Plenty of new sounds to get your ears around on Irish Beats this week. Played stuff from Imelda May’s chart-topping album, Villagers’ new one and many more. Lots of guitars on the show this evening for some reason. Perhaps it’s the influence of my guest Dara Quilty from the band Apella. Who knows?!
Author: Rob O'Connor (Page 2 of 3)
This week was pretty hectic for new Irish releases, so I kept the music coming thick and fast on the latest radio show. The playlist was made up of fresh tunes from the likes of Reuben Hester, KinetiX, Ruth Anne, SYML, Cat Dowling and many more. The wonderful Ann Scott was my guest, chatting about her new album ‘Lily.’
I didn’t much in the way of new music on the radio last week because of the vinyl special, so I tried to squeeze as many fresh tunes into the latest playlist. 32 tracks in two hours is no mean feat! The second hour was devoted to track from the folk genre, allowing us to shift down to second gear and become a little introspective.
It was an all-vinyl affair on this evening’s Irish Beats as I dug into my collection to bring you some of the warmest homegrown sounds around. There was one electronic selection before breaking into the guitars – well worth turning your radios up to 11! The second of the show was a documentary following one WIT student’s quest to get into the format. ‘Gianluca Wants a Record Player’ asks questions like what’s so appealing about vinyl? Who’s listening to the format? Does it really sound better than Spotify? Should Gianluca go ahead and get a turntable?
Last night was the first radio show I’ve done in a while that didn’t feature an extended interview. I enjoy talking with people, but it was nice to focus on the music too! I managed to squeeze TWENTY EIGHT whopping tracks into two hours on the radio this week, with new music from Chasing Abbey, Tolu Makay, Inhaler and more as well as classics from the likes of David Holmes and Fred. ‘Be My Friend’ by Holly Macve is a track that’s really wormed it’s way into my brain. Her new album ‘Not The Girl’ is out in April, so I’ll definitely keep an ear out for that.
Another St. Patrick’s Day has rolled around and many parts of the world celebrate Irish culture and heritage by painting things green. While this can actually be nicer than a curmudgeon like me might admit, I’d like to suggest some alternatives that reflect the Ireland of the 21st century. All are lockdown friendly and better for your health (physical and mental) than drinking shite green beer.
Continue readingLast week, we published an episode of The Machine podcast all about The Walton Institute, which is the new name for the TSSG research group in WIT. I’m proud o say that once upon a time, I worked with these folks (and completed an MSc by Research there). I’ve tried to keep up with their activities, though it’s become increasingly difficult as the years go by – mostly because the group has grown so much.
The TSSG originally had a telecommunications and networks focus, which was the area I largely worked in. However, over the years they’ve broadened to include all aspects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and more importantly, lead some ground breaking cross-disciplinary research.
The Walton Institute isn’t just a renaming – it reflects the change in ICT research over the past 20 years and how the folks are looking towards a wider future. I’m very enthusiastic about this. I get a kick out of seeing how computing technology can be applied to other areas in a positive fashion. Are the results always for the better? No! However, I firmly believe that when people actually think about problems, we can come up with innovative solutions. What can I say, I’m an optimist.
Anyway, I enjoyed the chat with co-directors Sasitharan Balasubramaniam and Kevin Doolin who’s enthusiasm is infectious – for research and the opportunities for the South East.
This week, I’m recording an episode with some TSSG/Walton staff members about Virtual Reality and Augment Reality, so that’ll be proper geeky.
A slightly different radio show on this evening. To celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge 2021, the second hour of Irish Beats was entirely as gaeilge, featuring loads of great Irish tunes as you mightn’t have heard before. MayKay (ex Fight Like Apes) was my guest in the first hour talking about the IMBOLC music special currently streaming on the RTE Player. Plenty of fresh tracks in the mix from Tolu Makay, James Vincent McMorrow, Emma Langford, Kojaque and more.
To coincide with International Women’s Day and the Shine Festival 2021, we had a female voices special on Irish Beats this evening. Absolutely no shortage of fantastic music to play with tracks from Elaine Mai, MayKay, Tolu Makay, Kynsy, Pillow Queens and Choice Music Prize winner Denise Chaila all featuring (as well as lots more!). Stephanie Rainey was my guest in the virtual studio, spilling the beans on her new EP and how it felt to pick herself back up after being dropped by her record label (full podcast of this interview to be published soon).
Last week, I sat down with Caoimhe Barry of Irish trio Wyvern Lingo on the release day of their sophomore album ‘Awake You Lie.’ We spoke about how it’s not a COVID album having mostly been recorded in Berlin in late 2019, but it also kind of is a COVID reflection. We also chatted about musical influences, video games and Caoimhe gave the inside scoop on being on one of Ireland’s most successful indie record labels (RubyWorks).
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