Wow nearly three months since my last blog post. Apologies, I’ve been quite neglectful but things have been busy. I’m currently working towards recording a demo with my band. It’s taking up a lot of my time but it’s been a lot of fun.

So on that note and to get me back in to swing of things, I’ve compiled a list of top 5 drummers.
Feel free to comment, ridicule or ad your own top 5.

Top 5 drummers, gotta love an aul list:

1. Dave Grohl: Nirvana had huge problems with drummers until he arrived. Nevermind became a huge album with him on board. Even though Kurt wrote the tunes you could argue Dave Grohl brought them to life.
He did the same for Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf is arguably their most successful album:

2. Travis Barker: Blink 182, realistically would anyone listen to them if it wasn’t for his drumming driving the tunes. Started as a pop punk band and now they’re a stadium band.

3. Seb Thomson: Trans Am! They’re awesome but reckon they wouldn’t have a live show if it wasn’t for their drummer:

4. Brian Chippendale. Lightning Bolt, serious heft! The reason anyone listens to Lightning Bolt:

5. Jimmy Chamberlin. Smashing Pumpkins – Jimmy Chaberlain = Fail!

DJ Mehdi & Chromeo

‘Ephemeral’ created by Musea Murison and directed by Cormac O Conaire from Tenaka on Vimeo.

Check out Tenaka’s new EP Ephemeral! It features collaborations from the likes of Sacred Animals, Holy Roman Army, Sorcha Brennan, Daithi and Elaine Mai and was produced by Ian Maleney. It also features a music video (above) created by Musea Murison.

Hailing from Limerick, Tenaka’s ethereal beats remind me of early 90s chillout compilations, remember those Cafe del Mar records? I mean this as a compliment, I went through a phase as a young teen of only listening to Euphoria compilations, I think that’s why I love listening to the likes of Fourtet now. In short EPhemeral is a total gem, a gorgeous listen and quite different from anything I’ve heard in a while. You can catch him live at the Datadrip Collision EP launch at the Shebeen Chic this Friday, 16th September. Bantum is also playing and it’s free in.

You can download the whole thing for free over at Tenaka’s bandcamp

The only other artist I admire as much as Scott Kelly is probably Ian Curtis so getting the interview was a huge deal and man was I nervous! A bit is missing from the start of the interview but I had just asked him how their tour was going so far, all the best bits are there.

I didn’t have much time with him as he was due to sound check. A quiet but lovely chap, he had some really insightful things to say about life on the road.

Big thanks to Danielle, Cian and Timo at U Mack for arranging the interview.

Interview w Scott Kelly by NewNoise

Check it:

Sequence Consequence by nouveaunoise

Last week 2XM set list was dedicated to Electric Picnic specials, just because we’re all that excited about the Picnic next weekend.

Really hope I get to go, fingers crossed I’ve better luck getting a ticket for that instead of Prince last month. On that note I really want to thank Benni and Gib (Logikparty) for their genorisity the day of the Prince gig. As you may or may not have heard my wallet was stolen the day of the Prince gig, they got away with €50 but more importantly my ticket for Prince, which was also in the wallet. It was the worst I felt in a long time as I really thought I would be missing out on the chance to see the man himself, live and in the flesh. Luckily everyone was so supportive, especially Benni and Gib who offered to buy me a new ticket. Total heroes! I think the whole experience made me appreciate the gig even more. Thanks to everyone who was so supportive on the day and extra special thanks to B+G.

So back to the Electric Picnic special, it features an interview with Jape and tunes from:

1. Boyz Noise: & Down

2. Mogwai: Batcat

3. Flying Lotus: GNG BNG

4. Warpaint: Bees

5. Jape: Hands of Fire

Jape interview

6. James Blake: I Only Know..

7. PJ Harvey: Who Will Love Me Now

8: Arcade Fire: Neighbourhood #3

9. Interpol: Evil

10. Adebisi Shank: Oyasumi

11. Underworld: Born Slippy

Big thanks to Richie Jape for the interview!

NewNoise EP special by NewNoise

John and Kev from The Cast of Cheers were nice enough to let me interview them for the show last week! They spoke to me about touring with Two Door Cinema club, working on their new album and how it all got started.

Aired on RTE 2FM on Sunday 31st of July

Interview w/ The Cast of Cheers by NewNoise

Their Choice Award nominated debut album is available for free here:

http://thecastofcheers.bandcamp.com/

It was a huge outlet for me when I first started DJing and booking gigs. I’ll never forget how supportive and encouraging the staff at the Quad were and I will seriously miss the place.

The Quad closed earlier this month, in this interview Darragh talks about his first gig at the Quad and his fondest memories of the venue.

You’ll find the interview about 20 minutes into the show:

NEWNOISE 16TH JULY done by NewNoise

Cork based five piece KVX are going their separate ways. Disappointing to hear but with guitarist Ciara Scally moving to China and their final year at college on the horizon, it seems the girls have made the right decision. No stranger to Cork’s music scene, KVX have been together since they were just wee lassies and have gone from strength to strength over the years. Their most recent EP ‘Dinner’ earned them widespread critical acclaim, with the likes of Hotpress and Aoife Barry naming them as ones to watch. KVX are quite a unique bunch, not only are they one of the few female groups in Ireland they are arguably one of the most diverse. Their live shows are so much fun as their wonderful personalities and genuine love of music always shine through. I really hope this isn’t the last we hear of KVX, in fact I’m just going to think of this departure as an extended holiday.

Here’s what KVX themselves had to say about their departure:

Through millions of chats, oceans of tea and mountains of biscuits, we have come to the decision to stop making music together after six and a half lovely years. We are all juggling the band with full-time college courses, part-time jobs, and all of the rest of life, and it’s come to a time where it is no longer possible to make as much time for KVX as it needs. We all still love each other, but it’s just not the right time. It is our hope that, a few years down the line, we will all end up in the same place making new music together, but we’ll have to see where the wind blows us.
Our last gig takes place in the Pavilion, Cork, on Saturday August 6th, 2011. It’ll be a fun night to say a huge goodbye and play with some of our friend-bands and friend-djs, and dance like mad yokes. Keep an eye on http://soundcloud.com/kvx in the meantime, as we will be posting a couple of rough old recordings in the run-up, just for the memories – some of which will be making an appearance on the setlist for our last gig. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your support.

Catch their final gig at the Pavilion, Cork this coming August 6th.

Graphs by KVX