This week was filled with snappy interviews with some of Ireland’s most exciting acts, exciting news about an artist development programme and a major change to Forbidden Fruit on its tenth anniversary. Not to mention the announcement of one of music’s most enigmatic figures new club night. Catch up with everything below.
Quick-fire questions: Pat Lagoon
Waterford’s Pat Lagoon has made a name for himself in the Irish rap scene for his relentless release schedule and stellar collaborative efforts with the likes of RikShaw and more recently BOYW1DR.
Having supported Token and nailing a few festival slots this Summer, the wheels of his music career are well and truly in motion. Coming into the final months of a standout year for the Anomaly Sphere member, we caught up with The Goon and shot him some quick-fire questions to get his thoughts on his journey so far.
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Open call for 74 innovative women & gender minority artists to take part in year-long programme
An open call from the IMRO sponsored, international initiative Keychange for 74 innovative women and gender minority artists has launched.
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10 Irish Producers you need to know
Frequently producers don’t get the same shine as rappers or singers on tracks. This is despite the fact they help create the backbone of many tracks and their input is vital for birthing hits. Where would Outkast be without Mr. DJ, where would hip hop be without Dilla, would we even have some of the artists we have today without Rick Rubin?
The importance of the genre’s production maestros cannot be understated and with that said we counted down the best in the genre from the emerald isle.
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Forbidden Fruit changed to 2 day festival & 2020 dates revealed
2020 marks the tenth year of Forbidden Fruit’s existence. The coming edition of the festival will see the festivities unfold over two days rather than the previous norm of three.
This coming year will see it taking place on the 30 – 31 May at the Museum of Modern Art, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin.
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A nostalgic night of 2000’s hip hop and garage is coming to the 3Arena
For those craving a hit of 2000s nostalgia you aren’t going to want to miss this one. The Blast Off! Tour is bringing a heavy line-up of hip hop and garage stars to the 3Arena in 2020. The one-of-a-kind tour is landing in Ireland in February and will be hosted by one of hip hop’s best known hype men.
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The Murder Capital share new video and announce new tour dates
The Murder Capital are steadily building a name for themselves as one of the most exciting acts coming out of the country. Today, they released a new video for ‘More Is Less’ following the release of their debut album ‘When I Have Fears’ that reached the top 20 of the UK charts.
The release of their latest visuals comes alongside the news of a string of live dates in 2020 that will follow their UK and european tour in November. The band play Vicar Street in Dublin on 27 February.
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Plain Sailing are diversifying Belfast’s nightlife
“I want our events and releases to be a complete reflection of what we’re into, there are no barriers, we aren’t doing it cause it’s cool, we are doing it cause we genuinely like it”.
We spoke to party throwers Plain Sailing about their attempts to diversify Belfast’s nightlife.
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Every Wednesday we drop an Irish hip hop quiz to test your knowledge of everything rap in the emerald isle. However once in a while we like to switch it up and bring a quiz based on the the hip hop industry as a whole.
This week we shared a stormer of a quiz that will test your credentials on everything from major accolades to song samples. There’s a few head scratchers in there to challenge even the savviest hip hop head.
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Celaviedmai announces headline show
Galway rapper Celaviedmai is coming to the Workmans Club on December 18th for her own headline show.
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Ireland’s Edge reveal first round of speakers discussing 2019’s biggest issues
2019’s discourse has been dominated by Brexit, Ireland’s place in Europe, immigration, the ongoing digital revolution and climate change. These topics and more will be examined and investigated by a line-up of thinkers, creatives, writers and more from various disciplines at Ireland’s Edge.
Described as a multidisciplinary creative event series that makes up a distinct strand of Other Voices, the event’s conversation will be framed around “the borderland between the known predictable world and the uncharted territory ahead.”
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Dublin’s essential events this weekend 18//19//20
Every Thursday at District we’ll be curating a selection of unmissable events in Dublin ahead of the coming weekend. Whether you have an appetite for thumping techno or are craving some hip hop classics we have you covered.
This weekend there’s an eclectic mix of events to satisfy your need for a boogie. Featuring a few final parties at The Shaw, banging techno a 35mm showing of a cult classic.
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Longford’s Ama is a mainstay of the rapidly developing hip hop scene in Ireland. Having built a reputation off his ear for musicality and deft vocalisations, the crooner has a track record of creating emotive, trap-influenced bangers.
Ahead of the release of his album ‘I Once Was’, Ama stopped by to answer some questions and give an insight into the mind of one of Irish rap’s most exciting prospects.
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Frank Ocean launches new Blonded club night
Hen’s Teeth is shutting up shop
Hen’s Teeth will be shutting the doors of its current space for the final time on Saturday 19 October at 6pm. They have provided space for a Hennessey Sound Lounge, a Matty Matheson book signing and a Gangster Doodles pop up shop among other things in recent years.
However do not fret, after successfully launching a kickstarter campaign they will be re-opening their new premises at the start of next month.
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Mango X MathMan release first single ‘Deep Blue’ from debut album
Mango x Mathman have released the first single ‘Deep Blue’ from their highly anticipated debut album.
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Gang Starr announce first album in 16 years
Having dropped a single ‘Family and Loyalty’ featuring J. Cole back in September, Gang Starr have revealed they will drop a new album named ‘One of The Best Yet’ on 1 November. The project will be assembled using verses recorded by the late Guru before his death in 2010.
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Dave Tynan directs new short film ‘The Bubble’ starring Roxanna Nic Liam
Dave Tynan has accumulated a number of accolades over the years including IFTAs and two selections for The Nuits En Or tour. Having directed the likes of ‘Dublin Oldschool’ and the emotive ‘Heartbreak’ starring Emmet Kirwan, Dave has returned with a new short-short. Confessing that it has been “way too long not making things” he has directed a raw, self-funded 2 minute video starring the talented Roxanna Nic Liam, who also wrote the film’s accompanying words.
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Gypsies On The Autobahn share considered new visuals
GOTA have returned with a new video for the stand-out track ‘Rubicon’ from their second album ‘Suspended‘. The video, written and directed by front man James Smith is a considered piece that illustrates the difficulties of miscommunication that are highlighted in ‘Rubicon’.
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Quick-fire questions: Happyalone.
Happyalone. have been quietly working away in 2019. Having played All Points East, Latitude and numerous other stages over the Summer they’ve now ‘L U C I F E R’. Their first release of 2019 is a statement of intent that blends their diverse influences ranging from rock to trap. It’s hard to place the group neatly into one genre and the boys routinely throw a spanner in the works in regards to what is expected sonically, keeping interested listeners on their toes.
We caught up with the trio to chat their most outrageous rider requests, the first album they bought and where we can catch them in the rest of 2019.
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Heaters: Best new music this week 18/10/19
Each Friday we curate a collection of must listens to keep you in the loop with the most exciting releases of that week. Ranging from rappers in the Emerald Isle to boundary pushing, experimental producers and everything in between, we’ve got you sorted.
This week we have one of hip hop’s youngest prospects link with an established beat smith, a Cork outfit’s first release of the year and a Chicago super-group made up of the cities hottest artists.
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