video - Sean Mac Erlaine & Donal Dineen

A few weeks back, musician/composer Sean Mac Erlaine and DJ/broadcaster Donal Dineen held a collaborative gig in Galway's Nuns Island Theatre. A 'circular dialogue' between Mac Erlaine's improvised woodwind and electronics and Dineen's similarly experimental visuals, it was an absorbing and immersive performance from a duo who have built up an obvious rapport.

Nuns Island is a small, unfortunately under-utilised venue (Ten Past Seven & Laura Sheeran being the last gig I can recall attending in there) that lends itself to an attentive, music-as-art-as-opposed-to-drinking-soundtrack environment. On the night, there was an informal vibe to proceedings, with Dineen and Mac Erlaine alternating between their engaging soundscapes and visuals on the one hand, and periods of discussion/informal chat on the other (with audience questions encouraged). Dineen explained this all-round approach as (roughly paraphrasing here) a way of presenting a radio-type format within a new context. It was interesting to hear the duo hold forth on a range of topics, explaining the significance of their recent Sligo show - as the nearby scenery had inspired much of Mac Erlaine's most recent album Long After The Music Is Gone.

Mac Erlaine's clarinet playing was spare and measured, expressive at times but at other times stepping back to allow burbling electronics and hypnotic music-box motifs set the mood. One piece had a subaquatic feel, textural waves lapping back and forth. Mac Erlaine would later discuss his predilection for improv, but the natural, intuitive tone of his compositions would have spoken for him regardless.

The video above isn't taken from the Galway show, but from a set in and around the same time period, in Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre; 'Recorded March 17th for Saint Patrick's Festival 2013'.

Sean Mac Erlaine's Long After The Music Is Gone was released last year and is recommended.

Rural Savage / Edward Jecky

Donegal/Galway trio Rural Savage's raucous garage racket is infused with a surreal oddball streak that's reminiscent of Irish eccentrics like Jinx Lennon or Sultans Of Ping. It's not so much the music - which ranges from punk pop (with the emphasis on punk) to frenetic hardcore-tinged numbers to weird little vignettes - but more the parochial lyrical asides and general air of snotty outsider irreverence. "Sniggering dullards adrift on tides of their own psychic sewage", as the bio goes.




Debut album I Fell In The Bog And Saw God was released last year and went some way - if not all the way - towards capturing the wild, feral energy of their live shows. Tracks like 'College Drop Out' and 'Alcohol' crackle with livewire energy;  fuzz-guitar riffs and unhinged punk vocals backed by a deceptively tight rhythm section. The trio covered some range as well: lowering the tempo on the sneering psych-garage mongrel 'Donegal Acid' and the carnival waltz of 'Righteous Hand of Critical Fury', pushing it right back up with the blistering one-two of 'Dada Taranta' and 'Straight To Hell'.

The odd misstep came with tracks that resembled bland indie-by-numbers ('Skrag Heap') or experiments gone awry ('Male Pattern Blandness'); on the other hand a couple of tracks (including 'Skrag Heap' if my memory isn't letting me down) don't really do justice to their live incarnations: most recently the band played a superb set at Squarehead and So Cow's pre-SXSW Galway gig, one that included some impressive-sounding new material.
Frontman Farren (or Edward Jecky as his moniker may well be) clearly puts thought into his lyrical approach (see this very interesting interview-type article) and it's evident in tracks like the closing number 'Irish Childhood Hex', a sort of gonzo culchie confessional.




Farren has also recently released a solo album of sorts under the aforementioned Edward Jecky moniker, Relax Lads It's Alright. Not a million miles from Rural Savage aesthetic-wise; there are still elements of punk, surf and garage in the mix but a fair few of the tracks feel a bit more sketch-like and rough-around-the-edges. Indeed a couple see him singing in ragged style over blatantly familiar riffs ('Save Me Lord', 'Bad Man Race Car'). As such it feels like more of a mixtape vibe, with the songwriter throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. The more velcro-like highlights include 'Back to the Aztecs' and 'Saturday Night Fever', the latter of which is a surprisingly pensive number with unnamed female backing vocals. 'Send Me To My Grave', meanwhile, has a sort of spacey, spaghetti-western vibe to it, and 'Tender Terry Feckless' is 'Good Morning, Captain' for bogmen.

 

recommended: Keysound Recordings presents...This Is How We Roll

Dusk & Blackdown's monthly Rinsefm show has been in a class of its own of late. Reflecting the tastes and enthusiasms of the titular production duo (one of whom, Martin Clark, used to write a dubstep column for Pitchfork and is prone to the odd insightful thinkpiece), it's become a vital nexus for a fertile movement-of-sorts that's characterised by 130bpm tempos and a deep, dark mutation of elements from grime, dubstep and UK funky.  In recent months, the duo's Keysound label have released a couple of superb EP's in Wen's Commotion and Beneath's Illusions, while the Dusk & Blackdown Christmas special showcased a number of affiliated and/or kindred spirit producers.




As a compilation, This Is How We Roll does a pretty thrilling job of pulling the various Keysound strands together. 'New Wave' is an entirely appropriate opener: a joint effort between Visionist, Wen and Beneath, it was actually composed especially for the radio show that's bigged them up for the last year or so. Beneath's own 'PVO' combines throbbing, punishing sub-bass with the kind of busy percussion that characterised Cooly G's recent album; Wen's 'Commotion VIP' and Epoch's 'The Steppenwolf' both point to an audible grime influence, the former all cavernous low-end and clipped vocal snatches, the latter alternating bass wobble with an insidious string-like hook. The LHF crew (who supplied last year's Keepers Of The Light album as well as sundry pirate-radio-influenced mixes over the last few years) are represented by the murky, intricate and streetwise rhythms of Double Helix's 'LDN VIP', while Mumdance and Logos' pulsating backwards track 'In Reverse' hits on a compelling midway point between motion and stasis.


The brighter, more garage-y side of Dusk & Blackdown/Keysound is repped by the duo's 'Lonely Moon (Android Heartbreak Drumz remix)', while E.m.m.a.'s 'Peridot' recalls the off-kilter, off-colour synths of Ikonika, albeit more ornate (or baroque even).

The whole vibe around Keysound at the moment is inspiring. The label may have been around for a few years now but it's got an unmistakeable sense of purpose and vitality about it right now, one that reflects its owners' insatiable appetite for new sounds and new hybrids.

(farcically late) best (irish) albums of 2012

1 - Twomilliondays - twomilliondays 

Can’t really praise this album enough. Too lazy to re-write so here’s the archived review I wrote back last ….April? :

http://iheartau.com/2012/04/twomilliondays-twomilliondays/

And here's an informal interview-type thing with a bit of background/context from the musician behind the album:

"I'm not sure what to say really as regards concept.. i mean there is a narrative in the album somewhere but it's hard for me to articulate...i did intentionally start the album with 'float' and end with 'submerge' as i felt it needed to be encompassed somehow.. like a rite of passage when listening or something.. i like the idea of creating work that a listener can sit with from start to finish and get drawn into..there have been albums down through the years that left an impact on me for the way they opened and closed succinctly like a good book...like massive attacks 'mezzanine' or my bloody valentines 'loveless' or can's 'cannibalism' or albums by bands like slint and godspeed you black emperor.

I've used banjos,accordions, flutes, guitars, kits, synths... the works... i enjoy having the freedom to not be labelled, track 2 ('Bouazizi') for example is largely composed of banjos and a xylophone.. so whilst its unorthodox for electronic music, i still wanted to experiment with the notion of using unorthodox combinations of sounds and find a way for it to work.. and i felt happy about the results...i do consciously think about what i'm looking to do when starting to record a track... i'll get inspired from some sound i come across and then want to explore it further and see what i can do with it..

all of the work was created between january 2011 and january 2012.. i had difficulty choosing how to put it all together.. i had been building up work and ideas...sound samples and grooves for years and years and i never gave any conscious thought or intention to releasing it... i've just always been creative and worked with sound as hobby.. "







2 - Katie Kim - Cover & Flood     (Flaming June)

An unsettling, fog-like ambience pervades double LP Cover & Flood, lending coherence to its stylistic turns - whether it’s the witching-hour folk of ‘Charlie’ and ‘The Feast’, the disarming balladry of ‘Pause’ and ‘Your Mountains’, or the enticingly short sketches and tape loops that tie the record’s narrative together. While she can be devastating when at her most direct, large stretches of Cover & Flood are absorbingly out-of-focus, painting illusory images; vocals sound eerily dislocated one minute,innocent and almost child-like the next. Shades of Ghost Box-esque experimentalism or Grouper’s hollowed-out beauty are evident, while elsewhere there are gospel flourishes (‘Dimmer’) and brittle, industrial-tinged atmospherics (‘Little Dragon’). Arguably the best moment is ‘Blood Bean’, its hushed vocals and sparse-but-detailed arrangement (distant echoing voices, found sound, gentle harmonies) sounding both soothing and vaguely sinister.

3 - Soil Creep - Small Death (Long Lost)

The latest project from Aidan Wall - who’s previously been behind the below-fi folk of Porn On Vinyl and the manic, harsh chiptune sounds of Hipster Youth - Soil Creep are pretty unique-sounding. With a fuller, beefier sound than either of those two aforementioned acts, for the most part Small Death sounds like a frayed, sparking middle-ground between scruffy lo-fi noise pop, rickety 4/4 rhythms, new wave touches and odd, hollowed-out anti-ballads: all chucked into an echo-chamber blender. The hooks are strong too, whether on the yodelling ‘Whitethorn’ or the breezy ‘(Deaf In Venice’); ‘Where (n) Meets Infinity’, meanwhile, is in a league all of its own, its squalling first act giving way to a trippy, viscous groove via a high-pitched music-box-like motif.

4 - Mumblin' Deaf Ro - Dictionary Crimes   (Popical Island)

Cut-and-paste from the review...

Family is the overriding theme of Dictionary Crimes – both the family you’re born into and the family you create. And as suggested by its artwork, the album doesn’t shy away from dark subject matter such as grief and sickness: ‘Little Mite’ depicts a couple who have suffered a miscarriage, while ‘The Harm’ and ‘The Birdcage’ portray the ravages of terminal illness.

However, while much talk has centred on the undoubtedly heavy lyrical themes, Dictionary Crimes doesn’t feel like a heavy album. There’s a sense of balance brought about by Hession’s depictions of fatherhood and family life (‘Cheer Up Charlie Brown’, ‘Being Bill Cosby’) with its routines, its small victories and its 'bullseye-certain' sense of purpose.

http://iheartau.com/2012/10/mumblin-deaf-ro-dictionary-crimes/

5 - Laura Sheeran - What The World Knows     (Flaming June)

C&P :

“I cried all day and I didn’t even get a kiss” is the arresting opening line on What The World Knows, but the album wastes no time in forcefully grabbing your attention. From the off, the sound palette recalls the ominous, malevolent textures that characterised Lust Of Pig standout ‘A Wake’. The opening title track and ‘Redlight’ are all guttural, juddering electronics and seething melodrama; the sinister feel of the latter further heightened by a dispassionate, robotic-sounding vocal. Which is an interesting inversion: on previous records Sheeran’s vocals have stood out as a turbulent, elemental force, whereas on the early stages of this album the dramatic instrumental backdrop is as much an indicator of inner turmoil - if not more so.

It doesn’t quite retain that sort of intensity throughout though - indeed, this is the musician’s most varied record yet. ‘Forever Love’ is possibly the best thing she’s done: a low, hypnotic drone and a quietly insistent rhythmic heartbeat framing a superbly measured vocal performance. Meanwhile, Sheeran’s impeccable ability to conjure mysterious imagery in your mind’s eye is as evident as ever on tracks like ‘Until Danger’s Gone’ and the ornate, classically-tinged ‘Hurricane’.

6 - Christian Bookshop - Christian Bookshop

Recorded in a pantry in Belmullet, Mayo over a two-week period, Christian Bookshop is the work of Jimmy Monaghan (Music For Dead Birds) and Aisling Walsh, dealing in charmingly bedraggled lo-fi folk. The duo's vocals complement and dovetail with each other nicely, lending tracks like 'Singin' Freebird' and 'Waste My Time (Thinking Of You)' an irreverent energy, one that situates the record far from folk miserabilism or over-earnestness. As do the frequently self-deprecating lyrics ("The world don't need another folk singer now, 
And I am just one more the world can do without, 
But it's all that I can do to keep my mind from turning blue, 
And actually it's all that I can do.") 

'Penitentiary' mines the same vein of spiky Sebadoh-isms that were a characteristic of the last Music For Dead Birds album, while the campfire anthemics of 'Waste My Time (Bluebirds)' stays on just the right side of tweeness. All this isn't to say the record lacks an emotional undertow though: Walsh's vocals are used more sparingly than Monaghan's, but her subtle harmonising is a pivotal feature of the excellent closing brace of tracks - 'Sleeping In Bars' and 'A Million Stars (These Kids)' - both of which add a layer of wistful melancholy to proceedings.

7 - Eomac - Tabula Rasa







8 - Sweeekers - Sweeekers Vol. 1 





9 - Rural Savage - I Fell In The Bog And Saw God  





10 - Lethal Dialect - LD50 Part II    (Working Class)






11 - Simon Bird - Sport   






12 - Sean MacErlaine - Long After The Music Is Gone   (Ergodos)




13 - KaraKara - Bully  






14 - Katie Kim - Vaults Vol.1   




15 - Skelocrats - The Complete Skelocrats   (Popical Island)





16 - Seamus Fogarty - God Damn You Mountain   (Fence Records)





17 - Dancing Suns - Goldmine     (Transplant)






18 - Woven Skull - Moods Of The Hill People   (Fort Evil Fruit)






19 - Bantum - Legion    (Eleven Eleven)






20 - Last Days Of 1984 - Wake Up To The Waves   (Osaka)

best (irish) EPs of 2012

1 - Lakker - Torann   (Blueprint)

2012 was a strong year for duo Ian McDonnell (aka Eomac) and Dara Smith; having released three EPs, contributed a mix to Rob Booth’s Electronic Explorations series and added to their ever-growing list of admirers (‘Spider Silk’ sounding right at home in Blawan’s blistering Boiler Room set). The superb Torann EP shares a few common touches with the latter producer; dealing in twisted, warped techno with deceptive off-kilter rhythms, sinister disembodied vocals and chainsaw-like serrated edges. It’s excellence all the way, but particular standouts are provided by ‘CIAR’’s sonar-ping percussion and vortex-like gravitational pull, or the interplay between the eerily harmonising voices and low-end tones on ‘Static & Amp’.






2 - Lar Kaye - Lar Kaye  

It’s tempting to view Adebisi Shank’s output (particularly the kaleidoscopic patterns of their second album) as sort of a more guitar-oriented parallel to the electronic maximalism of recent years: indeed, it becomes even more tempting when you read through Simon Reynolds’ article and note his mention of the influence of anime and manga on Rustie’s Glass Swords, or if you consider the band as the inverse to “rock music achieved electronically”. The tempos may have been more frenetic and moshpit-friendly, but there was definite common ground in terms of the interest in primary colours, anything-goes genre-blending and “thrilling overkill”.

Lar Kaye’s debut EP sees the Adebisi guitarist blur the lines further with a sound that’s even more electronically-based and encompasses subtle R&B or ‘bass’ music elements as well as those familiar-sounding stuttering gameboy rhythms. There’s a lot going on in each track, but the balance between elements is exquisite. ‘Echo Island’’s vocoder babble, steadily pulsing rhythm and exotic-sounding (marimba?) melodies give way to a rousing chorus-not-chorus; ‘Crash’ alternates between chiptune chatter and an ambient post-rock vibe; ‘Effector’ glides along so irresistibly that its easy to overlook just how much its elements keep shifting and refracting. Then there’s sublime closing track ‘The Love Loop’, which sounds like a blissed-out, heavily narcotised Foals track; a treated guitar line and vocal hook matching each other for melancholy while cut-up harmonies, warm bass and sporadic arpeggios complete the picture.






3 - Ilex - MV101   (Quarter Inch Collective)

After 2011’s exhaustive Old Din compilation came this EP, a welcome development of her richly layered electronic sound. Ilex has the knack of creating tracks that seem familiar and almost vintage-sounding, but nonetheless come across as fresh and adventurous. ‘Bi’ unfurls patiently with sonorous steelpan tones before giving way to ‘Jing’’s hypnotic down-tempo pulse. ‘Li’ goes for a brisker tempo but remains light as a feather, all elegant tendrils and chimes. By contrast, the outstanding ‘Takuo’ is dark and compelling; starting off sparse and ominous and gradually building in intensity before it becomes an unrelenting, churning track that seems to peak any number of times.





4 - No Spill Blood - Street Meat     (Sargent House)

Lar Kaye (Adebisi Shank), Matt Hedigan (Hands Up Who Wants To Die) and Ruadhan O' Meara (Magic Pockets) had been receiving rave notices for their live shows as No Spill Blood for some time before they released their debut EP, and the record - picked up by Sargent House (Fang Island, And So I Watch You From Afar, Boris) lived up to expectations. A fuzzed-out, unrelenting synth-punk wall of sound, Street Meat showcases the trio’s unique alchemy -  nodding to prog, post-hardcore, Goblin soundtracks, krautrock, or The Clash ('Good Company' is 'What's My Name' with space-rock guitars set to stun).

O’ Meara’s analog synths combine with Hedigan’s bass to create a sludgy low-end miasma; the former add compelling dystopian textures, while the latter locks in with Kaye’s drumming to propel these larger-than-life, no-prisoners-taken tracks. On top of that - or rather thrown into the mix - are Hedigan’s distorted vocals relaying an (apparently) apocalyptic narrative based around coal mining.





5 - Defcon - In Binary Shrines    (Reset Industries)

The first release on Belfast’s Reset label (of which he’s a member along with Kab Driver, Brian Greene and Kaidi Tatham), In Binary Shrines is a dazzling mini-album of instrumental beat music along the lines of Teebs, Shigeto or Tokimonsta. The sci-fi influence and cosmic FX that permeate these tracks only strengthens the sense of kinship with Brainfeeder et al; along with the sporadically imposing low-end, it provides a nice counterbalance to the record’s frequently hazy textures and laid-back tempos. As is often the case with music like this, the tracks tend to bleed into each other almost seamlessly (and in the best possible sense), but the title track and ‘FM 2030’ are definite highlights. Highly recommended if you’re into the more beats-oriented sections of Oli’s Bleep x Sonic Router podcasts. For example like.






6 - Yawning Chasm - 3  

A busy year for Yawning Chasm saw them take on a few different forms: the Whispered Sun and Butterfly and Crab EPs saw them recording as a duo, Declan Q Kelly joining Aaron Coyne and helping to put a new spin on his lo-fi folk compositions; they were later joined by Jimmy Monaghan (Music For Dead Birds) on drums for live sets, but their third EP release of 2012 was a more stripped-back affair - just Coyne on his own, accompanied by baritone ukulele and gently melodic keys. The feel and aesthetic of 3 is strongly reminiscent of 2009’s The Shadow Is That Hidden, with the chimingly wistful ‘Little Pier’ coming across like a sequel-of-sorts to ‘Monsters’; ‘When My Mind Sounds, It Is A Screaming Bird’, meanwhile, is mellow but builds to a subtle climax. It’s Coyne at his most serene and laid-back.






7 - Flying Buttresses - Orson Welles EP   (WingNut Records)

Rapper Sebi C and DJ/producer/Community Skratch founder member Deviant had been working together in various incarnations for some time, but this marked their first collection of songs to be released. Sebi’s idiosyncratic stream-of-consciousness - by turns surreal and sardonic, with a knack for arresting turns-of-phrase - is perfectly complemented by Deviant’s mix of experimental hip hop, dusty piano interludes and off-kilter beats. With many of the tracks coming in at one or two minutes long, there’s a real feel of spontaneity and a sense that they’re jamming out ideas as they go along, to impressive effect. Instrumental versions of all the tracks are part of the package, while Mynameisjohn and Sixfoot Apprentice contribute a couple of solid remixes.






8 - Lakker - Deathmask    (Love Love Records)

Lakker’s third EP to be released in 2012 saw them continue in a dark vein. ‘LF9’ and ‘Preset Numb’ are insistent, chilly and dystopian-sounding, both tracks foregrounding high-pitched Morse code bleeps over pulsating-but-disorientated techno. Funnily enough the title track is the odd one out, its airy tones reminiscent of Aphex’ lighter side (eg ‘Fingerbib’), but (digital) closer ‘Default Numb’ takes its ‘Preset’ counterpart to even more shadowy and dread-infused depths.






9 - Mynameisjohn - The Thinker & The Prover / The Focusing Effect

Included two EPs here because (a) they're pretty much neck and neck , and (b) I realised forgot to include the latter when I completed the list blurbs.
The two EPs that Limerick-born producer Mynameisjohn released in 2012 were as unpredictable and all-over-the-map stylistically as his frequent mixes. The Thinker & the Prover ranges from zoned-out hip hop (‘The Cumulative Recorder’) to evocative ivory-tinkling soundtrack vibes (‘Sweaty Dreams of Bate Kush’) to the mournful sounding string-laden beats of ‘She Always Let Me Leave’, but threaded through it all is a sense of fun and irreverence and an ear for spacious, jazzy textures.
Meanwhile The Focusing Effect features this beaut of a track:






10 - The Gloaming - Live In Dublin

With an album due in 2013, this excerpt from a live set - made available for free download - showcases the rich, enthralling, intuitive sound of the five-man ‘supergroup’ of sorts. As Niall Crumlish put it in his State review, The Gloaming are “acting as a Rosetta stone for people...who know little or nothing about Irish traditional music”, re-affirming our island’s rich musical heritage at a time when it seems there’s few other things to be proud of. By turns melancholic and rousing, alternately sparse and busy, Live In Dublin’s exquisite musicianship is inspiring; its pacing masterful.







11 - Monto - Best Boy   (Melted Music)

Before the release of this EP, Monto - aka Ross O’Sullivan - had been releasing a prolific stream of tunes and remixes on his Soundcloud; but whereas a lot of that material was - if technically accomplished -  a little overly-familiar in its use of common bedroom electronica tropes, Best Boy marked a big step forward. Simultaneously sounding hyperactive and laid-back, playful and carefully measured; Best Boy’s blunted, colourful hip-hop-leaning instrumentals absorb elements of jazz, chiptune and electro. ‘Homage’’s hazily insistent groove provides a canvas that Monto flecks with videogame synth snatches, sporadic warm basslines and wind-chime-like effects: the interplay of elements is absorbing and perfectly judged. ‘FTW’, with its intricate, jazzy feel nods to Brainfeeder cosmonaut Thundercat, while the virtuoso ‘Pot Luck’ manages to build some serious momentum despite its typically unpredictable compositional approach: the way the extra percussion comes in at the six-minute mark to subtly push the track over the line - to single one moment out - points to Monto’s burgeoning production skills.





12 - Cubs - Willowfield    (Rusted Rail)

The latest release from outsider-folk collective Cubs starts off with a sample of dialogue from David Lynch’s The Straight Story, which seems somehow apt: Willowfield combines the kind of eerie, surrealistic, witching-hour vibe that Lynch is famed for with the more rustic, wistful and placid atmosphere that characterised that particular film. Core members Aaron Hurley (Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon), James Rider (United Bible Studies) and Keith Wallace (Loner Deluxe) are joined by new contributors Eddie Keenan (Driftwood Manor) and Cecilia Danell - the latter’s beguiling vocal turns on ‘Lowering Of Ropes’ and ‘When Skies Split Open’ provide a nice counterpoint to the discordant textures and unsettling effects that often infuse these psych-folk sketches. The loose harmonising of ‘Hollycroft’ may allude to ‘campside fires’, but its off-kilter, creaking ambience is reminiscent of Ghost Box’s eerie soundscapes as much as parched, dusty Americana.






13 - Woven Skull - Tenunan Tengkorak

This release by the Letrim-based experimental collective features five pieces played on Balinese Gamelan, which only serves to reinforce the ritualistic, mantric feel that imbues much of their music. Slowly unwinding, these tracks revel in the rich sonorities and resonances of the gamelan: where ‘Black Stone’ feels tentative, letting the tones reverberate before rhythms slowly take shape, ‘Village Cremation’’s hypnotic, intricate patterns provide a centrepiece of sorts, while ‘Two Snakes’ has a moonlit, hallucinatory air to it.







14 - Girl Band - France 98    (Any Other City)

While on paper Girl Band seem to all intents and purposes to be a throwback (Bleach-era Nirvana and Jesus Lizard are cited as influences, not that you’d struggle to identify that), the visceral, raw sound that they’ve created on France 98 (and on the ‘In My Head’ single before that) is absorbing enough to stand on its own terms. Shifting between tempos and moods, their mastery of dynamics remains constant. ‘You’re A Dog’ takes a classicist riff and amps the fuzz; bass, percussion and insouciant vocals all bleeding into one mass. The grungy ‘That Snake Conor Cusack’ is more spacious, with Dara Kiely’s vocal drawl gleefully and repeatedly extended to snapping point. On ‘Second One’, sparks and shards of feedback leap up and rain down on a propulsive, motorik-like beat, while ‘Handswaps’ is a sludgy, lumbering Mudhoney-esque number.






15 - Eomac - Eomac EP    (Acroplane )

Deep, disorientating and deceptive sounds from Dublin producer Ian McDonnell (one half of Lakker) . A thumping kick drum interacts with dubbed-out textures and waves of static on ‘Slide FX’, while the similarly low-end heavy ‘Apache’ features warehouse bleeps and a twisted garage flex. On the other hand, ‘Dramutic’ tips its cap to ‘Strange Fruit’-era Zomby with a side-order of weird, disembodied vocal samples.






16 - Deviant - Lookin' Fancy In The Pantry    (Alphabet Set)

Gathers together five Deviant remixes completed over the summer, characterised by the same offbeat approach that’s in evidence on the Flying Buttresses EP. Danny Brown gets the treatment twice, on a slurred, slowed-right-down version of ‘Blunt after Blunt’ and an excellent rework of ‘Die Like a Rockstar’. Elsewhere Deviant takes SertOne’s ‘Breath’ and lends it a frayed, blown-out feel, trading skratch for bleeps, while ‘Get Ta Fuck/Conversation’ kills two birds with one stone (the birds being Jeee4ce and Todd Tuttle) while adding accordion to the mix.






17 - Wife - Stoic     (Left Blank)

With this debut EP on the Throwing Snow-helmed Left Blank label (following in the footsteps of excellent EPs from Bristolians Vessel and El Kid) Altar Of Plagues’ James Kelly pursues a new aesthetic. Stoic is characterised by deep, reverberant textures, a knack for creating quietly ominous atmosphere and creeping tension, as well as a distinctive sensibility that takes in neoclassical and ambient influences. Its submerged melancholy and spatial depth has led to the odd Burial comparison, but the almost occult-like incantations of ‘Trials’ indicates a whole other level of intensity. An album on Tri Angle will follow in 2013.







18 - Niamh De Barra - Below The Sea    (Black Lantern Music)

Another striking release that followed on from 2010’s Cusp EP, Niamh De Barra’s mix of electronic textures, beats, cello and vocal loops is absorbing on tracks like ‘The Man in the Picture’ and ‘Big Day Below The Sea’. Meanwhile, ‘Rugcutter’ re-contextualizes none other than the main vocal hook from Groove Armada’s ‘I See You Baby’; a fever-dream that mixes a sea-shanty/doom-folk vibe with metallic and abrasive electronics and an air of robotic detachment.





19 - Ejeca - Boardwalk Sounds    (Relux Underground)

Garage-loving producer Garry McCartney had a prolific year - with releases on Tusk Wax and Needwant (among others), the excellent ‘You’ collaboration with fellow Belfast duo Bicep and attention from the likes of Jackmaster and Sasha. Boardwalk Sounds was released early in the year and has a deep, rolling house vibe. ‘In Deep With You’’s steady pulse - overlaid with smooth vocal samples - gives way to a vintage, old-school piano-led hook at the halfway-mark; ‘The Way I Feel’ has a more swung feel to it and a catchy vocal sample, while the standout is provided by the melancholic, shimmering ‘Valleys’, with its muffled low-end throb.



20 - Young Wonder - Young Wonder   (Feel Good Lost)

In many ways Cork duo Young Wonder are threading the kind of well-worn path that leads to rapid boredom - atmospheric synths, pitch-shifted and remix-friendly vocals, lashings of delay - but nonetheless they’ve got something that sets them apart, whether it’s their appreciation for dynamics or their way with a hook that lingers instead of evaporating into a digital ether. Nothing here quite matches up to stand-alone wonky-pop earworm ‘Lucky One’, but it’s a solid set that at its best (‘Orange’) calls to mind Purity Ring’s kaleidoscopic genre-stew.