Beats + Pieces: Abbey Days

There are two new online services available for DJs from this fortnight. Ireland’s leading dance music record store, Abbey Discs, is going online at www.abbeydiscs.ie. The shop has been the main DJ store for DJs all across the country for 20 years, and the online service will augment its outlet at Liffey Street in Dublin city centre. Meanwhile, Ireland’s first online-only CD and vinyl service, www.onetrackrecords.com has launched targeting DJs and dance fans, promising to covering all genres and specializing in all-time classics …
Ireland’s melodic electronica specialists Elusive Recordings put out their fourth release on October 29th. Already a firm favourite on Donal Dineen’s Today FM show, Days Are What We Live In is the debut album from Jimmy Behan, and it features 10 tracks of deceptively complex layered organic and electronic sounds which combine to create a beautifully unique sound. There’s a launch party at 4 Dame Lane on October 28th from 8pm to 11pm, with Jimmy playing live …
There is much interest in the www.evolutioneire.com festival advertised for November 13th at Glenart Castle in Arklow, Co Wicklow. Not least because most observers are stunned that Arklow gardai gave the go-ahead for a fully licensed, three-roomed, 1,500-capacity dance event on its doorstep. The downside is tickets are e45, which is very expensive for an all-Irish line-up. Ironically, the promoters claim the ‘all-Irish’ aspect helps them to keep the ticket price ‘cheap’. On the upside, the musical diversity on offer is to be applauded, with leading Irish DJs in every field – from drum ‘n’ bass with Bassbin, to hip-hop with Davey Splyce, from techno with Sunil Sharpe to trance with Mister Spring …
Elsewhere this issue is full coverage of this year’s DEAF, the annual week-long celebration of electronic music organised by Eamonn Doyle, Rob Rowland and D1 Records. One of the highlights is the appearance of one of the co-founders of Underground Resistance, Robert Hood, at Traffic tomorrow (October 22nd). Also watch out for Coil at Dublin City Hall (Saturday), and David Donohue at Crawdaddy (Sunday) with Detroit legend Juan Atkins, and Undercurrent’s six-hour live Irish electronic session at The Belvedere on Saturday. There are seminars in music production at Project Arts Centre and Temple Bar Music Centre over the weekend too. For full details, log on to www.deafireland.com …
Pogo launches on the site of the old PoD club on Harcourt St in Dublin city centre this Saturday (23rd). The Lobby Bar is the space the old PoD had occupied, but nothing remains except its vaulted arches. Here, Nic and Eno will play everything from Daft Punk to Rennie Pilgrim, Madonna to Happy Mondays. Turn left into what was formerly the Chocolate Bar and you are in Crawdaddy, but turn right and you get PoD Mk II, where hotpress scribe and Spin FM presenter Barry Redsetta will man the ones and twos. Pogo is promoted by the Bodytonic team …
Depeche Mode – Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher – have been making groundbreaking music for nearly 25 years, and have been at the vanguard of remix culture since the early ‘80s. Their new album, Remixes 81-04, a superb double-CD set, is out this fortnight (on October 29th). From early on in their career, DM worked closely with up and coming remixers who went on to become pivotal figures, such as William Orbit, Portishead, Air, Francois Kevorkian and Adrian Sherwood. The album also features classics remixed by Underworld, Goldfrapp, Air, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Timo Maas, Flood and Depeche Mode themselves. And a limited edition version will feature a bonus third CD of highly collectable rare remixes … Another pioneering act, New Order, return with a new studio album in the spring. They have also produced a track for Gwen Stefani of No Doubt’s imminent solo album …
Dublin radio presenters Stephen Cooper (from FM104) and Clare B (from Spin FM) are the resident DJs at new Thursday club Traffic Jam at Traffic in Dublin … Hard dance fans in Dublin will be thrilled to learn that Turbulance is back up and running on a fortnightly basis at The Bridge House in Enfield, Co Meath. Residents include Hard Sounds boss Johnner K, and the next one is this Saturday (23rd) … Hydroponic kicks off a new breaks club Dirty Needles at The Garrick in Belfast (22nd) … Bassbin and Metalheadz team up at Crawdaddy in Dublin tomorrow (22nd), while upstairs at Redbox, bosh techno king Marco V will be playing …
The big bank holiday events this Sunday night include Eddie Halliwell and Judge Jules at Leisureland in Galway (the first rave at the venue in nearly 10 years), Lisa Lashes and Agnelli & Nelson at The Imperial Hotel, Dundalk, County Louth, Stereo MCs DJing at Trinity Rooms, Limerick, a Kiss FM Classics Night at Il Mondo in Dublin, and Paul Glazby, Scott Bond, Matt Hardwick and Marco V at The Beacon in Courttown, Co Wexford … And finally, clubbers keen to ensure the limited opening hours we enjoy don’t get cut any further should keep checking in with giveusthenight.com, set up by those nice people at Bodytonic … THE BEAT GOES ON!