He's not a Christmassy guy, he says, but perhaps the season has made Jape's Richie Egan reflective. Patrick Freyne talks to him about the past, present and future.
To mark the release of his new album, Jape main-man Richie Egan took comedian David O’Doherty to the zoo on condition that he write 1200 words about it for Hotpress.
Richie Egan (Jape) will perform a DJ set this Thursday (December 13) to raise funds for Temple Street and Crumlin's Children's Hospitals. Other acts include Large Mound, Johnny Moy and Hot Press' Mark Kavanagh.
It’s Christmas, time for some of the leading lights of the Irish musical family to return from far-flung stages and convene for a traditional evening of reflection, revelation, conversation, merriment and, well, gargle. The guests: Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Mundy and David Kitt.
Myrtleville: the name sounds too good to be true as the setting for an olde time hoe-down. Last weekend, a hoard of guitarslingers, mostly from Dublin, did indeed descend upon the sleepy seaside Pine Lodge pub in way-out-west Cork for the low-key country music festival, High Noon.
Glaswegian indie outfit Sons And Daughters are set to make a big impact with their most pop-influenced album to date. They talk about surviving Bernard Butler bootcamp, touring with Morrissey and, er, covering Adamski.
Gary Lightbody, Mark Geary, Rick O’Shea, The Frames, Jape, Mario Rosenstock, The Redneck Manifesto and the Eyebrowy crew slug it out for the title of The Simpsons’ most obsessive Irish fan.
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.
Wonky was conceived for the eyes and ears as a celebration of the best live bands around sharing a stage with the best new electronic producers with the most entertaining visual backdrop possible courtesy of D.A.D.D.Y. and Del-9
Declan de Barra is an interesting character. Back in Ireland after a long stretch in Australia, where he fronted the well regarded Clann Zu, he is an eco-warrior by disposition. But on the enigmatically titled Song Of A Thousand Birds, he manages to maintain a healthy distance from any tendency to merely preach, instead investing even the most politically loaded tracks with a poetic intimacy.
While the line-up may not be as strong as it has in previous years, the fact that the schedule isn’t crammed with must-sees means we have more capacity to take in everything else on offer.
Clubbers rejoice – the Planetlove summer festival is bound for County Meath. And the really good news is this year's event will feature some of the best in Irish DJ talent.
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.
