The Podfather

There’s only one Dublin band that can lay claim to releasing the first pre-loaded MP3 player and it’s not U2.

“No question about it, Greglab were there first,” says band manager Jason Rock. “We released the first gregpod two years ago.”
Not that Greglab hold any ill feelings towards their fellow Dubliners, U2.

“Great minds think alike,” says Rock. “I only wish that we could get the same publicity for something that we did well before them!”

They may not have access to the same marketing budget as Apple Computers,but Greglab (formerly Greg.ie) seem to be influencing all the right people in Ireland and beyond.

Released on their own Coral Bay label, their brand new gregpod-loaded album has just been confirmed for distribution in Belgium, Holland and the US.

Entitled The Virtually Invisible Landscape of Sound, the twelve-track release comes preloaded on the MP3 player as well as in hard copy (that’s Compact Disc to you, squire).

Greglab celebrate the launch of the new album with an internationally-attended industry showcase on December 10, at a yet-to-be-confirmed club venue. The band’s first live show proper, Greglab will comprise a twelve-piece orchestra-of-sorts, conducted by mainman Greg, and featuring brass, percussion, backing singers and all manner of electronic wizardry.

“The Greglab experience is more of a ‘show’ in the true sense of the word,“ explains Rock, the self-described Vibe-Meister.
“You can go and see a band any night of the week in Dublin, so we’re just trying to offer something different with visuals, DJs and surprise guest vocalists. The music is continuous for an hour and a half so it’s more of a ‘live odyssey’.”

For those of us who don’t make it to this invite-only odyssey, Greglab will be announcing further live dates in the New Year.

Listen to the following Greglab tracks selected from The Virtually Invisible Landscape of Sound:

Bless This Child [featuring Stella Reid]
low speed high speed

Dirty Happy [featuring Michael Buckley on saxophone]
low speed high speed