When Graham Hopkins found himself on the other side of Warner Music Ireland’s door, by rights it should have signalled a downturn in the drummer-turned-singer’s fortunes. Not so.
Since the release of their debut album Head On, Halite have also morphed, Foo Fighters stylee, from the singular vision of one multi-instrumentalist to a more ensemble effort.
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 release of her second album Blue Planet should prove beyond all reasonable
doubt that DONNA LEWIS is no One Hit Wonder.
Interview: BARRY GLENDENNING.
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
Prior to their recent Dublin gig, THE BLUETONES talked to NADINE O REGAN about the fickleness of fame, artistic integrity, America and the dangers of sausage sponsorship!
Brody Dalle is tired – but then she has had a pretty intense few years of it. Peter Murphy learns how The Distillers survived marital discord and peer disapproval.
Kieran Kennedy has just released a solo album – the Donal Lunny-produced Pagan Irish – but, he tells Colm O’Hare, The Black Velvet Band are still alive and well.
Madonna has become the latest big-name artist to shake up the music industry, after signing a unique new contract with concert promotions company Live Nation.
Once he was the mouthy fop rocker who enraged at least as many people as he delighted; now with a debut novel just published he's a (mostly) critically acclaimed author whose time has apparently come. Peter Murphy meets former Toasted Heretic frontman Julian Gough to discuss a meeting with Morrissey and a near-miss with Sinead, the benefits of being humbled and crushed, fame and creativity on the dole and, one more time with feeling, the epic story of lawyers, lubricants and lunacy at Feile '92. Photography: Phillip Tottenham
Psychic and physical disintegration! Quacks, pulsars and Marshall amps! The sound of the end of space and time! And, oh yes, silly song titles too! Welcome to the world of WAYNE COYNE and The Flaming Lips. Interview: Peter Murphy.
A breathtaking variety of acts have come together - as Lennon might have put it - to focus attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, under the auspices of Amnesty International.
With the release of his second solo album, Running Dog, Nick Kelly has cemented his reputation as one of the leading contemporary songwriters in Ireland. Here, the former Fat Lady Sings frontman talks to Jackie Hayden about the break-up of one of Dublin's most respected bands, financing his solo career through the largesse of his fanbase – and the ongoing joys of artistic independence.
Since bursting onto the world stage with her No.1 single, Orinoco Flow and the multi-million selling album, WATERMARK, Enya has become one of Ireland s brightest star. Now with the release of her new album, SHEPHERD MOONS she prepares to take on the world again, with music of an almost other-worldly beauty. In the throes of a personal odyssey to pastures east, Molly McAnailly Burke explores the genesis of the album, talks to Enya s collaborators Roma and Nicky Ryan and discovers in the work of this extraordinary trinity intimations of mythic grandeur.
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.
Sex and sanctity, grit and glitter, penthouse and pavement, God and the Devil, and all conical points in between!
PETER MURPHY dials M for ADONNA, the pre-eminent pop icon of this and every other year
Until recently one of the ultimate indie cult bands, The Flaming Lips have survived the ravages of heroin, acid and a hunting trip with William Burroughs. Now, their new album At War With The Mystics finds them taking their funky psychedelia to strange new places – including the upper reaches of the charts for the first time. Could it be that their moment has finally come? Interviews: Craig Fitzsimons (now) and Peter Murphy (then). additional reporting: Stuart Clark, Ed Power and Jackie Hayden
It's been over four intriguing years since Damien Rice's extraordinary debut album O was launched. That record went on to become a huge underground international hit, selling in excess of 2 million copies. Now his long-awaited follow-up – the similarly simply titled 9 – is finally ready to hit the shops. So how did Rice so successfully capture the collective imagination? And will the latest instalment in the Rice musical biography propel him to even greater heights? Hot Press talks exclusively to some of the key players in his remarkable rise and rise.
Four major record companies have brought a High Court action against eircom, aimed at compelling the telecoms provider to block access to illegal file-sharing services over its network.
Meteor has announced the arrival of the Meteor Music Store in Ireland, giving music fans the chance to download their favourite songs – anytime, anywhere.
The former South African President, Nelson Mandela, got up to dance to The Corrs in Galway. Then he asked them to guest at his 85th birthday party. How could they refuse?
San Francisco, California was today the scene of a landmark move in the rapidly evolving music download market. In an announcement two key developments were confirmed by Apple, in the Keynote Address at Macworld, presented on this occasion by Senior Vice President of Marketing, Phil Schiller.
Hot Press was granted an exclusive preview listen to so-new-it's-not-even-finished-yet Red Hot Chili Peppers LP By The Way, due out on July 8th. Peter Murphy gives us the rundown
You can't keep a good man down, it would seem…having parted company 'by mutual agreement' with Warner Music Ireland earlier this year, Graham Hopkins' outfit Halite released their sophomore album, Courses on October 1st. Although the band have courted major label interest since leaving the Warner fold, their new album will be released on the band's own label, Brassneck Recordings.
In the new Hot Press, Peter Murphy picks his 20 highlights from the last 35 years of home-grown alternative culture (in strictly chronological order!). Take a look and then have your say on the indie moments that rocked in your lifetime...
Travel back in time, say, to twenty years ago. At that time few people would have believed that at a time not far into the future we would be able to watch virtually every major film that was ever made in the comfort of our own home on our television screens.
That would certainly seem to be the policy in RTE, where the hugely successful Scrap Saturday was ditched and Extra Extra promoted as A GREAT IDEA. Widely considered Ireland's most talented and controversial comedian, Dermot Morgan has suffered more than most in a climate where safety remains the bottom line. Here he talks about Teasey and Haughey, Bishop Casey's bedroom habits, Chris de Burgh's ladies in bed, the loves Labour have lost in government and what makes a legitimate target – along the way excoriating RTE for their unwillingness to take even the slightest risk in the cause of decent comedy.
Interview: Joe Jackson.
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.
