Unofficial curator of the New York club scene and head of a creative emporium many have described as a contemporary version of Warhol’s factory, LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy is rapidly emerging as one of the biggest players in the U.S. underground. He tells Barry O’Donoghue how it happened
Though Dave’s Radio’s follow-up to the top 20 track ‘Kids’ sits in the central lane of indie-rock, there’s a mighty dose of punk arrogance and a spooky electronic-type instrument throughout that sets this Dublin trio apart from the more, er, standard domestic bands. And you have to give props to a song whose hook bears more than a passing resemblance to ‘On Repeat’ by LCD Soundsystem. Hugely promising stuff.
Poised between the understated electro-sounds of LCD Soundsystem and the playfulness of The Chalets, London’s Hot Chip have struck gold with the lead single from new album The Warning. Like its name implies, the track makes an art out of monotony. There are no inspiring middle eights or climatic finishes. Instead, the same mid-tempo beats are slowly drummed into our heads, before its subtle end, when we wake up from our trance, dust ourselves off and walk away, oddly content.
LCD Soundsystem's frontman James Murphy talks about working with Justin Timberlake, his Cork ancestors and recalls the time he almost hooked up with Arcade Fire
Their self-titled album was one of the very best records of 2005, and with the follow-up, Sound Of Silver, James Murphy has delivered another absolute cracker.
Newcomer electro-rockers produce a hyperactive, ear-decimating album that screams with heavy synth and rhythms, but dies with a lack of inspiration and creativity.
In the continuing craze of genre- invention that’s sweeping the planet, LCDS are, apparently, a ‘discopunk’ act. You may get an idea of what this sounds like if I tell you that The Rapture have released some pretty ‘discopunk’ material, and I’d imagine Warp Records’ !!! (pronounced chink, chink, chink) fall into the same bracket.
In a highly revealing interview, Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke talks about the inspiration behind one of the albums of the year, his current listening and the band's plans for the future.
It’s hot and sweaty nights out ahoy! as LCD Soundsystem mainman James Murphy pays an October DJ visit to Dublin’s Button Factory with DFA pal Pat Mahoney.
From the goodtime vibes of Hot Chip to the full-on sonic assault of Primal Scream, this year's Electric Picnic was even more fab than its predecessors.
Independent Irish acts have been enjoying unparalleled success recently both at home and abroad. We talk to some of the key bands, DJs, bedroom boffins, labels, fanzines, record shops and blogs who've decided to follow the DIY path to glory.
The synth-rock (or electro-indie if you like) bedroom ascetics – who heretofore brought you the charming line “I’m like Stevie Wonder, but I can see things” – have by their own acknowledgement looted the mechanical music museum, spending a lifetime distilling their record collection into manageable, tongue-in-cheek precipitates like whiskey or MSG.
They’re middle-class Irish boys who aren’t afraid to get their funk on '70s style. Meet Kill City Defectors, Kildare’s answer to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Their odd-ball sound is hard to pin down, but that hasn’t prevented indie rockers 8 Ball from becoming one of the most buzzed about Irish groups on the scene.
They’re one of the buzziest bands in indie-dom. But beneath the burbly synths and upbeat melodies, Hockey are serious songwriters with a passion for Dylan. And no, they don’t mind if you think they sound a little like LCD Soundystem
Get your dancing shoes on. Electro newcomers Magistrates are here to rock your blocks off. They talk about hanging out with Damon Albarn, worshipping Michael Jackson and living up to the legacy of heroes like Bowie and Talking Heads
If you can get over the slightly worrying sensation of a city of nine million crowded around one increasingly frayed hymnsheet, Yes New York has much to recommend it.
Annual article: Phil Kieran and DJ Papillion were two of the outstanding names in a fantastic year for dance music, says Mark Kavanagh. Plus the dance charts of 2005.
Eighties influences are clearly on show and it would be in the newly-regrouped Spandau Ballet’s interests to investigate Friendly Fires’ far superior breed of new wave synth-pop.
Since the release of their sophomore album Antics late last year, New York goth-rock quartet Interpol have risen to the pantheon of great contemporary bands. In a rare in-depth interview, the group’s erudite frontman Paul Banks here discusses the making of Antics, their upcoming support slot with U2, the band’s peers in the NYC indie scene, The Strokes, Nirvana and David Lynch - and where one of the most acclaimed groups of recent years go to from here. Interview by Paul Nolan.
I once put it to Liam Howlett that if Harrison Ford had strayed into a nightclub for a boogie in Blade Runner, the resident live band would most probably have looked and sounded like The Prodigy.
Yes, the incessant downpour ensured that Punchestown Racecourse often looked more like the set of a World War 1 epic than a music festival, but the rain couldn't dampen the 80,000-strong Oxegen crowd's spirits, not to mention the fiery performances delivered by Arctic Monkeys, Franz, The Who, the Chili Peppers and a cast of, well, hundreds.
Think you've got them all right? Or maybe you fancy a sneaky peak (you're only cheating yourself you know!). Either way, you've got the questions – we've got the answers....
