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.
After the totting up of votes – there were thousands of the blighters – the first heat of the Sony Ericsson Raw Sessions was won by Kilkenny’s very fine Rarely Seen Above Ground...
Last night’s Sony Ericsson Raw Sessions saw Majella Murphy and the Infomatics (pictured) work on their final tracks. Now your votes decide who'll make this week's grand final!
Dirty Epics and R.S.A.G. are taking part in The Raw Sessions With Sony Ericsson, a new RTÉ show where acts are challenged to write and record an original song in 12 hours.
It's the wee small hours of Sunday morning (1:05am to be precise) and we're bringing you the Raw Sessions news, fresh from your TV screens... the Raw Sessions Sony Ericsson Artist of the Year is... THE INFOMATICS!
Students bands from across Ireland will compete for an attractive grand prize which includes Grouse Lodge studio time and entry to the UK's equivalent competition
There's tragic news from Bath where Hope Of The States guitarist, James Lawrence, was found dead at 4.30 this morning in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.
Suddyn attempt to make it three top 30 singles in a row with the April 11 release of ‘Letting Go’, an anthemic rocker par excellence recorded in Grouse Lodge studios.
Life on the road isn't always a blur of parties and groupies. Sometimes it's exhausting, and oftn plain boring, as Irish hopefuls Director found out when they went on tour with Hard-Fi.
The Stables in Mullingar has become an essential stopover on the Irish rock touring circuit. Here, the venue's booking man, David McLynn tells Jackie Hayden about the current state of rock in the Midlands.
Cinematic weirditude! arbus-like photography! theoretical physics! as Paul Nolan discovers, it’s definitely not only rock’n’roll for Hope Of The States, the Chichester band with a certain Westmeath connection.
Cinematic weirditude! arbus-like photography! theoretical physics! as Paul Nolan discovers, it’s definitely not only rock’n’roll for Hope Of The States, the Chichester band with a certain Westmeath connection.
Last night’s episode of the Sony Ericsson Raw Sessions saw the three finalists play a live final – now it's up to you to vote for your favourite to become Sony Ericsson Artist of the Year.
Having battled their way through eight weeks of the Raw Sessions, hip hop collective and noble underdogs THE INFOMATICS were awarded the title of Sony Ericsson Artist Of The Year. We caught up with Bugs, Mr. Dero, Konchus Lingo and BOC (try saying that three times fast!) to hear how appearing on the country’s first ever rockumentary series is going to change them and indeed the face of Irish hip hop.
Running an independent label is challenging enough, but how do you operate in a town where you can count the bands and the venues on one hand? Robbie McManus tells Hot Press what motivated Athlone-based Kissmearse Records to take fledgeling local bands under their wing.
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.
A wide variety of trade exhibitors will be there over the weekend to show you what they've got - from music instruments to recording equipment and software.
Having been snapped up by Atlantic Records in the UK and touted by Hot Press as one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Ireland this year, Director prove their worth with 'Reconnect'.
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!
Recorded in the bucolic splendour of County Westmeath, Bloc Party's second album is a labyrinthine concept album about urban living. Better to take a risk, says frontman Kelé Okereke, than to repeat yourself .
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.
The border counties may not exactly be a hotbed of indie rock but that hasn’t stopped Monaghan hopefuls The Flaws from producing one of the year’s most mesmerising debuts.
On the eve of the release of Snow Patrol's epic fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, Hot Press finds out how singer Gary Lightbody gets inspiration for his songs.
Following in the footsteps of Joy Division, The Smiths and The Stone Roses, Mancunian rockers Doves have continued the tradition of musical excellence for which their hometown is internationally renowned. With their new opus Some Cities in the offing, vocalist Jimi Goodwin here discusses apocalyptic weather, urban decay and those abandoned recording sessions with Madonna’s producer.
Just short of a quarter of a century since they last blitzed the nation’s ballrooms, Ireland’s most fondly-remembered and (lest we forget) culturally influential outfits finally return to the studio.
They toured the world throughout the ‘70s, earning rave notices from Bono, The Edge and Melvin Bragg, upsetting the clergy, terrifying the American public in the company of Blue Oyster Cult and the J Geils Band and out-glamming even Bowie with their flamboyant sartorial taste. With a new DVD on the way and much speculation about a possible tour, legendary Celtic rockers Horslips here talk to Hot Press about a decade of adventure, decadence and great music.
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.
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.
Ms Dynamite may have found common cause with the international pop Mafiosi, but this is an LP rooted in specifics, the grime and grey of London’s inner-city.
Annual article: The Electric Picnic wasn’t just one of the musical events of the year; it also let us chow down and have a natter with some of the top pop combos of the day, including Bloc Party, Gang Of Four and New Order.
The Heineken Rollercoaster Tour is taking to the road again and this time the capital is nobody’s hometown gig. From Kells come Turn, from Limerick Woodstar and from Cork The Frank and Walters. Next stop: a venue near you.
Just confirmed to play support for the 22-20's, Mainline are enjoying some major label attention. Plus: Derry band Red Organ Serpent Sound sign to Universal.
Released in 1999 Paddy Casey’s debut album went double-platinum, establishing him as one of Ireland’s brightest prospects. but the intervening four years have seen that crown slip, as a succession of homegrown singer songwriters battled their way into contention, outstripping him in terms of record sales – and hard graft. now casey is back in the frame, with his long-waited follow-up, the cheekily titled Living – an album that sees him gloriously back on top of his game. why did it take four years to make? the answer to that burning question may go back even further. because Paddy Casey’s life story is truly a remarkable one.
Returning from an extended hiatus, Manic Street Preachers are in stridently upbeat form. In a revealing interview, they reflect on their enduring cultural imprint and talk about long lost Manic Richey Edwards.
Right from the first reel, this is one of the most thrillingly self-assured Irish debuts since, well, The Thrills’. Despite being fellow Dubs, though, Director are coming from a very different place.
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy.
The Aftermath are the first rock band from Longford ever to hit the charts. But right now, they live in Mullingar, the new happening epicentre of rock’n’roll.
Filí, amhránaithe and ceoltóirí na héireann member Steve Cooney on the rights of trad acts to travel, get paid… and obtain a cup of tea when playing Dublin castle. Folk Centre with Sarah McQuaid
In an increasingly competitive world, there’s an increased awareness that practical knowledge and experience, allied to the appropriate qualifications, can give people the edge over rivals who adopt a more casual approach.
R.E.M. have confirmed details of their new album, which was publicly rehearsed in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre last year and recorded in Westmeath’s Grouse Lodge Studios.
Declan O’Rourke has confirmed the September release of his second album, Big Bad Beautiful World, which was recorded in the same Westmeath studio used recently by Bloc Party, Editors and Michael Jackson, Grouse Lodge.
As exclusively revealed by Hot Press during the summer, Editors are recording the follow-up to their debut best-seller, The Back Room, in Westmeath’s Grouse Lodge Studios with U2 and Snow Patrol producer Garret Lee.
Recording time in Grouse Lodge studios and a Beat FM radio session are both up for grabs as the National Student Music Prize returns after a four-year break.
While the rest of you were off stuffing your faces with turkey, here at HotPress we were busily polishing our crystal balls in readiness for our annual gaze into the future. S
