Blog: nialler9

Trinity Arts Festival asked some DJs & musicians to make some exclusive mixes for the festival. The TAF Tunes series so far features Frankie Grimes, Lan Orquesta and Madhouse DJs but I haven't been able to get past Lemonada's incredibly good mix. It features an artfully put together mix featuring Lunice, Madlib, Machinedrum, Shlohmo, Danny Brown, Dilla and The Delfonics. When Kuhn's 'Slime Beach' hits, that's a moment. I caught Lemonada playing live last week at Electric Lounge alongside Monto and Tenaka, he's got serious DJing chops and this is serious weekend listening. [...]

In which I invent a new word, Aoife and I talk about Azealia Banks (that's her above drawn by 400 Facts ), why Grimes reminds me of Opus III, why Chairlift are great, Twitter fights with Zomby, Icelandic intentions and pronunciations, a load of brilliant Irish electronica and some Shangaan electro. Azealia Banks Artwork by 400 Facts - Wallpaper . Presenter: Aoife Mc of Right Click Radio 2XM and food blogger as I Can Has Cook? . MP3: Nialler9 Podcast #39 [...]

• Nialler9 Podcast #39 » Nialler9_podcast39.mp3

Annie Clark is pretty statuesque in real life so pitching her as an porcelain-skinned statue in her video for 'Cheerleader' isn't too much of a stretch...until she starts to crack like a vase. Directed by Hiro Murai .

I introduced Cork dub dance pop duo Young Wonder last week who will release their debut EP on Feel Good Lost Records in April. Galway's Daithí has turned in a smashing remix of 'Tumbling Backwards' which is available for download: The original:

Awesome band , awesome song. Computer animated video by Wintr .

Music From Ireland have announced the lineup of Irish bands who will be travelling to SXSW in Austin and Toronto for Canadian Music Week this March. Full times and lineups are on the MFI site. Acts are chosen by each festival not Music From Ireland or First Music Contact . They are: SXSW And So I Watch You From Afar Patrick Kelleher + His Cold Dead Hands The Minutes Cashier No 9 [...]

Highlights : Tune-Yards, BLONDES, Balam Acab, Musicmaker Social, Michael Kiwanuka, !Kaboogie Sixth Birthday with Miss Dynamite. This is the weekly list of recommended gigs taking place over the next seven days in Dublin published every Tuesday. All times are 7.30/8pm unless stated. Feel free to recommend events not present in the comments below. Ticket giveaways: Friday February 10th: !Kaboogie Sixth Birthday: Miss Dynamite, Champion, Lakker, Replete @ Twisted Pepper How to enter - Email freebies@nialler9.com along with your full name, and [...]

All photos by Michael Rickard ( Twitter ). There's no formula for hype but if you wanted a modern example of how to bottle it, Azealia Banks is it. In 2010, she was knocking out club rap tunes like 'L8R' . Like Rye Rye and Yo Majesty! before her, it was fun but lacked a punch to take it to the next level. Well that level hit 18 months on, when Banks debuted '2122 with the backing of a slew of producers like [...]

"Whatever you do don't funk with my groove..." 'QueenS' is psychedelic swagged out funk soul song from Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White more commonly known as THEESatisfaction. Recommended if you like the kind of futuristic soul that Erykah Badu has been bringing of late. These ladies are hitting Twisted Pepper on May 18th on the same night as close friends Shabazz Palaces (they feature on their album Black Up ) so there may be a chance of a Cork date too. They also hit mainland Europe in [...]

Dublin-based band Funeral Suits kicked off their year of activity at Eurosonic and here we get a taste of what's ahead with a stream of their new single 'All Those Friendly People', an anthemic sounding song produced by Stephen Street which gets a release on April 19th through Tri-tone/PIAS. It's the most direct the band have sounded so far. They are on a UK tour from later this month. 2012 could be a big year for Brian James, Mik McKeogh, Greg McCarthy and Dar Grant.

Coming across like a Beach House tune conceived in the Antipodes with the gender roles reversed, 'Rhodesia' is a beautiful lilting song from Adelaide duo Manors , Nathaniel Morse and Caitlin Duff. It's their first single and an album is out this year. I wrote this post last night and since then another song 'Elysian Fields' has been revealed which is a bit more of a twinkling relaxed number. One to watch? Elysian Fields by wearemanor

Chairlift's 2008 debut album Does You Inspire You? was an impressive if somewhat muddled first release. Swaying from from bubblegum electro-pop to moodier synth cuts, the overall impression of the Brooklyn band's debut was "interesting" and perhaps most notable for 'Bruises' , a cute song that featured in an iPod commercial that year. Chairlift founding member Aaron Pfenning left in 2010 to pursue his solo project Rewards . Meanwhile vocalist Caroline Polachek strengthened her vocal chops in appearances with Girl Crisis , Guards, Holy Ghost! and Washed Out while [...]

The annual Red Bull Music Academy has become one of the best signifiers of new electronic talent in the last five years. While this year's Academy is taking place in New York in October and November and applications are being taken from this week , big time rap producer Just Blaze and house producer Kerri Chandler will be in Dublin and Belfast in early March to tell you why you should be there (if you're a hot young producer). Closer to home [...]

Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen has a solo EP coming out on Warp in March called Silent Hour/Golden Mile. 'Silent Single' is the first single from the EP, a gently rolling arrangement set to Rossen's distinctive vocal and harmonies. Last week, the more atmospheric piano number 'Saint Nothing' was revealed from the release. Tracklisting 1. Up On High 2. Silent Song 3. Return To Form 4. Saint Nothing 5. Golden Mile

Promising producer Evian Christ has signed to Tri Angle Records and they've put out a mixtape of his featuring eight tracks so far entitled Kings & Them . Pretty excited about more music from this project.

'Destiny' is the second track off the excellent new John Talabot album ƒin to feature Pional . ƒin is defined by expansive intoxicated Mediterranean sun-kissed house and electronic productions. You'll be hearing a lot more from Barcelona man Talabot this year. Delorean's Ekhi features on 'Journeys' . Here's the closing track featuring Pional too. Buy the album on eMusic or via label Permanent Vacation .

Since I first met up with Shangaan Electro producer Nozinja in Johannesburg in 2010 , the ultra fast-paced marimba electro music was an unknown phenomenon. Since then, thanks to an Honest Jon's compilation and lots of media coverage, Nozinja and his team of dancers and singers have toured Europe, Australia and made appearances at Damon Albarn's Another Honest Jon's Chopup gigs in October last year alongside Fatoumata Diawara, Flea, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Tony Allen and Theo Parrish. Last month, two new compilations appeared on digital download sites. The clown-faced boiler suited Tshestsha Boys' [...]

Benny Smiles has given me one of my favourite tracks of the last month already with 'Sunday Morning' (below) but here in a turn into Rubberbandits territory, the Loud Mouth Collective producer goes for the art heads with his R&B jam about an NCAD Girl , that's guaranteed to have Thomas Street buzzing. "The afterparty is in Andrew's Lane... Oh my god, the music is so amazing. There'll be jizz and crunkstep, UK garage toolbox, grime, retro future cyberwave and a new minimalist techno from Berlin. It's so minimal it's actually silent... [...]

Music aside for a second, Stephen Colbert is a bit of a hero, the kind of person you want attending that fantasy dinner party filled with all the people you admire. That he has been using his show, The Colbert Report , to hilariously highlight the stupidity of Super PACs (a puppet group that run ads on behalf of a Presidential candidate often run by his closest allies) in the States by starting one himself and raising $1 million dollars from the people who watch his show. It's political satire at its [...]

Authors of one of the most interesting leftfield rap records of 2011 in Black Up , Shabazz Palaces are coming to Cork for a show at The Pavilion on May 19th. More info as it happens. I suspect a Dublin date is also imminent. A new video is above while live footage and a album short film are below to give you an idea of what to expect.