Tuesday 19 October 2010

Video: Shobaleader One - Megazine

Squarepusher has joined a band or at least created one with "a bunch of people you may or not have heard of from other bands and projects" called Shobaleader One. In and interview over on the Warp Records site, Tom Jenkins reveals the aim of Shobaleader One "The overall aim is to articulate my music through the medium of a band. I always thought that a band would be a limiting thing. I've got very used to being able to make music by programming or playing without having to explain anything to anyone, and I assumed it would slow everything down if I had to. Actually it has made it quicker because I'm not trying to be four people simultaneously any more".

The first track to get some airing from the their first full length LP d'Demonstrator, is Megazine. A little like Daft Punk if they combined some heavy metal riffs with their electro disco madness - which I like. 
d'Demonstrator is out now on Warp Records.

Thursday 14 October 2010

Video: Local Natives - Wide Eyes

If you haven't already watched the video to Local Natives Wide Eyes then you are in for a treat.
The story revolves around some poor bloke who is stalked by a crazy and in your face shark but finally cracks after one too many encounters with the big fish!
A lighthearted 5 minutes to a sublime and elegantly performed track. Wide Eyes is from Local Natives' 2009 critically acclaimed debut Gorilla Manor.

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Live Photos: Hard Working Class Heroes 2010

Last weekend The Hard Working Class Heroes Festival took place over three days, in 6 venues at night and 16 venues during the day. 
With a champion lineup in place to keep you gloriously running around from venue to venue, it made me very proud to be part of something that showcased some of the incredible talent that's coming out of Ireland right now. Whether you attended as a punter, volunteer, journalist, panelist, photographer etc it doesn't matter, as anyone I spoke to seemed to bask in the enthusiasm of it all. There were timetable clashes galore, but it's a festival after all and I tried to meet a nice balance of new music (I finally managed to see Enemies - a definite highlight) and familiar (The wonderful Halves, energetic Le Galaxie and loud and brilliant Le Faro) and it paid off nicely.

Also at this years festival I was picked to showcase one of my photo's at the HWCH Photography exhibition which runs in The Workmans Club, Dublin until October 30th, so pop on down if you get a chance as there is some fantastic shots on display from 14 other photographers too. 
In between venue hopping and watching bands I managed to take a few shots over the weekend. Some of which you can see below and the full set you can view here.

Congrats to all involved for pulling off such a fantastic weekend!

The Holy Innocents
The Holy Innocents live @ HWCH 2010

The Dirty 9s
The Dirty 9s live @ HWCH 2010

The Evening Watch
The Evening Watch live @ HWCH 2010

Enemies
Enemies live @ HWCH 2010

Halves
Halves live @ HWCH 2010

Le Galaxie
Le Galaxie live @ HWCH 2010

The Cast Of Cheers
The Cast Of Cheers live @ HWCH 2010

Friday 8 October 2010

Babe, Terror - 'Havai' (Memory Tapes Rework)

You might have guessed by now that I am a Memory Tapes fan since I post a lot of his remixes and reworks on this blog. So here is another, a wonderful rework of Babe, Terror's Havai and it's nothing short of stellar. Babe, Terror uses his voice and lo-fi recording equipment to make music, making it a fantastic template for the mesmerising stylings created by Memory Tapes. The accompanying video was shot with an intangible and vintage feel which I suppose reflects the rework itself. It's a good one for a Friday!

The 'Havai'/Epicentro EP is out on Monday on Phantasy Sound with the original track and re-workings from Memory Tapes and Duke Dumont.


Tuesday 5 October 2010

Listen To Spies - Liars Call Me King EP With Free Download

Spies first came to my attention last year when a friend recommended them to play a gig I was putting on in The Twisted Pepper. They were then called Lumiere and I instantly loved their post punk tones, dipped in contorted Indie murmurs that were reminiscent of Joy Division and Interpol.
So it is a year later and they are just about to release their first proper EP Liars Call Me King on 7"and free digital download via their Bandcamp Page. This three track EP has seen Spies flourish confidently as a band and develop into something quite exciting. Liars Call Me King, Falter and Fill The Silence make up this fantastic 3 track EP and you can avail of them digitally for free by heading to their Bandcamp Page.

If you like what you hear, you will be able to grab your copy of the 7" from October 27th in Ireland in Tower Records and any other decent record shops.


<a href="http://spies.bandcamp.com/album/liars-call-me-king">Liars Call Me King by SPIES</a>