it's jazz baby

Me – I’m going to the Tripod please.

Taxi Bloke – On Harcourt St?

Me – Yeah.

Taxi Bloke – What’s on there?

Me – Herbie Hancock.

Taxi Bloke – Who’s he?

Me – You might know him from that tune he did called ‘Rockit’ back in 1983.

Taxi Bloke – No

Me – He’s done lots of other stuff. Played with the likes of Miles Davis, Donald Byrd, Wayne Shroter, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, did the theme tune to the Cosby Kids cartoon show, stuff like that

Taxi Bloke – Ah jaysus, all those musicians are up their own hole.

Me – Well he’s famous, but I doubt that he’s that bad.

Taxi Bloke – I’ve a friend who’s a musician and he’s up his own arse. He’s not in touch with reality. Are you going to Girls Aloud? You could go to that gig with earplugs in and you’d still enjoy it.

And so began the night. The Herbie Hancock Sextet was playing in Tripod last night and the Don Rosco weaved some magic and sorted me out with entry to the gig. We hooked up with The Mullet beforehand and managed to bypass the lengthy queue that had formed. Straight in. No chaser. Apparently it was supposed to kick-off at 8 sharp but it was 8.15 before Herbie and his ensemble arrived on stage. Last night he was joined by Lionel Loueke on guitar, Terence Blanchard on trumpet, James Genus on bass guitar, Gregoire Maret on harmonica and Kendrick Scott on drums.

Rather than being up his own arse Herbie was an entirely affable character (I can’t wait to tell that taxi driver). He complained a little about the cold, introduced the band, completed some general audience interaction, compared his well worn shoes with Blanchards silver sneakers and kicked off with the tune ‘Actual Proof’ which I think is from the second Headhunters album, Thrust. It lasted about twenty minutes or twice as long as the recorded version. When it was over there was some more audience interaction and it turns out that he’s not only affable but he’s a fairly funny, self-deprecating individual too. I’m really warming to Herbie now. He cracks into the tune ‘Speak like a child’ and after about fifteen minutes it segues into a version of ‘The Visitor’. Another fifteen minutes later and that tune ends. At this stage I’m beginning to wonder exactly how many tunes he’s going to fit into the gig.

Herbie then gave a special introduction to Lionel Loueke. I was reading about Lionel’s background today and his tale really is something special. From his poor beginnings in Benin, West Africa he’s now playing guitar all over the world with some jazz legends. Last night we were treated to a composition of his called ‘Seven Teens’ that featured on his recent release Karibu. It’s apparently written with seventeen beats to the bar, which I imagine is damn hard to play. This was followed by a solo improvisation with just his voice and guitar. The rest of the band left him to it and took a quick piss break. There was some crowd interaction when he got everyone clapping and chanting and he did a bit of mad shit with his voice that sounded like Huey, Louis & Dewey doing some human beatboxing. It was great value. The rest of the gig just melted together. They did a version of ‘Cantaloup Island’; a tune that many will know inspired the US3 cover version, Cantaloop. I don’t remember all that much after that. It was all done and dusted by 10.30 and we were sent home with the jazz fusion still ringing in our ears.

Never a man to miss a trick, The Mullet led us down to Anseo on Camden Street where we caught some of the set from UK dubstepper Plastician. The place was heaving downstairs so we popped our heads upstairs for a couple of quick swifties. A much more convivial atmosphere up there and the smell of body odour wasn’t as bad. Some times you have to know when to call a night a night and that time was upon me. The Carling Cup highlights beckoned me home and there I headed. Maximum respect to the Don Rosco for driving me home just in time to see the Arsenal kids stick a few in the onion bag against Wigan. All was right with the world.

blog! a rhythm?

I was reading the newspapers that built up over the weekend and I stumbled across a feature on Gerry Anderson. Not to be confused with the talented tv producer and writer, Gerry Anderson, the one I'm talking about is the not quite as talented bloke who always turns up on BBC Northern Ireland or BBC Radio 4. He's apparently courting controversy these days by claiming that Gary Glitter is a decent old skin.

The picture of Gerry served to remind me of a time about 15 years ago when the trad/folk band I was in entered the Opportunity Knocks talent contest held in Ballyshannon. I considered us a supergroup of sorts. We had a singer who went on to voice the character of Shadow in Bear in the Big Blue House. We had an accordion player from Cavan who was the only person I ever heard make that particular instrument sound good (Welcome to Hell! Here's your accordion!). We had a wonderful guitarist from Rossnowlagh and another talented bloke from Clondalkin and then there was yours truly on percussion. If my memory serves me correctly we won and collected a grand in prize money. Our win came courtesy of three independent judges: the aforementioned Gerry Anderson, the then Late Late Show in-house pianist Frank McNamara and someone else I can't remember. Needless to say we went on the batter with all the judges and other contestants afterwards and ended up in a boozer called Eoin Roe O'Neills I believe. The gargle flowed all night (probably at our expense) and Frank kept banging out tunes on the piano until the small hours of the morning. As the sun started to rise I realised that we had to get to Sligo to make a train back to Dublin. I distinctly remember the scornful look on my mates's mother as she collected us to bring us to the airport. Three drunk smelly blokes sitting in a car at about 7.30 in the morning pretending to be sober. I had some kind of lucid moment around Ben Bulben as that's the only part of the journey I remember. I think I kept calling it Ben's Bulb. That kind of stuff counts as funny when you've been drinking all night. What wasn't funny was the trip home on the train when we were collectively blanked by a clearly hungover Frank McNamara. That's stars for you. They're your best buddy one night and then your yesterdays news.

What the fuck all of that has to do with the rest of this post is beyond me. I'm banging on about that kind of nonsense when ther's things happening on the music and blogging scene all around me. In Dublin news a couple of new places have opened in the city. The first is actually new. It's some boozer called Le Cirk on Dame Street and it has some notions about being a jazz lounge. It appeared from behind hoardings some weeks ago and is trying to find its feet. I sent my wife and her mates to it the other night but they were having none of it and left after one drink. Maybe jazz isn't their thing. Apparently the music bookings are being taken care of by ex-Jazz FM boss, Ollie Dowling. The former pirate radio mogul will hope that this return to jazz promotion is more successful than his efforts with the Bleu Note on Capel St. The other new, but actually not new, venue is The Twisted Pepper on Middle Abbey Street. This was previously Traffic and for some reason I managed to never go there when it open. As such I've no idea if Twisted Pepper is any different. The Wobble Crew were promoting a night downstairs and it featured my old junglist muckers Don Rosco and Naphta. I only hung around for a while to check out Don Rosco and T-Woc weave some dubstep madness and missed Naphta as a result. The lure of my slippers and a hot cup of Ovaltine was too much for me. I legged it.

The DEAF weekender draws ever closer and I'll remind you again that the only place to be this Thursday evening is in The Sugar Club for the Sweettalk with Steinski, Maser and Alan Gilsenan. I'll be there. Carrying a copy of the FT under my left oxter and with a pink carnation in the lapel of my sports jacket. Another event worth checking is the White Noise gig being promoted by Mici Durnin and his cohort Darren of Maximum Joy promotions. I only met Mici at the tail-end of the summer. We had some oldschool football kickabouts with a motley crew of participants from the likes of The Jimmy Cake, Dave from Road Records and Claude from PIAS distribution. It harked back to those football games on the local green that would go on until it got pitch black. If someone had arrived with an empty glass milk-bottle full of water it would have completed the picture. Anyhow White Noise play The Sugar Club at 8pm on the 26th October. A DJ Set from Broadcast will follow.

I have it on good account that Twenty Majors forum is the place to be this weather. I went over just after it opened and it asked me to register. I hate to admit it but I'm a lazy auld shite when it comes to registering on websites, so I didn't. In any event, I have it on good account that it's working out nicely.

I'd read about the Casino in Marino way back in school. It featured in our art history studies back in secondary school. Yesterday we went en famille over Donnycarney way and visited the Casino. You can imagine my disappointment when I found there was no blackjack table there. Instead you're treated to an architectural wonder of symmetry, creativity and trickery. It's the bleeding business. We went on the tour with a German mother and daughter and some bloke who looked like he'd been forced there by his mother. We all had to put on slippers before they allowed us walk on the nice parquet floors. Freaky buzz but a top buzz.

Finally, it pains me to say it but the fabulous Blogariddims series has come to an end. Fifty blogariddims later, Droid, Slug and the rest of the weareie cru have called a halt to proceedings. These guys have achieved huge admiration for crafting podcasts for general consumption to anyone with an interweb connection. I for one believe they have covered themselves in glory. Well done chaps. You can check out the hugely convoluted but higly entertaining series of posts by all 10 contributors to the final blogariddims over on weare.ie. And here is the very first post by Droid

sum things

Last night I was down in Croke Park to watch Ireland play the mighty Cyprus. It started off very nicely with a Robbie Keane goal within four minutes and went downhill from there. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. Even with our esteemed Italian manager at the helm when you’ve no midfield you can’t be expected to play football. It’s like entering the Grand National and not putting a jockey on the horse. Anyway never mind the style, a win is after all, a win.

After the match I hooked up with the Blanch Massive, Rollers/Sparkers and Kittser for a few scoops and some interesting discussions. Rollers/Sparkers are still basking in the success of their recent album release ‘Hames’ whilst Kittser contends that his new album will be ready for release in January. Other conversation topics included Demis Roussos and tonights Analogue birthday bash (see below). We also spoke about the CD release that accompanied the latest issue of Analogue. I’m really digging the inclusion of the tune by Ugly Megan on it. If you can’t make it into town to pick up the CD, you can download it here.

It’s not often I’m quoted! Indeed, when I am quoted it’s usually to point out how stupid the thing I said actually was. I don’t mind that too much because I do the exact same thing to other people. Imagine my astonishment when I picked up the latest issue of Analogue magazine, turned to read the Editorial and read a quote from me. I was quite overwhelmed and flattered to think that anyone even listens to me. Even I don’t listen to me. Anyhow, if you read Irish music blogs you’re probably well aware that Analogue is celebrating its’ first year in print. They’ve come a long way in twelve months. I remember when they were only knee-high to the photocopier and hitting keys on their Fisher Price typewriters. Tempus fugit and they’ve matured into big boys and girls. You can join them tonight as they celebrate their first birthday. See them stand back to back and be astounded at how much they’ve grown.

They’re celebrating with a party in the Twisted Pepper on Middle Abbey Street. There’ll be live appearances by Spilly Walker, Patrick Kelleher and a debut appearance by Villagers (the new project by Conor O’Brien ex-Immediate). A DJ set by the various staff of the magazine will follow. There will then be a short break for the Share collection and I will read the parish notices. It's all true, except for that last bit.

I was reading the Irish Times the other day and there was a little maths section in the bottom corner of one page. Contained therein was a reference to an old friend of mine. Dr Carl Bracken won't help you with your rheumatoid arthritis but he's very good at sums and stuff like that. He was giving a talk in our old alma mater called The Maths of Juggling. Apparently jugglers had assumed that all the juggling patterns had been exhausted but then some clever clogs mathematicians applied a load of formulae and constructed new patterns that jugglers never knew existed. Carl, I should point out, is an exceptional juggler and also a magician. He's also great aul craic. I met him in the airport a couple of years ago on his way to central Africa to teach a load of kids maths and juggling. He was wearing a huge overcoat and had a suitcase full of juggling clubs. I'm no expert on these matters but I'm sure that's not the best preparation for such a journey.

I was on The Guardian website the other day when I came across these pictures of Randy's Records in Kingston Jamaica. Check them out.

Last but not least. MP3Hugger has sorted the second digital reissue on his Indiecater label and its from an Irish band called Sunbear. Sunbear released the album in 1994 and there were only 1,000 copies made. As part of Huggers one man mission to save us all from eternal damnation he's also finding the time to release long deleted classics such as this Sunbear album. As with all other Indiecater releases its available for download from the site and this release rings in on the cash till at a negligible €3.50. Nice!

jolly japes and jiggerypokery

I meant to post this last night but as usual there's a time delay in my world. The Mullet and I had arranged to meet up at the Jape gig the other night in The Button Factory. Richie and the lads have been touring in Germany and this heralded a welcome return home for them. Matty has finally made his move to Sweden where’s he’s set up home. He’d only been living there two weeks when he had to head off on tour again. Thursday night’s gig was followed by a gig in Belfast last night and Derry tonight I think. No rest for the wicked.

I arrived a little early and whilst waiting outside for the Mullet, I bumped into Orlando from Ugly Megan, a lo-fi electronic folk outfit. I’ve only met Orlando a couple of times but he took pity on me, waiting outside in the cold, and he ushered me into the gig. This was very welcome, as the Mullet didn’t turn up for another 45 minutes or so. Once inside I was surprised by the volumes that had turned up on a Thursday evening to check out Richie and Co. Admittedly it’s not that surprising given the overwhelmingly positive response to his Electric Picnic appearance in September. The demographics of a Jape gig have changed extraordinarily over the last few years. Last night the spectrum ranged from secondary school kids right up to some that might be described as elderly gents. I bumped into a few other heads most notably Barry Redsetta (who it turns out actually reads this shite that I write) and Malcolm (who was supposed to send me some accompanying photos for this post. You can however check his photos of the DEAF 2008 Launch Party here).

Rather than mix it with the hoi polloi we headed upstairs to the balcony seats and sat behind Richie’s mother and father. His dad was engrossed for most of the gig and was wearing an ever so proud look on his face. As a father myself I can only guess that it’s strange to watch your son rock out in front of a room full of admirers. Anyway I’ll be discouraging my children from pursuing such a career; a job in accountancy or in the civil service will do them (and me) nicely. Also up on the balcony was that chap Nick Seymour who played bass with Crowded House and produced Bell X1. He seemed to be digging the buzz. The Jape set was made up of most of the tunes from the Ritual album and my personal highlight was when the audience joined in during ‘Phil Lynott’. There’s something quite strange about hearing a few hundred people sing ‘Look. At. The. Fucking. Moon.’ The band and their vast array of electronic instrumentation make a great sound and they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves throughout the show. Richie engaged in that agricultural style dance that only he can do with such panache. He's the blinkin' dogs.

There's been little movement on the vinyl front. I'm waiting on a few things in the post from different parts of the globe. I also noticed that there's an upcoming release on Rhino Records of a Smiths Box Set. It includes ten of their singles in their original artwork and two other limited ones. I'll have to buy it even though I already have everytthing except the two limited edition ones. That's the price you pay for being a vinyl addict. Or a stupid sap.

In other news I picked up the handy pocket-sized Deaf 2008 booklet that includes a double CD full of tunes from Irish based electronic artists. Definitely worth a listen, it can be picked up in several record stores around Dublin while the stocks last.

Finally, a couple of dates in November to put in the gig diary could be the return of New Zealand band Fat Freddys Drop or even the TV on the Radio gig. Both are part of the Green Synergy weekend and are respectively playing in the Tripod on the 15th and 16th of November. More details over on Drop-D.

to the beat of the drum, bang!

Dublin. It’s often described as nothing more than a big village. I estimate that in Dublin there’s only three degrees of separation between everyone living there. Whenever I go into Dublin city centre (which is actually most days, because that’s where I work) I always meet someone I know. If I don’t meet someone I know then I at least meet someone who knows someone I know. I think you get the idea.

Last week I had a chance encounter with an aspiring local musician. The chance encounter wasn’t actually such a chance encounter as it now appears we were aware of each other’s existence for at least a few months. However, this awareness was limited to virtual awareness i.e. on the interweb. I’ve struck up a number of virtual relationships at this stage. Not the kind of relationships that have a young woman in front of a webcam doing peculiar things with vegetables and the like. No, these are more cerebral relationships. In some cases it’s admiration for another’s blogging, in other cases it’s as a result of their musical output and then there are other cases where a series of comments lead to a realisation that I actually know the other person in real life.

In this instance the chap I’m talking about is Conor Furlong. He’s recently released an album of self-penned tunes entitled ‘Eternal’. He was kind enough to give me a copy of the album the other day and I did actually get around to listening to it, albeit just the one listen. First impressions are that Conor's voice is reminiscent of a track that I recently heard by One Day International. By that I don’t mean that the songs or arrangements are similar but I actually mean that the vocals were quite similar to one another. Aside from the vocal similarity (that probably only exists in my head), the rest of the album is a very understated collection of pop songs with a backing track of simple electronic beats and layers of atmospheric sounds. It's not an album that you'd put on before a night out, you're more likely to put it on to unwind in the small hours. Coincidentally, One Day International also have a new album out entitled Blackbird. Both albums are available to buy at www.roadrecs.com.

I picked up a few seven inches in recent days that might tickle the fancy of a few freaks like myself. I picked up what appears to be the first single release, Magic Man, from The Aliens new album Luna. When I first heard it I thought that its another tune that sounds like old Jesus and Mary Chain. On the second listen I decided that it sounded more like Super Furry Animals. On the third listen I'm veering towards the more obscure Beatles sound a la Sergeant Peppers. I have to stop listening to it as I'm running out of things to compare it to. Have you noticed a theme in this blog? I never actually review anything, I just compare it to other stuff.

Another new release on seven inch comes in the form of a peculiar take on hip-hop as espoused by Flobots, a group from Denver in the US. It's two MC's with a band behind them. There's little mainstream hip-hop to compare it to and I dismissed it on first listen. Since then I've gone and listened to a few of their other tunes and it gives me a better idea about what they're trying to do. The only reason I bought it was for the DJ Shadow remix on the b-side. It's a much more uptempo interpretation of the tune and the beats are rocking. The chorus is still annoying me though.

Another unusual new seven inch is one that I came across in All City Records. It was released on The TruThoughts label and it's by Australian soulsters The Bamboos. It features Megan Washington on guest vocals doing a cover version of the Kings of Leon's 'King of the Rodeo'. Better still, the b-side has a tune called 'Can't Help Myself' that features Ty, one of my favourite UK rap artists. It's the bomb.

Not content with just bagging these new seven inches, I went and bought a few odds and ends. When I say odds and ends I really mean odds. A couple of boxes of dusty sevens arrived in Beatfinder Records the other day and I spent a chunk of my lunch break getting my fingers dirty whilst flicking through them. I managed to pull out a 45 by The Sound Stage Orchestra on BBC Records. The a-side is the theme tune to Grandstand whilst the b-side is the theme tune from Rugby Special called Holy Mackerel. They're both great. Very much of their time but still very appealing to the modern listener. Another freaky purchase was a flexi-single from the late seventies featuring Noel Edmonds introducing three of his favourite songs. The tunes are shit but I've a feeling that Noel's voice will be appearing in a future podcast. The last seven inch that I picked up is my current personal favourite. It's Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra (better known as the them from 2001 Space Odyssey) arranged and adapted by Eumir Deodato, the Brazilian musician, composer and producer. This tune won the 1973 Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental so its not just me that thinks its great. Deodato is still out there producing stuff but check him out below, performing in 1980 with his band and accompanying orchestra.

charity begins at home

There's an awful lot going down on the auld sod these days. Only a few posts ago I was banging on about the new David Holmes seven inch and since then I've gone and got the album in its entirety. 'The Holy Pictures' bursts into life with the aforementioned 'I heard wonders' tune but from thereon in its a fairly low key affair. There's a rake of sounds across the album that are reminiscent of other bands and there seems to be a lot of shoegazing stuff right the way through. I'm really liking it.

Another album due out very soon is the latest long player from Messiah J & The Expert 'From the Word Go'. It's getting a release on the 17th October and I believe that they're doing an instore in Tower Records that day. You can also catch them at the album launch proper on the 18th in Andrews Lane Theatre.

I managed to catch a tune by Roots Manuva on Later Live the other night. Not that surprising in itself but it was followed by an appearance by Dublin singer Imelda May. Imelda and her band play rockabilly music. Not something I'm all that crazy about but she did put in a fair turn on TV the other night. You should be able to catch her again this weekend on the extended recorded 'Later'.

Talking of Dublin women on the telly. I was sitting in last Friday evening watching Darjeeling Express with my good lady wife. When it ended it switched over to the TV. I can't describe the shock and revulsion at what I saw next. There was bleeding Twink wearing not much more than a smile. Not so much mutton dressed as lamb but more like tripe dressed as offal. Jaysus wept.

Thankfully there's things like the upcoming Deaf Weekender to take my mind off such horrors. There's a few bits and pieces to look forward to during the course of the festival. One event I'll be attending is the Sweet Talk evening in The Sugar Club. These SweetTalk gigs are always great and this one promises much. It features Dublin graff writer Maser, the legendary producer and sampling pioneer Steinski and the design artist John Gilsenan. Another thing I'd like to get to is the M83 gig in Vicar St on the 24th October. Check here for full details on the line-up. There's literally something for everyone.

Finally, I'd like to bring your attention to the three upcoming releases from the Trensmat label. They're a series of Hawkwind covers by the likes of Acid Mothers Temple, Kinski, Bardo Pond, White Hills & Mugstar. All in all it sounds like a great gas. I've been trying to order them from their site but it was down today when I tried.

The State of the Press Part 3

There’s been a lot of kerfuffle recently about previously free, soon to be free and not free at all magazines published here in Ireland. In the course of these debates a number of names seem to appear time and again. We tend to forget that most magazines have a limited shelf life. This point was recently driven home after reading an obituary of one of Britain’s foremost magazine publishers of the last thirty years, Jack Hutton. Jack Hutton was the editor of Melody Maker but he also introduced a number of other music publications to generations of music lovers. These included Sounds and Kerrang. As is normally the case with most thing I ramble on about, I have a pretty tenuous link with Jack Hutton in that I know his daughter Mandy. It was Mandy who inspired her father to begin publication of Popswap, a magazine that went on to achieve regular circulation of 650,000 teenage readers. In some ways I like to draw parallels between Mandy and myself. By this I mean that I have inspired myself to publish a blog that goes on to achieve readership figures in the tens and sometimes even the twenties.

Closer to home, and closer to the original topic, there recently came the decision from State magazine to make the move from charging for their wares to providing them for free. As such I’ve decided to do a quick scoot over a number of publications that are available free to the Irish public. Given that I’m based in Dublin a few of these publications are only available in the city or surrounding areas. Others are available online or by post. Some of them are relatively new to the world whilst some are old chestnuts (very seasonal choice of words there). Let’s run the rule over them.

Tax Briefing – Issue 69 – September 2008

Published by the Revenue Commissioners I failed to find one interview with Times New Viking or even a mention of the new Fujiya & Miyagi album. How they expect to challenge the might of Hotpress with this offering beggars belief. It does however cater for music lovers who purchase online by giving us the Average Market Mid-Closing Exchange Rates v. Euro as Supplied by The Central Bank. This is useful in determining exactly how much you paid for that reggae 12 inch ordered on E-Bay from some bloke in Norway.

See for yourself: Tax Briefing – Issue 69 – September 2008

Connected – Issue 39 – September 2008

This little blighter has been available around the place for more years than I care to remember. It’s short, succinct and covers a glut of musical angles. A5, with a laminate cover it means that it’s not much use for an emergency dump. In fact all it does is spread it around rather than help wipe any off. But that’s another story altogether. From a musical perspective it hits many right notes with the public. Highlights in this particular issue are an interview with Roots Manuva, a short eulogy for the soon to be defunct Electric City and an interview with Jon Averill.

See for yourself: Connected Magazine

The Irish Comedy Review – Issue 1 – Autumn 2008

I chanced upon this first issue on a stroll about town today and it is in fact the inspiration for this post. I’m not convinced about this comedy thing. As regular readers will know, I’m a fan of comedy. The publication's cover star is Jarlath Regan and this fails to inspire confidence. I’ve seen this chap a few times recently and he’s not that funny. The old adage does state that I should never judge a book (or magazine) by its cover. It’s not any better when I read the editorial inside. The accompanying picture of the editor looks like a Photoshop effort. The hair doesn’t look like it belongs to him. Maybe it’s a comedy hairpiece. That said I keep reading and find an interesting interview with one of Ireland's least known but great comedic talents, Mark Doherty. The rest of the content is not all that bad for a first effort. Aside from this I’m intrigued as to how a magazine running to 46 A4 pages can afford to be published when there are only three pages of advertisements in it. It appears that basic economics do not apply to comedy magazines. Now that's a laugh.

See for yourself: (Launching October 1st at www.irishcomedyreview.ie)

Dublin City News – Issue 3 (Central Area) – August 2008

This is kind of out of date at this stage but lets have a quick run through it anyway. To give an idea of the breadth of this magazine, it treats issues such as water conservation, highlights of the Phoenix Park, urban garden design and European Neighbours Day. I’d never heard of any of these bands before and the reviews of them are very hard to fathom. I gave up pretty quickly on this one.

See for yourself: Dublin City News – Issue 3

Analogue – Issue 5 – September 2008

I’ve been casting my beady eye over this publication since its inception. I liked the ad-hoc nature of the first edition where there was only minor emphasis on publishing conventionalities such as design, typesetting and that sort of thing. They’ve upped their game over since then but its still essentially a student publication. We all know that students have notions of themselves and that can sometimes manifest itself in the most surprising ways. I find Analogue surprising because although there are a couple of archetypal student contributors, the majority of it is really good. The article on the Irish heavy metal underground and the pages on artists featuring at the Electric Picnic appealed. I wasn’t so keen on the Album Swap feature. My reason for this is based on personal experience. I’ve been asked before to list a top 5 favourite tunes/albums and explain my rationale for picking it. Unfortunately no matter how earnest your rationale is, you always end up sounding like a bit of a sap. The article served to remind me how stupid I've sounded myself. On a more positive ending, Analogue has tidied up its initial ramshackle look and looks none the worse for it. They’ve also engaged in some artistic patronage by getting some bloke called Scalder to do some illustration. Well done.

See for yourself: Analogue Issue 5

parish notes volume 2

I should mention my trip to last weekends Farmleigh Affair which was held as usual in Farmeigh in the Phoenix Park. I ventured over for the two days and had a thoroughly ripping time. There were a few showers on the first day and the only act that I can remember was Carmen Souza from Cape Verde. She was doing her best to get the crowd into a singalong but had very limited success. I tried to help her out but it was just me and Carmen against the rest of the crowd. Bad buzzers. Sunday saw much better weather, a bigger crowd an increase in the alcohol intake. Everything came up roses. I missed the first two acts, so the first entertainment of the day came from Lo Cor de la Plana, a bunch of dudes from Marseille. They belted out a few tunes a capella, accompanied by what looked like fun-size bodhráns. It was great craic for about 15 minutes and then I got bored. Next up was Iarla O Lionaird who I've seen with the Afro Celt Sound System many years ago. This set was completely different and I had a bit of a snooze during it perhaps due to the imbibement of much wine. Finishing the whole affair was Grupo Fantasma. They managed to get quite a crowd of people into their groove. Good buzz.

Elsewhere, the Analogue magazine launch takes place this Friday the 8th of August in the bar in Crawdaddy. There will apparently be special guest DJ's and a live set from Storkboy Choons.

The annual Ronty Cup 2008 takes place in Dalymount Park on Saturday 9th August. Kick-Off is at 3pm. This event celebrates the life of an old friend who passed away a few years back and it sees his mates from Bristol play his mates from Dublin. With any luck we'll retain the trophy on home soil. When I say we, in truth my efforts will most likely be limited to about five minutes on the pitch. Still for an old boy like me I reckon thats pretty good. Come down for a gander if you're in the Phibsboro area.

Then on Sunday August 10th 2008 at 4pm in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield there's The Best Of The West. This event in The Lighthouse intends to showcase a number of award-winning Short Films from the Galway Film Fleadh. Amongst these shorts is one by me aul mucker and longtime whisker grower, Luke Mc Manus. It's called 'Danger High Voltage' and it managed to claim first prize in the Best First Irish Short Film category. The whole thing sounds like a great buzz and will also give the uninitiated amongst you a chance to check out the new Lighthouse. I've been down and I think its great.

I have to mention the Sea Sessions that takes place in Bundoran during September. It looks like its going to be a good buzz. A mixture of music and surfing in a part of the world i know well. The line up includes Belle & Sebastian, Kittser, Asian Dub Foundation and a host of other heads. I haven't been up that way in about 7 years so I think its time that Donegal rolled out the red carpet for the imminent arrival of Matt Vinyl. O'Donnell Abú.

an unseasonal series of events

This time of the year is usually a quiet time. People in work head off on their holidays. Schoolkids head off to the gaeltacht or whatever summer stuff they get up to these days. Musicians stop releasing music. Well things appear to have changed around here.

Dublin band Rollers/Sparkers released their new album 'Hames' last Friday night in the Boom Boom Room on O'Connell Street. I'd love to tell you all about it but I was tooling around down in Bellinter House, the fancy pants hotel in Co Meath. I did manage to pick up a copy of the album prior to heading off but I've not had much of a chance to listen to it. I attempted to play it in the car on the way down but my missus was having none of it. Instead we listened to Lykke Li. Anyway, I just know that 'Hames' is great so go and buy it in your local record store place. As a result of my jaunt down to Bellinter I also managed to miss the launch of the Underground Exhibition in Road Records on Friday evening. I popped in on Saturday afternoon and it was great. It's a real trip down memory lane. When you're visiting the exhibition in Road Records you can buy a copy of Hames when you're there.

Top music blogger mp3hugger, has compiled a bunch of music for a new release, Indiecater Volume 1, and it's available for download for the meagre sum of €4.50 from the Indiecater Website. I'm listening to it as I type and I'm digging the vibe. I've listened to Beaten Awake, Burning Codes, Call to Mind and Cymbals eat Guitars. It's a very diverse and wonderful range of music and I have to commend the Hugger for bringing such a simple idea to life. I always think of great ideas but I'm far too half-arsed to put them into practice. If there's anyone out there who is short on ideas but good on organisation and planning then I could be your ideal business partner. Leave your CV in the comments if you fit the bill.

can you hear me now?

It's funny who you meet when you're out getting your morning coffee. Firstly, I bumped into Kittser who seemed to be up and about at a fairly unusual hour of the day. It turns out that the workmen were in his gaff, banging about the place, so he upped sticks and was heading for breakfast when I met him. As we stood chatting on the corner of Andrew St and Wicklow St we caught two people waving over. It was Mattie and Emelie from M&E. I ran a few of my ideas over with the assembled but all seemed suitably unimpressed with everything I threw at them. These creative types would do your head in. I guess I'll have to complete my domination of the Dublin music scene without their help. Kittser has started an evening called The Goof-Off every Wednesday evening upstairs in Whelans. Although it's only being going a couple of weeks its already had a guest appearance by Matmos. It should be worth checking out if you're about town on a Wednesday night. It kicks off at 11.30.

On my return to the office I had an e-mail about the upcoming DEAF festival. That's all I know about the contents of it because the bloody message was blocked by my work firewall because of a graphic attachment. The DEAF festival will be on again this coming October and you can read all about it over on Jim's blog. Over on the DEAF site they're looking for heads to help out with the upcoming festival. Give a little, it will help a lot. When I was on their site I managed to find a photo of a piece I wrote in 2005 for the accompanying festival publication (see above). Nice one.

Yesterday the astral radio in my head picked up the tune 'You can call me Al' by Paul Simon. I was singing it all day and again when I woke this morning. The tune entered the UK charts in 1987 and I always enjoyed the accompanying video that featured Chevy Chase and a very bored looking Paul Simon. Today I found the tune in Spindizzy Records on seven inch. Fate dictated that i buy it. I love it.

Finally, I was reading the Cheebah blog today and it mentions a feature by Paul Tarpey in the Copenhagen magazine BitchSlap. The magazine reminds me a lot of the stuff that's being done by Candy Collective and the piece by Paul on DJ Cait is especially good. Check it.

revisionism rocks

I heard a joke recently.

Q. Why are pirates called pirates?

A. Because they just aaargh!

Last night The Mullet and myself hooked up with an old mate from our pirate radio days. Aidan Kelly lowered the Jolly Roger a few years back, he picked up his Kodak Brownie and he is now carving a bit of a niche for himself in Dublin’s design world as both a photographer and with his input to Candy Collective. This is in addition to his other creative pursuits which are too numerous to list. Last nights Sweet Talk session was introduced by Aidan and in keeping with the Seachtain na Gaeilge theme at this time of the year, all of the guest speakers were from the auld sod. The audience was populated by many folk from across the wide spectrum of Dublin’s creative set. It was like an NCAD reunion or at least it was like how I imagine an NCAD reunion would be. Given the bohemian nature of proceedings there were also a few blokes there who looked like they’d come to audition for a job as drummer with The Klaxons.

Aidan kicked off proceedings with an introduction that was not dissimilar to the part of mass that usually took place after communion. For any Irish Catholics reading this they’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s been a while since I was there but it reminded me of that bit in mass when the church collection took place and the priest took the opportunity to read out notices about the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes or any upcoming Novenas. Unlike mass, Sweet Talk had beer on sale and a smoking area just outside the back door. Once the obligatory thank you’s and introductions were proffered by Aidan it was straight down to the business of design.

First up was illustrator, printer and administrator of the Monster Truck Gallery, Colm Mac Athlaoich. One interesting piece of trivia that came to light about Colm was that he was an aspiring classical trumpeter when he was younger. As someone who played the flugelhorn as a young fella I can appreciate why Colm may have wanted to become a classical musician. Thankfully the music world’s loss was the design world’s gain. In my case, I’ve heard that the music world is still lamenting the loss of my precocious talent. You can never have enough flugelhorn players. Colm presented many of his quite brilliant illustrations and some of his print stuff and a common theme for the evening was quickly established. It appears that the now defunct Mongrel magazine first published Colm’s work.

Similarly, the next speaker, stylist Aisling Farinella did plenty of work for Mongrel magazine. If I’m not mistaken she also mentioned that they were first to publish her work. Aisling then went on to present several samples of her styling from her trips to London and New York fashion weeks as well as plenty of stuff that was done locally around Dublin. All in all she was quite an affable young lady with a keen eye. However I’m still not sure exactly what a stylist does. Whenever I hear the word stylist I just think of that Graham Cruz bloke and it makes me shudder. Aisling mentioned that she had worked with a bloke I went to college with many years ago, Peter Evers. I bumped into Peter at a wedding about a year ago and he very kindly took a portrait of my assembled family and e-mailed it to me a few weeks later. It's the only photo of my folks and brothers and sisters together as adults. Nice one Peter. Coincidentally the couple that got married that day just had a baby girl the other day. It's a small world, but I wouldn't like to have to paint it all.

The third speaker, photographer Matthew Thompson, also showcased some work that had appeared in various publications and once again Mongrel came in for special mention. Amongst the material on show was a selection of photos of Dublin’s homeless community. I missed an awful lot of this speaker because I was talking shite with two of the Mullets acquaintances, filmmaker Lorcan Fox and his Dom Joly lookalike partner in crime from the now defunct Ringsend hip-hop outfit Satyrix.

In light of what I heard last night it appears that I might need to apply some revisionist principles in relation to my publicly quoted views on Mongrel magazine. I stand by the fact that I oftentimes found it disjointed and not funny but I must now reassess it in light of the influence it had on many creative types working in Dublin. I never really questioned how the illustrations or photo shoots got into the magazine or even who was behind them all. All three speakers mentioned above appear to hold the magazine and its editorial team in high regard as it provided them with an outlet for their endeavours. In many cases the initial opportunity then turned into a stepping-stone for bigger and better things. Eoin Butler, Ireland’s ex-premier social diarist was on hand to mop up the plaudits from his position at the back of the room. Fair fucks to Mongrel for stoking the creative fires of Aisling, Colm and Matthew.

The last speaker of the evening was Daragh O’Connell from Brown Bag Films. The Mullet insisted that I mention that he went to primary school with the other half of Brown Bag, the affable Cathal Gaffney. Cathal wasn’t there last night but Daragh was on hand to provide the audience with a whirlwind history lesson on Brown Bag Films, from their early stop-motion creation of Peig right up to their current work with HIT Productions (the guys who make Bob the Builder). In between we were treated to several short films, a few of their recent commercials and an Oasis video that they made.

I was only speaking to Cathal Gaffney a couple of months ago when he told me Brown Bag had moved into new premises in Smithfield. He also mentioned that they had about sixty people working for them. I wondered at the scale of the business at the time but I never realised the amount of work they have on hand. Its incredible that the two lads have made such a good fist of their business. In fact last night’s talk served to give me a greater insight into the stuff that goes on here in Dublin unbeknownst to most others and myself. It reaffirms my faith in the city when I see so many people doing such good things. Sweet Talk and the related Candy magazine have now become essential reference points for me. Both serve to keep me up to date on the world of Irish design. You could do worse yourselves than to turn up at the next one for a bit of a look and listen.

roots and culture

I finally got around to meeting Dennis McNulty for lunch last Thursday. Dennis is pretty well known around Dublin as a result of his pioneering musical work as one half of Decal. This part of his life is now behind him but his former partner in crime, Alan O Boyle, continues to make music and perform under the Decal moniker. Dennis is a top bloke and he shares my love for cheesey 80's pop tunes and even some pretty dire AOR music. He's also continued in his pursuit of all things artistic and a large part of his life is now taken up with designing sound and visual installations, making documentaries and doing some soundtracks. What a dazzling array of talent for one so humble. Anyhow, here's just some of what Dennis is up to over the next while.

framework/ rupture


February 8th - March 8th 2008
Preview: Thursday, February 7th, 6 to 8 pm
Green On Red, 26-28 Lombard Street East Dublin 2.
(T) 01 671 3414
http://www.greenonredgallery.com

In Dennis McNulty's first solo show at Green On Red, entitled framework/rupture, this movement from street to gallery provides the starting point for an exploration of the relationship between constructed space and the experience of time. A number of interventions and works (sound, sculpture, animation and photographic images)overlap, creating a cinematic space haunted by the presence of Sam Stephenson's Central Bank building.

The show will also feature AFTERTHOUGHTS, a day of talks and discussion, which will include a screening of The Big Bank, an industrial film that records the building of the Central Bank on Dame Street, Dublin, from 1972 to 1979. Speakers include François Chastanet, Owen Drumm, Ros Kavanagh, Riklef Rambow and Ellen Rowley. It takes place on Saturday March 1st, 12.00 to 6.00. Admission is free but places must be booked in advance


'Seaview' - Berlin & Dublin

'Seaview' is a documentary film about asylum seekers living in a former Butlin’s holiday camp at Mosney, Ireland. It's showing at the Berlin Film Festival in February. Screening times and more info about the film are here - http://www.stillfilms.org/ The film will also be screened at Green On Red (address above) on Thursday 21st February at 6.30.




'Joy' @ Rotterdam

Dennis also made the soundtrack for a short film by London-based Irish artists Desperate Optimists called 'Joy'. The film has just won the UIP award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. There is some info about it here, but you'll need to be able to speak Dutch!

Launch of the House Projects book.
Project (Dublin),
Friday 8th February,
between 5 and 6.30pm

Homemade was an exhibition curated by David Beattie as part of the House Projects series of exhibitions. The group exhibition took place in his flat on Waterloo Rd. last September. A publication which has been produced about the House Projects series of exhibitions will be launched at Project next week.

http://www.houseprojects.net
http://dennismcnulty.com/apl.html


On a related artistic note, I was out for dinner the other night and on the way home I bumped into Jo Mangan & Tom Swift. They've got a new play for kids on in The Ark over the coming weeks that should be well worth checking out if you've got a few six year olds on your hands. 'Beware Of The Storybook Wolves' was written and illustrated by Lauren Child and has been adapted by Tom. It starts this Tuesday 5th February.

the post with no name

I was doing some multiple texting today and whilst clearing out my inbox I came across a message from a bloke I used to houseshare with. The message included the MySpace URL for his new band. When we shared the house he was completing his music degree and his instrument of choice was classical guitar. This meant I was treated to much beautiful music in the 4 or 5 years we lived together. At the same time we also shared the house with two techno djs and a jungle dj (Big up Scott Logan, Mad Dog and The Don Rosco). It was a very big house. Given the musically diverse backgrounds of the occupants it meant that there was always something interesting on the turntable.

Although he plied his trade with the Dublin Guitar Quartet for a number of years, it appeared my old housemate always had a yearning to go back to his rock based roots. This is evident in the work of his current band The Souphounds and you can check out their MySpace here. Apple Pie is great.

On their MySpace i noticed that they were 'friends' with amongst others Fight Like Apes, 2-Bit and The Sick & Indigent Song Club. Peculiarly enough myself and The Sick & Indigent Song Club have a mutual friend. The mutual friend is a farmer in West Cork and when I was in his house a couple of weeks ago there was a picture of the band on the wall. I knew one of the members from college years ago and pointed this out to aforesaid farmer. He then told me that the band had played in his living room a few months before to a very appreciative crowd of his neighbours. As this weird trip continued another friend put some 'Crisp & Dry' cooking oil on a stiff scissors and proceeded to cut the farmers hair. Just as the haircut was finished there was a phonecall to say that the farmers bull had broken out of the field so he had to leg it. Myself and the barber then walked about 4 miles over a mountain to get home for dinner. I'm not sure why I'm writing this down but it's all sounds funny in my head if that's any defence.

On a completely unrelated topic, I came across a tune today that I hadn't heard in years. It's by a bloke from Estonia (I think) called Pastakas and he lives in a forest somewhere and makes great music. Or at least he used to. Here it is:

Tumedasse Tuppa - Pastakas

meetings to be held in camera

I went to see my favourite Scottish band since Big Country on Sunday evening in The Village on Wexford St. The band in question were of course Camera Obscura.

First things first, but not necessarily in that order, was that these guys lack the stage presence of Stuart Adamson (RIP) & Co. There was not one lumberjack shirt worn by any of the band members. In fact the lead singer Tracy Anne Campbell looked like a librarian and dresses like one of the extras in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Very understated altogether. I didn't know what to think.

I had spoken to my sister-in-law who had seen them in Róisín Dubh in Galway the night previous and she'd recounted that there were only sixty or seventy heads at that gig. Thankfully the troops turned out en masse for the gig in The Village. Standing room only folks. The band merrily played their way through the new album 'Let's get out of this country' and amongst the new tunes were the title track from the new album as well as 'I need all the friends I can get' and 'Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken'. They even played an old favourite of mine 'Suspended from class' from their previous album 'Underachievers please try harder'. The crowd nodded their heads in appreciation, they clapped respectfully at the end of each tune and even chanted for one more tune which then turned into three more tunes. Amongst these were a cover of Amy Winehouse's 'Rehab' and ABBA's 'Super Trouper' which had featured as a b-side on their last 7". All in all it was a very pleasant experience so cursory commendations are due to my Caledonian comrades, Camera Obscura.

Note:
If you were the pregnant lady who kept rubbing her belly for the entire gig as if to point out that you were indeed pregnant, why didn't you just take the seat that I offered you instead of standing in the way of everyone going to the toilet and giving death stares to anyone who moved within five feet of you? It is obviously your first child as you're being a bit precious about the whole deal. I think you should chill out before you do what most parents do and foist your own inadequacies onto your child. Just a thought!

forward planning for an asian invasion

I met up with some pals for lunch today and conversation turned to the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival. A few months back I met Eamonn Doyle on the streets of Dublin and quizzed him on the content of the 2007 festival. Apparently the theme of the 2007 festival will be Asian electronic art – offering audiences the opportunity to sample the work of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian and other Asian artists, but also "the chance to witness Irish artists engaging with other musical and artistic traditions in an explorative and open-ended creative process".

That's all well and good says I, but will that latter bit consist of Billy Scurry eating some Szechuan Chicken behind a set of Technics turntables? In all seriousness, I'm not very sure what constitutes Irish artists engaging with other musical traditions. Anyhow, says I to Eamonn, 'Will you be getting the Japanese dub reggae band Dry and Heavy over?' 'Who are they' says he? Ignorance is a wonderful thing.

Other Asian (particularly Japanese) artists then sprang to mind during the course of the day. Cornelius who has just released a new album called 'Sensuous'. What about 'Asa Chang and Junray' for a bit of electronic freakiness? Fuck it. Get Pizzicato Five or Fantastic Plastic Machine over for a bit of poptastic madness. If there is anyone with any other suggestions they'd be more than welcome. I'll then be able to put a flea in the ear of the organisers.

Rather than end on a sour note I should big up all the folks behind the DEAF festival who took a very brave step back in 2002. It takes visionaries and passionate people from all walks of life to make these things come together. Big up the DEAF crew; Eamonn, Rob, Karen, James and the others who make this thing happen every year. As a token of my appreciation here's a tune for you guys by The Vapors.