Trad quartet Lunasa, named to honour the Irish harvest god Lugh, who also gave his name to the month of August, have become something of gods themselves within the Irish trad scene. Jackie Hayden talks to them in the wake of the release of their new album Se.
Clann Zu have taken their blend of rock, trad and classical strings halfway around the world from their native Australia to settle in Dublin. Why? Because "Ireland is very open to different styles" insists token mick, Declan de Barra
Violinist Zöe Conway has moved from classical violin toward a more traditional style, impressing such trad legends as Bill Whelan and Steve Cooney in the process
DEREK BELL on art, spirituality and porn! MARTIN FAY on Sean O'Riada, Carnegie Hall and drink! And PADDY MOLONEY on superstar friends, Bono's problematic vocals and his critics, inside and outside the group. Yes, it's the second and final part of JOE JACKSON'S extraordinary interview with THE CHIEFTAINS.
Who said trad music was for fogeys and whiskery aul' fellas? Spook of the Thirteenth Lock draw on old-timey Irish sounds whilst also referencing prog and nu-gaze
Dervish are a good-time trad band, whose charismatic singer, Cathy Jordon, never fails to have a humorous quip ready between songs. Before a fairly packed crowd they got a rousing reception, particularly when they let loose on those jigs and reels, which was often enough.
Mark Doherty is best known to Irish audiences for his live stand-up shows and his television appearances on RTE's Couched, yet as Joe Jackson finds out, he's just finished writing his first play
With their Harmony Hill album establishing them as one of the Trad world’s brightest hopes, Dervish are now busy taking their music to anyone who wants to listen. Colm O’Hare meets the Sligo six-piece who are being favourably compared to and discovers a band determined to breathe new life into old traditions.
Danu may just be the hardest working band in trad. With their fourth album The Road Less Travelled only recently released and another promised for the spring, When Jackie Hayden put a number of key issues to the band’s accordionist Benny McCarthy and bodhran player and uilleann piper Donnchadh Hough he found that they don’t just work hard, they talk hard too.
When all is said and done, Danú are one of the few trad acts currently on the go who bring a sense of vibrant edginess to their impeccable credentials. For while they always show due loyalty to their heritage they can also invigorate old tunes with new zest and while treating the tradition with total respect they can also have themselves (and us) a bundle of fun.
not to mention a thousand and one instruments to flesh out their exhilarating new wave trad. kMla take to the road, with puns, poetry and party atmosphere to spare. Adrienne Murphy accompanies the merry pranksters.
ELEANOR MacEVOY has a lot to answer for. Without her that little vessel that goes lub-a-dub-dub every time a stethoscope gets near it would still be languishing in the advertising pages of the Irish Medical Times, all arteries and veins, but no soul.
Are you ready for hip hop, be-bop trad? Then EILEEN IVERS is ready to take you to the bridge. SIOBHAN LONG meets the fiddle player with the world at her fingertips.
The Irish language is currently enjoying its most significant renaissance in many a year. in a special report, Seán O Héadeáin investigates the rebirth of the most unfairly maligned element of traditional culture
With an Irish tour approaching and a new album in the shops, Luka Bloom looks back on three decades that have taken him from busking in a pub in Newbridge to the big stages of Europe and America. In this candid interview with Jackie Hayden the man also known as Barry Moore talks about brother Christy, overcoming stage fright, finding an original voice, dealings with the music business, the need to combat racism - and why he remains a wannabe bogman
Last week, I was surprised – and rather tickled, if the truth be known – to get a call from Larry Bass, CEO of Screentime ShinAwiL, the production company behind You’re A Star – the third series of which is set to take the headline slot on RTÉ every Sunday night for 17 weeks commencing in November.
Since most trad acts are essentially covers bands regurgitating note-for-note copies of tunes they’ve been spoonfed by somebody else, we must be thankful for outfits like Kila, Danu, Altan and Solas who invest new zest into an often clichéd genre. Thus, Waiting For An Echo is a challenging mix of old tunes and new, instrumentals and songs, fast and slow, happy and sad, tight and easeful, with a pot-pourri of influences.
You know, it would be easy to consider Planxty a little naff. They play a mix of folk and trad, sing songs about the ‘West Coast Of Clare’ with lyrics that mention shillelaighs and were entertaining your parents before many of you were even born.
But Planxty are much more than just a sentimental relic of the past...
From strange days coming second in a yoghurt-sponsored competition and playing awful gigs sandwiched between boy bands, Damien Dempsey, with a little help from Shane, Sinéad and Christy, has survived and thrived. Eamon Sweeney meets a rap balladeer with a hit album, a social conscience and more than a few stories to tell.
Trad legends Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill are in the midst of a hectic tour of the country, with a special date at Dublin's National Concert Hall on June 12.
This Galway-based group takes its name from Amhráin Mhuige Seola, a collection of songs in Irish. The sound leans very much toward the gentler, more ‘classical’ side of trad.
With the same old trad royalty still being treated with grovelling reverence, promoter and manager David Caren thinks it stime the young and innovative got their dues. But will it happen? Report: SIOBHAN LONG.
It would seem that inside every successful singer songwriter there’s a covers album struggling to get out. Following George Michael, Annie Lennox et al, the fad now appears to be passing into Irish trad circles, with De Dannan’s ill-advised Hotel Hollywood effort and now Luka Bloom’s first release for two years.
It’s certainly plain to see how their teaming of sentimental, wide-eyed AOR and neo-trad power choruses is a hit with the audience, and they are indisputably talented, yet there is still something about the Corrs that strikes me as somewhat bloodless. Perhaps it’s me, for I haven’t seen an audience in the Point so animated and enthusiastic in ages.
One of Ireland’s top trad outfits is heading to Tennessee for a hook-up with a Grammy-winning bluegrass icon.
Music Review | Live
54% | 24 Oct 2002
Sean Walsh
She looks healthy, rested and fighting fit. Her band, consisting of bass, drums, banjo/whistle, cello, guitar and keyboards/ accordion, look like they’re here for a groove-laden run through some trad tunes, which, it transpires, they certainly are
Journey is not merely a trawl through the ubiquitous Donal Lunny's back pages but a compulsory purchase potted summary of three decades of Irish trad and the company it's been keeping.
From the name you might think Celtic trad, from the album title you might think indigenous Australian and on first listen you might assume French, but hip-hop three-piece Daara J are 100% Senegalese.
It’ll doubtless go down as the most anticipated (and long awaited) re-union in Irish music history. More than thirty years after they first transformed the possibilities of Irish music forever, the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young of trad/folk finally decide to re-convene for a series of gigs.
Sarah McQuaid rounds up the news from the folk, trad and roots scene for one last time as her tenure as HP’s resident folk columnist draws to a conclusion.
One of the most influential trad bands of the past quarter century, De Dannan have set out on the comeback trail - and they’re kicking their resurrection off with a comeback show to remember.
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
Now that American rock ’n’ roll has succumbed to its self-destructive urges and with its British counterpart reduced to self-indulgent navel exercises, the stage is now set for the radical rejuvenation of Irish music both as an international commercial viability and as a cultural touchstone for the new generation at home. Bill Graham meets philip king, the captain of the flagship of the latest revival river of sound, and finds that in the wake of the Riverdance phenomenon, it’s full steam ahead for Irish trad. Pix: NUTAN.
Parades, parties and green stout are all very well. But there’s so much more to St Patrick’s Day. Fans of traditional music, in particular, have good reason to be cheerful as the national feast day comes around once more.
Damp In The Attic, composed of ex- and current members of De Danann (Colm Murphy on bodhrán), Chatterbox (Martin Murray on fiddle), the Tulla Ceili Band (PJ King on accordion) and Fisherstreet (Cyril O'Donoghue (vocals, bouzouki), is the first signing through Magnetic Music's newly-opened Clare office, and a fine debut it makes for all concerned.
Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn have been around the block more than a couple of times now, and they've seduced a rake of unlikely apostles with their high octane mix of the old and the new. The release of last year's best of, How The West Was Won, was a magnificent resume of their antics from then to now.
It’s that time of year when gongs are being dished out. Guest columnist Rossa O Snodaigh of Kíla makes the case for a change of emphasis. Plus news, gossip and all that jazz.
With their Eurovision adventure as a focal point, it may have been a strange and unusual year for Dervish – but they've bounced back with a superb new album.
In addition to being an internationally renowned centre of artistic activity, Ireland is also famed for its party-friendly atmosphere. So, what better way to spend the summer than combining both equally noble pursuits – below is a comprehensive guide to the arts events on offer throughout the country over the next few months, and the sheer level of diversity on show offers further proof of our enduring love affair with the festival experience.
To coincide with her first solo album, Imeall, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh talks to Jackie Hayden about the pleasures and pressures of inter-band relationships, motherhood, the Irish language and her solo adventure.
When Tommy McManus of mama s boys died of leukaemia, his brothers Pat and John hadn t the heart to keep the band going. Now, however, they re back, having found a new spiritual and musical home in celtuS.
Interview:
john walshe.
Legendary ballad singer Liam Clancy, of the pioneering Clancy Brothers, kicked off this year’s Fleadh Cheoil in Clonmel with a vintage performance in the Enfer village. Here he reflects on Fleadhs past and their current contributions to Irish culture.
David bickley, aka Mobius of hyper[borea], tells Olaf Tyaransen about dance music as gaeilge, Bronze Age atmospheres and how he came to throw his Hot Press Award off a cliff.
Well, skip a light fandango if it isn’t The Pale, back with a new EP after the long absence that followed their massive contribution to the Irish rock scene of the early nineties. The Final Garden sees them re-emerge as a sturdier yet looser musical unit than of yore.
The future in nifty twelve-point type, summoned for you out of the ether by the Oracle of Hot Press, the redoubtable, all-powerful, spookily omniscient, scarily prescient, frighteningly knowledgeable but really quite friendly when you get to know him, Old Hayden. Read it and live better
The famed KODO drummers from Japan offer one of the most remarkable musical
experiences on planet earth right now. ADRIENNE MURPHY caught them in action in Zürich.
Contrary to popular belief we’re not familiar with every venue in the country, but below – with the aid of our Hotpress student reps – we provide a guide to some of our favourite student hang-outs
The Roisin Dubh has become one of Ireland's most prestigious music venues, hosting artists such as Violent Femmes, Josh Ritter and Republic Of Loose. Booker Gugai gives us the lowdown on the live scene way out west.
STUART CLARK looks ahead to SOUTH BY SOUTH WEST 98, which gets underway in Austin, Texas on March 18h and which will
feature a varied Irish musical bill of fare.
John Spillane has remained a stalwart of the traditional scene for close to two decades. With his excellent new album Hey Dreamer having just hit the shops, Spillane sounds off to hotpress about his long and eventful career, his enthusiasm for younger artists such as Damien Dempsey and Juliet Turner, and why the organisers of the European Capital of Culture events in his native Cork have gotten things spectacularly wrong. words Colm O’Hare photos Mick Quinn
We’ve been banging on for months about the utter fabulousness of CAT MALOJIAN - now, with the release of their latest album, the rest of the world is set to get a taste of their genius too.
A great many of us lost the run of ourselves during the Celtic Tiger epoch – the trad community included. But now that the arse has fallen out of the economy, maybe it’s time musicians went back to their roots
Moving Hearts were of the most provocative trad groups to emerge from Ireland, with songs that touched on fraught issues such as the northern troubles. Now they’re back for a much-anticipated reunion show. But will the band stay together in the long term?
Most people slow down a bit when they turn 60, but not trad legend Andy Irvine. Colm O’Hare hears about his latest collaboration with Donal Lunny, the Planxty reunion and the perils of being stranded in small German towns.
Rossa O Snodaigh is a founder member of the hugely popular and widely acclaimed Irish trad/folk/rock outfit Kila, which he formed with two of his brothers in 1987. The band have released six albums to date, the latest being 2003’s superb Luna Park. They are just about to tour Australia and Japan. Rossa grew up speaking Irish in the family home in Sandymount in Dublin.
From pioneering ambient-trad with Clannad, through to her brand new concept album 'Two Horizons', Moya Brennan can now look back on 30 years of lending her voice and harp to some of the most distinctive music ever to come out of Ireland.
One of Ireland’s premier singer/songwriters whose work has been covered by Christy Moore and the Corrs, Jimmy MacCarthy’s latest album The Moment illustrates a lighter side to his character. Below Jimmy gives us the inside track on the songs, the singers and the craft of writing
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"
With credits on no less than eight albums, Susan McKeown is better known in New York than her native Dublin. Sarah McQuaid hears what we've been missing
Katell Keineg confesses that she's lazy, eccentric and mis-understood yet she's back with a live appearance in dublin in February and a new EP due in the spring. Interview: Fiona Reid
EAMONN DeBARRA is the Young Traditional Musician of the Year. He tells SIOBHAN LONG why he isn t strictly trad and why it s important to play the #20 gigs
This is THE CHIEFTAINS as you've never encountered them before - more like mad, trad and dangerous to know than the grand-daddies of Irish traditional music. Smoking dope with Philip Lynott! Busting muscles through wild sex! Yes, it's the bits that aren't in the official biography. But, soft, not a word to Paddy, OK? Part One of an exclusive two-part interview. By JOE JACKSON.
BIG IN BRITAIN! BIG ON THE CONTINENT! BIG IN THE STATES! YET IRELAND STILL HAS TO FULLY SUCCUMB TO THE DELIGHTS OF FOUR MEN AND A DOG. HERE, THE TRAD SUPERGROUP EXPLAIN THEIR CURRENT SITUATION TO COLM O'HARE AS THEIR SECOND ALBUM *SHIFTING GRAVEL* HITS THE SHOPS.
Cork singer-songwriter NICOLE MAGUIRE is rapidly making a name for herself with her full-on pop-rock songs, swoonful voice and dogged determination. On the release of her debut album Fight The Score she talks to Jackie Hayden.
“All of Irish history is reflected in our songs”, says Frank Harte, a point well amplified by his new collection, 1798: The First Year of Liberty. Interview: Sarah Mc Quaid
From Donegal to London and beyond, altan s breathtaking music continues to win new converts. As the band showcase material from their latest album, Runaway Sunday, at the international headquarters of Virgin Records,
mairiad nm mhaonaigh tells sarah mcquaid:
It s all about letting it rip.
Speaking recently to bands involved in the IMRO Showcases it became quite apparent that there was one major question on most minds, whether to look for a record deal or go the independent route and release their own records on their own label.
Flute player conor byrne s lineage is a musically illustrious one his two uncles happen to be none other than Christy Moore and Luka Bloom. But, as he tells sarah Mcquaid, he s anxious that his music be judged on its own merits.
Or perhaps we might have reached for another old familiar headline - Fears and Loathing in RTE - as the bosses at Radio 1 announce the chopping of virtually all specialist music programmes from the schedule. It is, writes Bill Graham, an act of cultural criminal negligence.
Irish teen popsters B*WITCHED last month became only the seventh act in chart history to see their debut single go straight in at Number One in the UK Top 40. Are they the latest great white hope for pop music, or simply a troupe of over-hyped cod-ceili dancers? And what does all this signify for the Irish music industry as a whole? peter murphy reports.
On the eve of the release of their latest album, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill shoot the breeze about on-the-road partying and incorporating non-folk influences into their songbook
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is a major new six-part RTE series. Directed by DAVID HEFFERNAN, and featuring new interviews with the major players including Van Morrison, Bob Geldof, U2 and Siniad O Connor it traces the history of Irish music, from showbands to boybands and beyond. By PETER MURPHY.
They’re the quirky electro-rockers who have got the music industry buzzing. But don’t mistake Passion pit for another bunch of MGMT clones. As their viral hit ‘Sleepyhead’ confirms, their whimsical sound is entirely unique – as is their enthusiasm for sampling obscure Irish harpists
Rory Gallagher’s posthumous Wheels Within Wheels is a remarkable collection of previously unreleased acoustic material by Ireland’s guitar legend. It comes complete with a cover by the celebrated painter, David Oxtoby, that is certain to make a lasting impression.
Jackie Hayden makes a courtesy call on Eleanor McEvoy and interrupts her putting the finishing touches to her new album. Instead of showing him the door, she shows him around!
Meet hot new Dublin quintet THE HIGH BABIES. They re endorsed by Bret Easton Ellis, produced by Kim Fowley and wanted by Madonna. Could this be the first great Irish rock sensation of the 21st century?
PETER MURPHY reports. Cathal Dawson gets the pics in.
Trailing a new album and a new contentment, Dolores O Riordan tells Stuart Clark about how she got rid of her hang-ups and learned to love being a pop star.
LIAM FAY celebrates the re-release of Gram Parsons’ two solo albums, G.P. and GRIEVOUS ANGEL on mid-price CD with an appraisal of the life and work of the man dubbed The Father of Country Rock.
‘Looking after number one’ was the record that kick started Ireland’s passage toward punk, and the man who penned it is still vitriolic about the time and place that inspired the song.
For the second year running, Hot Press and Heineken have despatched music business professionals to the far corners of the country for one-to-one meetings with local bands. The mission? To help Ireland's new talent make progress in the music business. IAN CAMPBELL reports.
Musical trends come and go but the blues continues to thrive. In Ireland, the scene is now stronger than ever. With her reputation growing internationally, Mary Stokes talks about her role as a performer - and her friendships with numerous blues legends. Oh, and Van Morrison's birth sign!
Patrick Freyne talks to Ken McHugh of Autamata about his double life as artist and producer, his new album, Colours of Sound - and about moving to the country.
If there were handouts for the shy and retiring, Dervish would be at the back of the queue. Never backward in coming forward, this Sligo/Roscommon ensemble have elevated audience rapport to an art form that's sadly all too rarely practised round these here parts. Lead singer, Cathy Jordan (the sole Roscommon interloper amid a quintet of Sligomen) delights in the more quirky and bizarre backgrounds to the band's songs and tunes. And somehow they all seem to treat a night flight to Kuala Lumpur with the same gravity as they would a skite to Kenmare. Dervish live and breathe on the road. Its interminable miles are the band's sustenance, its cat's eyes their compass to the next town, the next continent, and the next gig.
From her humble origins in Corofin, Co. Clare to The White House, Sharon Shannon has blazed her own unique trail across the landscape of Irish music. Her extraordinary success notwithstanding, she has remained an enigmatic and elusive presence, renowned for the child-like sense of wonder she radiates. Here, for the first time, she opens up, telling her own remarkable story to Hot Press. Interview: Gerry McGovern.
From her humble origins in Corofin, Co. Clare to The White House, SHARON SHANNON has blazed her own unique trail across the landscape of Irish music. Her extraordinary success notwithstanding, she has remained an enigmatic and elusive presence, renowned for the child-like sense of wonder she radiates. Here, for the first time, she opens up, telling her own remarkable story to Hot Press. Interview: GERRY McGOVERN.
At the end of the last decade, Philip King was best known as a founder member of Scullion and writer of the music to the Frank O’Connor translation of the Irish lyric ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’. However, since setting up Hummingbird Productions with his partners Nuala O’Connor and Kieran Corrigan in 1987, he has established himself as one of the country’s leading makers of films about Irish music and culture, including acclaimed series such as Bringing It All Back Home, A River Of Sound, and Sult. Here he talks to Peter Murphy about the current Irish climate for independent film-makers, his stop-start relationship with RTE, and post-Riverdance Irishry. Pics: Cathal Dawson
Veteran agitprop folk-rocker Steve Earle talks to Peter Murphy about kicking against George Dubya, jamming in Galway and revamping Shakespeare for the 21st century.
Since 1914, the PRS has administered the rights accruing to Irish songwriters, composers and publishers from the use of their music in public places throughout the world. However, the campaign to establish Ireland as a separate territory, with its own independent music rights organisation, has been gathering momentum. Now in a controversial move the PRS have declared that this change can only take place with the approval of two-thirds of the Society’s members in Ireland. Niall Stokes – himself a member of the PRS – examines the issues and concludes that subsidiary status is no longer enough for IMRO.
Contrary to the negative way in which it's so often portrayed by the national media, Limerick is a city that combines a rich sense of tradition with an eye for innovation and in recent years has developed into one of Ireland's leading cultural centres. Kevin Barry takes a look at the people - and the places - breathing new life into the mid-western capital.
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.
Softly spoken off stage and complete lunatics on it, Kila have torn up the rulebook with their wantonly eclectic mix of styles. music, inner anger, revolutions and, er, women who cure warts are all discussed, as the band’s Colm O Snodaigh talks to Peter Murphy.
Donegal fiddle player john doherty died relatively unheralded in 1980 at the age of 86. Now, a new CD bears ample testament to his almost supernatural skill with a bow and strings.
By peter murphy.
From studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts and providing backing vocals for Westlife, to her Terry Wogan-facilitated assault on the charts and subsequent elevation to bona-fide star status, former Belfast resident Katie Melua has packed an enormous amount into her 19 years.
It's off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of Altan as Bill Graham spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
When it was announced in Hot Press that a new incarnation of De Dannan was about to hit the road, it came as a surprise to one of the group's founders, Alec Finn. Here, he talks about why he objects to the use of the name by his former musical partner, Frankie Gavin.
It’s off to the most Northerly gig in the country with the island angels of ALTAN as BILL GRAHAM spends a weekend in Donegal with our most dynamic traditional outfit and posits the theory that by looking to the past for inspiration Altan may hold a significant key to the future.
MIKE SCOTT once fronted the greatest rock n roll band in the world, but before the world got a chance to wake up to the fact he had gone west and invented raggle taggle. Now with a new Waterboys album, A Rock In The Weary Place, just released, Scott takes time out to reflect on his strange but true adventure. By PETER MURPHY
He may have gone from The Clash to the BBC World Service but, happily, Joe Strummer is still a self-proclaimed "loony and rebel" after all these years. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen
Following his Man of the Match performance against the Czech Republic, Paul McShane has been hailed as one of the finest young Irish players of his generation.
Wank, bollocks, Chris Evans. These are dirty words.
Pop isn t.
STUART CLARK refrains from ruining their career for long enough to discover whether
IN UTOPIA have got what it takes to become Ireland s next three minute heroes.
Pix: Cathal Dawson.
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
With her own debut album, ELEANOR McEVOY, one of the stars of 'A Woman's Heart', has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker - feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: COLM O'HARE
With her own debut album, Eleanor McEvoy, one of the stars of A Woman s Heart , has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: Colm O Hare.
SEAMUS HEANEY once described Ireland as a country that went from the medieval to the post-modern in a generation. More than any other native band, Horslips embody that idea. Over their ten-year career, the band lurched back and forth from neo-classical Irish chamber music to progressive rock to acoustic folk to psychedelic pop to glam rock; here was one combo capable of going from Carolan to Caravan in a single bound.
When a gang of Ireland’s finest musicians, media stars and political types gathered in the Central Hotel for pre-Christmas drinks, there were fun and games aplenty. reporting: Stephen Bailey, Stuart Clark and Roisin Dwyer. Photos: Mick Quinn and Graham Keogh. Costumes: courtesy of The Dublin Costume Company.
COLM O HARE catches up with MARY BLACK, as the singer helicopters her way around the country and talks about her new album, the song writing of Ron Sexsmith and unfair criticism. Pics: PETER MATHEWS.
25 years into his
career and with a
new album set to be
followed by a video
documentary of his life
and times, liam o'flynn
is the acknowledged living
master of the uileann pipes.
Interview: Sarah McQUAID.
Pics: Colm Henry
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.
Andy Darlington travels to Manchester to meet the Stone Roses, an outfit who’ve progressed past the point of being just a band to become something altogether bigger...
Prince may be content just to party but in a four-page special the Hot Press journalistic elite takes a look at everything 1999 has to offer. And then some.
Welcome to Galway . . . now turn out your pockets, face the wall and spread your legs. Olaf Tyaransen reports on how new laws are being used to spoil the party way out west.
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
Not since The Bothy Band in 1976, has an Irish traditional group signed to a major international label. By linking up with Virgin, ALTAN have confirmed their status as the pr-eminent force on the Irish scene and signalled their readiness to take on the world. Of course, theirs has been no overnight success story and, with the tragic loss of Frankie Kennedy, one that has also involved an immense amount of emotional courage. Interview: BILL GRAHAM. Pics: COLM HENRY
When the Be Here Now tour fell apart at the seams in 1997, the end seemed nigh for Britain’s biggest rock’n’roll band. Then Noel Gallagher gave up drugs and moved to the country. With a stunning new album on the way, the Oasis mainman tells Stuart Clark where it all went right.
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
Christmas is the time of the year when thousands of Irish emigrants return home to link up again with families and friends. All over the country, for a brief interlude, towns and villages will come alive with stories, songs, drink and craic. And then all will be quiet again. Gerry McGovern examines the impact of emigration on Irish society – and the sense of alienation which many emigrants feel about their treatment by the authorities here.
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.
The industry may not have always liked them but their fans couldn’t be more passionate. Ten members, four studio albums, three managers and two major labels later, The Frames still managed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. Peter Murphy, with help from Glen Hansard and other key players brings the story of the band up to date in this, the final part of our two-part special [Photo Mick Quinn]
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album, The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson.
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album, The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson.
Or should that be Black pages? Mary Black and her long-time friend, producer and collaborator Declan Sinnott look back over ten years of solo work, and the steady progress which finds her ready to take on the world with her latest album. The Holy Ground. Interview: Joe Jackson
Damien Dempsey has battled his way centre stage, winning the support of luminaries as diverse as Morrissey, Robert Plant, Sinéad O'Connor, Larry Mullen and Brian Eno along the way. Now with the release of his third album Shots, he is poised to make a major breakthrough. Interview by Tanya Sweeney. Photos by Cathal Dawson.
For the launch of his second album, UNDER THE MOON, MARTIN HAYES returned from his new home in Seattle to his native town of Feakle, deep in the heart of Clare. BILL GRAHAM travelled west to meet one of the musicians responsible for the resurgence in Irish music and discuss his roots in the local tradition, and speculate on the possibilities and conflicts opening up within the genre.
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.
On the eve of his unprecedented 23-night run at Vicar St., PAUL BRADY reflects on a dazzling career and describes the long and sometimes difficult process which has led to a new and resounding declaration of independence.
Interview: JACKIE HAYDEN
He scored his first hit single as lead singer with Them in 1965, with Baby Please Don t Go . In 1968, he released his debut solo album Astral Weeks, which is widely regarded among critics as one of the most important and complete records of the past 50 years. But these are just two early landmarks in a remarkable career which finds Van Morrison still on top of his game 40 years since he made his debut with his own skiffle group, The Sputkniks, at a school concert in Orangefield in Belfast. In an exclusive interview, carried out for the RTE television series From A Whisper To A Scream, and published in the run-up to Van s latest Irish dates, he talks to Niall Stokes.
Meet Larry Harvey, the man behind burning man, the world’s most extraordinary festival, in which a whole city, run as a gift economy, springs up in the arid nevada desert to celebrate creativity, non-conformism and the healing power of fire.
1993 may not have been a classic year for rock ’n’ roll but away from the bright lights and the glitter of chartland, there is still great music being made. GERRY McGOVERN talks to five bands who went to the heart of the matter over the past 12 months and made great and memorably soulful albums: TINDERSTICKS, LUNGFISH, MARXMAN, GIRLS AGAINST BOYS and SCRAWL.
It’s the guide Ladbrokes, the Central Bank, Mystic Meg and Mark Lawrenson turn to at the start of each year – Jackie Hayden’s cultural, sporting and political forecasts for the forthcoming twelve months.
The Waterboys are back, with arguably their most complete record yet, Book Of Lightning. In this remarkably open and honest interview, Mike Scott talks about his songwriting genius, about relationships, his family, his boozy years in Galway - and turning U2 onto Greenpeace.
Liam Fay calls on Shane MacGowan at home, where over mugs of brandy, the singer cheerfully rationalises his notorious alcohol-intake in the face of widespread concern that he might be drinking himself to an early grave. The premier Pogue disagrees, predicting instead a happy fulfilling life away from the stage, in which he would own and run a fully-licensed restaurant in London and face extended vacations in Thailand.
Maverick genius or away with the fairies? Peter Murphy travels to North-East Scotland to meet Mike Scott at home in the spiritual Findhorn community where The Waterboys’ latest album was written and recorded. And Steve Wickham explains how he left and rejoined the band.
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
OUT FROM BEHIND THE GREASE-PAINT THAT ADORNS HIS FACE ON THE COVER OF ‘SPIKE’, ELVIS COSTELLO EMERGES TO TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC THAT RUNS IN HIS FAMILY FROM BIG-BAND TO SPEED-METAL, HIS MUCH-TOUTED IRISH CONNECTION, WORKING WITH PAUL McCARTNEY, HIS CONTEMPT FOR MUCH OF TODAY’S POP MUSIC AND THE FEELINGS THAT INSPIRED HIS DEATH-WISH FOR MARGARET THATCHER.
Sinn Fiin s first sitting TD since 1918 chooses his words carefully for the Hot Press Political Interview. I m not measured or calculating, he explains, this is me. As I am. LIAM FAY fires the questions. Pix: CATHAL DAWSON.
Sinn Féin’s first sitting TD since 1918 chooses his words carefully for the Hot Press Political Interview. “I’m not measured or calculating,” he explains, “this is me. As I am.” Liam Fay fires the questions. Pic: Cathal Dawson
London has long been recognised as one of the world's leading centres of entertainment and musical excitement - not to mention pleasure in all its multifarious manifestations. But when you really need it, do you know where to find it? Fay Wolftree brings you the insider's inside guide to Europe's premier rock 'n' roll metropolis.
When superlatives abound, there’s a risk that either: a) the musicians in question snap into autopilot, fuelled by the laurels, or b) they continue to do what they do best: pushing the outside of the envelope.
Frankie Gavin, Máirtín O’Connor and Mary McPartlan are just some of the performers set to appear at the Aula Maxima in NUI Galway this Thursday as part of special night of traditional music, storytelling and dance.
Heart's Quest is the brainchild of David Downes (oboe, cor anglais) and David Agnew (whistles, keyboards) augmented by whatever musical battalions they need from track to track.
Despite an impeccable pedigree that goes back to the bands Na Sulteoiri and Oisin in the '70s, Geraldine McGowan is one of the most unsung female singers on the home folk circuit, a situation partly exacerbated by her domicile in Germany where she is one of the dominant figures on the live music scene.
A couple of years ago I saw the Shoogles at the Cambridge Folk Festival - it was without doubt one of the best sets of the entire weekend.
Shooglenifty's roots are in Scottish folk music, but their electrified line-up, including a rhythm section, means that there is a more contemporary tone to what they do.
Starting out in 1977 as Ireland's answer to America's Rolling Stone and Britain's NME, Hotpress has gone on to forge its own unique identity on the news shelves while earning an international reputation for the quality of its music journalism.
This double-album from Ireland’s premier bluesman features eleven new tracks, a sprinkling of previous faves, and a CD of mostly harmonica-led instrumentals.
Here is an album conceived in Winkle's Bar, Kinvara, the juices got flowing over a weekend rave-up, with Liam O'Maonlai, Adam Clayton and Mike Scott just dropping around for a blast.
Frames violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire gives his The Hare’s Corner solo album the official launch treatment this September when he plays – where else? – Whelan’s.
Like nearly all the tracks here, ‘The Princess and the Frog’ was written by Horan, whose fine ear, deft hand and inventive spirit are evident everywhere on the CD
Dervish are to follow in W.B. Yeats, Ray McSharry, Westlife and Mother Theresa of Calcutta's footsteps and receive Sligo's highest civic honour, the Freedom Of The Borough.
As a member of sixties' psychedelic folkies Dr. Strangely Strange, Tim Goulding and his cohorts made some mighty music, if at times it was a little... well... strange. Thirty years on, on occasion at least, he still retains the ability to surprise and enthrall.
Rum saw the first flowering of Shane MacGowan as a unique and brilliant song-poet, unafraid to speak the unspeakable but also capable of magnificent vocal interpretations of songs like Ewan McColl’s ‘Dirty Old Town’.
Completing this triumvirate of albums from across the Atlantic is the latest release from Texas-based quartet Beyond The Pale. Their instrumental chops aren’t as strong as they might be however, they more than make up for any deficiencies in that department with superb vocals courtesy of three fine singers.
The extremely swish and sonically streamlined production will put off those who like their electronic music a little more rough and ready, but those who prefer their grooves to be as smoothly atmospheric as possible cannot fail be impressed.
Nostalgic yes, but never burdened by maudlin sentimentality, Kíla sing of an Ireland proud of her tradition and of a heritage bereft of tackiness so commonly found in Temple Bar.
SHANE MacGOWAN IN ‘Everything Louder Than Everything Else’ Shocker! Yup, the hotpress cover star has made a foray into Kerrang! territory with Celtic pagan metallers Cruachan.
There'll be a buzz of activity on Harcourt Street in Dublin over the coming weeks, with Kila, Just Jack, Peter Bjorn & John being amongst the newly announced gigs at the POD complex.
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.
This Cape Breton quintet have been on the road almost a decade now, and Uprooted finds them asserting their independence and hankering after the traditional Nova Scotian sound at one and the same time.
The Solas we knew is, on record at least, no more. In its place is a highly polished outfit bringing their own muse to new pastures, where the technical possibilities of the various instruments are stretched in all sorts of ways, usually delivering that which is sought
Far more than on any previous album, Cathy Jordan is at the forefront and she shreds the rulebook and pulls, from God knows where, the best vocal performances of her career.
This album, Danz's second, shows that while their development has been an exciting affair - the music speaks volumes for that - their core beliefs are still strongly rooted in the active tradition.
Since 1977 Hot Press has looked at music, books, film, culture and politics. This bumper birthday issue looks back at the best bits of the last 30 years.
Quite a few people could be surprised by Rónán Ó Snodaigh’s debut solo album. While there are large elements of folk present, the arrangements often have more in common with classical rather than traditional music.
While "screaming" might be a bit harsh to describe the collective singing style of the four Diver sisters, the Orphans certainly don't believe in holding back on the vocal histrionics.
Liam Lawton is an off-duty priest who writes and sings, and is packaged here in an impressive widescreen production, blending elements of new age bombast with mildly interesting philosophising about the nature of time.
Having played alongside the likes of B.B. King, Keith Richards and Bob Dylan, American jazz/rock legend Larry Coryell makes his maiden voyage to Ireland
With this debut album Julie Feeney announces herself as the most intriguing female voice - bar the criminally neglected Shaz Oye - to come out of Ireland since Sinead O’Connor.
"Martin Hayes is the most difficult performer in Ireland to write about because what he does is beyond words on account of it's being beyond comprehension."
Tony Mac Mahon has never been behind the door in pronouncing the way forward in traditional music. There's a fire in his belly whose flames rarely need fanning, so passionate and fervent is his belief in the one true way.
Like their English counterparts Flook, Lunasa continue to plough their no-vocal take on the Irish tradition with considerable success, and those who enjoyed the zest and brio of their live Kinnity Sessions will luxuriate in this fresh studio-bound set.
The Hearts’ return to the stage was always going to be special and there certainly was magic in the air as Donal Lunny, Davy Spillane, Eoghan O’Neill, Keith Donald, Matt Kellaghan, Noel Eccles, Anto Drennan and Graham Henderson took to the stage for the first of a four night stand.
O'Snodaigh's songs exude a confidence and an intelligence that go way beyond the empty platitudes and three-chord trickery of yer standard Irish songsmithery.
From the off, the band's zest and breathtaking energy serve to remind us how lacking in invention most of the live music scene has been since they were last among us.
McKeown has a wonderfully rich voice, and she isn't afraid to make use of its full range and vibrato - a refreshing change from the little-girl breathiness that's dominated the airwaves of late
Clare man J-Healy releases his debut album this month, he has been playing and performing music since a very tender age. “I’ve been playing since I was very small, but I really only knuckled down to write songs, or what I consider as songs, for the last five years or so,” Healy explains. “When I settled down a year and half ago in Dublin to do the record it really sharpened me up and made me focus and finish a lot of songs. Conor Brady (The Sofas) booted the arse off me as well and helped me knock them into shape!”
The two producers seem determined to load the kitchen sink onto every track. It's a pity, because Spillane's lovely gentle voice and real songwriting talent would hold up just fine on their own, given half a chance
The most important female Irish artist of the last decade-and-a-half shuffles self-consciously onto the stage to a truly warm Mayo welcome. She looks healthy, rested and fighting fit.
Altan's evolution as an ace ensemble has made for fascinating observation. Wooed by the big industry players, they've (inevitably) been subtly moulded by Virgin over the past three albums.
The opening track of Spirit – their first album of new material in nearly four years – reflects that nothing-to-prove status: no newfangled innovations, no showoff virtuoso displays, just four great reels played solidly and with gusto.
Dara is a noisy bastard. Think ELO with Baby Bird Jones vocals, a solid if conventional rocking band, a Bangle or two to leaven the mix of sumptuous strings and a blustering stadium rock ethos, and you’ve got half an idea as to what your ears can expect from The Eye Of The Clock .
A glance at the back cover painting by Heidi Wickham will evoke the music more accurately than any assembly of words: ink sky pierced by a green rind of moon, Chagall’s levitating fiddler just out of shot.
Get a cross section of the Irish music industry to record/re-record tracks in their native tongue, thereby focusing the attention of the very group of people who hold the future of the language in their hands. It could have been awful, of course, a crass attempt to get down with the kids and make learning cool. Yet Ceol ‘06 manages to work on a number of levels.
Arts Minister Brennan announces over €10m in funding for 13 arts and culture projects nationwide, with the Seamus Ennis Centre in Naul being one of the lucky beneficiaries.
Has an award ceremony in Ireland ever created such an optimistic buzz, or such a feverish sense of righteousness among the music community as the Choice Music Prize?
Whatever your fancy chances are the capital will be able to oblige. Here, the Hot Press team pound the pavement in selfless pursuit of Dublin's hottest - and coolest - nightspots.
There was an odd period some ten or fifteen years ago when punters would pay a few bob to go into a folk club and shut their gobs while somebody played. I can’t imagine why. Perhaps the late arrival of technology was making us romantic.
With Candyfloss Girl, Cork singer-songwriter John Leo Carter and friends have done a rare thing. They’ve created a touching, soothing, seamlessly flowing album that can be played again and again, providing a fresh experience every time.
IT'S EASY - and great fun - to rip the piss out of The Levellers but no amount of cheap jibes can alter the fact that when it comes to penning rabble rousing pop anthems, these guys are championship contenders.
It’s beyond pointless to bang on about the death of the knowing horror – the sub-genre where nubile young things get picked off while spouting flippant po-mo insights gained from viewing slasher movies – so we won’t. Sadly, we all played our shameful parts in the making of the Scream franchise, not knowing that no one would see fit to call time on the nudging and winking. In any case, such criticisms are academic with respect to Cursed, a cack-handed Wes Craven werewolf movie that evokes such pre-revival, low-faluting follies as Wishmaster far more readily than any of the director’s earlier collaborations with the now dreaded Kevin Williamson.
I phoned Monaghan and they were all out. Well, most of them anyway. And yet. And yet. The compass did yield a handful of musicians, with references to many more whom we valiantly attempted to locate, without success. Monaghan s best-known scions must surely be Paddy Cole and Big Tom.
Sinéad O'Connor's records don't necessarily reveal themselves speedily. I know that, on the first hearing, 'The Lion and the Cobra' seemed to me an ill-fitting match of various discordant styles. I didn't really crack it 'till its sixth time round my turntable.
As Mikam Sound celebrates its 30th year at the top of the Irish sound-hire and production business, Jackie Hayden talks to its driving forces, Paul Aungier and Mick O’Gorman, about their early days, the changing face of the music industry here and abroad and the phenomenal success of their Mosco Sound Design off-shoot.
Whatever your fancy chances are the capital will be able to oblige. Here, the Hot Press team pound the pavement in selfless pursuit of Dublin's hottest - and coolest - nightspots.
IT WASN'T too long ago that the use of the words 'Irish' and 'dance' in close proximity were enough to conjure up nightmarish images of hearty young lads and lasses hurtling round a community centre to the rousing strains of 'The Siege of Ennis'.
The melodic transports of Community Music have been replaced by a return to purer, formulaic dub roots which, for non-aficionados like this reviewer, strips ADF of their greatest hook: eclecticism.
Set to support the Levellers at their December Academy date, Irish trad punk outfit Blood Or Whiskey are already plotting their return to the venue next year.
The Waterboys, Patrick Bergin, Frankie Gavin and Brendan O’Regan are just a handful of the trad and folk-y greats on a new fundraising album that’ll benefit the Aran Islands Lifeboat.
Opinions are somewhat divided on the future of trad – some feel the music should retain its explicit links with the past, while others contend that the only way for the genre to survive and flourish is through stylistic diversification. Plus the usual round-up of news from around the country.
Following the demise of the Music Board last year, hopes are high that the incoming Culture Ireland committe will herald a new era in state support for traditional music. Plus the usual round-up of trad and folk news from around the country.
Starting out in 1977 as Ireland's answer to America's Rolling Stone and Britain's NME, Hotpress has gone on to forge its own unique identity on the news shelves while earning an international reputation for the quality of its music journalism.
Whilst ideally based to monitor the explosion in Irish popular music that followed on from the success of U2 - a band whose own life-span parallels that of the magazine - Hotpress has also offered authoritative coverage of the whole global village of music, with regular news, reports and interviews from cities and countries around the world.
From New York to Moscow and from trad to hip-hop, the Dublin based fortnightly has given equal space to young punks, cult heroes and the biggest names in popular music, making it the perfect one-stop-shop for discerning music consumers everywhere.
Damien Dempsey takes two Meteors and then represents Ireland at the London St. Patrick’s day parade..and much more in Folk Centre: the latest folk news, with Sarah McQuaid
Bacardi Unplugged hasn t gone away, you know, it s just mutated into Bacardi Plugged to facilitate all those bands out there who want to be adored and drooled over in all their electric and electronic glory and add value to shares in the ESB. And who are we to deny them? And so recording studios and home recording units all over the country will be wearing out their red lights over the coming weeks. Tempers will boil, relationships will crack, egos will be bruised, nerves will fray and budgets will go bust under the pressure. But when that ace take s in the can you ll know all the tears weren t shed in vain.
The collective object of their allegiance have put on a few pounds, but remain lean and hungry, perhaps mindful that previous shots at bulking up with unnecessary extras like horn sections and blues harpists resulted in the bloat of Be Here Now.
What does the patent lack of enthusiasm about the choice of Dervish as Ireland’s Eurovision song contest representatives tells us about our attitude towards traditional music?
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
In pop art, acts of grave-robbing and cradle-snatching go largely unpunished. The Strokes are not what you’d call the most original of bands, but they’ve always excelled at petty larcenies.
A group of four Dublin 16-year-olds could be set to storm the city’s reggae and indie scene. Good things have been heard about the new kids on the block – excuse the accidental Yankee pop reference – with the unusual name of Pudjet Sound.
2004 was dominated by the Special Committe on the Traditional Arts’ failure to agree on the way forward for traditional music. Elsewhere, the TG4 National Music Awards attracted major attention and Music Network continued to do an estimable job of getting traditional music into new venues around the country.
Cuckoo could be heard all over Ireland and Britain during June and July as the northern band toured the two countries. They’ve just released their new album, Breathing Lessons, but aren’t stopping to catch their breath.
Joe Derrane is honoured by the US National Endowment for the Arts; Shane MacGowan pays tribute to Yeats; plus the usual round-up from around the country.
There’s more to Glasgow than Rab C. Nesbitt, Rangers/Celtic turf wars and Taggart. Adele Bethel, vocalist with Sons And Daughters, sings the praises of her native city.
It s a kind of an honour to be invited in here. The scenery isn t so special a rented office in an industrial park in west Belfast, lined with concrete.
You may love them or loathe them but we'll bet you never thought THE CORRS played "British regional music". Peter Murphy observes The Observer getting its nationalities in a twist
You will cheer, You will scowl, You will stare in disbelief - but don't blame us...
'cos it's all your fault! Yep, it's the Hot Press Reader's poll Results.
On the face of it, Westmeath s made more of a name for itself in the bellylaugh stakes than in the annals of music. Still, scratch beneath the surface of any town or townland, and you ll be rivetted to your seat with musical anecdotes.
But only if we let them. Draconian changes in the arts infrastructure have been proposed, the damaging effects of which will be felt for generations to come. Now is the time to shout: STOP!
To suggest that music is thriving in Sligo is akin to declaring that there s been a bit of an upturn in the economy lately. Music of all breeds, creeds and colour can be found in abundance around the county.
Clive Barnes has been trekking across the US for most of January, playing at some pretty tasty venues and bringing his wistful desert-hearted acoustic blues to its spiritual home.
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.
Although one of Ireland s smallest counties, Leitrim boasts of a strong musical heritage that can trace its lineage back to the 15th and 16th centuries with ease.
Well, reader, we ve finally reached the end of our journey, after navigating our way across the length and breadth of the 32 counties (and detouring briefly to New York for a tincture of the tastiest in that honorary 33rd county).
Folk centre with Sarah McQuaid: the forthcoming debut solo album from Nollaig Casey features contributions from such luminaries as Sharon Shannon, Rod Mcvey and Liam Bradley.
Independent Irish acts have been enjoying unparalleled success recently both at home and abroad. We talk to some of the key bands, DJs, bedroom boffins, labels, fanzines, record shops and blogs who've decided to follow the DIY path to glory.
He may have gone from The Clash to the BBC World Service, but, happily, Joe Strummer is still a self-proclaimed "Loony and Rebel" after all these years
He may have gone from The Clash to the BBC World Service, but, happily, Joe Strummer is still a self-proclaimed "Loony and Rebel" after all these years.
From U2 to The Frames and Sinead O’Connor to Damien Rice, music has helped put this country on the map. So why is the government so slow to back the music industry?
Following in the footsteps of such luminaries as W.B. Yeats, Ray McSharry and Tommie Gorman, western folk heroes Dervish have recently been honoured as Free Men of Sligo.
If the Leaving Cert results didn t pan out as expected, don t worry. There s lots of alternatives on offer if you ve got the right stuff. Report: JACKIE HAYDEN.
That’s the philosophy behind Cross Border Media, a label which has had a remarkable impact on Irish music since its foundation just three years ago. A special report by Colm O’Hare and Jackie Hayden
For 25 years Music Maker have been a central force in the Irish instruments industry, their premises in Exchequer Street in Dublin a veritable musical mecca for international and Irish customers alike. Latterly they have expanded into distribution with MIDI (Musical Instrument Distribution Ireland) and were also involved in the initiative to create the permanent memorial to Rory Gallagher being unveiled this week. Jackie Hayden talked to the key players about the Music Maker success story, and even heard the one about the man with the child's organ!
...it was a year like any other year at Féile - except that there were dozens of extra acts on show, on not just two but three stages. There was also the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, the Chris de Burgh stripper incident, Michael Hutchence dispensing condoms...and a rather loud Little Red Rooster that nearly got itself strangled. And the crack Hot Press team of reporters who attempted to keep up with it all? Words: Bill Graham, Stuart Clark, Tara McCarthy, Lorraine Freeney and Chris Donovan. Pix: Cathal Dawson.
Ten years together now and, while they never really tried to invent the traditional wheel, Sligo's Dervish have been nothing but exemplary ambassadors for Irish music.
Balance is such a delicate thing. Finding that elusive equilibrium between musicians so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and yet each part can shine in its own time. If it's to happen, egos must be jettisoned and the music must be master.
Sean nós singing has undergone something of a renaissance recently, and Finola O'Siocrú's debut, Searc Mo Chléibh/Love Of My Heart is a welcome addition to the genre.
It's been a while in the making, but boy is it worth the wait. Sliabh Notes, a.k.a. Matt Cranitch, Donal Murphy and Tommy O'Sullivan whetted our appetites royally back in 1995 with their eponymous debut. With their ears trained to the holy ground of Sliabh Luachra, they gathered up a gabháil full of the finest local tunes, much to the delight of the aficionado and beginner alike.
There are times when listening to traditional albums, you sense a melting of one into another, with players' identities being lost, or at the very least, diluted in the mix. Kevin O'Connor is in no danger of falling prey to that particular malady, having an ear for arrangements that sparkle and shine in their originality.
Previously better known for its strengths in traditional music, Galway is now playing host to some very strong contenders in the rock arena. Its status as a college town has, no doubt, something to do with this, but then it has always been a melting pot for fusion of ideas.
There's a bit of a tendency to take The Chieftains for granted. They, and mainman Paddy Moloney in particular, have been so prolific and have been responsible for so many interesting and varied musical experiments that one album can tend to blur into the next. It's a view that does them an injustice, however.
SEPIA-TONED and timeless, Sonny Condell's velvet-tinged voice and mystically-inspired songwriting have long been such an integral part of the Irish musical landscape that he's lately been overlooked in favour of some of his more commercially-inclined peers such as Kieran Goss and Brian Kennedy.
*No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything.* - Oscar Wilde, preface to The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1891)
*Life's a bitch, then you die. Black hell.* - Shane McGowan Hell's Ditch (1990).
Till now, Pogues' compliments have invariably centred on Shane MacGowan's singular songwriting. The group's erratic performances which could descend into some ramshackle acoustic heart of darkness meant the praise wasn't always extended to his fellows.
Contract-filler is a dirty word in the music business. It's an expression used to describe a shabby or rushed record - a record that lacks commitment or interest on the musician's part.
Moving Hearts' posthumous offering The Storm, is by Donal Lunny's admission on Dave Fanning's Rock Show recently, an unashamed contract-filler.
