Features
Video: Grouplove live in Dublin
Grouplove were in Dublin town recently for a live show at the Academy, part of their ever increasingly packed schedule on the back of their fine 2011 album Never Trust A Happy Song…. Straight off a ferry from Glasgow and obviously dead on their feet, they were still good enough to run through the
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Interview: The Jezabels plus signed album competition
The Jezabels are fiercely independent, and proud. When we open our interview with pianist Heather Shannon with a question on their cleverly integrated trio of early EPs, in fact, Heather’s very first sentence is “well, we’re an independent band”. It’s understandable: while plenty of bands have gone independent later in their careers, few have gathered…
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An outsider’s view of the Choice Music Prize shortlist
Terence Caron is a French student living in Dublin for the next few months and contributing to State. We thought it’d be an interesting exercise to get his thoughts on the Choice Music Prize nominee albums, many of which he knew nothing about before arriving in Ireland. …
We’re two weeks away from finding out who
Brit Awards 2012: A cock & bull show
Ah The Brits, the only place where James Corden is still considered mildly amusing. The charisma void was on hosting duties again last night looking like he was auditioning for Bugsy Malone sounding as if he was made up of all the extra bits of smug that had fallen off Ricky Gervais during his weight…
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The Score: classical and contemporary news
This issue of The Score… is all about chamber music. As orchestral music becomes increasingly unpopular, and large force concerts increasingly unfeasible, love for the intimacy of smaller ensemble performances just keeps growing. As well as the usual string quartets and chamber choirs – who are coming up with some very beautiful programmes – there
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Interview: Emeli Sandé – The chemistry between us
Her debut album was just released this month but the Scottish-born singer Emeli Sandé has spent most of her 23 years preparing for the moment. There’s been a lot of behind the scenes action while she bided her time, waiting for the spotlight to turn on her. She co-wrote songs for Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole…
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Album premiere: Deaf Joe – Burrowings
Muted, coiling and graceful, Burrowings is the debut album by folk-abstractionist Deaf Joe. A combination of acoustics, waltzing blues and ambient stretches, the album is both hypnagogic while rooted in familiar terrain and it is streaming below for your listening pleasure.
Deaf Joe will release Burrowings… on The Delphi Label, this Friday, February 17th. He
State’s Office Stereo – Silly Little Love Songs
Terius Nash introducing Casha – ‘Silly’ (chosen by Alan Reilly)
So here we are at Valentine’s Day – the most redundant and fickle of all make-believe celebrations – and romance lingers in the air like the putrid stench of a rotting relationship. A man very lucky in the fleshy side of things, The-Dream’s career is…
Incoming: We Have Band
UK electronic trio We Have Band are out on tour this month in support of their second album Ternion. They play the Academy 2 in Dublin on Saturday 18th. Here’s what makes them tick.
Who are you and where are you from?…
We are Thomas W-P and Darren Bancroft from London. Dede W-P from
Incoming: Django Django
Based in East London but, as we shall see, with an Irish connection, Django Django have just released their self-titled debut album and play Crawdaddy in Dublin on Feb 23rd. We already know that they make an intriguing electronic rock ‘n’ roll sound, but what else makes them tick?
Who are you and where are …
The Score: contemporary and classical news
Concerts of contemporary music are notoriously poorly advertised. The reasons why remain a mystery, though it seems that contemporary composers and musicians continually underestimate Irish music fans. Yet this country has wide-open ears, and an audience that’s open to discovering anything that’s new or exciting, regardless of the tag that comes with it. Modern music …
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Incoming: The Jon Cohen Experimental
Once a member of The Dears and The Social Register, Montreal native Jon Cohen is now stepping out on his own. Having recently released his debut album Behold…, featuring guest spots from the likes of Murray Lightburn (The Dears) and Evan Cranley (Stars, Broken Social Scene), The Jon Cohen Experimental plays The Grand Social
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Faces of 2012: Digital Magazine and Compilation
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…
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Faces of 2012: Tenaka
Limerick producer Ronan Carroll makes brooding electronica under the moniker of Tenaka. Collaborating with Sacred Animals, Holy Roman Army, Sorcha Brennan, Daithi and Elaine Mai, his Ephemeral EP is an introspective collection of metronomic arrangements and live instrumentation with casting scope and ambition whetting our appetites for Tenaka’s debut full length album in 2012.
How …
