2003 was a year of reinvention for the Irish dance scene, as dance recession which had been the talk of UK dance mags in 2002 finally had some effect over here.
Dutch female techno DJ/producer Shinedoe’s ability to move between styles and make them her own makes ‘Sound Travelling’ highly recommended. It also means that ‘Face Your Fears’ adds a sensual element to Rob Hood’s razor sharp minimalism, while ‘Enjoy The Moments’ is a warm, electronic bass-led reinvention of Steve Rachmad’s work as Sterac.
One of Belfast’s best-loved indie clubs has undergone a radical reinvention – but is still going strong after more than ten years at the front line of alternative culture in the city.
Has Madonna become the immaterial girl? Or will the Re-invention tour re-establish her as the foremost female icon on the planet? On the eve of her first ever Irish appearance at Slane, Peter Murphy takes a look at the strange twist the Queen of Pop’s career has taken – and how she is now fighting back, for all she’s worth.
The erstwhile Jam and Style Council frontman was attempting another reinvention in a career that has seen him traverse the genre divides of punk, mod and soul.
Those more familiar with Dylan’s modus operandi know that he has latterly treated the recorded versions of his songs as mere rough demos and starting points from which he walks a tightrope of adventurous reinvention from which he sometimes topples off.
He’s the joker in the Irish music pack, a working class hero who has at once conquered and subverted the mainstream. For his first album in six years JERRY FISH and his MUDBUG CLUB have also roped in some top-tier collaborators including rockabilly queen Imelda May and Carol Keogh.
From self-contained sound system to collaborators of choice for everyone from Mutya Buena to Kylie, Groove Armada have perfected the art of beat science.
Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes, from Death in Vegas, explain how they survived Big Beat, made one of the albums of the year and ended up working with their heroes.
Interview: EAMON SWEENEY.
After making their name with the glacial atmospherics of Felt Mountain, Goldfrapp work up a sweat on their new album Black Cherry. John Walshe hear how they “defrosted” their sound
Two house calls for the price of one? Jackie Hayden calls in on political satirist Paddy Cullivan and Clint Velour of Camembert Quartet, resident ingredient of RTÉ TV’s Tubridy Show, only to find they are one and the same person!
For a man who was working in Galway nightclubs and renting damp rooms in dilapidated hotels at the turn of the decade, PERRY BLAKE hasn t done too badly since. After releasing two acclaimed singles for Polydor, he s now set fair to emerge as one of Ireland s brightest new
songwriting talents.
OLAF TYARANSEN hears his intriguing story.
For a man who was working in Galway nightclubs and renting damp rooms in dilapidated hotels at the turn of the decade, PERRY BLAKE hasn t done too badly since. After releasing two acclaimed singles for Polydor, he s now set fair to emerge as one of Ireland s brightest new
songwriting talents.
OLAF TYARANSEN hears his intriguing story.
With a career-best new album under their belts, Razorlight's Johnny Borrell talks about bling, mid-career reinvention and Britain's battle with metrosexuality.
Techno duo Echospace have earned a devoted cult following – and caused quite a commotion on eBay – thanks to their imaginative reinvention of old-school production techniques.
englebert humperdinck s legendary career stretches over the past 30 years. Now, however, it s reinvention ahoy! as he releases . . . a dance album. adrienne murphy meets The King Of Romance and is told she has a beautiful handshake .
Action movie sweetheart and FHM-proclaimed second sexiest woman on the planet Jessica Biel gives us the lowdown on upcoming period rom-com Easy Virtue... and nothing else.
EDITORS’ new album finds them re-booting their sound with the help of super-producer Flood and the Prussian soldier’s helmet gifted to him by Bono. Also on the agenda when the band meet Stuart Clark are fatherhood, baby poo, Brooklyn block parties and stealing Michael Stipe’s megaphone.
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is one of rock’s great eccentrics. In an exclusive interview he talks about meditation, chastity and why ego is the enemy of art.
A hit album, critical acclaim, sell-out shows… everything was going swimmingly for DAVID KITT until a sunday paper made serious allegations about him and his Government Minister Dad. In a gloves-off interview with COLIN CARBERRY, Kittser responds to his detractors and explains why, despite the journalistic flak, 2001 has been a great year
Ahead of their Electric Picnic shows, The Beastie Boys talk about Politics, the influence of punk on their sound and explain why Ireland is one of their favourite places to play
Yes, it's the long-awaited return of the world's greatest politically incorrect headline. Michael Hutchence of Féile headliners INXS explains why he's flying a flag for the old-fashioned values and going back to his musical roots. All this plus: condoms, Mick Jagger at 50 and the best-hung member of INXS. Interview: Neil McCormick.
As he prepares for the release of his band s third album, Cold And Bouncy, high llamas mainman
sean o hagan tells an awestruck
nick kelly exactly why there s always been a Beach Boys element to his music.
Twelve years since he retired his blood-stained Die Hard vest, Bruce Willis is back for another bite at the franchise. He talks about his see-saw acting career and why he and ex-wife Demi Moore will always be friends.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: In a special interview, The Edge reminisces about the early days of Hotpress, explains Bill Graham’s role in U2’s development, and comes clean about what the band have been up to recently in Morocco.
Metallica are back with an album that recaptures their brain-frying '80s pomp. Frontman James Hetfield talks about the dark side of hedonism and his love of Thin Lizzy.
MARILYN MANSON may be the epitome of Middle America's worst nightmare but, as STUART CLARK discovers, he's not that bad, really. On the agenda: Bono, Eminem, Moby, George W. Bush and the Columbine shootings
The godfather of the modern Irish gothic tradition, Patrick McCabe, has released what critics are hailing as his darkest, and arguably finest, novel yet, Winterwood.
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 year began with contrasting and contradictory alignments. On the one hand, the United States were about to invest a new president, a young, rock’n’roll-loving sax-playing boyo from the south called Bill Clinton, offering the possibility of America as the last great hope again.
The presence of Madonna feels almost incidental, as Price deals in back-beats and a pounding glib electro-clash. What comes out the other end, sparkling yet full of post-modern grit, is a Madonna song for people who don’t like – or even are actively hostile towards – Madonna.
Chris Cornell is set to play The Olympia Theatre, Dublin. The former front man with Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden hit Ireland for a one-off show in the capital on Sunday 14th June, 2009.
For the duration of this two-hour (yes, a full 120 minutes) show, he displays the energy of someone that has just supped from the cup of eternal youth.
Weird name? Check. Alienated'n'angry persona? Check. Usage of 'fuck', 'kill' and 'die' in lyrics? Check. Makeup worn even though artist is a goddamn GUY!? Check.
Fabulous, a. celebrated in fable; unhistorical, legendary, incredible, absurd, exaggerated; (colloq.)
marvellous, from fable, a story not founded on fact.
- Concise Oxford Dictionary
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Directed by and starring Kenneth Brannagh, with Richard Briers, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson and Denzel Washington)
After more than 15 years BBC Radio Ulster's Across The Line is undergoing something of a re-vamp. Colin Carberry reports on why this is good news for fans, and bands, on both sides of the border
A&E isn’t a reinvention for Spiritualized, but while that might be a disappointment for some, the comforting embrace of familiarity shouldn’t be underrated.
Hard rock has taken on many forms, but if it's loud enough to annoy the neighbours, it should be categorised as good old-fashioned metal. Peter Murphy guides you through our choice of the Top 30 metal albums of all time.
