It looks like being the most notorious name in hip-hop has paid off for Odd Future, with their next album set to see them move to the world of major labels. Released in March, The OF Tape Vol 2… will be the first album under the Odd Future Records imprint, which has heavyweight distribution through

Having impressed us immensely with their debut album The Ice Cream, State is delighted to hear that Grand Pocket Orchestra will be releasing a follow up next month. Coming our way via the mighty Popical Island, Ronald & Sylma… will be out on February 24th. Talking of the record, the band’s Paddy Hanna says

This Friday night sees Newcastle-based sextet Lanterns On The Lake pay Dublin a visit for a show of fragile and graceful folk music at the Workman’s Club. Released on the Bella Union label, who know a thing or two about that sort of music, debut album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home… has seen the band

All this week we’ve been bringing you our annual pick of new Irish musical talent, featuring the twenty acts that State feels will come to define 2012. From hip-hop and electronica to quiet acoustic sounds and loud guitars, we think it’s our best list yet. Now you can enjoy the Faces of 2012 in sound…

Another of Ireland’s bright new stars in electronic music. Drawing inspiration from the intricate bumpin’ hip-hop instrumental style of J Dilla, SertOne is a Portadown native who, at the age of 21, has already been DJing for ten years and making his own music for five.
Who or what inspires you?
I just spend a…

A case of a band returning in a different guise, with This Club the four Dubliners have hit their stride. Named after the first song they wrote together, their brand of pop is sure to find a home on the radio, and even the odd club, throughout 2012.
Describe yourselves and your music.…
We are

Drawn together from the rock ‘n’ roll hotspots of Wexford, Ballina and Northamptonshire, the now Dublin-based Futures Apart make the kind of music they like to listen to and take it from there. That music, thus far, comes across like a new romantic take on 21st century indie-pop.
Where does your band name come from?…

Initially a solo project for Noel Duplaa, Cfit have developed from a one man band to a trio and now a five piece, with all three incarnations delivering a lush collection of woozy, melancholic anthems.
How did you all meet?…
As a lifelong lover of doing things backwards, I recorded a weird complicated multi-instrumental album

The full line-up has been announced for this week’s Ones To Watch festival at Whelan’s and The Village, kicking off tomorrow:
Wednesday 11th January
Elaine Mai
Versechorusverse
Elevens
Goodtime
Bunoscionn
Wyvern Lingo
Laura Sheeran
Deaf Joe
Hello Moon
Crayonsmith
Thursday 12th January…
Wizards Of Firetop Mountain
No Spill Blood
Lethal Dialect
Logikparty
Jogging
Altered Hours

The world and his wife were trying to shoehorn into his recent Heineken Green Spheres show at the Workman’s Club, so expect demand to be equally as high when SBTRKT returns for a show at the more roomy Academy later this year. Taking advantage of the extended bank holiday weekend, Aaron Jerome will play the…

Derry pop punks propelled by the exuberence of youth, State fell in love with Wonder Villains the moment we saw them dancing to their own record with glee in a Belfast club.
Describe yourselves and your music?…
We are Wonder Villains. Eimear, Cheylene, Ryan & Kieran. We write songs about the things we love –

It’s a long way from a TV talent show to becoming one of the most talked about new artists of the year, but for the Galwegian it seems to be nothing but a small step. Using his fiddle as a starting point, Daithí pushes things forward with a bank of Kaoss pads, loopstations and electronics…

As if the originals weren’t quite out there enough, The Weeknd‘s three mixtapes have all been given a going over by remixer Slim K, treating the slowed down, woozy R&B to a, well, slowed down, woozy makeover, screw and chop. Grab your free download of House Of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes Of Silence. The Weeknd…

Never exactly the champion of underground talent, this year’s BBC Sound of…. poll still has a distinctly behind the times feel about it. Taken from the opinions of 184 music industry experts, the top five looks like this:
1. Michael Kiwanuka

2. Frank Ocean

3. Azealia Banks

4. Skrillex

5. Niki & The Dove…