As the Dublin Bus strike rolls on, we put Beggars to use on his extended walk (the poor divil…) home from UCD where he dropped by the picket lines at Donnybrook bus depot. He had a chat with Brendan Farrelly of the NBRU. Between all the beeping horns this is what he had to say. The NBRU is back once again with strike action, what’s going on? An element … Read More
Are You Afraid Of The Darko?
Ireland’s longest running techno night, Bastardo Electrico, is turning 14 this Saturday. To celebrate they’ve booked Wolfskuil bossman Tripeo/Darko Esser for Saturday the 24th in Cyprus Avenue. In anticipation of the event Jasper Mathews caught up with Tripeo for a bit of a chinwag.
Guerilla Gays In Ireland.
Oisin McKenna takes a look at queer activism today and republican activism in the past in his new show Gays Against the Free State. Beggars sat down with him to find out what’s what. Okay so, you’ve done a show at Fringe before – GRINDR – a love story, and you’ve done Write/Performer/Salesman, both back in 2013. Is this your first show since then? Yeah this is my first show … Read More
Vacuuming in an Uncanny Vacuum
I think my work is politically charged at times. I am quite ambivalent to the conventional roles ascribed by society to gender. In particular, in our own constitution, the language that enshrines women for example to situations of compromise, for example article 41.2 which prioritises a woman’s domestic role over her career and 40.3.3 which ensures women are not given full their reproductive choices.
Feeling A Bit Shook.
Following the release of their new album Drinking About You, Bit Thorn caught up with Everything Shook to find out where they’re heading and what makes them tick. Plenty of talk of synths, recording in gaffs and the whatchamacallit genre game.
Hi, Everything Shook… For the uninitiated can you tell us a bit about your sound?
Jessica: We’ve been called ‘experimental electro’, ‘dance-punk,’ and the Irish Times recently called us ‘wonkypop’, which is a new one. Our sound is mainly various synths and keyboards, electronic drums and bass guitar, (and some other smaller instruments). The vocals are layered with all of our voices, (harmonies, growls, oohs and shouts). Someone recently said to me at a gig that we should be playing in New York to people on coke. I don’t think you need to be on coke though, maybe just beer
Robyn: I always call it Electronic Goth Pop, but there’s Punk and Folk elements to it too. I think we get our sound by not having one, if that makes sense. We never set out to sound like anything or anyone in particular, instead we each kind of throw our individual influences and interests into this big pot and mix it up.
A Tale Of Bloody-Minded Tenacity.
When was Pallas formed?
Pallas was formed in 1996 when myself and Brian Duggan located a building on Foley Street. It was an old knitwear factory called Pallas Knitwear so after a bit of pre-ambling about a few different names we decided on Pallas because Pallas was the goddess of the muses, the goddess of intellect and the goddess of war. We knew we were going to be in for a rough ride so we wanted her on our side.
Monkey Magic.
Guerilla Studios stakes a claim to be the studio for underground bands in Dublin. Bit Thompson caught up with John ‘Spud’ Murphy and asked why they set up a recording studio when the arse has fallen out of the industry. Well, how’s it going? So tell me how youse got started in the recording business? Well it started when I was in a band called Ilya K and we’d … Read More
That’s All Folks
Roy Scranton reckons that carbon-based-capitalism has led us down the path of no return. Jamie Goldrick caught up with him and had a not-so-positive chat about his book, Learning to Die in the Anthropocene. You open your book with scenes from Baghdad after the American invasion, and describe how the ‘grim future’ that you saw in Iraq was now coming home in the form of climate change. You mention that … Read More
Imagine a Digital Media Safe Haven.
In 2009, WikiLeaks released a confidential document listing Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank’s exposure to mega loans. The bank had loaned billions to a golden circle of major shareholders and attempted to manipulate its share price. The state broadcaster, RUV, was gagged from reporting the WikiLeaks exposé. As a result a radical initiative called the International Modern Media Institute received unanimous support in parliament. Sean Finnan spoke to Smári McCarthy, one of … Read More
Talking To G.O.D.
Investigative journalist Gemma O’Doherty has garnered a reputation as a tenacious old-school reporter. She’s currently championing the case of Mary Boyle, a six-year-old Donegal girl missing since 1977. Rashers Tierney caught up with O’Doherty after her appearance at the Journalism In Crisis conference in the University Of Limerick back in April.