Currently promoting his debut solo album The Ideal Condition ahead of his appearance at Electric Picnic, Paul Hartnoll made his name alongside his brother Phil in Orbital, one of the most significant dance acts of the past 20 years.
So says Phil Harnoll of the hugely influential electronic duo, Orbital, but then he's a man whose views are just as radical and progressive as the band's music. Interview: Helen Toland
SO YOU reckon dance music is dull, repetitive and only marginally more fun to listen to outside of a club environment than a Black & Decker power drill.
Well, if 2 Unlimited and their thousand zillion beat per minute chums are your yardstick, I'd have to agree.
More than Leftfield, more than Underworld, it was Orbital that managed to translate dance music into a form acceptable to studious (ale drinking) big brothers all over the land
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.
Given the Hartnoll brother’s capacity for emotion and narrative within the often-restrictive confines of electro music, this is a somewhat insufficient and underwhelming collection.
Between recording the theme music for The Saint and fending off accusations of satanism, Orbital mainman PHILIP HARTNOLL barely has time to do the washing up. STUART CLARK stands by with the tea-towel.
Their name is full of Oriental promise but, far from growing up in the land of rice-bowls and speaking toilets, retro techno-heads THE JAPANESE POPSTARS hail from the mysterious land of, er, Derry.
Boasting a truly diverse line-up that united house music in all its various hues, as well as some good old fashioned rave attitude courtesy of Orbital, this was an extravaganza that lived up to the hype.
Now that the word 'eclectic' has been devalued to the extent that any DJ who plays Orbital back-to-back with Funkadelic is seen as some kind of radical selecta savant, it's good to be reminded that there's at least one person out there who actually deserves the label.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to describe UK garage genii Artful Dodger as the most exciting dance act to emerge since Orbital first got our jaws dropping back in the early 1990s. Welding state-of-the-art technology to a pure pop sensibility, the production duo of Mark Hill and Pete Devereux have racked up four blistering hit singles in a year.
Although one of Ireland s smallest counties, Leitrim boasts of a strong musical heritage that can trace its lineage back to the 15th and 16th centuries with ease.
"I don't know whether they're going to replace No Disco with something equally interesting or, as is depressingly often the case, a duller, watered-down version": as one of the artists who benefitted from exposure on No Disco, DAVID GRAY offers this tribute to the show’s pioneering spirit. A Hot Press exclusive
With over twenty-one years experience in pro audio, Richard Dowling is the man responsible for making Interpol, Foo Fighters, The Undertones and countless others sound good!
Earlier this year, the dance music community was shocked by the sudden departure of Darren Emerson from Underworld. However, the band continues to blossom, embracing new technologies and ideas to remain at the forefront of electronic music. Richard Brophy catches up with Rick Smith to find out more.
Producer, DJ and now a part of acclaimed dance/rock tie-in, Alloy Mental, Belfast-based Phil Kieran talks about his favourite mixing equipment and explains why we should mourn the passing of vinyl.
This year’s Heineken Green Energy festival has something for every music lover. Whether anthemic stadium rock (Snow Patrol) is your thing or you enjoy boisterous pop (Kaiser Chiefs), it’s a festival packed with sonic treats.
US chart-topping rockers tool like nothing better than hob-nobs, baiting journos and calling their children after prog rock bands. stuart clark shares the chocolate biccies
Why are the Spice Girls animals ? Why would Crispian Kula Shaker benefit from a hefty spell of National Service? And why should you never trust a hippy? These are just some of the burning issues that Dr. Alex Paterson of The Orb would like to address. Oh yeah, and he also talks about his band s ace new album Orblivion, as well as his exotic, not to say erotic, yesteryear escapades on the road with LL Cool J and Motvrhead. Our man with the shiny black Panasonic tape recorder: jonathan o brien.
If not quite a Valentine's night massacre, the recent Dublin appearance of GOLDFRAPP should certainly have shaken the city's more innocent lovebirds. But as KIM PORCELLI discovered when she met ALISON GOLDFRAPP and WILL GREGORY, just because the music is serious, that doesn't mean everything else is.
In a 25th anniversary rose-tinted special, Hot Press' dance correspondents select their 25 most influential floor fillers. The editor's decision is final and all that
Since 1996 the Heineken Green Energy Festival has lit up the capital city with some of the brightest stars of modern rock. Patrick Hedlund and hotpress assistant editor, Stuart Clark, report
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
They may be about as prolific as giant pandas, but now the waiting is over. The mighty LEFTFIELD are back with their first new material in almost five years - the new album Rhythm And Stealth - and it looks set to have the same genre-redefining impact as their debut long-player Leftism. BARRY GLENDENNING talks to mainman PAUL DALEY about media critics, professional jealousy, John Lydon, banned videos and that Guinness ad.
Everything about Derry electro three-piece Japanese Popstars’ debut effort is big. It’s got big beats, a big sound, big production and most importantly, big balls.
It's all changed for DAVID GRAY. Within the past month he has played a series of sell-out gigs across the US, gone top ten in the UK, and returned to this country to celebrate the release of Lost Songs. In a hotpress exclusive, NIALL STANAGE reports from New York, Boston, London and Dublin on the globalisation of Ireland's favourite Welshman. Hotshot hitman: STEVEN FISHER
Heard the one about the Irishman, the Bronx and the tab of industrial-strength acid? Stuart Clark hadn t either until that most eligible of bachelors, David Holmes, talked him through the mad month in New York that inspired his Let s Get Killed album.
He s the Godfather of TV-Astronomy. He s not only the size of a minor planet, he even has one named after him. He knows all the secrets of Life, the Universe and Everything. He is Patrick Moore. And now he tells Andy Darlington about his Flying Saucer Close Encounter , his musical input into 2001: A Space Odyssey, why there are no Skating Rinks on the Moon and much more groovy cosmic stuff
DAVID HOLMES is about to leave his native Belfast for New York City, where he will record his third album. STUART BAILIE took a final opportunity to speak to the artist also known as Homer. On the agenda: Hollywood soundtracks, rumours of brawling, past glories and future plans.
Pics: MICHAEL TAYLOR.
In an age when hype springs eternal, DAVID GRAY is that rare phenomenon a success story scripted by the fans rather than the industry. And a distinctly Irish success story at that. A certifiable platinum-selling box-office blockbuster in this country, the Welsh singer-songwriter still awaits a similar eruption of Gray fever in Britain, Europe and America. But his latest album, White Ladder, could be the record which tells the world what Ireland already knows. Now as he prepares to wow the faithful at Galway s Big Beat festival, JOHN WALSHE presents the inside story of the best kept secret in the west.
Pics Mick Quinn
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
You’ve got admire Cork producer Bren Gregoriy’s initiative: instead of trying to hawk his work to a label, he set up his own imprint to release his debut album, with the result that his individualistic take on electronic music gets an audience.
The future is here. Well, somehow it always is. And, as usual, it is both familiar and strange. Nothing seems to change, but one day you turn around, it is 1995, and you are cybersurfing on the internet, summer seems to last all winter, ambient-acid-techno is bubbling away on the radio, your fax machine shows up on the Antiques Roadshow and papa’s got a brand new drug.
Like the rest of the Ninja Tune posse, Hexstatic have always been a few steps ahead of the pack. After all, it was the Hex/Hexstatic/Ninja operation that originally explored the synergy between electronic music and digitally generated images, taken to the fullest extreme on tracks like ‘Timber’, included here on the accompanying CD-Rom. However, all this techno wizardry would mean nada if the music was sub-standard.
SO YOU reckon dance music is dull, repetitive and only marginally more fun to listen to outside of a club environment than a Black & Decker power drill.
Well, if 2 Unlimited and their thousand zillion beat per minute chums are your yardstick, I'd have to agree.
A new Danny Boyle flick is never complete without a hyped to the hilt, in yer face compilation of the current cream of trendies, and The Beach is no exception.
Brian Eno sums up his musical philosophy as an attempt to balance the intellect and the emotions. From Life is about the simplest aesthetics: beauty, pleasure, pure sensation
Brian Eno sums up his musical philosophy as an attempt to balance the intellect and the emotions. From Life is about the simplest aesthetics: beauty, pleasure, pure sensation
If it’s in Cork this year than it’s automatically a cultural event. So in honour of Cork’s designation as European Capital of Culture, Heineken joined in the celebrations by giving the people of Cork not one but two Green Room Sessions events. It puts one in mind of the slogan that’s doing the rounds here among the local wags: Enjoy culture responsibly.
If it’s in Cork this year than it’s automatically a cultural event. So in honour of Cork’s designation as European Capital of Culture, Heineken joined in the celebrations by giving the people of Cork not one but two Green Room Sessions events. It puts one in mind of the slogan that’s doing the rounds here among the local wags: Enjoy culture responsibly.
SO WHO the fuck are Mouth Music and what the hell do I care anyway? It's a wetly miserable Sunday night, my beautiful girlfriend (honest) is still in England and today's phone call went really badly, the bank is hassling me over an unpaid loan and if this cough is anything to go by then, I've definitely got cancer.
A few years back, Underworld were viewed as one of the most important bridging links between the mediums of rock and dance. Album number two Second Toughest In The Infants had consolidated their enviable position as darlings of the rock press, and 'Born Slippy' had blown up the mainstream following its inclusion on the Trainspotting soundtrack.
Seven hours and ten DJs later, it seems clear at this, the first Smirnoff Experience since the summer break, that dance music is in shockingly good health
THE EXTREMELY WONDERFUL Mr. Adam Freeland is the headline attraction on August 18th as Breakdown returns to the Empire, Belfast. Bringing up the rear, so to speak, are Hedrock Valley Beats…
Phil Hartnoll of Orbital fame is confirmed for the Life Festival in Co. Galway - and there may be some sibling rivalry as brother Paul is set to play the Electric Picnic.
One of Ireland's most beloved dance emporiums has shut its doors, blaming plummeting CD sales. But it may soon be back, as a vinyl-only store. Is the future of music retail in Ireland?
Equipment, like fame, has it price. Colm O’Hare goes bargain-hunting and discovers that spending your band’s hard-earned loot on new musical instruments need not be a traumatic experience.
Q: Which top Irish quiz-masters’ pathological obsessions include Something Happens, Shamrock Rovers and the amount of shopping days left to the next Suede gig? A: George “You Started, So I’ll Finish” Byrne
