the spirit of Ibiza with the all too familiar feeling of being stood up by the sun
From beginning to end, Toots is effervescent with enthusiasm and Elvis-like showmanship. Even without his ten-piece band he’d have raised the roof with his unbelievably robust voice. And as he shifts smoothly between reggae, ska and rock ‘n’ roll, the crowd is utterly enraptured. Raised hands front to back, sing-a-longs like I’ve never before witnessed in this town and a soaring room temperature that would have you believe – if it weren’t for that darned smoking law – that you were in Jamaica.
Perhaps I’m placing too many expectations upon the nine tracks that made the final cut, but suffice it to say that were it not for nostalgic value, this might well have been the album the discography forgot. Die-hard fans might well be appeased but for anyone seeking cutting edge, grab-you-by-the-cochlea dance music, then you won’t find it in this release.
Enan warbles her way through this tune with a lilting Irish softness that she may have picked up during support tours with Gemma Hayes, Damien Rice et al. Despite the cliched lyrics of the I'll-be-there-to-pick-you-up-when-you-are-down variety, this is a promising release from a the multi-talented newcomer.
The Streets’ new album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, looks set to skyrocket Mike Skinner’s status as the voice of hedonistic British youth. Hot Press meets up with Skinner backstage in Derry to discuss the creation of his latest masterwork, the perils of fame, superstar collaborations, hanging out in Ibiza and the art and artifice of his onstage persona.
The physical form of how music is distributed and consumed is changing irrevocably, says Napster chairman Chris Gorog, who claims that this means the inevitable and imminent demise of the compact disc.
Our crack investigative duo check out the first smoke-free Friday night in Dublin and learn, amongst other things, that herbals might not be such a clever alternative. Words: Danielle Brigham and Hannah Hamilton.
The Walls and The Jimmy Cake do their bit for European unity by bringing their music – and an insatiable appetite for the craic – to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Our reporter Danielle Brigham survives to tell the tale.
Hot Press joins The Walls and The Jimmy Cake on their diplomatic mission to welcome the new EU neighbours of the East [includes photo gallery and live audio tracks]
From studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts and providing backing vocals for Westlife, to her Terry Wogan-facilitated assault on the charts and subsequent elevation to bona-fide star status, former Belfast resident Katie Melua has packed an enormous amount into her 19 years.
Rubyhorse has trotted a long and winding road since their humble beginnings recording songs in a Cork City meat processing plant. Moving to Boston in ‘97, the four school friends earned themselves a name playing residencies in Irish bars, eventually propelling their debut album beyond the pint-swilling ex-pats to the mass audiences of Dave Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Good Morning America
From the name you might think Celtic trad, from the album title you might think indigenous Australian and on first listen you might assume French, but hip-hop three-piece Daara J are 100% Senegalese.
A mish-mash of different sounds and styles from goth to Pumpkins-esque alternative to moany-sleazy-girl rock, Auf Der Maur’s album is lacking anything worthy of a mere toe-tap.
Whether it's a four-minute love song about a caress that lasts ten seconds, a journey through the universe in a silver plane or a simple escape form war, Air promise that you'll never have a bad trip with their music. Danielle Brigham talks to Jean-Benoit Dunckel, one half of the enigmatic French duo.
The “war on terrorism” and the death of Irish Happy Hour aside, 2003 has been a year of good times and great tunes. For me, it’s also been a year of daring debuts.
Lamb’s fourth studio release cements their reputation for consistently brilliant and imaginative releases, begging two questions – is there anything they can’t make sound amazing, and if not, is it something it in the Mancunian water?
Daring Hot Press correspondent Danielle Brigham tells in her own words how she dodged knives, nibbled coat-hangers, fire-limboed – well, crawled – and pulled the world’s stretchiest man, all in the course of a day with the fun-loving freaks of the Circus Of Horrors. photos Liam Sweeney
It’s Sunday night, sometime past midnight. In the snooty setting of the DEAF VIP Bar, deep within the bowels of the Guinness Storehouse, hotpress meets with a jovial Paul St. Hilaire - all smiles and white, moussy moustache, busy lining up his complementary pints before closing time.
It’s Sunday night, sometime past midnight. In the snooty setting of the DEAF VIP Bar, deep within the bowels of the Guinness Storehouse, hotpress.com meets with a jovial Paul St. Hilaire - all smiles and white, moussy moustache, busy lining up his complementary pints before closing time.
Photos, vox pops and child-friendly Guinness cocktails: hotpress.com brings you all the spills and thrills from the biggest event on the electronic music calender
How much of the 50 Cent phenomenon is for real and how much for effect? Danielle Brigham meets the mainman and his crew in Dublin and attempts to make sense of the shootings and the sales figures.
Unless Leaving Audiences Gaping At Watches has become the new rule of thumb for the R’n’B diva, Kelly’s performance – clocking in at just under 45 minutes – simply did not cut it.
Decal, Rollers/Sparkers, Redneck Manifesto, Spectac, Donal Tierney, Michael Morris, Nina Hynes, The Tycho Brae, Lacklustre, Felix Kubin, Max Tundra, Wevie Stonder, Pierre Bastien & The Mecanium Orchestra + more
Manu Chao may not be able to change the world, but he’s certainly conquered it with his unique fusion of musical styles. Fresh from a sell-out show in The Point, he talks to Danielle Brigham about journeying to the North Pole, trashing Argentinian TV studios and “Mr. Bush, the number one terrorist.” Photographs: Cathal Dawson.
Every now and then you attend a gig that extends far beyond a live music event. Something clicks in the space between your ears and you feel you’ve been changed forever. For the several thousand in attendance, Massive Attack created one of those hyperbole-inducing, ultimately indescribable experiences.
Lipstick Traces comprises two CDs of covers, live, and unreleased tracks spanning their eleven-year career of consistently strong, intellectual rock on release.
A whopping 60 songs were reportedly recorded for this album, and if these are the best 16 then one can only wonder what those were like that didn’t make the cut.
