As if Beck’s brilliance wasn’t enough, Radiohead deliver an absolutely stunning set that puts the efforts of Coldplay, Keane, Muse and the million other pretenders to their throne into utterly unforgiving perspective.
Dunno if there were too many Red Bulls in the backstage rider this evening, but something has given Thom Yorke wiiings. In fact, along with Thom’s frantic making-shapes-in-the-air dancing, there are many factors to indicate this is not a garden-variety Radiohead experience...
June 6 sees Radiohead's Colin Greenwood and Ed O'Brien spinning old faves, previewing newies and generally making with the conversation on BBC Radio Ulster's Across The Line
Following on from his 2002 running of the London marathon to raise funds, for The Samaritans, Radiohead drummer Phil Selway continues to do his bit for the charity.
In 1994 Radiohead were unliked and unlikely Oxford outcasts (Radiohead? Crazyhead? Birdland?) who’d scored a flukey hit stateside with ‘Creep’. A year later they were the indie nerd’s answer to Oasis as the best band to come out of the UK since The Smiths.
COLM O HARE speaks to Fran Healy and Dougie Payne of TRAVIS about ongoing success, irritating Radiohead comparisons and avoiding the nightmare of 9-5 existence.
RADIOHEAD are just about to release one of the most uncompromising and controversial records of the year in Kid A. As the band prepare for their upcoming Irish dates, mainman THOM YORKE talks about the genesis of a record that seems destined to divide rock fans for years. Not to mention Bono, Britney and Alicia Silverstone! Interview: DAVE FANNING
From Radiohead to Springsteen, the twelve months ahead are already packed with highlights. But will Led Zeppelin be among the group’s hitting the comeback trail?
I can't say I'm exactly in the Ester Rantzen-league when it comes to caring for other people but something I've just said to Ed O'Brien hasn't so much pricked my conscience as stuck a dirty great big hole in it.
Ice, ice, baby. The Columbia Glacier in Alaska has retreated nearly 13 kilometres since 1982. In 1999, its retreat rate increased from 25 metres per day to 35 metres per day.
Intially conceived as the third single release from Amnesiac, the project gloriously mutated into another 40 minute goody bag akin to the extended Airbag/How Am I Driving? package.
Staying true to their post OK Computer resolution to minimise touring to a bare but intimate handful, Oxford’s most revered sons have chosen to play one single English date in 2001...
whinging, yak-herding and masturbating over the sunday dinner are just three of the tenuously-related subjects that come up for discussion as stuart clark gets completely wireless with radiohead plankspanker from hell colin greenwood.
Hot Press crime correspondent STUART CLARK
preaches zero tolerance to MASSIVE ATTACK and in return gets the
lowdown on their new album, Bruce n Tarby-style hobnobbing with Radiohead, and why Bristol City piss all over Bristol Rovers
No longer the nascent, impressionable - though hugely ambitious - young quintet who unleashed the blood-splattered masterpiece The Bends in the mid-'90s, nor the newly crowned kings of modern rock who enjoyed virtually unprecedented levels of acclaim circa-OK Computer, they have instead settled into a role as sort of latter-day alt. culture godfathers
With the last broadcast up for a Mercury and Slane just around the corner, Jimi Goodwin of Doves is happy to enthuse about Planxty, U2, The Streets and Sean O'Hagan. Just don't call his band "the new Radiohead"
Taking the best – or at least, the most over-the-top – pieces of KLF, Slayer and Radiohead, Enter Shakarai are the hottest thing on eight legs at the moment.
They got knocked down, but they got up again – Dublin rockers 66E have weathered their setbacks and are now attracting serious attention for their epic soundscapes, which critics have likened to the work of Mercury Rev, Doves and Radiohead.
I can still hear their taunts – “Clark’s talking through his arse again!”... “It’s not the ’70s anymore, Granddad!”... “I had my suspicions but now I know you’re a wanker!”
As it was my mother saying it, that last one was particularly hurtful.
He used to be a music journalist but now rapper Cadence Weapon is lighting up the hip-hop scene. The Canadian tells us he's not quite as clean living as he's made out to be.
In which Editors, like Bloc Party before them, abandon urban ennui for the country life, recording that not-very-difficult second album in Grouse Lodge with Garret ‘Jacknife’ Lee.
Where other bands moan about the music industry or spend small fortunes bringing their stage designs to life, Stereophonics like to keep it nice and simple. Or at least as nice and simple as it gets when you tour with U2, get advice from Prince Charles and see Slipknot with their masks off
John Walshe had a ringside seat for all the music, speeches, laughs and tears that made the 2002 hotpress Irish Music Awards in Belfast a night to remember.
As Stereophonics release their sixth abum, frontman Kelly Jones talks about his friendship with Oasis and reveals that he’s buried the hatchet with Muse.
Muse, meanwhile, have gone from Radiohead copyists to bright stars. ‘Starlight’ is yet more proof that their new approach is a very good thing indeed, a sparkling pop song that throws everything at the studio wall – and sticks.
Accompanied by images from his photo diary, DONAL DINEEN takes us through a month-by-month guide to the records that kept himself, and the Today FM faithful happy in 2001
New album, new look, new attitude: having turned the big three-oh, DIVINE COMEDY's Neil Hannon says he's much more sure of his place in the world. "Basically, the one thing I have to offer humanity is a good time with interesting words," he tells Olaf Tyaransen. Divine camera intervention: MICK QUINN
Magnet are right up there with Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, not least because of Johansen’s ethereal, heart-swelling vocals and its perfect coupling with orchestral strings and digitised heartbeats.
Michael Stipe talks about REM's new album Accelerate, looks back at their 'working rehearsals' in Dublin and explains how their Irish-born producer helped them through their mid-life crisis.
Initially meant for a Japan-only release, Com Lag 2+2=5 has been made available over this side of the world to satisfy demand from Radiohead’s hugely loyal fanbase.
Not only is it produced by the legendary John Leckie (of Muse and Radiohead fame). The lead track from the Mexican pair’s second studio album continues to endear by pandering to everyone’s innate hatred of winter. The flamencial tunes take us to warmer climes where there’s sun on our back and salad al fresco. Exactly what’s called for in this current season.
Renko’s sound is a hotchpotch of BRMC-style riffs, a whiff of Radiohead circa ‘97, hints of electric Neil Young and some good old down-home hair metal. Debut single ‘The Fate Of The Free World Depends On You’ is a more relaxed turn however, in which the band show they can do mellow. File under ‘a little bit alt. country and a little bit alt. rock’n’roll’.
This London quartet have been making good old fashioned muso-rock since the late ‘80s with growing success. Their eighth studio album sports an impressive array of influences, which range from the prog-rock (Marillion/Genesis style) of ‘Lazarus’ to the Radiohead-meets-Pink Floyd textures of ‘Melletron Scratch’.
Summer time, and the record stores are going to be full to bursting with some cracking albums across all genres. John Walshe examines the hottest album releases set to hit the shelves
The most welcome of bolts from the blue. Envelope’s debut is the most gloriously delightful opener to come from an Irish group this year. A feast of pleasures, State and Nature shifts from the seductively visceral to deep and responsive melancholia. At its best, specifically on staggering second track ‘Cost of Living’, the Dublin trio eloquently spit contempt from the speakers, whilst locking their rage behind Simon Rand’s warm vocals to make for an uncomfortable hybrid of sound. It’s like Coldplay’s ‘Politik’, as executed by a crossbreed of Whipping Boy and Radiohead. The epic and the extraordinary continue to dominate on ‘Politis’ and ‘Store In A Dark Place’, with the sounds of Elbow, Doves and their closest Irish contemporaries God Is An Astronaut resonating throughout. An absolute gem of a debut.
The London-based Tech Music Schools – which has churned out musicians the calibre of Radiohead's Phil Selway & Ed O’Brien – hits Kylemore College this weekend.
Having wowed David Bowie into a collaboration, Brooklyn’s TV On The Radio – an idiosyncratic mesh of Spiritualized, The Beach Boys, Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine – have seen their profile spiral skyward.
Things just keep getting better for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova with the Once soundtrack jumping 24 places to number seven in this week’s Billboard American Album Chart.
Aslan were the unexpected winners of the night at the Meteor Ireland Music awards, beating off competition from the likes of Ash, Delorentos and the Flaws to take the title of Best Irish Band.
WE TOLD YOU so dept. As revealed last month in hotpress, Radiohead journey to Belfast on September 14th for a show at the 8,000-capacity Odyssey Arena.
The Swedish fivesome’s trademark sound is so ridiculously simple that you’ll be humming it all day, and with their quirky humour, probably with a grin on your face.
Music Review | Album
38% | 20 Apr 2007
Jackie Hayden
Dry County's unique brand of electro-rock mixes conventional instruments, drum loops, synths, buckets, boxes and a nutritious diet of influences, from the Boards Of Canada to Kraftwerk, The Propellerheads and Radiohead.
The concrete jungle of London’s downtrodden and multi-racial East End is home to some of the most terrifying statistics BBC news has to report, as well as some of the hardest, filthiest hip hop and drum ‘n’ bass beats in the UK. The area’s many big mouthed, bigging-up MCs frequently play with the term urban poet, but rarely is it so aptly claimed than in the case of this young acoustic guitar-playing, Bukowski-reading, Radiohead-loving rapper.
Villagers are a such a fully-formed, unaffected and epic proposition and they don’t so much hint at genius as come with all the verified documentation from the Department of Genius.
"When it’s not swinging, her mood is mostly downbeat, melancholy and soulful. Her greatest asset is her smoky voice, reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald with a pop sensibility."
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
headswim have left behind the "English Pearl Jam" tag that dogged them and are about to release their second album, the tortured pop of Despite Yourself, on an unsuspecting public. Interview: john walshe.
Having shifted from playing drums in “loud, noisy rock bands” to becoming a Hot Press contributor in 1996, Peter Murphy has fast gained a reputation as one of Ireland’s leading journalists.
As 2004 kicks in, along with the suffering from the common cold, we are left to reminisce on the last twelve months. But we are not the only ones; the Hot Press critics have also had a long hard look at what made 2003 a year to remember. It may have been the rise and rise of indigenous talent such as the Thrills' escalation to the stars, the release of David Kitts' third album, or just in recognizing Damien Dempsey's unquestionably Irish tone.
Spitfire aeroplanes, dogs in disguise, aphex babies and karma police: founding No Disco producer Rory Cobbe waxes visual on ten of his favourite videos of all time
Glaswegian quartet TRAVIS may have spent much of the last year playing
support to Manc legends Oasis, but deep down, all they want to do is rock. Interview: NICK KELLY
The highlight of the year – and probably the decade – was scamming a trip to Havana to see the Manic Street Preachers do their live thing in front of Fidel Castro
In a year that saw events which will forever change the world in which we live, selected hotpress contributors offer some personal recollections of the past twelve months. We begin by listing the critics’ choice of 2001’s single and album releases
Gigs with Mick ’n’ Keef and Angus ’n’ Malcolm, and a potential ding-dong with The Strokes – it’s only rock’n’roll but Jet like it as does Stuart Clark.
You know, Nick Lowe was right when he asked “What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?” Lately, I try to avoid the news as often as not, because it seems that every day there’s another atrocity: more carnage, more blood, more tears, more misery, more grief.
The recent release of the compilation album So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley was a potent reminder of the extraordinary impact Jeff Buckley made during his short life. In an exclusive interview, on the 10th anniversary of his death, his mother Mary Guibert reflects on the singer’s legacy.
Niall Stanage pays tribute to a remarkable young woman whose passion for music made her one of the most widely respected and genuinely loved people in the history of Irish music
Ireland beating the mighty Dutch on an enchanted evening at Lansdowne Road. The Frames at Vicar St. Liverpool lifting three trophies in one season. BellX1 at the Music Centre
Like Groucho Marx may or may not have said, timing is (pause) …everything. As such, the two albums that electrified us this year (Interpol’s hugely moving, visceral masterpiece Turn On The Bright Lights; Justin Timberlake’s Neptunes-assisted pop‘n’B triumph Justified) were actually released in ’02.
She came to our attention with a disturbingly convincing turn as a bondage queen. Now Emma De Caunes joins an ensemble cast for a whimsical deconstruction of the Hollywood musical.
They've ditched the tweed and taken their music in a darker direction. The Young Knives talk about Gilbert and George, the Mercurys and Thom Yorke's seaside hideaway.
Although dissatisfied with mainstream media and wary of having his own work pigeonholed, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr revels in his role as elder statesman to a generation of maverick musicians and is no less proud of his new album, Boomslang.
It's been ten years that's shaken a fair bit of the world and now, suddenly, OASIS are back. what better time for a reflective, confessional, candid and scandalous one-on-one with a man who always gives great quote, NOEL GALLAGHER. Interview: STUART CLARK
A glimpse into Glen Hansard’s tour diary while on the road with The Frames' fourth album For The Birds (2001) - including reflections on their first landmark Olympia show (March 30th, 2001)
With the release of their fourth and finest album "For The Birds", THE FRAMES have zoomed straight into the Irish top ten for the first time. Now, with critical acclaim ringing in their ears, and their glowing fanbase sensing that something special may be about to take place, they prepare to take the Green Energy Weekend by storm. could it be their time has finally come? Interview: KIM PORCELLI. plus mainman GLEN HANSARD gives us a glimpse inside his private diary. out of frame: MICK QUINN
Having successfully avoided submersion into Tim DeLaughter’s Polyphonic Spree, New York-based psych-rockers Secret Machines are now touring with The Chemical Brothers and being widely cited as one of the hottest bands on the US underground.
He's one of the most distinguised and individualistic figures on the folk scene, an artist who is not afraid to take risks or challenge convention. Now John Spillane has written a moving paean to Ireland - and to his mother.
You might not have heard of Leya, but Elton John, Ronan Keating and Jools Holland have. Peter Murphy meets the band who are putting Bangor on the rock’n’roll map
English folk singer KATE RUSBY has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. She tells Colm O'Hare about sad songs, her Bon Jovi phase, and attracting praise from Blur s Graham Coxon
Neil Young, the Pixies and the Beach Boys are just some of the influences that Californian quintet grandaddy include in their own particular brew. Tape: nick kelly.
It started in Brooklyn and is set to take over the world. STUART CLARK talks to Kamal, one of the, er, brains behind the cult phenomenon of the year, THE JERKY BOYS.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it s not a new game we ve invented to pass slow days at HP Central, just a reflection on the confusion you can face when a CD or tape arrives which is recorded and packaged so well that you don t know whether it s a demo or an actual release that should be re-directed to the Album Dissection and Resuscitation Department.
isabel monteiro, lead vocalist with arch miserabilists drugstore tells stuart bailie exactly why she's writing songs about dead Chilean heads of state.
The producers of choice for everyone from Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are also earning plaudits for their rock and hip-hop influenced side project, N*E*R*D
It sounds like the opening line to an elaborate joke – heard the one about the Englishman, the Irishman and the multi-million selling, gag-stuffed science fiction saga? However, Eoin Colfer is perfectly serious about breathing new life into Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. But what has that got to do with The Blizzards? Read on to find out
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.
Cork Independent outfit The Waiting Room have just released their debut album Losing Patience, yet they're quite prepared to hold on to the day jobs for a little while yet as Marc O'Sullivan discovers
Avert your gazes, sensitive readers. Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers offers his thoughts on Johnny Borrell, Thom Yorke and “the most racist television ad of all time”.
He may be unhappy about once again being forced to climb the interview treadmill, but Eels frontman E soon relaxes sufficiently to discuss swimming with sharks in the American music industry and why turning into Beck isn’t on the agenda just yet
Roo are confident, savvy and unflinching in their aim to make remarkable music. There s something about their looks and attitude that remind you of George Best in 68: blessed with handy skills and unfazed by older, less talented rivals. Roo are the best new prospect from these parts. They can be funny, too.
A compilation, a new album in the works, more distressing rumours about Richey and the prospect of the greatest football song ever – Eamon Sweeney finds Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers with plenty to talk about
They come from Los Angeles, support Rotherham United and have a lead singer who loves Andrew Lloyd-Webber as much as he does Arcade Fire. Stuart Clark meets Orson's rather peculiar Jason Pebworth.
These words of wisdom belong to jim kerr, a working-class boy from Glasgow who proved that he was as good at scamming it as the next man. Now he's back for one more shot with the new Simple Minds album Neapolis. Interview: colm o'hare.
Dublin anarcho-pop five-piece The Camembert Quartet have just released their debut album Music Is War, but with song titles such as 'Boybands Are C**ts' it's unlikely they'll be joining westlife on tour
“A scene that results in Pete Doherty isn’t much to celebrate,” declare Bloc Party as they outline their plan to save UK rock from the heroin chic brigade. Also up for discussion are Elton John, Ash, Thin Lizzy and why they’re nothing like Franz Ferdinand. Honest. Photos by Liam Sweney.
John Walshe catches up with Teenage Fanclub s Norman Blake and hears about avoiding musical fashions, the realisation that they are growing older and how they are ambitious, despite what Alan McGee says
We love ’em and we hate ’em but ads have a bigger impact on our lives than we might ever care to admit. Billy Scanlan hears a defence of the mart sell from award-winning ad creator Des Creedon.
Guitarist richArd hawley explains why legal wrangles and a lack of media exposure have not affected the meteoric rise of Sheffield s longpigs. Askin t questions: peter murphy.
Stepping out from under the shadow of Tricky – but refusing to leave her former amour entirely behind – Martina Topley Bird has staked her own claim with one of the albums of the year. Comparisons with Billie Holiday may be flattering but, as she tells Stuart Clark, she’s too “pig-headed” to be anyone other than herself
The college circuit is an important stepping stone in rock music around the world. While the potential remains unfulfilled in Ireland, there’s a new breed of Ents Officer who are aiming higher.
They were one of the superstars of grunge, a band that did more than perhaps any other – even Nirvana – to bring underground rock and roll to the mainstream. But they lost their way with fan-alienating experimental records and a long-running feud with Ticketmaster. Now Pearl Jam have shrugged off the cobwebs and are back rocking like legends. Ahead of the release of their best album in years they talk about the long-road to rejuvenation, lessons gleaned from Neil Young and their place in the greater scheme of things.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
Patrick Hedlund catches up with Damien Rice and The Frames in Boston and finds they’re having more success on-stage than in the bowling alley. Additional reporting Stuart Clark
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
Tribute bands may not capture the true spirit of rock’n’roll – but they do succeed in attracting fans, starved of the music of the originals of the species.
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!
Their debut album Hopes And Fears launched a host of hit singles, going on to become one of the most successful British records of the past five years. But, their indie background notwithstanding, Keane have still been dismissed by some self-styled aficionados as just too nice to be considered real rock'n'rollers. "If only people knew," says lead singer Tom Chaplin.
Renowned for his elaborately-posed images of nude figures in public settings, artist Spencer Tunick is hoping Irish people will strip off for him when he visits these shores in June.
Heineken/Hot Press Awards presenter ULRIKA JONSSON offers her thoughts on fame, comedy, motherhood, relationships, loyalty and the media A? as well as a very final word on Stan Collymore. Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING.
hey’re the biggest thing to hit indie-pop in years, with a slew of day-glo hits and a reputation for partying until they drop. Ahead of their Electric Picnic headline slot, MGMT discuss falling out with Nicolas Sarkozy, their new base in sun-dappled Malibu and their work-in-progress new album. words
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.
Anti-capitalism, political fundamentalism, life after September 11 and what to tell the kid who has only two stripes on his tracksuit - the celebrated no logo author tells Hotpress about how best to beat the brand.
They may be nothing more than a tribute band but if so, they re a damn good one. JACK L and his BLACK ROMANTICS have been unanimously lauded for their Jacques Brel-inspired Wax album: The idea was to bridge the gap between Brel and Scott Walker. Now Jack L himself talks to JOE JA
Government indignation and empty promises characterise China’s response to CD and DVD piracy, which flourishes in the country. Irish artists like U2, Westlife and Enya are bootleggers’ staple sellers. And Mary Black gets ripped off too. Mark Godfrey reports
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.
With ‘Yellow’, Coldplay captured the imagination of even the most resistant of hard-boiled rock’n’roll cynics. Now, as A Rush Of Blood To The Head achieves lift-off in the U.S., even the sky is no longer the limit.
It’s Christmas time and, as far as the hotpress journalistic elite are concerned, there’s not a turkey in sight. JOHN WALSHE, COLIN CARBERRY, CHRIS DONOVAN, EAMON SWEENEY and BARRY O'DONOGHUE report on the Irish acts who are going to be huuuuuuuuge!
over the next 12 months.
And we ain’t talking turkey. Miles Hunt, lead singer and songwriter with The Wonder Stuff doesn't give a flying, er, saucer what anyone thinks of the band, their image, their videos or even their P/E ratio. Interview: Stuart Clark.
They're hardly typical festival fare, but Interpol know how to leave an impression. Sam Fogarino talks drugs, on the road insanity and being huge in Ireland and Mexico.
JJ72 are being cast as the great new hopes of Irish music. Intense, passionate and melodic, their music has captured an increasing number of fans. With a single in the UK Top Thirty and a debut album about to hit the shelves, they tell NIALL STANAGE how good they are and how good they want to be. Portrait of the Artists As A Young Band: MICK QUINN
from reagan to bush; from radio free europe to clear channel; from green to reveal; from the sfx to marlay park. REM call time out and Peter Buck fills in the gaps from 1983 to 2003. interview Peter Murphy
THERAPY? are back. ANDY CAIRNS talks to Peter Murphy about losing (and re-finding) the plot, hardcore, and the new album s resonances with the Northern peace process.
Whether with THE SMITHS, ELECTRONIC, THE PRETENDERS or in brown trouser mode sharing a stage with PAUL McCARTNEY, GEORGE MICHAEL and NEIL FINN, he remains, by his own admission, the best JOHNNY MARR-style guitar player around. GEORGE BYRNE meets the cat others like to copy.
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.
One of Ireland’s leading young painters, Rasher has had his work collected by Colin Farrell, Louis Walsh and Ali Hewson, and has also contributed a cover image to the new edition of Declan Lynch's The Rooms.
Critical brickbats aside, the success of TRAVIS seems to know no bounds. Here FRAN HEALY and co talk to STUART CLARK about drugs, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Ali G, and drunkenly dancing on computers! The man who took the photos: STEVEN FISHER
The rise and rise of the female singer/songwriter is fast achieving phenomenon status in Ireland - here,
Peter Murphy profiles an eclectic mix of new and distinctive talent
Sharp suits, a global fan base, his own luxury recording studio - David Gray has certainly come a long way. On the eve of the release of his latest album, he talks about the dark side of success and explains why he wants to leave the singer-songwriter tag behind
Ahead of their return to Ireland, Muse reveal they’re about to go through their U2 phase, talk about magic mushrooms and explain why, when it comes to conspiracy, they’re on Jim Corr's side.
Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison and Lewis Carrol may all be touchstones for the muse of sinÉad lohan, but this is one talented and increasingly successful singer-songwriter who definitely does things her way. joe jackson meets a self-confessed "spacer".
Pix: Mick Quinn
Never mind the naysayers, Dublin 2006 is spilling over with white hot talent. Steve Cummins and Shilpa Ganatra run the rule over the capital's new breed.
A fresh generation of bands is tearing up the rule book and redefining what it means to be Irish. To celebrate this new wave of talent, we catch up with the best of them.
One by one, the members of CHILL Ireland s answer to the Spice Girls occupy the Hot Press hot seat. Popping the questions: JOE JACKSON. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
John Walshe talks to Irish rugby captain and Munster stalwart Keith Wood ahead of the most important game in Munster s history, and hears his views on the media, sex before a game and his love for bellybuttons and pregnant women.
Pictures: DECLAN ENGLISH
what good was rock’n’roll in 2001? No good at all – and yet we couldn’t have got through without it.
Peter Murphy reflects on a year in which some old codgers stood up to be counted and many of us lived “on songs and hope”
The Black Crowes! Blowjobs! Journey! Drink! Bob Seger! Vick’s inhaler! and why Keith Duffy is more fun than the Manic Street Preachers! Stereophonics let their hair down in the company of Stuart Clark
In the second and final part of an extensive interview, MIKE SCOTT discusses inspiration and influences, recalls his difficult solo years and explains the death and resurrection of THE WATERBOYS. Interview: PETER MURPHY
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.
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
1 guitar + 1 drum kit + 1 boy + 1 girl = The White Stripes. In other words, sweet, sweet noise meets the best brother and sister penned pop since The Carpenters. Eamon Sweeney meets Detroit's finest, who play Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 4th as part of the Heineken Green Energy Festival
Their unique combination of sensual Latin melodies and brilliant, metal-inspired guitar playing have made Rodrigo y Gabriela a phenomenon in their adopted Ireland, with a platinum album, sell-out tours and barn-storming festival appearances already to their credit. Now, with the release of their third album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, their sights are set on the international arena. Here, this extraordinary couple explain why they swapped sun-drenched Mexico for rain-kissed Dublin – and, for the first time, talk candidly about the open relationship they enjoy, as long-term friends and lovers.
The latest Boy to leave the Zone, the launch of Mikey Graham s solo voyage has been attended by
controversy and criticism. But don t underestimate his determination. I m not the passenger, he tells PETER MURPHY. Portraits of the Artist: DECLAN ENGLISH
So what happens when an indie band goes major league? how can you stay cool when your date’s a Charlie’s Angel? how important is the boy/girl song in a flag-waving time? and like Alexander The Great, do you weep when you have no more worlds to conquer? in addressing these and other pressing questions of the day, The Strokes salute John Lennon, Bob Dylan and their own undying band of brotherliness.
With the release of their acclaimed third album Flock, which went straight to No.1 in Ireland, Bell X1 have staked their claim not just to greatness, but also to potential world domination – a possibility which is reinforced considerably by their powerful showing in the Hot Press Readers’ Poll. Here, in an emotional and revealing interview, the band’s photogenic frontman Paul Noonan discusses life, art, love, death... and music.
For the person in the eye of the storm, massive success can involve a titanic struggle. Especially when, as you’re trying to keep your bearings, ordinary life jumps up to punch you in the teeth. Now, after death, birth, fatigue, grief, joy and the "mindfuck" that is "the tidal wave of success," it is time, says David Gray, to get back to the music. and – whisper it – maybe even have a little holiday.
It sounds like the stuff of hype and overnight success – from struggling garage band to next big thing and accolades from noel gallagher, morrissey and bono – but even at an average age of 23 The Thrills have paid their dues. Olaf Tyaransen hears how the summer’s hottest band went from worshipping whipping boy to having beck’s da play on their debut album.
As famous for being mates with Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as for being pop stars in their own right, ocean colour scene take time out from a hectic touring and recording schedule to explain to john walshe just how popular they are. Pix: mick quinn.
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
The fourth series of RTÉ Two's highly-acclaimed Other Voices, presented by John Kelly, was recorded over an extraordinary eight days during the madcap run-up to Christmas, in the thoroughly invigorating coastal environs of Dingle. Hot Press reporter Craig Fitzsimons was there to soak up the phantasmagoria, as some of the hottest talent from Ireland and abroad descended on the tranquil Kerry town to make heavenly music.
GARBAGE are a band who absorb all the detritus, darkness and despair of the pre-millennial zeitgeist and spit it back out in a torrent of searing guitars, futuristic technological trickery and lyrics that freeze the blood. They've also made two of the most sinister pop records of modern times - the second of which, Version 2.0, is due for imminent release. PETER MURPHY met them in London to discuss sex, surveillance, studio strife, pre-2000 tension and their special fondness for The Beach Boys.
Ten, nine, eight… we count down the contenders for 2003. Words Hannah Hamilton, Colin Carberry, Niall Stokes, Richard Brophy, John Walshe, Eamon Sweeney and Stuart Clark
It was inflight double entendres all round as Bell X1 donned cabin crew attire for a special Hot Press photoshoot. When not showing an unhealthy interest in women’s clothes and fancy Raybans, they talked about their chart-topping new album Blue Lights On The Runway, their imminent breakthrough in the US and freezing their arses off on The Late Show with Dave Letterman
After more than 15 years in the business, Aslan are still able to command massive, devoted audiences in music venue and record shop alike. John Walshe joins the Lions' club on the road
It's Christmas, 1997 is drawing to a close and Noel Gallagher is in suitably reflective mood. "I can't be bothered writing music anymore", says the Oasis mainman before telling Stuart Clark precisely what he thinks of Liam, Meg, Sinéad O'Connor, that cunt Mick Jagger and England's chances of lifting the World Cup.
pat mcCABE is on a roll. Neil Jordan s film adaptation of his acclaimed novel The Butcher Boy has been rapturously received. His latest meisterwerk Breakfast On Pluto about a border county transvestite is about to be published. He s going on the road with Jack L. And what s more he was recently named Monaghan Man of the Year! Interview: liam fay.
Pics: Mick Quinn
It’s been ten years since his last novel, but Neil Jordan has now reprised his role as one of Ireland’s finest contemporary prose writers with the dark gothic drama, Shade. In a wide-ranging interview with Olaf Tyaransen the Oscar-winning writer/director discusses the challenges of literary craftsmanship, swimming with sharks in Hollywood, working with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, his disinterest in celebrity and why Ireland continues to be his preferred place of residence.
The fascinating story of how four Tallaght schoolfriends – and unofficial fifth member Shuggy – made a new home and a career playing music in the USA. All with a little help from their many friends.
With the tragedy which disfigured their last Irish appearance still fresh in people's minds, SMASHING PUMPKINS' return to a Dublin stage was never going to be an ordinary affair. As it turned out, PETER MURPHY witnessed an act of redemption and spoke to BILLY CORGAN about surviving troubled times.
. . . and ready to go. Mercury Rev s recent album Deserter s Songs was met with a rapturous critical reception, even topping the Hot Press critics end-of-year poll. On their recent Dublin visit they spoke to Peter Murphy about the album, The Band and their volatile past. Jonathan Donahue pics: Cathal Dawson
Following the huge commercial success of Set List and ‘Fake’, The Frames look poised to ascend to rock’s premier league with the upcoming worldwide release of the Burn The Maps album. Kim Porcelli joins the band on the day of their triumphant show at Marlay Park to discuss the pros and cons of pop-stardom, the departure of dave odlum, the abiding influence of mic christopher, and the challenge of creating their most eagerly anticipated record yet.
From dark age to middle age, Nick Cave is such a far cry from the blood-spilling junkie of rock legend that these days you’re likely to encounter him commuting to his 9 to 5. Except of course that his job is writing and making music, his new album is called Nocturama and there are, he admits, some sizeable blow-outs in the memory banks.
They love Ireland and Ireland loves them. As the Arcade Fire ramp up for world domination, the band talk about love, death, war and making music in churches.
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
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Tracing Scott Walker’s journey from reluctant 60s teen idol to leftfield dignitary, this award-winning doc should please both neophytes and dedicated champions alike.
Will South’s haunting vocal is moody and edgy and fits perfectly alongside some often eerie backing. You can hear it forcing itself out to fill stadiums across the globe.
The Managing Director of Warners Ireland is warning that the greater uptake of broadband technology will cost record companies here at least 25% of their sales.
This listener had to really work at the paradoxical nature of The Eraser's harrowing lyrics and impersonal, computerised and often discordant rhythms and melodies before they started to make sense, but ultimately it proves worth the effort.
Singalong to your favourites at the Rock Band sessions, or watch top movies, as the Xbox Live Stage brings digital thrills to this year's Oxegen festival.
There will be no repeat of Fionn Regan's 2007 nomination success as the shortlist for this year's Mercury Music Prize has been revealed – and no Irish acts have made the cut.
Tired of overcongested roads, traffic noise and gridlock? Fancy getting out into the sun for a change? Reclaim The Streets throws exactly that kind of party on May 6th
Astounding new single 'Another Morning Stoner' from Texas eardrum massacre-ists ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead to feature on tonight's No Disco (N2, 11.15pm)
Sudanese boy soldier turned rapper Emmanuel Jal is one of the highlights of this year’s Festival Of World Cultures, which takes place in Dun Laoghaire from August 25 to 27.
JJ72 aim to hot up the charts with a re-recorded, John Leckie-produced version of I To Sky track 'Always And Forever'. Read on for details of B-sides and the video
Austrian Sia Furler’s initial impact a few years back couldn’t have been greater, coupling her work with Zero 7 with her own top ten single ‘Taken For Granted’. Then, nothing. Now with this return the chances are we might have this year’s Martina Topley Bird on our hands.
Having graced the Closer soundtrack and made the cut for the OC’s illustrious collection, Damien Rice is doing very nicely out of compilations these days.
Scouser outfit Clinic return with another eleven offerings of skewered pop cooked according to the recipes revealed in their first album Internal Wrangler
There's a new video from scrub-suited melodica doctors Clinic on the next No Disco - as well as ticket giveaways for New Breathe, and much much more. Ahhh... we feel better already
There's a new video from scrub-suited melodica doctors Clinic on the next No Disco - as well as ticket giveaways for New Breathe, and much much more. Ahhh... we feel better already
There's a new video from scrub-suited melodica doctors Clinic on the next No Disco - as well as ticket giveaways for New Breathe, and much much more. Ahhh... we feel better already
As predicted, Snow Patrol emerged the big winners at the Meteor Music Awards, which took place at The Point in Dublin last night. Click for photos from the night
“This is good,” quips Daragh Dukes. “We’re trying to keep it cult, so if you like it, don’t tell anyone.”
The joke’s actually on him, because no bastard’s turned up to see his band. At the best of times, the sheer choice in London keeps people away from bands in the ‘maybe’ pile. But on a Tuesday? And up against Chelsea vs Liverpool? They didn’t stand a chance.
This may be their first foray onto a major label, but Babatikidido is still a typically unconventional project.. As the soundtrack to avant-garde choreographer Merce Cunningham’s 50th Gala Performance, this three-track instrumental wonder is appropriately fluid and dramatic.
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
...here's the Hot Press Irish Music Awards, and a massive bash avec much live music is pencilled in for Belfast in April. Read on for the categories and nominees in full
Ghosts sprinkle a touch of originality – but little more. Their music makes for a pleasant listen, but the four piece from London don’t seem to be in the game of challenging.
Tom McRae has been turning heads around England just by virtue of the fact that he is a singer-songwriter with much more than simply one guitar and the truth.
It’s the second night of The Pixies’ three-gig run in the Olympia, and like the other two shows, this date is completely sold out. It’s not hard to fathom the level of interest, as the pitch is pretty irresistible – the legendary quartet performing Doolittle, one of the greatest ever alternative albums, in its entirety.
You can’t help thinking of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, even Simon & Garfunkel, as ultimately this is a collection of simple songs and beautiful melodies wrapped in throbbing basslines and lo-fi beats.
Fresh from picking up an Ivor Novello award with Gary Lightbody and co., ex-Patrol man Iain Archer is hoping for similar good fortune with the re-release of his 2004 effort Flood The Tanks.
These super-short tunes are fresh, frantic barrages of noise that assail the senses with all the subtlety of a thunderstorm and wield much the same measure of power.
How much does a record soak up the spirit of the place it’s recorded? Could Music From Big Pink have been birthed anywhere but Woodstock? Low anywhere but Berlin, by the wall? Inishbofin hosted A House’s I Want Too Much, and the songs were as harsh, bare and beautiful as the surrounding rocks, sand and storms.
This Wigan four-piece with a tenuous (mainly geographical, it has to be said) Verve connection have accumulated a load of accolades and plaudits on the basis of a handful of singles released over the past year.
Ossie Kilkenny, the top music industry accountant who has worked with many of the biggest acts in the world, including U2, Morrissey, Oasis and Van Morrison, has said that the record industry is finished.
Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight is by all accounts an album that has been in the making for several months, and boy does it sound it. Left to marinade in its own splendid creative juices, the 66e sound has morphed from something cutesy and introspective into a glorious sonic sprawl, with vertiginous climaxes and windswept hooks.
Myslovitz, who take their name from the German spelling of their hometown, have sold millions across the world although they still record mainly in their native tongue.
For much of the past decade one of the most common mantras heard was from unreconstructed Rock bands claiming that there'd always been a dance element to their music.
Boss Volenti? Perhaps I’m displaying my ignorance here, but it sounds like an associate of Tony Soprano’s. Or something you’d order in a restaurant. Or even a new brand of designer aftershave. But no, it’s the self-titled debut from the Dublin rock band who've recently been joined by former Therapy sticksman Graham Hopkins. How Dublin are they? Well, they recorded this in The Factory, and thank Joe Elliot and Tony Fenton on the sleeve.
Having tried to repeat the feat with Liquid Skin and the disappointing In Our Gun, the five-piece took a deserved break (with an odds-n-sods collection to keep the fans happy), and Split The Difference is the first we’ve heard from planet Gomez in 18 months..
Laundry Service is by no means a great album, but Shakira Rimpoll's eccentricities elevate her head and shoulders - and at least three cup sizes - above the pop conveyor belt pack
It is Tom Vek’s curse that his music evokes nostalgia for our favourite trailblazers. The ramshackle indie-blues he peddles reminds you of a younger, more daring Beck. Those funeral-bell rhythms and caffeinated vocals offer traces of Talking Heads and Franz Ferdinand. His penchant for the odd mouth organ solo, meanwhile, has seen him tagged as “the new Dylan”.
Radiohead's Phil Selway to run the London Marathon - and, in so doing, raise money for The Samaritans. Read on to learn how you can sponsor him and be entered to win one of the drumkits used on OK Computer
Widely credited as the pioneers of the genre which has become known the world over as alt. country, Wilco have redefined their own musical parameters in recent years, concentrating on the alternative and ditching much of the country influence that characterised the classic albums of Woody Guthrie material they made with Billy Bragg. Personally, I find the new Wilco more than a bit frustrating.
Their transition from traditional ‘indie’ beginnings to a more lavish, gothic sound suggests a development that, for my money, has never been backed up by a commensurate break-through in terms of songwriting. Or maybe I’ve been missing something...
Music Review | Live
19% | 25 Apr 2003
Paul Nolan
"When the group shift the dynamic completely and segue into a typically skyscraping rendition of ‘Revelate’, the effect is dizzying. And as Glen howls, “My human fate/My revelate” with all the fury of Prince Hamlet after being confronted by his father’s ghost, it makes you think Pat McCabe was absolutely spot-on when he pointed to Hansard as being one of the most gifted lyricists around."
As one might expect, the proceedings are highly performance-driven, but it’s Julianne Moore’s tormented turn which steals the show, and grants a heartbreaking humanity to a character whose actions are morally reprehensible.
We could squabble over the Mercury Music Prize shortlist until the cows come home, but this year has seen some unfathomable omissions. For instance, how come Primal Scream’s Xtrmntr, a career high and easily the equal of 1991’s Mercury-winning Screamadelica, gets ignored in favour of their buddies Death In Vegas muscular but somewhat overrated Contino Sessions.
Essentially a brilliantly produced heavy metal record with lots of strange moments, Origin Of Symmetry will undoubtedly propel Muse further upwards in their quest for stardom
Bell X1 at the RDS? It would have seemed unthinkable a few years back, but 2005 was a good year for the group – one in which they took steps to ensure that they will be remembered as more than just Damien Rice’s old playmates.
Blotooth’s pretty-boy vocalist Myles O’Reilly certainly casts a presence onstage tonight, all six foot five of him, and it seems as though the band are undergoing a transformation of sorts.
After years of pale imitations and wholesale corporate plagiarism, this is a typically stunning eardrum assault from arguably the greatest rock trio that world has ever known.
“Don’t give in, 2000 man,” sighs Jason Lytle through the nine-minute prog-epic heartbreaker that is ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot,’ and a theatre-ful of enthusiastic Lytle-people are delighted to have him looking out for us.
What on paper could have a some sort of post-modern Raggle TaggleFest 2002, turned out to be one of the most moving celebrations of friendship and music this city has ever seen
If their rapid ascent has left Alex Kapranos & Co. gasping for air it doesn’t show as Franz Ferdinand launch into their Olympia set with a breakneck ‘Michael’. All that having to grab American audiences by the scruff of the neck has toughened them up to the point where on occasions they’re bizarrely redolent of Live & Dangerous-era Thin Lizzy.
Tech Music Schools (Drumtech / Vocaltech / Guitar-X / Bass Guitar-X / Keyboardtech), Europe’s leading contemporary music schools, are proud to offer a free full-time intensive scholarship course in London to a Hot Press reader.
Largo is another dazzling display of Mehldau's breathtaking artistry, instantly accessible for its sheer beauty and exquisite musicianship and a daringly progressive musical odyssey with few if any peers or parallels
Music In Mouth is a more unified, distinctive and cohesive record that showcases the band’s multiple directions, adding further conviction to the depths of epic balladeering on ‘Eve, The Apple Of My Eye’, the quirky pop of ‘Next To You’ or the manic rock of ‘White Water Song
THE CRITICS PANEL WHO VOTED FOR THE TOP 30 ALBUMS AND SINGLES OF THE YEAR ARE AS FOLLOWS: BILL GRAHAM, LIAM FAY, GEORGE BYRNE, STUART CLARK, LORRAINE FREENEY, TARA McCARTHY, GERRY McGOVERN, NEIL McCORMICK, DERMOT STOKES, OLIVER P. SWEENEY, SIOBHAN LONG, STEVE AVERILL, ANDY DARLINGTON, COLM O’HARE, JOE JACKSON, HELENA MULKERNS, DAN OGGLY, CATHY DILLON, NIALL CRUMLISH, OLAF TYARANSEN, PATRICK BRENNAN, JACKIE HAYDEN AND NIALL STOKES.
Shaking violently, and almost swallowing the mic, his screaming vocals demanded you pay attention NOW. This wasn't singing, it was some type of exorcism
Recorded in a day across various locations by a cast of 22, Help! A Day In The Life is the second WarChild album, the objective being to raise funds for child victims of global conflict.
Beck's The Information veers between two distinct styles – the kind of blues/folk/hip-hop mash-ups that Beck has made his own, and a more melancholy, plaintive type of tune that he has increasingly favoured in recent years.
Hot Press illustrator David Rooney returns to the city he lived in over fifteen years ago and finds that – even accompanied by a fake plastic Kurt – Seattle retains its beating heart.
Once director John Carney has picked up yet another gong at the British Film Awards, while Armagh cinematographer Seamus McGarvey was honoured for his work on Atonement.
Rodrigo y Gabriela take to the road next month in support of their eponymous new album, which was produced by Radiohead, Stone Roses and Muse man John Leckie.
A few weeks ago I had a lengthy chat with the A&R man from a major London-based international record company who was in Ireland checking out the talent and trying to prise demo tapes and CDs off me. During the conversation I asked him to spill the beans on what goes through an A&R man s head from the time he seriously considers signing a band until a decision is finally taken.
When Boyzone pranced awkardly around the Phoenix Park stage in their orange jumpsuits at the ill-advised and worse-attended homecoming for the Republic's USA 94 squad (which could have been a subtle reference to the fact that we'd been sent packing by Holland, but I doubt it), …
Isn t it ironic, as Alanis was just saying the other night, that in an age in which both global and local communications are expanding and developing on a daily basis, some of the most consistent criticisms of young bands relates to their apparent unwillingness to get their message across.
Many of these gorgeous songs, which are steeped in mournful pedal steel (especially the thematically representative ‘Sex, War and Robots’) and couched in intricate arrangements, deal directly with broken relationships and war.
Sometimes putting together this fortnightly column is far easier than you could possibly imagine, and this particular one has been a truly effortless breeze.
As the country’s largest music festival, Oxegen is a crucial shop window for Irish acts. From main-stage headliners Snow Patrol through new kids on the block The Script. Here are some of our favourite Irish picks.
One of the things that becomes clear as the wonders of A Rush Of Blood To The Head unfolds is that Coldplay are making a truly startling sound within a basic rock format
Colin Reid is so far out of the frame that it takes a while to understand the concept. He s a virtuoso guitarist, from Belfast, who doesn t care for guitar music.
Getting inside the head of one of modern music’s deepest enigmas was both a challenge and a privilege, says documentary maker Stephen Kijak, director of Scott Walker 30 Century Man.
Over a hundred acts took part in the annual Hard Working Class Heroes event in Dublin last weekend. While the standard wasn’t uniformly impressive, a number of new contenders emerged who might ultimately be capable of lifting the rock’n’roll crown...
Like many trades the music industry has its own language unique to itself. To the untrained ear conversations between musicians and industry pros can sound indecipherable, or have a completely different meaning to modern English.
For the uninitiated Demo Dip provides a handy sampler to some of the often used phrases and linguistics devices preferred by the musical fraternity.
Extreme heat can provoke strange reactions. People lose the ability to fret over pointless dilemmas. Such as: do I watch New Order or the Super Furry Animals? Or, when are Audioslave on and is there time to visit the loo first?
The Hot Press Irish Music Awards proved to be as keenly contested as ever with U2, Ash and The Corrs emerging as big winners. But the number of awards acknowledging nascent talent prove there’s more heavy-hitters waiting in the wings
These days, Barry McIlheney is a major player in the world of London-based consumer magazines. He s been a guiding hand behind FHM, Q and Mojo, and has just launched a weekly entertainment magazine, Heat.
When we last left U2, at the conclusion of 1997’s Pop, they were marooned on a spaghetti Golgotha, shouting, “Wake up dead man!” at a god who had apparently reneged on his promise to live forever. Well pilgrims, here’s the resurrection shuffle.
PHIL LYNOTT would have been 50 on 20th August this year. Here, PETER MURPHY profiles the legendary Philo, and talks to other stars about his enduring influence.
The dramatic announcement last week that the Irish Record Music Assocation was planning to sue 17 individuals the association has identified as "serial file-sharers" sent shock waves through the industry. IRMA chief executive Dick Doyle explains the background to to the move. Report by Tanya Sweeney.
The foot-and-mouth crisis plunged the Irish live music scene into one of its most difficult phases. Now, however, the business is back – and flourishing. Report: COLM O'HARE
All Write Now, we said. And boy did you follow instructions! The entries poured in from all over Ireland, and further afield, in their thousands. We were snowed under – but, as the song says: That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, we like it…
The Great Record has visited some fine places over the past year or more. Now we ve finally wound up in Limerick, plumbed the depths of both city and county and emerged in one piece to tell the tale.
The Boss is back, and boy is he pissed. Bruce Springsteen uses the language of classic American rock 'n' roll to address the disquiet and despair of the modern-day American nightmare. Hot Press bore witness to a cluster of exclusive warm-up shows in New York and New Jersey.
30 years after the recording of Bitches Brew, the release of The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions comes on like Apocalypse Then The Sequel. PETER MURPHY journeys upriver into the heart of darkness and unearths still more evidence to confirm MILES DAVIS reputation as one of the most peaceful and influential musicians of the millennium.
Music Review | Live
16% | 7 Sep 2006
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.
There are those who believe that the future of music as an art form is seriously under threat from the rise of music piracy. Where will it all end? The truth is that no one truly knows.
