The Real Underground Scene
Q: What is the real underground scene in Ireland right now?
A: There isn’t one.
No real scene, that is, no one, genre-bound seam of gold snaking through the country, uniting long-lost solidarities and laying previous crimes in music to rest. Where there was once a North against South, rock vs rave demand to choose your field and stick to it, Ireland has cast aside another weight of expectation. We’re disparate now, eclectic and exhilarated with it, flooded with choice and preferences.
An Egyptian magazine approached me for a piece defining the country’s underground music climate. How do you explain the buzz preceding a much-anticipated album or great gigs to people who’ve never been at Radiator and have no basis for judgement? What defines ‘underground’? Is it a lifestyle, a fashion, regime, attitude? Is it post-rock, punk or psychedelica? A promise on a flyer? Does underground extend above and beyond pogoing bruisers, stage-diving, moshing? Is it the frisson that comes with breathing the same air as three hundred other frenzied be-boppers at the Saturday night hop?
I think it’s the creeping sensation of secretive smugness when a band command every fibre of my being via soundwaves and I screw up eyes, wishing they never make it big, stay wonderful, obscure and untainted forever. But that’s no defining angle to write from: that’s just me.
Instead I decided to take a unromanticised stance on ‘underground’: the antithesis of corporate Irish music industry, these are The Domestics, Mildreds of Irish music who come out at night when the reps and execs have left, tidy desks and empty wastepaper baskets. They do the hard work. They are unsung, name-known by few and it is they who power rumbling machines in underground chambers.
Club nights are the street-level entrance to the underground. They open their doors and your ears to the real sounds. These are my selection of the best independent clubs around right now:
- Electric Underground made a whopper of a debut in 2007, bringing at least three doses of vibrance to the Liquid Lounge in Cork each week. Scrolling through the glitterati namecheck on MySpace reveals electronica royalty, a staggering feat considering the night’s short tenure. Operating on a purely independent basis, Electric Underground provides a stellar venue for emerging Irish electronic acts to showcase their talents and featured SuperExtraBonusParty and Herv before their more-mainstream success. EU’s home-grown residents Warren Knowles and Kevin Blake demolish and develop citysoundscapes before the sun comes up. International acts Neil Landstrumm and Kenny Larkin came to the People’s Republic on the behest of Electric Underground…the People are grateful.
Electric Underground – Liquid Lounge, Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork – Fridays, 10pm. - Belfast’s Skibunny aka Mark and Tanya, came together as a DJ duo almost a decade ago and went from strength to strength building Belfast’s most reputable weekly Saturday night alternative club. Drawing large crowds, the policy is strict: if it’s good, play it. Such a pragmatic approach applied to their recorded endeavours led to a die-for international career ; they’ve spanned the globe from Japan and Russia to the US and spun the decks DJing and performing with big-hitting names like Erol Alkan, The Rapture and CSS while closer to home have produced stonker remixes for !Forward Russia! and local lads LeFaro and Oppenheimer.
Skibunny Club – Auntie Annie’s, Dublin Road, Belfast – Saturdays, 10pm - SiSi are Cyril Briscoe and Cian Ó Cíobháinat who established a reputation for seminal club nights in Galway, beginning with 110th Street in 1998 and now residing in the Cellar Underground. Varied, eclectic performances cemented their reputation as high-end live DJs while on the production front they reworked Doves and Mylo and brought 2ManyDJs and Justice Irish club debuts. The resounding succes of SiSi led to An Taobh Tuathail, a radio spotfor Cian on RnaG broadcasting Monday to Friday at 11-1am. Check out their MySpace for copious podcast linkage.
SiSi – Cellar Underground, Eglinton Street Galway – Every third Saturday, 10pm
- Run by local band The Holy Ghost Fathers, Ballroom of Romance would be considered one of Dublin’s most popular club nights with regular stints at Portobello’s Lower Deck…possibly the nicest underground venue of them all. While B.o.R do bring international acts to the Lower Deck, last month’s example being the rather fabulous Papier Tigre, they focus closely on trends in music here at home, associating with hosting some truly electric gigs headlined by local bands such underground faves Large Mound and above-pictured Party Weirdo (clicky for piccies from the LM/Estel B.o.R fundraiser for Seomra Spraoi).
Ballroom of Romance – Lower Deck, Portobello, Dublin – monthly Fridays - Masterminded by Mici Durnin and Darren McCreesh, Dublin’s Maximum Joy do exactly what it says on the tin, bringing grimy good times to Kennedys’ of Westland Row. Formed from a desire to better the clubbing experience of the post-gig crowd, in two years MXJY have carved a solid niche as the capital’s premier underground club night. Massive past guests include Gruff Rhys, Fujiya and Miyagi and Gay Against You, while equal stage-space is given to quality Irish bands like Crayonsmith and Cane 141.
Maximum Joy – Kennedy’s, Westmoreland Row, Dublin – monthly Fridays, 10pm.
Without the mention of promoters, this piece would be a fruitless endeavour: some of the murkiest work is done by promo-peeps who juggle bookers, venues and bands. These are the brainstormers who organise shows and flyers, arrange line-ups and sacrifice the very air they breathe just to make their punters happy:
- Forever Presents is right: gigs brought together by this group remain eternal mnemonic gifts for those who enjoy the distinct tastes of FP. Created in 2007 after extensive employment experience in promotions, an exciting and hugely promising talent brought THE hottest gigs to town with Explosions in the Sky, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Islands and Uh Huh Her just a few names to tread Irish boards courtesy of the Forever Team, who use these opportunities to give local bands a chance to support big acts, like New Amusement upstairs at Whelans with Nelson last week…
- If one name jumps to mind when thinking of the epitome of Irish musical independence, it’s Skinny Wolves. Entire armies of impressionable young people dream of attaining the level of cool that goes hand-in-hand with the Wolves’ impeccable flair for finding the freshest bands and DJs. Practically every band mentioned in this article have worked with Skinny Wolves, their record label boasting the impressive talents of Cap Pas Cap, Indian Jewelry (US) and Luftkluster (Sweden).
- U:Mack : Liars. Caribou. Battles. “Handing out flyers in the rain” since 1994. Need I say more?
Record labels do their bit in mining nuggets from a saturated rockface and many small labels pack a creative wallop in the publishing field, clawing their way to the top of their game by sheer determination and belief in their artists. Unless you’re a Rolling Stones correspondent of thirty years who was in a similarly-titled band for a brief spell before that, starting up a record label is one of the riskiest business moves in the music industry. Yet the continuing high standard of releases from independent labels are going from better, to best, to better….
- AlphabetSet is a strange one. They give you music gratis, free digital downloads of artists’ older releases. Widely regarded as a premier indie label for groundbreaking electronic music, the ABC set comprises capital of the likes of t-woc, Thalamus, Sarsparilla, Solen and Choice-winners SuperExtraBonusParty. Check out the website for as-mentioned freebies and all the latest news.
- Armed Ambitions/Organised Ideas – A double project of promotions and record label, AA/OI is home to some of Ireland’s most promising new acts. In just five months Barry Lennon’s new company released five high-end EPs, three of which made it into Nialler9‘s top Irish EPs of 2007. Ponies in the stable include Adebisi Shank, Bats, Herv, Terrordactyl and Viminas. All of these bands are faring well in the current climate, with Bats’ recent EP Cruel Sea Scientist released in December ’07 to widespread critical acclaim.
- Agitated Radio Pilot, Directorsound, Mirakil Whip, So Cow and United Bible Studies all signed to one of Ireland’s most diverse small labels, Rusted Rail. Now two years old and not as commercially popular as TMIAT or Lazybird, Rusted Rail was a dream made reality by Galwegian Keith Wallace, a familiar face on the city’s FlirtFM radio since the 1990s. His ideal was to bring more-talented, less-predictable sounds to the rockface by creating intimate bonds with his musicians in order to realise their full potential.
Along with These Truly Are The End Times album on his own Covert Bear label, South Korea-based SoCow released his Best Vacation Ever through Rusted Rail.
- Don’t mind the misleading handle of Lazybird Records: undoubtably one of our hardest-grafting units around, tis they we have to thank for a fabulous cross-section of releases which have dominated Ireland’s playlists. With Choice-nominated Dry County, Chequerboard and Lakker, a weekly webcast on www.powerfm.org and a blog, it’s clear the Lazybird catches the worm…
- As mentioned, setting up a record label is a tense affair, which may account for the moniker of another independent label, one that thankfully hasn’t proved a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yeppers, I mean Limerick’s Out On A Limb Records, home to Crayonsmith, GiveAManAKick, Hooray For Humans TenPastSeven and Rest.
- Looking at the array of artists on Trust Me, I’m A Thief‘s books, you’d be convinced of insider knowledge…or really good taste. Impressive names signed to this label include Si Schroeder, Somadrone, Redneck Manifesto and Warlords of Pez, a who’s who of quality Irish alternative. In keeping with the standard of artists, the TMIAT website contains an array of interesting content for browsers, including digital media packs of info, mp3s, videos and artwork for each of their artists and also its own radio widget to listen to the songs on offer. Notable releases through Trust Me I’m A Thief include Choice ’06-nominated Coping Mechanisms by Si Schroeder and Redneck Manifesto’s I Am Brazil.
So… *drum roll* Based on their music and attitude to the life that goes with it, I’d like to venture my top Irish underground bands/musicians: - 10: T-Woc
- 9 : Party Weirdo/Bats
- 8 : Noise Control/Team Fresh
- 7 : And So I Watch You From Afar
- 6 : Large Mound
- 5 : Betamax Format
- 4 : Terrordactyl
- 3 : Adebisi Shank
- 2 : Dry County
- 1 : SuperExtraBonusParty – These truly are the end times of underground for SEBP. Go, you are men now!
One thing apparent in compiling this feature was the healthy state of Ireland’s musical appetite. Despite our heavily-foreign imports for radio and television, the seeming dislocation of mainstream society from the nation’s creative pool and the little coverage afforded by major media, our music is thriving. Industry wheels are turning, as are vinyl on decks and scrollpads on iPods: demand and consumption is high and we should be proud of those who’ve made it their vocation to save some souls via sounds. Ireland’s underground scene may be dead to stripes and safety-pins…and alive instead, ripping the knees from the jeans of faker scenes. Ireland’s underground scene is real. Dead real..
Great article Naomi. You have basically proven that we need big media to do their bit. The talent is clearly there.
And yay to ForeverPresents…. The 3 big promoters bring my favourite bands to me regularly, but with FP I get the strange feeling that they are doing it because they love the music as I do, not because they know I will pay €36 to see Hot Chip.
Great read……
very nice article, very in-depth too
good stuff
Cheers guys, glad you enjoyed the read!
Got friends coming for dinner so I better get cooking…will respond in-depth later
Informative stuff, what a wealth of knowledge laid out and organised into scene sub-headings and all! There really is so much going on right under our noses, and all the hard work too!!
Funny to see it in writing exemplified, but…Out On a Limb…taking care of the entire Cork scene!
So well laid out and planned. Very interesting read. Really does open your eyes to whats going on around you.
Sometimes its easy to think that things are stagnent because the big players keep the same 3 CDs turning all day every day.
This article would make everyone involved in the “scene” proud.
nice one nay, keep it up
Dave: the talent really is there, in the bands and the people who write about them. I see passion in venues at night and hear drivel on radio every day; considering its importance in bringing music to the population, there are some soulless station managers controlling the airwaves. I’d say I don’t know how they sleep at night but it’s evident they don’t: instead they hang around the hypothetical streets-corners of Irish music, sneering at anyone who dares to look them in the eye. It should not be a battle for a band to receive airplay when they’ve proved their worth. Journalists do what they can but a lot of the time preach to the converted; people who read blogs/buy music mags or papers usually know their stuff already. We can flood the market with print reccomendations but without support from radio, it’s pointless.
Would anyone happen to have some stats of SEBP’s radio play this week?
Cauls…glad you liked the feature, wish it was a wealth of knowledge but really is more research! These are all names that I come across repeatedly when looking for info on bands and it got me thinking how there’s so much more to music than the musicians themselves. An awful lot of grafting and yet at gigs we tend to congratulate the bands without even considering the promoters or organisers who put the show together.
Out On A Limb is a Limerick-based label though…I’ll try to update with some more regional labels…
Shane, cheers! I dunno if anyone’s noticed but I deliberately avoid using ‘scene’ on OHR in general…there never seemed a solid state to define as a scene because trends and patterns shift so subtly all the time…so our scene is no scene, typical, a total bleeding paradox!
Thanks for reading
It looks like you had a lot of personal research into each and every venue/group/promoter…you lucky so and so- I am jealous! Great that it is so in depth- shows how much I have been missing! Thanks for linking everything in as well- will take a few nights to get through it all:-)
great post dude.
Tim…I’ve a better idea: don’t just read it.. DO it!! Better still, book a weekend away to Cork or Galway and do it
Cheers Una!
what about Acii Disco, which was on in the hub and now in traffic, and what about the weekly madness that does be in mcgruders thomas street…
[...] Read it: The Real Underground Scene by Naomi McArdle. [...]
What about non-rock nights? There are far more than just Sisi, which has a rock element to it anyway. Shock, Electric City, Pogo, Ascii Disco, Mr Jones, the Waterford crew etc etc etc…
Also what about the countless Irish producers who are “underground” and making house and techno, and actually signed to prominent European labels?
For better or worse, that’s the real definition of underground. Someone like Donnacha Costello is massively successful in the field he works in but still ignored by articles like this.
Why? Because what he does can’t be sold in the usual “hard working unsigned” rhetoric, because he’s MUSICALLY underground.
At the end of the day, that’s the only important “underground” that there is. If I start a band and nobody signs us, does that then make us “underground”? Hardly…
If she had spoke of every club night and every artist out there at the minute she wouldve made a very very boring drawn out article. I think the variety of examples used was very good as is.
but your point is still valid.
well.. except for the last part. which is really just opinionated nonsense.
Yo Ronan, there was no way I could cover everything. I had to try and condense the feature into an overview, not a comprehensive run-down of every movement. How can forsake Sisi’s established nights in favour of something like Mr Jones or Pogo, good-enough but relatively young club nights? I chose SiSi because it’s famous all over Ireland despite having its base in Galway. Same with Electric Underground in Cork. There’s loads going on outside Dublin…LOADS going on *in* Dublin, and so I had to sacrifice a lot of decent efforts just to give a shout out beyond the Pale.
I don’t want to offend any of the hardworking souls who give their all to their cause…I debated an ‘honourable mention’ section but that would have been unfair.
What’s great about these kind of features is that it leaves me wanting to write even more about the others I missed out on. I’m already drafting ideas for a contenders-to-title piece of newer potential (including Mr Jones)
Jason: McGrudders’ is a brilliant Dub venue with a brilliant vibe but places outside Dublin deserved a look-in too. Ascii Disco always gave me a headache, though…
Shane: Good to see you at your usual ascerbic best…
Super. I’ve been banging on about this stuff for a while now but it’s great to see it all collated so comprehensively.
Kudos, I now anoint you the status of ledgebag.
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Hi, very informative post and thought provoking comments. Good work! It’s great to see all that information provided together, especially the stuff outside Dublin. I think the second part of Ronan’s comment is a very interesting point and it provoked me to write a bit aswell over at moderncadence.com
Fantastic piece of writing and research Naomi
Like I said earlier in the week, YOU should be editing Hot Press
Brillitant, brilliant feature, I really enojyed it
“How can forsake Sisi’s established nights in favour of something like Mr Jones or Pogo, good-enough but relatively young club nights?”
Pogo is going for a few years, 2 or 3 at least, maybe 4!
BTW it’s nothing personal and I don’t like being person who points out dance music has been omitted, but sometimes it is necessary!
Heh, nice one Niall, I’ve never been slanged while the term of endearment is still fashionable!
Cahony: Glad you enjoyed reading. I’ve just been at your site and I’m glad you understand that there was only so much that could go into one piece.
Cian Ó Cíobháinat is a name I’ve encountered way more often and I admire the breakthrough he made in bringing diversity to RnaG, using his talents to further the advance of Irish music evolution. Any endeavour in Irish in this climate is a fucking brave effort.
You make the interesting point of asking whether the Irish underground scene is too Irish, focusing on music which is making deep ripples here at home and not beyond the pond.
That was my point exactly. I wrote about the excitement and buzz on the streets here, the flyers you see stapled to walls in record stores and bulletin boards. It’s not about which artists are making waves in Germany or Columbia, it’s Galway and Cork.
I’m not suggesting that Donncha’s success abroad negates him from an underground scene but rather there are people who work just as hard for less reward than the man himself.
Jim : behave
If I were Ed, HP would become a Franzine…
Nathalie, I’m glad you enjoyed reading, I had so much fun writing it. There’s a magical buzz in awareness of the richness of our own produce. It makes me feel alive, like each of us who watch bands and DJs are involved in a movement that’s more than soggy tents at Oxegen or cowboy hats outside the RDS
Ronan: by all means point it out. You’re dead right, I didn’t include dance music, or hip-hop. My reasons for that were that I don’t know enough about what’s going on there and I figured it’d be better to write what I know and go research what I don’t. That way I don’t rush out and grab the first four techno/rap suggestions google throws up.
Pogo: my mistake!
I don’t see anyone arguing the omission of folk or jazz. Anyone care to step up?
None of what you listed is underground.
I have a Latvian trapped in my basement and I make him compose original music using gardening tools for me and nobody else. That’s as underground as it gets!
I’m intrigued, Asparagus…what kind of songs are you talking about?
‘The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow’…’Dark Side Of The Room’…that old Chumbawamba numba ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ — “We’ll dig up your cellar and try you for murder”….?
what’s a ledgebag? me and me mates want one.. are they expensive to keep? what do you feed them?
Jim : behave If I were Ed, HP would become a Franzine…
and that’s a problem, how……?
Jim : Exactly! Alas, not everyone bought the tour DVD…
Slaine : HP Sauce
Super stuff, well done.
Great to see SiSi mentioned there. Anyone who went to 110th St can testify that there’s something seriously special about that scene – not least last spring/summer when they had a Glimmers/Alkan/Last Night Ever Threesie, since which I’m yet to experience a night so eclectic, so unifying and so much fucking fun. As a resident of both towns, I can’t say that Dublin has come up with anything as energising or unpretentious. On a related note (any excuse), Erol Alkan nearly dragged me over the turntables at fabric (the London one) when I told him I was at his legendary 110th St gig last year.
This is gold Naomi. chat soon.
That’s what we want…unique clubs putting on phenonemal shows so that even the busiest and most succesful artist gets excited when they’re mentioned. Proves you don’t need to live in a meatpacking-plant in New York to see good DJs! Cheers
Thanks for reading Johnny
[...] Una, I was directed to this by [...]
Please don’t forget Stress!! when thinking about places to hear new music folks
58 shows last calendar year, I think more than any independent night in the country, over 80 original acts of various musical persuasion from electronic/acoustic/experimental/rock/hiphop/improvised incl many, many of the folks on the lists above…
http://www.myspace.com/stressahah
come along and check it out!
Hey Tony, cheers for reading…
This isn’t a be-all/end-all of Irish music and club nights, just an overview of some of the names that leave a rumbling impression.
I’ve never been to Stress!! but heard great things…didn’t you have And So I Watch You From Afar last night?
Cheers for reading anyway
Yup
They blew the roof off the place!
Gwaaaan!! Well done you, haunting good choice putting them on!
stress is a fucking great night, best in galway for me anyway
If you’d ever like to suggest folks to us please be our guest… I’ll be checking out any folks above that we haven’t yet had..
ASIWYFA…. bloody hell. They’re eager for more gigs in the south, for anyone who’s interested…
Indeed they are, it’s been a dizzy few months in their camp. They’d top May off nicely!
Any views on the other nights mentioned?
intersting…..ill see what my wallet says
oh and i sent you a myspace message there the other week tony, dont go ignoring me!
Who did you send it as? Three of us operate that monster so if someone got there before me I may not have seen it…
Nay, other views… we’re still quite new to this game and the name of the night, though not chosen for such purposes, became quite apt in highlighting the chief emotional state generated by organising such events, the other being deep satisfaction and pleasure when finally hearing the last set of the night kick off. “No real scene” is something that’s a key factor for me right since the beginning and it’s interesting for you to note it. There is no scene here. Scenes, to me, put in mind something that intimidates and excludes, something which funnels and filters, and I much prefer not to be part of one. The thing, I hope, which people find when they come to Stress!! is that it’s nice environment to walk into first and foremost where anyone is welcome and, while you’re never quite sure what you’re going to hear, you’ll hopefully find some quality in it.
We also do put on folk and jazz
I think my personal favorite gigs that we’ve had on in the last year were… Steven Stapleton (Nurse with Wound), Vince Mack Mahon (Four synchronous turntablist madness), Larkin Grimm, Thingumajigsaw, Peter Delaney (ooh three folkies in a row!), Nouveau Noise, So Cow, Dead Plants, Glissen, Story of Hair, Somadrone, Adebisi Shank, House of Cosy Cushions, Marvins Revolt, Cian Nugent, Ewa Gigon, Jessie Evans. ASIWYFA would definitely now join that list for the quality of the sound that they make… these folks were the nights for me that sounded like something really special, which equally could just have been nights where I was less stressed out than other nights!
here tony,
i was meaning to contact you as well – been quite forgetful lately,
haven’t been across your way in ages
“There is no scene here. Scenes, to me, put in mind something that intimidates and excludes, something which funnels and filters, and I much prefer not to be part of one.”
Bravo
and i contacted you under “The Eclectic”. dont worry, i was only joking, theres no rush
Hi Naomi,
Thanks for the coverage of Rusted Rail.
Just a few clarifications tho -
The label is two years old this month not six!
And as for “SoCow was the label’s success story of 2007, with his album These Truly Are The End Times scooping a raves for its nerd-rock, imperfect appeal” –
Its did scoop great reviews but it wasn’t released on Rusted Rail!!
It came out on Covert Bear records – see http://www.iamsocow.com for details
So Cow’s EP “Best Vacation Ever” was released by Rusted Rail.
glad to see the underground so healthy at the moment and your coverage of it:)
*Scarlet*
In fairness, this is one of the links I used in my gathering…it’s dated 2002!
But defo my bad on SoCow’s album. I knew things were going too good to be true :p
I’m still laughing at that The Eclectic comment! Classic….
What does that link comment up above mean? New to this scene and it just redirects me to an empty page…
oooh that’s for next week’s thing :p
ha ha ha
good or bad thing I asked that question!?
Ah it’s no biggie, just me trying to get stuff outta the way before the franticlastminutesStress!!
[...] Thanks to everyone who read the original [...]
Great post, well done!
Great, thouroughly enjoyed.
(though being an ardent fan of Agitated Radio Pilot and working with dave, its Deadslackstring records he is signed to, though i think its a few…great great music, check out Robert Sarazin Blake too, he be cool also….thanks enjoyed the read.
Hi Linda, thanks for reading. ARP has released with Rusted Rail. I’m from the pop-baby era of new bands being snapped up by Sony in five-album deals but it seems it’s not uncommon for musicians to sign to a label for one or two releases and move on. That’s obviously what’s happened here…
[...] feature: The Real Underground Scene [...]
[...] there’s no underground scene in Ireland (I suggested nothing belongs and there’s no unified movement of music in the country right now), that leaves un-scenesters the culprits to blame for what we do have, a culture of lone elements [...]
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