The legends - yes, legends - that are Gang Of Four are quizzed. But be warned: they request the lighting to be turned off, so this is more of an audio thing and less of a video thing...
Every hip indie musician is namechecking (and soundchecking) Gang Of Four these days. But there’s more to the band than scratchy guitars and funky rhythms – as guitarist Andy Gill tells us, their unique sound was forged during a time of musical innovation and political radicalism.
Neither a ‘best of’ nor a collection of new material (the 14 tracks on the first CD are re-recordings of old songs); it’s a record that forces you to recontextualise the band’s work – asking questions about how their critiques of Thatcher’s Britain retain relevance in Blair-weary days.
On the eve of the release of their highly anticipated debut album, Dublin quartet Delorentos take five from their latest video shoot to discuss playing with Gang of Four, hanging with Steve Albini and playing football in Texas.
Annual article: The Electric Picnic wasn’t just one of the musical events of the year; it also let us chow down and have a natter with some of the top pop combos of the day, including Bloc Party, Gang Of Four and New Order.
It was inevitable that some bright producer would make the connection between the monochrome guitars of pre-acid house bands like New Order and Gang Of Four and the decadent grooves of Italo. Joakim is first past the post with this prowling, Hook-meets-Moroder affair.
Just in case you’re wondering, this Glasgow outfit’s moniker apparently means, “the man in the suit” and they claim influences as diverse as The Minutemen and Charles Mingus (I’d also add in Gang of Four). Syncopated, bass heavy with crisp clean guitars and odd time signatures, it’s a tad heavy going but well executed nonetheless
Older listeners will detect more than a hint of 80’s outfits like A Certain Ratio and Gang Of Four while the razor-sharp guitars and syncopated rhythms will evoke comparisons with the likes of Franz Ferdinand
The current wave of '80s revivalism has spawned a rich tapestry of young acts sonically nursed at the teet of Talking Heads, Gang of Four and their ilk. The result has seen a batch of catchy, well-structured tunes, that hark back to the glory days of Byrne, King and performers of a similar vintage. Another genre that dominated that decade, but definitely does not merit revisiting, is the aural abomination that is stadium rock. Unfortunately, here it is, courtesy of the heirs to Busted’s throne… Rooster... rehashed, repackaged, as revolting as ever.
We hope you're feeling hungry because on September 1, 2 and 3, over 50 of the hottest live acts and DJs around are descending on Stradbally Estate in Laois for the Electric Picnic.
He’s remixed Franz Ferdinand, Mylo and Radio 4, and released one of the most innovative titles of recent years in 2001’s It Rough. Now Robi Insinna, aka Manhead, is set to take his music to a larger audience with his eponymously titled new album.
Cork outfit Rulers Of The Planet may have started out with few ambitions other than having lots of fun, but the growing acclaim being afforded their exhilarating brand of corrosive punk-rock means that world domination is an increasingly realistic prospect.
They can rock with the best of them but beneath the guitars-to-eleven mania, Belfast noise-poppers Therapy? have a lot of smart things to say. Their new album was even inspired by an famous playwright
When massive attack decided that they'd meet the press in Dublin, stuart clark got just thirty minutes to prepare for the
interview. But he still manages to talk to 3d about music, football, the band's new album Mezzanine - and the difficulties of making sweet leurve to the sound of your own records.
Massive Attack explain why they are outspoken opponents of the proposed war in Iraq, give high praise to Sinéad O’Connor and reveal how a porn soundtrack left them gasping for airtime.
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.
He’s played with The Corrs and was a member of the real-life Commitments. CONOR BRADY talks about life as one of the great unsung mainstays of Irish rock and roll. photos Ruth Medjber
With their debut single 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' zooming to no.1 in the UK, Arctic Monkeys ended 2005 on a high. They are destined to be the new band of 2006.
Acclaimed music writer Simon Reynolds has revisited the post-punk era with a fascinating set of interview transcripts. He talks about prising choice quotes from Phil Oakey, David Byrne and, after a tense stand-off, Pere Ubu’s David Thomas - and explains why the internet has taken some of the fun out of music
Ahead of their much anticipated Electric Picnic spot, Bloc Party talk about going mad in Westmeath and explain why it’s time for a post-punk concept record.
Those angry young Marxist Punk-Rockers THE MEKONS are back with a new album I Love Mekons and a contribution to a pro-abortion Woman’s Rights compilation . . . but they’re no longer quite so angry or young, not exactly Marxist, and their Punk is reinforced by Folk, Country and World Music! ANDY
DARLINGTON finds out what the hell is going on in Club Mekon.
Jinx Lennon is a true original, a rock'n'roll outsider whose music throbs to the pulse of rural Ireland. Here he talks about attending cocktail parties with David Norris and explains why Dundalk just might be the strangest town in Ireland.
He was a midwife to grunge and has worked with artists as diverse as Marilyn Manson, Hole and Ozzy Osbourne. Far from being a studio boffin, though, Michael Beinhorn believes modern music is too often reliant on technology.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers visited Lansdowne Road, Dublin on July 8 but we caught up with the band in Paris recently and heard why the west coast warriors of funk-rock have never been hotter
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed * along the way
As U2 gear up for the release of No Line On The Horizon, they meet HP to talk about the creation of their latest masterwork, meeting world leaders, the way they’re perceived in Ireland, the current state of the music business and their future plans.
Liam Mackey's 1979
Released when the infant ’79 was still in the grip of winter, Graham Parker’s ‘Squeezing Out Sparks’ stood the test of time and defeated the heaviest competition.
It’s all very free-spirited, some might even say immoral. Certainly relations within The Immediate are unconventional: band members frequently change places, instruments are swapped and vocal duties rotated. There’s a playful grope with U2 here, a quick fumble with Talking Heads there and a covert, climactic Krautrock fondle at the end.
The Crimea manage to fashion epic tales from everyday material, intimate scenarios instilled with the heroic bombast of Greek myth, or a sense of tragedy befitting the Bard.
This is Bloc Party’s first show of the year and surely the last time for a while that they’ll be playing somewhere where the stage is so close to the back wall. They know it too, approaching it with an energy and vitality that suggests they can’t wait to get started.
Having parted company with Primal Scream, Kevin Shields has remixed two Bow Wow Wow tracks for Sofia Coppola’s latest blockbuster-in-the-making, Marie Antoinette.
Their recent appearance in the top ten with a cover of ‘Hounds Of Love’ has provided The Futureheads with the perfect excuse to tart up and re-release last year’s fine but neglected debut L.P. Of course, this is a shameless example of commercial opportunism (the world really could go on spinning without seeing the ropey videos, mumbled interviews and shaky gig footage contained on the bonus DVD), but such is the energy and likeability of said record, only a churl or Stereophonics fan would deny it a further opportunity to invade as many extra collections as it can.
The tables have turned since Nirvana ripped off a Killing Joke song, and Dave Grohl now finds himself contributing to their new album (and possibly Dublin-bound)
While there are air-guitar riffs aplenty – and their rhythm section is one of the more interesting in the country at the moment – there’s just too much bluster and not enough soul.
Less a love triangle than a love rhombus where Ms. Portman and Clive Owen supply the more jagged, pointy bits at the bottom, Closer’s barbed kisses and point-scoring, succubi sex recall Mike Nichols’ earlier scathing sexual treatises,
Having dragged Britain into war, former Prime Minister Tony Blair is now touting his services as a peace-dealer in the middle east. With Christmas on the way, no wonder he's looking crazier than ever before
They said it couldn’t be done, but this year’s Electric Picnic achieved the impossible by being even more joyous, vibey and action-packed than its predecessors. Hot Press was in the thick of things as 200 acts and 30,000 music lovers descended on one very big house in the country.
