'Dambé, The Mali Project' – a documentary featuring Irish musicians Liam O Maonlai and Paddy Keenan – has been added to the bill for this year's Jameson Dublin Film Festival.
They came from the East Link Bridge bearing, er, silly hats and false beards, actually. Stuart Clark meets the holy trinity of Christy Dignam, Liam O Maonlai and Ronnie Drew as Aslan, the Flowers and The Dubs prepare for their New Year's party at the Point.
Don’t go, they said. but they didn’t follow their own advice. Now, after much professional and personal upheaval, the Hothouse Flowers are back, once more in love with the idea of “ringin’ the bell”.
In her new documentary – Dambe, The Mali Project – Dearbhla Glynn follows musicians Liam O Maonlai and Paddy Keenan on a musical journey to the heart of Mali.
Hot Press celebrates Irish Language Week with a series of features in both English and Irish, as well as interviews with prominent Irish-speaking personalities. Stay tuned for regular updates.
For his long-awaited first solo album he’s chosen a bunch of mostly traditional songs and tunes, many of which have mystical (and mist-ical) undertones and overtones.
After a four-year sabbatical, hothouse flowers are back. john walshe talks to arch-botanists Liam, Fiachna and Peter about just what it was that kept them out of the limelight (or should that be sunlamp) for so long.
While some concern has been expressed about the future of Irish, all the current indications are that the enthusiasm of the people – who are learning the language now with greater gusto than ever – will ensure that it not only survives but thrives.
Flute player conor byrne s lineage is a musically illustrious one his two uncles happen to be none other than Christy Moore and Luka Bloom. But, as he tells sarah Mcquaid, he s anxious that his music be judged on its own merits.
Journey is not merely a trawl through the ubiquitous Donal Lunny's back pages but a compulsory purchase potted summary of three decades of Irish trad and the company it's been keeping.
Jackie Hayden drops in on comedian Carol Tobin hoping to catch her doing some air comedy practice ahead of her forthcoming appearance in Kilkenny at the Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Festival. Instead he meets a woman who seems to be barred from half of Ranelagh and finds out why there are no goldfish around.
In one of Irish music’s worst kept secrets, The Frames played Whelan’s recently, road testing some new songs and being joined on stage by a number of special guests. John Walshe reports from ringside.
Exclusive: Kevin Shields, the missing presumed lost genius of Irish rock, re-emerges to tell the truth about sandbags and barbed wire, the making of Loveless, early Dublin days with Gavin Friday, Liam O Maonlai and U2, and his Bafta-winning work on Lost in Translation.
If not reinventing the wheel, Arctic Monkeys are certainly giving the spokes a good polish. Stuart Clark takes his place in the moshpit for their recent Dublin show.
COLM O HARE catches up with MARY BLACK, as the singer helicopters her way around the country and talks about her new album, the song writing of Ron Sexsmith and unfair criticism. Pics: PETER MATHEWS.
Japanese tin whistlers, Harlem Gospel singers, Indian mandolin players . . . De Dannan have traded scales and tales with them all. Dermot Stokes catches up with Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn and is entranced as the Michael Palins of pan-cultural playing share excerpts from their ongoing odyssey.
From the profound and the insightful to the weird, funny and just plain daft, Paul Nolan rounds up what the famous and infamous had to say for themselves in 2004...
Liam O Maonlai is a founder member and lead singer with the Hothouse Flowers whose fifth studio album, Into Your Heart has just been released. Along with the band’s guitarist Fiachna O Braonain, O Maonlai was one of the first of a new generation of Irish speakers to use the language widely, both at home and abroad.
The Irish language is currently enjoying its most significant renaissance in many a year. in a special report, Seán O Héadeáin investigates the rebirth of the most unfairly maligned element of traditional culture
Ursula Burns’ third outing is one of the few albums since Astral Weeks to mess with notions of temporal, spatial and cosmic displacement. It is constructed from rolling piano figures that threaten to vanish off cliff-tops, fragmented drum taps, harp arpeggios, soprano sax and vocals so in-your-ear they could be your conscience – or your fairy godmother – calling.
It’s been an unusually tough year at IMRO, with the organisation being involved in a number of controversies. with elections to the board looming, however, chairman Mike Hanrahan and chief executive Adrian Gaffney believe that it’s time to look to the future.
O'Snodaigh's songs exude a confidence and an intelligence that go way beyond the empty platitudes and three-chord trickery of yer standard Irish songsmithery.
PACK YOUR LEMSIP AND NIGHT NURSE AND PREPARE TO DO BATTLE WITH THE BEIJING FLU AS THE SAWDOCTORS TACKLE THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND ON THEIR LATEST TOUR. CURRENTLY BETWEEN LABELS THE BAND’S U.K. FANBASE IS INCREASING STEADILY, EVEN IF THE CONCEPT OF ‘DESIGNER BOGMEN’ HAS YET TO PENETRATE THE SHIRES
CHECKING THE TEMPERATURE: BILL GRAHAM.
Now with a ‘Best Of’ compilation under their belts and following the slightly experimental slant of their 1998 comeback Born, this fifth studio album sees the Flowers return with what they claim is their most raw and soulful collection to date.
She really should've called it The Big Chill.
Don't let the homely title fool you, Simon's first original album in six years is no bunch of basement recordings cranked out for the vain merriment of friends and family.
THE BALLOT–BOXES HAVE BEEN OPENED, THE VOTES SCRUTINISED UNDER THE STRICTEST OF SECURITY AND NOW THE RETURNING OFFICER STEPS UP ONTO THE STAGE TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE 1993 HOT PRESS READERS’ POLL
It's been called the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable Turnip", but don't let that put you off: the Flat Lake Festival is rapidly becoming a highlight of the folk calendar.
The new album from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (pictured) is one of the folk records of the year. As is Steve Earle’s remarkable ode to his adopted New York.
Some of the country's leading music industry figures joined thousands of people for the Music Show, a two-day celebration of all that's good about the recording arts in Ireland.
From the germ of a melodic idea through to the record that's played on the radio - Hot Press presents all you need to know about the art of songwriting. By journalist and musician PETER MURPHY. Part One of a three-part industry special.
RTE2 have plenty of live music action to keep us placated for the next few weeks - here's the line up of bands and when to catch them. For more about the Other Voices series, click on the link at the very bottom.
