Jape - In Pictures

Only about a week or so late but here's the pics from Malcolm. Thanks Malcolm.

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.

my news. today is monday.

I'm trying to keep in the blogging groove with this post. Its easy to lose your way and every now and again you just have to knuckle down and write something. As any regular reader will attest, this blog is very much more about quantity than quality. If there was an ISO audit for this blogging stuff I'm not sure I'd reach the pass mark. Somehow that makes me a little proud inside.

Given my dearth of ideas I'll kick off by poaching news from other sources. Nialler9 brings attention to a new musical effort by my man of the moment Richie Egan aka Jape. It's a cover of the Toto tune 'Africa'. The original tune evokes particular memories for me, mostly centred around MT USA and Jack Palance in Ripleys Believe it or Not. It also brings to mind another classic by the same band, Rosanna. This tune probably holds more significance for my older brother who had a brief dalliance with a yound English girl of that name over the course of a summer in Bettystown. Apologies for the digression, lets get back on song here. I'm not sure what to make of this version, its probably a bit too similar to the original. There's a peculiar karaoke feel to it at times. It also doesn't help that the original singer of the chorus, Bobby Kimball, can sing about two octaves higher than Richie. I mention Bobby Kimball there because the verses of the song are sung by David Paitch. There's one for all you Toto fact fans out there. Anyway, its well worth a listen so go and make your own minds up. Then go and feel the velvet original here. Mind you, the words of the tune have to be the most ridiculous I've heard in ages. They obviously wrote the words first and the tune after because there's loads of instances where they're trying to squeeze the sentence in. Schoolboy songwriting error on Toto's part.

For those of you who might depend on this blog for any upcoming musical news I'd advise that you get a good grip of yourself. But in case you haven't heard, the Kraftwerk gig scheduled for Luggala in Wicklow this weekend, has now been moved to the grounds of IMMA in Kilmainham. There are other gigs scheduled by POD for the same place in October that include Seasick Steve and Human League. I just happened to bump into Eamon Doyle (DEAF, D1, Dead Elvis) today and D1 are involved with the gig this weekend. He was also getting very excited about the forthcoming DEAF 08 festival which takes place on the October Bank Holiday weekend. There's some great gigs on the schedule. Check it here. Anyhow this is a very longwinded way of telling you about the Kraftwerk story he told me today. It relates to a time when a mutual friend, Donnacha Costello was over in Berlin in the early nineties. He somehow met Kraftwerk, whether at a gig they were playing or out somewhere else altogether. When they found out he was Irish they spent the whole night wanting to talk about Sean Kelly. Not Stephen Roche or Paul Kimmage. Sean Kelly. Fair play to those Kraftwerk boys, they know the real deal when it comes to cyclists. As it turns out they're just crazzzzy about the cycling. See for yourself.


Jaysus, now I can't stop banging on about stuff once I've started, so I'll keep the rest of this short and tell you about two cultural highlights that I had last weekend. The first involves the confusingly named St Michans Church here in Dublin. Confusing because its the name of two churches within spitting distance of one another. Myself and my current wife got married in the not so well known St Michans on Halston St but my journey at the weekend brought me to the better known St Michans on Church St. The reason for the visit was to see the by now infamous mummified remains that are in the vaults of the church (Have a look here at the Blather article on it). Being a concerned and conscientious parent I thought that the remains of dead bodies would be suitable fare for my eight, six and four year old children. And so it turned out. They loved it. You even get to go in and rub a mummy's finger if that's your thing. The whole occasion reminded me of that Spider Baby episode of Father Ted.

Another cultural highlight was the annual 'Sculpture in Context' exhibition in the Botanic Gardens. Take a load of sculpture. Take a big garden. Put the former in the latter. Hey presto a great way to look at art. This exhibition has been held in the Botanic Gardens for the last seven years and at various locations prior to that. It's always great. Check it out if you get a chance.

not one, not two, but three. yes, three things of note!

Tomorrow sees the official release of the new album 'Ritual' by Jape. Now before I get into the music I'll disclose that I think Richie Egan is a top bloke. Not only is he a top bloke but he's got a good buzz about himself and all things related to his music. One of the tunes, 'I was a man' has been getting a decent bit of airplay on the likes of Phantom FM. However there are some other real gems on this album that runs to just over 40 minutes. The album cover is another job by M&E and I should also point out that Mattie from M&E is another top bloke. Mattie and his good lady Emelie made the last video for Richie, the one where he's pelted with fruit. They've got a great buzz going on too. They've been at it again and they've made a video for 'Graveyard' another of the tunes from the new album. They play the song live in what appears to be Mount Jerome cemetery (you can see the chimney for the cremations behind them). Anyhow I've listened to the album once this evening and my favourite so far is number 6. It's playing in another room so I couldn't be arsed getting up to look at the CD cover. Rock on Richie Jape and to the staff member of the record store that sold it to me before he was supposed to. Stick it to the man and all that! It's out tomorrow. Buy it.

As if one new album by an Irish artist wasn't enough to fill a post, I just recently received an e-mail from my old pals Rollers/Sparkers. These chaps released the 'Geography for the Leaving' album in 2004 and have just gotten around to following it up with their new album entitled 'Hames'. Once again I'll declare an interest. These boys are also some of the nicest chaps you'll come across and along with their bookish looks and rapier wit they also manage to create some great sounds. I've been lucky enough to see them twice. I'm also lucky enough to regularly meet one of the band members cycling down Capel St in the morning. Cycling two abreast can be quite a thrill. His cycling wets leave a lot to be desired though, he tends to opt for those garish yellow jackets.

*EDIT: It appears that they have had an intervening album and that Geography for the Leaving was actually an EP. Ooops.

Anyhow, their album release is coming up on Friday 27th June on Lazybird Records. The launch gig will be in the Boom Boom Room, which is now located downstairs in Murray's of O'Connell Street. They'd love it if you came down, immersed yourselves in the gently undulating soundwash and bought their new CD. As if that wasn't enough of an attraction the support act will be Dara O'Brien in a tabla and sitar duo that will question everything you've ever held dear about the Occident. They'll also have Neil Donovan (whose Dad I used to work with and who incidentally is another top human being, his Dad that is, although Neil's very nice too) and Paul Watts spinning some tunes. Sound!

And finally, I bumped into the best hugger that the southside of Dublin has produced. He is the multi-talented musician, clown and generally good vibes guy Bryan Quinn. Some of you might know him from his trumpet playing, others might have seen his clowning and acting efforts with either of the Doherty brothers, David or Mark. As it happens BQ is directing a childrens play that's on in the Project Arts Centre over the next couple of days. Its stars David O'Doherty and Maeve Higgins and is called 'I can't sleep'. I told BQ I wouldn't make it but then I promised the kids that I'd bring them.

Here's Jape singing in a graveyard with Mattie:

JAPE 'Graveyard' : Live from the grave
Uploaded by MatthewANDemelie

whole lotta stuff

It's a slow aul January around these parts. Even though I've been in a record shop every day this week, there's been feck all seven inches to buy. Once again I resorted to a couple of internet purchases that have failed to hit the shelves here. The first is a cover of a favourite tune of mine by Crosby, Stills & Nash called 'Wooden Ships'. It featured on their eponymously titled album but also featured on a Jefferson Airplane album as one of their members Paul Kantner was one of the co-writers. Anyhow I digress! The seven inch I've ordered is by the little known artiste Chris Harwood and has been released on the Finders Keepers label. Its apparently a limited run of 500 copies but I won't be surprised if it gets a larger run at some point in the future.

I've also ordered the tune 'Darling' by Sons and Daughters. On their last seven they did a cover of 'Killer' by Adamski that I thought was pretty shit so I didn't buy it. This seven inch features a remix by Jape (Richie Egan) and that's the only reason I bought it. I haven't heard it yet but I'm hoping its going to be good. The a-Side is produced by Bernard Butler (ex-Suede) so it'll be interesting to hear what he brings to the party.

On an unrelated note, I bought a power adaptor for my SABA McDisc the other day. I've also been trying to get a DC adaptor for an old Roland D5 that's been lying around my gaff for ages but even though I ordered one from Music Maker in Dublin three months ago, I'm convinced that the lazy cunt who took my order never wrote it down. Fuck him. As it turns out the one I bought for the SABA is a multi-voltage DC adaptor and it works on the Roland. It's time for some synth pop experimentation one of these evenings when the kids have been packed off to bed.

I've cobbled together a five tune podcast on the SABA for your listening pleasure. The sound quality is undoctored so it hums and has lots of skips throughout. I think that adds a little something to it. It features in the following running order: The first tune from Decal's 1994 debut album 'Ultramack 004' and its called 'Aurora'. The next tune is an Ike & Tina Turner cover of the Led Zeppelin classic ' Whole lotta love'. Then it's The Housemartins with 'Anxious', a tune that featured on their debut album 'London 0, Hull 4' and the rather adventurous bassline is provided by FatBoy Slim himself, Norman Cook. Adventurous that is for The Housemartins. That's followed by 'My friend Goo' by Sonic Youth, a tune that was on their 1990 'Goo' album. Finally its twelve minutes of sublime soul from the one and only Isaac Hayes singing 'Walk on By'. It's altogether a smashing affair. Check it.




Matt's Mid-January Multi-Genre Mash-Up

tell me why, i quite like mondays?

Nice to be back to normal again today. In and around town during lunchtime today and met up with Richie Egan aka Jape. I've bumped into Richie a dozen or so times over the last few years and i've always got a good buzz out of him. What I've never told him was that I'd never heard any of his music. That's a bit of a fib because i have seen him play live with David Kitt and The Redneck Manifesto and I'm sure i've seen him play a support slot as Jape. What i really mean is that i've never heard any of his recorded music. Being a proactive individual (and a logical conceptualist as I found out on a recent self-development course in work. Team building, problem solving and all that stuff involved. Freaky shit) I decided that I'd visit Richie's MySpace site and listen to his tracks on there. I'd heard an awful lot about that 'Floating' tune he did and luckily it's there on his site. He appears to have an awful lot of 'friends' on myspace. He only had two with him at lunch today.

I was deleting a load of e-mails tonight and i came across one from an old pal who moved to Germany a while back. His name is Sie Milligan aka Troubled Soul and you can listen to his latest beats and pieces on his MySpace site. I'm fortunate enough to have a few old mix-tapes (yes, I said tapes) of Troubled Soul and they really are the dog's nuts. All manner of funky material sliced and diced by the Belfast B-Boy himself. Props to the now Teutonic Troubled Soul.

I managed to pop into Oxfam on Parliament St for a couple of minutes and I was able to pick up the 12" of Beats International 'Dub be good to me'. I only heard the dub version of the tune a good many years after the release of the tune. It featured on the album 'Dub Infusions' which I think was released on the Best Seven/Sonar Kollektiv label which, like my old pal T-Soul, is based in Berlin. Here's the normal version to check out but I think its a bit stuttery in places.



I also picked up a white label 12" of the dub version of UB40's 'Return of Doctor X' which featured on their 'Present Arms in Dub'. There was an original 12" of Doctor X that came with the 'Present Arms' album but it's always handy to have the dub version also, you know yourself. Only €2, which may be good or bad depending on how much you like the tune. For those of you who are only familiar with the post-1982 UB40, you may be surprised to learn that they were once quite brilliant. The albums 'Signing Off' and 'Present Arms' are their finest works. The UB44 album was pretty good and then they entered a dramatic downward slide and you know the rest of the story. 'Red, Red Wine'. Need I say more.