District Guide to Dublin: August 2018 by District Magazine

August 2018

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Ariel Pink

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Artists - Dagogo Hart + Felispeaks Photography - Myles Shelly

8 23 SEPTEMBER 2018

DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL

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8 23 SEPTEMBER 2018

DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL

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14 September, Doors 22:00, €15

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ELUSION: ESCAPISM THROUGH A/V international house and disco luminaries

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15 September, Doors 22:00, €15

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August 2018 Our editor Eric Davidson was among the thousands of Irish people who took an ill-timed holiday this July as the mythical Irish summer made a rare appearance. His temporary absence meant we needed temporary leadership, so I stood in. In this month’s edition we make the most of the good weather with a feature on the city’s obsession with gelato. Read interviews with artists on their way to play here: Ariel Pink, Hak Baker, Art School Girlfriend and Soccer Mommy. Catch up with some of the country’s best offerings: James Kavanagh talks food and sex, FYNCH weighs in on rapping with a Dublin accent and Erica Cody, busy on the 2018 festival circuit, gives us an insight into her forthcoming debut EP ‘Leoness’. Our food editor Caitríona Devery graciously hit up a section of Dublin’s cheesiest spots for a pun-ﬁlled review on where best to ﬁll up on dairy. James Kenny gives us his take on the 2016 American presidential election, the importance of house music and who we must thank for it. The people behind Four Four chat to Boots & Kats, Glaswegian duo Optimo and guide us through August’s dance gigs and Eric made it back in time to talk to Thirstin Howl III about The Bronx’ obsession with Polo Ralph Lauren. Enjoy the last month of summer Dublin. We’ll be plagued with sideways rain and inside out umbrellas in no time. –Hannah O’Connell, Deputy Editor Editor-in-Chief // Eric Davidson Editor // Hannah O’Connell Operations Director // Craig Connolly Creative Director // James McGuirk Events Editor // Niamh Craven Food & Drink Editor // Caitriona Devery Issue 001-004 Creative Director // Johnny Brennan Advertising // Rachael Bailey - rachael.bailey@districtmagazine.ie Photography // Ellius Grace, George Voronov, Mark William Logan, Paul Wheatley, Savannah Baker, Tom Gould, Petecia LeFawnhawk Words // Cóilí Collins, Anna Rodriguez, Eoghan Barra, James Kenny, Jordan Kinlan Website // districtmagazine.ie

Cover Photography // Eliot Lee Hazel

Contents 08 / Hak Baker 14 / If we can learn to dance together… 18 / Art School Girlfriend 20 / James Kavanagh 24 / Perfect Day in Dublin 28 / Live Guide 32 / Erica Cody 38 / Bury Me With The Lo On 44 / Junior x Máirín Uí Choileáin 48 / Lucius 52 / FYNCH 56 / Soccer Mommy 58 / Capital Terraces 62 / House & Techno Guide 64 / Boots & Kats 68 / Blawan 74 / Optimo 78 / Ariel Pink 84 / Sweet dreams are made of cheese 88 / I don’t think you’re ready for this gelato 90 / Irish Artist Spotlight: Nuala Convery

Guide to Dublin City Stockists

Emmet Kirwan by George Voronov

Abbey Hostel All City Record Store Babooshka The Back Page Bang Bang Barnacles Hostel Bedford Stuy/High Rollers Beards & Barnets Bison Bar Blackwax Record Store Blind Eye Barbers The Bowery, Rathmines Crackbird Crowbar Cut & Sew, Temple Bar Cut & Sew, Wellington Quay The Dean Hotel East Side Tavern Filmbase Frame Garage Bar Gallery of Photography Generator Hostel Good Food Store The Grand Social Hens Teeth Honest to Goodness Idlewild The Ink Factory Jameson, Bow Street The Juicery Kaph The Library Project Lighthouse Cinema Little Museum of Ireland Muji Mulligan & Haines

MVP National Leprechaun Museum NCAD Nine Crows The Olympia Theatre Oxmantown Proper Order Coffee Co. Pygmalion Rebirth of Cool The Record Spot/R.A.G.E Sam’s Barbers, Dame Lane Shoe Lane Spindizzy Records The Sugar Club Tara Building Tola Vintage Tower Records Tramline Trench Barber Trinity College Tropical Popical Two Boys Brew Two Pups UCD Urban Health, Ranelagh Vintage Factory Smithfield Vintage Store George’s Arcade The Workman’s Club Zaytoon 1 Zaytoon 2 + receptions and waiting rooms across the city. If you’d like to stock District Magazine’s Guide to Dublin City contact rachael.bailey@districtmagazine.ie.

8 Words: Hannah Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell / Photography: Savannah Baker

H A B K A K E R

ak Baker is a hard man to get on the other end of a phone. I discovered him back in February when he put out ‘SKINT’, his first single of 2018, and his poetic East London lyricism was stuck in my head for weeks. I’m skint Not even a little bit I’m talking flat of my face geezer Man, I’m skint Until my phone rings I’ll be praying for a saving grace Fella, I’m skint His voice is so pure, punctuated on most tracks by simple, acoustic guitar chords. His accent is a strong representation of his London home on the Isle of Dogs, but you don’t have to strain too hard to hear the Caribbean influences. Particularly when he plays live. His vocals exist somewhere between song, rap and spoken word and his lyrics are filled with references to his upbringing, friends, family, run-ins with the ‘Old Bill’, session come-downs and more intensely personal anecdotes. They grab you in and keep you there until you realise the song is already over and you hadn’t noticed. March began my quest to chat with Hak in the lead up to his gig at Trinity Ball, it didn’t happen that time around and it would be June until another opportunity, the announcement that he would play Electric Picnic, would give me the chance to annoy him again for an interview. Two days, five missed calls and a few WhatsApps later a cheery and apologetic voice answers me. Right after “Sorry love” I thought I lost him to a street vendor selling glasses outside his gym, but a quick exchange later and he’s back, sitting in his car on a hot London day ready to give me his full attention. “You know what it is? I’m just like a busy bee. I’m just bouncing off the walls here, left, right and everywhere, man. If I don’t keep busy I’ll just go crazy thinking about everything, so I gotta.” Hak Baker is one of those artists who is an undeniable product of where they’re from. There are thousands out there that you’ll struggle to place, but Hak is an East Ender, born and bred. I ask him to tell me what it was like growing up there. “There were different parts of growing up, I still don’t feel grown up now [laughs]. “East London is a special place. It’s not the same no more but for those that managed to be part of that era where friendship mattered, morals mattered, people mattered, where everyone mattered, where everyone was beautiful and everyone was one and we was all together, struggling together… Now it’s like each for themselves. Who looks the best? Me? I like drinking beer, going crazy. I just want to include everyone and do that with everybody. It’s definitely an East London thing. Definitely.” I believe that Hak’s sound just flows from him. While he works hard, and the output is considered, it’s not contrived. It’s just him.

“I just tell stories init? Most of the stories happened on Isle of Dogs where I’m from and things probably happened a bit further down the road, a bit more East London or Essex. I’m always going to talk about it and I’m always going to sound like it. Although I’m Caribbean this is where I was born and raised.” Although his music is very much a product of his upbringing, it’s not exclusive. This Cabra journalist can listen to it and relate having never stepped foot on Isle of Dogs, and that’s part of the Hak Baker magic. He’s had an interesting musical journey. Brought up on a diet of reggae, he joined grime group B.O.M.B. Squad as a young teenager, then a stint in prison lead him to discover the guitar and, self-taught, he went on to take part in Levi’s Music Project headed up by Skepta. Naturally, I wondered what Hak’s fanbase looked like. “The age spectrum is very wide. I wouldn’t dare call someone 60 old, that’s rude innit? But it’s people of that age who come down [to gigs]. I shot another video the other day and whoever came down [to the set] came down. I know some of those cunts was 17 max, doing whatever they was doing so you know, the spectrum is wide?” Hak advertised the video shoot on his social media platforms and website hakbaker.com. The page might still be up there and is worth a look as it is a perfect example of his genuine, down to earth nature and desire to include. His Facebook cover photo at the time read: Shooting a vid Thursday 28th June 7-11pm Free Gig as well. Secret Location East London England vs Belguim on The Telly Few Bevvies. Then Dance the Night Away. Free Razzle No Hassle. How could you say no to that? Despite this loveliness displayed above, there’s a darkness to Baker. He tells me he’s not a happy person. I get sad listening to his music sometimes. ‘Tom’ is particularly gut twisting with lyrics like: Spliff in my right hand My face in the other Two times a year I send flowers to your mother. Hak talks to me about getting upset on stage. “Even at that gig there last Thursday I was crying. Singing songs and crying. If I’m singing a song and I’m crying, then that’s just what it is, innit? That’s just what it is. I don’t need to deal with that. I’m fine with people seeing that. That doesn’t bother me. “Writing lyrics like that, yeah man, it’s probably a bit of healing to me because I don’t like to talk to people. I don’t trust anybody. I won’t really talk to anyone, I’ll just say it in riddles in songs where no one quite knows what I’m talking about, but at least I’ve said it out loud. It makes me feel better.”

We move on to a chat about the music currently coming out of the UK. Take RAYE, Mabel, J Hus, Ramz, Stefflon Don, all of whom are well used to a top 10 track these days. It’s clear that UK urban is really having a second wave of chart success. Hak weighs in. “Yay and nay. It’s best to go for a splitter on that one with a with a ‘yay’ and ‘nay’. Yay, it’s great. People are making money legitimately. They can stop killing each other, doing whatever we got to do to make money, nobody wants the Old Bill on their back… “Nay because it’s the same really. It doesn’t excite me in the slightest. It’s like what’s happening in America, all that negativity through their music, the same thing is happening here and really and truly we’re a lot better at lyrics and saying things and being true. We’ve always been like that.” I wondered aloud about Hak’s unique position within the music industry. He’s undeniable ‘UK. urban’ but he’s not just ‘UK. urban’. In April Rinse FM did a ‘Hak Baker & friends’ show. He then went on a twomonth tour supporting Plan B. Last month he opened for The Vaccines and all summer he’s been popping up on the British festival circuit. He’s carved out an interesting position for himself; there are not many artists who can rap with a guitar, warm up indie rock crowds and keep seven nights of Plan B audiences hyped. “It’s really nice that the music is being accepted as it is, but I think what I’ve come to realise is that it’s not like a phenomenon or anything like that at all. People like to blow things out of proportion,” he tells me. “This is nothing new. Black men have been fucking playing guitar and singing for years. This ain’t fucking anything new. It’s just not ‘let’s kill each other’ blah, blah, blah, ‘let’s get signed and make a million grand’. That’s the only thing that’s different. “It’s just truth and the reason why people like it, I think, is because people always need a bit of truth. It hits home, and people want to probably go back to themselves. Inward. Instead of being outward all the time so I make music that people can listen to when they’re at home or when they want to go out and get fucking righteous together and feel like they belong somewhere. Then people come and listen to this crazy shit or this true music that makes them feel themselves. “This ain’t nothing new. This ain’t no new fucking genre. This is just me singing on a guitar. What we’ve been doing since we were slaves or in Africa and shit with an instrument. This ain’t new. It’s just maybe, do I dare say brave? But it’s not even brave, it’s just normal. I just talk. I just like to be myself. Everyone knows I went to prison. I didn’t share a cell and I had to find out who I was and I found out. I came back to myself and I’m cool.” Hak Baker plays Electric Picnic, August 31 – September 2.

This is nothing new.

Black

men

have

been playing

fucking guitar

and singing for years.

2018 featuring

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he close of the 2016 campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America was a comedy whose second act would plunge into an all-out tragedy. Predictably, suspicion and shade would become the tools of choice for both sides, the campaign more closely resembling a feud. Suspicion of the other candidate and a fickle concern with the oppositions’ political beliefs (a crime continuously committed on one side more than the other) would take side stage in comparison to the focus on the other’s skeletons. Where the melodrama would ultimately unravel would be the accepted redefinition of ‘the other’ to encompass any deviance of ethnicity, sexuality, motives, family background, or of minority status. It would be supplemented by vile, passive comments on the menstruation cycle, the mockery of disabled people and a proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the country. The then future President would open his position on abortion by taking a relatively pro-choice stance that he would later abandon in favour of “punishment” for those who seek one. He would also propose the killing of families of those known to be involved in terrorist organisations before topping it all off by floating a conspiracy theory that Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s father was a close friend of Lee Harvey Oswald and that the two had distributed pro-Castro literature. Photographic evidence the soonto-be 45th President of the United States claimed to have seen, doesn’t actually exist. Opposition to President Trump would be dismissed as nothing more than a lack of intelligence, or as a means to advance a hidden motive not visible to the eye and hence understandably worthy of suspicion. In Trump’s hometown a subculture that began in the late 70s in Chicago would catch fire in the gay-friendly vaults of Uptown NYC. It would go on to shape almost every aspect of popular music 40 years later. Despite having fueled popular culture, the black community would still remain the financial underclass in the US. Notorious stories of raids on The Stonewall and countless other clubs would leave the gay, Latino and other minority communities frustrated at the political and social constraints they would find themselves in. America (or the world) didn’t understand it then. But they would come to. House music would become a force capable of uniting people in an arena that could foster learning and acceptance. In return it would become the influence that would allow those on the outside the ability

to imagine what life was like for those involved. House was rough and ready, dirty and unclean. The sound would resonate across post-disco New York and Chicago as an audible representation of the dirty social, civil and political realities of the country’s minority communities, no different to what hip hop would portray a decade later. Underground club culture would continue to challenge our ears, our intuitions and our humanity. Today it allows us to fall in love with people, with moments and makes for a pretty sweet party. Disagreements, while being able to recognise the other’s humanity, are a key ingredient of intellectual debate. It’s your right to disagree. It’s your right to be confused. You’re allowed to be wrong. It’s also within your rights to change your mind if you have an urge to do so. The crowd you find yourself in shouldn’t be defined only as house or techno heads. There’s far more to people than the music they like. While it’s the music that brings us together it should never assimilate us into being one of the same thing. House stands for multiculturalism, acceptance, tolerance and equality. Maybe we should celebrate and try to explore these differences, airing them out, actually debating them, changing them and reviving them later on. Empathy might not have been any kind of founding principle of the initial house sub-scene, but it was one of, if not its greatest, exports. People got to meet and flirt with new ideas, with new perceptions of themselves and reimagined ideas of others. House would allow culture to crash into itself and where bigotry infiltrated, the scene would self-regulate and discard (something it’s still capable of doing today). When the early theorists of high art sketched empathy for the first time in the 19th century it wasn’t something soft or fluffy. Even less important was its relationship with sympathy. Empathy would be an attempt to understand an object from that object’s point of view in order to come to some form of working understanding. It was a deliberate intellectual attempt to understand someone else’s opinions, whatever they might have been. It represented a fusion of object and subject and the knowledge that would result; nothing more, nothing less. Diversity is strength, disagreement is productive and a healthy degree of skepticism is invaluable. There are habitual reactionary forces within the ranks of the American Alt Right but they have only exploited a pre-existing illness within all walks of society - the lack of willingness to understand people we know too little about. Of course there is a historical

narrative at play here. The painfully drawn out winding down of industry in the U.S. have left many feeling abandoned by their political representatives and increasingly out of pocket. Prospects for a lot of people have been growing increasingly narrow and a cap on illegal or cheap(er) labour is seen as a genuine opportunity to get into one of the toughest job markets of the past 100 years. The Establishment Left has been as guilty as any group for categorising it all as redneck parochial politics. We can’t be so naïve as to think we can make progress by preaching inclusivity but ignoring real concerns like those above. Perhaps the issue is our claiming ownership of the same thing that’s not ours to claim. Throughout the election cycle in the U.S. there was a total vacuum of empathy. Generalised anger, even if you doubt the motive, is a real issue that stretches far beyond the borders of the U.S. Maybe more pungent than anything else is the vanity of politics in 2018 - everyone is correct and as a result, everyone else is wrong. Painfully, inconceivably and moronically wrong. Browse the level of analysis regularly at play in discussions focused on the Irish techno scene as an alternative. There’s a wealth of detailed and skillfully applied understanding that more often than not results in people learning something. Listen into TalkSport and catch phone-in analysis on José Mourinho’s run of form on Manchester United. When people disagree, they debate and they listen to each other. We need to talk to each other. We need to debate each other. We need to dance together and we need to let go of nostalgia. We need to listen to scientists and spiritual leaders. Climate change is real and black lives matter. We need to get sweaty together, to bleed together and to get angry together. Opinions matter – not because they’re right or wrong but because they have consequences. Once again it’s morning in America. It’s not President Reagan’s morning, nor is it the morning of President Trump or the Kennedy dynasty. It’s everyone’s. It’s the morning of those we don’t agree with and those we admire. This isn’t some romantic argument about how the ‘power of house’ can fix everything. Sadly the summer of love has ended but next time you find yourself under a disco ball dancing to a kick drum loop,, remember that what you’re engaging in is a fundamental part of Latino-gay culture so infectious that it penetrated the world. The same world that, 30 years prior, wanted nothing more than to eradicate it, until it listened.

18 Words: Anna Rodriguez

here is an understated boldness about Polly Mackey. A quiet confidence. From my short conversation with the electronic pop singer and producer, I was struck by the way she casually wove in anecdotes about her big move to London at such a young age, the work she did on The Maccabees album and capturing the interest of Grammy awardwinning producer Paul Epworth. Beyond that, she spoke frankly about challenging heteronormative standards in music and going against the grain. Polly is simply impressive, but she doesn’t make a fuss about it, nor does she need to. Her myriad of accomplishments speak for themselves. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Polly is in the midst of a bold and transformative phase in her life. After the split of her band and a move from the hustle and bustle of London, the artist has settled on two things in the past few years - her new home, Margate, and her new project, Art School Girlfriend. It should be noted, though, that the road to this new era has certainly not been short nor direct. Polly has been paving her way and creating music for years now. “It’s something I’ve always done. I feel a bit strange if I don’t do music for a while,” she tells me as we speak over the phone on a cloudy Monday afternoon. Growing up in a small town in North Wales, Polly has taken matters into her own hands since the tender age of 15. “There wasn’t that much to do, so anyone who was into music came together and played with each other and did that kind of thing. I moved to London when I was 18 or 19 and I lived down there for a few years. “I didn’t go to university, so in a way London was that experience for me. That’s where some of my closest friends are from and I’m still back there all the time. Musically, as well, I’ve met so many musicians there and toured with friends and got involved with other people’s projects, which is really enlightening in terms of influence. When I decided to leave it was quite a big decision because it was so formative for me, but I still feel part of it because I’m back so much.” The choice to go, however, was the right one. “When I moved to London, it hadn’t quite tipped to the point where it was really difficult to live in terms of money. You could still work in a bar a few days a week and be a musician and live not too far from your friends and not in the outskirts. Whereas by the time I left, all my friends had moved slightly further away from each other because of rent and I was just kind of stressing out about money. I had more music equipment and nowhere to put it.

“Margate offered more space and time and now I have a studio here. So many musicians have moved here, as well. And because lots of musicians have moved here from London it doesn’t feel like I’ve completely moved away.” The English seaside town has a thriving creative scene, with artists flocking to escape the steep prices and chaos of the bigger cities. “I was saying to one of my friends it feels like how it used to when you were a kid and you’d just be able to walk round to the house and call on them.” She laughs. The time spent in London however, was invaluable in terms of the lessons taught and experience provided, and her shoegaze band Deaf Club was an integral part of her growth as a musician. “Those [the other members] were my three best friends from when I was a teenager. It was like they were my brothers and so it was a really good way to cut your teeth because we just toured all the time to empty venues. We joke that we had our best and worst experiences in that band. “By the time that finished, I kind of knew exactly how I wanted the next one to go in terms of being able to take the reins on the production and working on music before anyone’s heard it. I made sure I was perfectly happy with myself whereas when you’re in a band it’s more about compromise and it just takes way more time to do stuff because there’s three other opinions about it.” Even though Art School Girlfriend has been in existence for three years now, the first single from the artist, ‘Bending Back’, arrived in September of last year. Polly spent the time between projects gathering inspiration. “When my last band split up, I ended up doing backing vocals on The Maccabees album because I was friends with Orlando [Weeks]. So I went from my old band straight into their studio and watching how they all work together and how Orlando treats coming up with melodies and vocal styles. “It was actually quite influential, even though the music doesn’t really sound the same. It’s just about looking at your voice from an outside perspective and not being so precious about it.” After soaking that experience in, Polly was ready to tend to her own blossoming endeavours. “I’d spent a year working on my tracks and being very protective over them. I was really worried about people hearing them when they weren’t finished and I think, to be honest, I probably spent too much time on them and went through them with a finetooth comb. “Then I got to the point where I had four or five tracks that I had produced and finished and I was like, ‘Should I put them up online or should I share them with someone?’”

While all this was happening, fate intervened and Polly met someone at a party that worked for Paul Epworth, producer to Rihanna, Adele, Friendly Fires, The Stone Roses, Paul McCartney, Lorde, Bruno Mars, the list goes on, and on, but she was initially hesitant to make contact. “I didn’t want to be that kind of person that’s like, ‘Hey! You should listen to my music!’ but my girlfriend at the time was like, ‘Oh, Polly does music. You should play some!’ I ended up emailing it to him and didn’t hear back for a while and thought, ‘Oh, he probably didn’t like it’. “Then one day I got an email saying, ‘Hey, you should come in for a chat’. I went in and met Paul and met the label. I didn’t sign with them for a while but was just using their studios around once a month to take what I had done at home and finish it off there. Then after a year the first EP [‘Measures’] was ready and it just felt like the natural thing to release it. It’s a really rare process, I think, to get the time and space to make sure something’s ready before it’s released.” From there, our chat moved on to the pros and cons of a label release compared to taking the independent route. “I think it is different, especially in this day and age, because I used to release stuff independently and it would get on loads of blogs and it felt like you could put something out in the world and if people liked it then it would get a natural pick up. Now I feel like it’s in some ways harder than ever just because of the amount of people who are releasing music and the way digital media has gone more into clickbait. Everything has to be new and everything has to be fresh and it feels like there’s less time for good stuff to come to the surface. “For me, having a label is a bit like having a comfort there and hopefully there’s going to be a longer game and more people will listen. They’re willing to back you, maybe even at the start when not a lot of people are listening.” Since ‘Measures’ came out last Autumn Polly’s work schedule has been hectic but fruitful. We’re getting an EP in September, she’s off on tour in October and an album is anticipated for 2019. In March, she released a single titled ‘Moon’. It’s a dark and dreamy four minutes of electronic pop that would have slipped seamlessly into the Drive soundtrack. The lust-filled love song is inspired by night time and just before we hang up she tells me a little more about it. “One thing I used to find when I was growing up listening to music is you never hear women singing about female pronouns, whether or not they were gay. So I really wanted to do that and say, ‘Yeah, I am singing about women and I’m not going to hide that’.” Art School Girlfriend plays The Sound House on August 6.

Words: Hannah Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell / Photography: Mark William Logan

James Kavanagh T

here are a lot of different things you could interview James Kavanagh about. You could talk social media, famous families, influencer culture, but as we sit on the steps outside his Dublin 7 apartment waiting for him to answer the door I decide to focus on two of the more primal aspects of the James Kavanagh brand – food and sex. James is one half of food company Currabinny, the other half being his partner William. The pair share a love of food and each bring different but integral skills to the table. William is a trained chef and came up through the Ballymaloe Cookery School, while James cut his teeth working in PR for brands like Barry’s Tea, Kerrygold and Ben & Jerry’s. They dreamed up Currabinny during a drunk date in William’s hometown of the same name in Cork, James laughs as he remembers the whole thing being “so fucking wanky”. “We were sitting on the pier talking about owning a café one day, we were both a bit pissed but thought it would be amazing. Then we were like ‘What will we call it?’ Now, I’m from Nutgrove and it doesn’t exactly conjure up loveliness… Currabinny is so beautiful and picturesque and we were thinking of other brands we like that all are named after places like Clonakilty is a village in Cork, Ballymaloe is an area so we thought, ‘What about Currabinny?’. That was five years ago.” From there they set up at markets, collaborated with brands and did food demos until just under three years ago Penguin approached them and suggested a cookbook. “We thought we were 10 to 15 years out from that because we hadn’t even got a café, we were literally just doing a market once a month and doing private events every once and a while. We asked them, ‘Are you sure? Are we warranted to do a cookbook?’, but they liked our style. “We pitched to them in this house for about two hours, had all these mood boards made up. We cooked a massive table of food to let them taste Currabinny and taste what we’re all about. They really liked it, they told us they want to make it and then it went into production. We ended up shooting it and writing all the recipes and that process took two years and it just went to print a couple of weeks ago.” Putting out District as a monthly, free magazine is stressful enough. I wondered what it must be like to have your first book sent off to print, soon to be published by one of the most famous publishing houses around.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” James tells me. “It’s not in your hands anymore and you’re thinking, ‘Is that fucking temperature right? Is that spelled correctly?’. For example, we got a mock cover to announce it but if you look at it Murray, William Murray, the ‘m’ is a lowercase ‘m’. We noticed that and were like ‘Fuck!’ so we ring Penguin and they’re like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve noticed’. I thought it had gone to print at that stage and you could never get over that. I would be sick. I wouldn’t be able to look at the cover, that’s all you’d see.” A brief pause later, I had to go to Instagram for a look at this lowercase ‘m’, it is there but hardly noticeable. I ask James to describe Currabinny to someone who isn’t familiar with the brand. “It’s traditional food with contemporary twists. It’s very Irish… It’s the kind of the cookbook you reach for when you want something a bit indulgent. It’s Saturday or Sunday, you have a bit of time and you want comfort food but not stodgy comfort food either. It’s not a carvery, which I fucking love, it’s a bit more glam. We don’t shy away from butter and full fat ingredients.” In an effort to stop thinking about a glam carvery I urge James to indulge us in his favourite recipes from the book. “There’s an orange syrup cake, it’s so good. Really moreish and it’s made with almond. And there’s a really amazing beetroot hummus with seaweed in it, a lot of our recipes use seaweed. We’re mad about Irish seaweed. There’s lots of dulses (Wikipiedia tells me this is a red sea plant similar to a seaweed) and wakame (A subtly sweet edible seaweed, thanks again Wikipedia). We try to ‘Irish up’ a lot of the dishes.” The Currabinny brand and forthcoming cookbook really establishes James and William’s love for Ireland. Going off topic slightly, I wonder why James never left. We’re a similar age and both have lots of friends who’ve moved to the UK, the States, or Oz. It’s just what happens. People go for work, love, adventure and particularly people in James’ position. He has a large following, he’s working with massive brands, it seems that anything he touches is turning to gold. Did he ever have the desire to move and discover ‘bigger and better’ things? “I’m obsessed with Ireland. I love it. I love travelling but I love coming home. I wouldn’t…” James’ sphynx cat Diana, named after the Princess of Wales and wearing a diamond collar and a string of pearls, has jumped on his lap and interrupts the conversation.

“Is she breathing?” James holds her up to check. “Yes she is. Are your pearls too tight, Diana [Laughs}?!” Back to Ireland. “Obsessed. I’ve no interest in moving away for a year. Me and William went to Japan,” he recalls. “The bullet train lashes you around the place. You’re with geishas one moment and then you’re in Tokyo and it’s so futuristic… Yeah we’d love to go there for a month but then I love coming home. I don’t know why, a lot of my friends complain that Dublin is so tiny, and they’re so bored of it, and you see the same people, but I love all that about it. I love walking down the road and seeing five people you know.” Not only has James chosen to stay in Dublin but he’s actively trying to make the capital a better place. Currabinny will soon have a city centre home. “We want a café by the end of the year. We have Cushman and Wakefield working with us to try find a space. We’re looking at a place opposite Pygmalion at the moment, just beside Coppinger Row. Fingers crossed!” He was also heavily involved with the Repeal movement and before that was campaigning for marriage equality. A scroll down his Facebook feed tells me he’s quite a political person. “It’s such a privilege [for someone] to say they’ve no interest in politics,” he tells me when I bring it up. “You have to have something taken away from you to be political. The Marriage Referendum was the first time I got political. I remember thinking, ‘I’ve no interest in marriage, I don’t care about this... But then hang on, I want to have the option, so I got really into it and campaigned. That went through and I was like, ‘What’s next?’ Then Repeal came and now I’m thinking, ‘What’s next? I want to keep going, you know?” The topic of the Sex Education Bill comes up. If you’re new to the subject – in April a bill which would assure students are taught religion-free, factual sex education in school was passed into the next stage in the Dáil. It’s definitely a move in the right direction and as James says, “It’s refreshing”, but I share his scepticism. “I’m going to be keeping an eye on it though, I don’t want it to be all smoke and mirrors.”

Sex education is something James is passionate about and, along with teaching the nation how to cook, in 2016 he took it upon himself to teach the nation, the younger population at least, how to have sex safely. “About two years ago I was on Snapchat and I was rambling on about my time in school. I think it was around the Leaving Cert and I remember getting questions like, ‘How did you cope with the Leaving Cert?’. I just started talking about my experience in school and randomly I got onto sex education. “I was saying, ‘Do you know what’s gas? How shit sex education was when I was in school’. At the time my following was very young so I was like, ‘Tell me about sex education now. Has it improved? What’s the story?’. Because I was just shown a video. A video was wheeled in and the science teacher was scarlet, we were scarlet and the whole thing was fucking scarlet. “It was a video that literally just showed penis plus vagina equals baby. There was nothing about oral sex, nothing about STIs there was just, ‘YOU’LL GET PREGNANT IF YOU STICK THAT IN THERE NOW, SO JUST DON’T’ [laughs]. “I remember getting head off someone, having oral sex, and I got gonorrhea at 15. I had no fucking clue these things existed. We’re being failed by the very people who are supposed to be empowering us with knowledge.” For context, James is 28. He went to a Catholic primary school in the 90s and boarded at a Protestant secondary school in the early 00s. “The priest used to walk around every Friday, we’d have to say our prayers in the morning. That was the ethos, that was how it was ran. Sex education was cockblocked by the board because they were all priests. “So I thought, right, I’ll do some sex education on my Snapchat once every week… Every Tuesday I’d do basic sex education and I’d take questions. I remember saying, ‘You can get gonorrhea from head’ and the amount of messages I got that were like, ‘You’re obviously joking, that’s a joke isn’t it?’, I was like, ‘No!’. I remember screen-grabbing loads of them and re-sharing them with their names scribbled out to be like this is the state of the nation. “They [James’ Snapchat following] thought the only way you could get an STI is from uncondomed anal or vaginal sex. They did not know you could get it from oral sex, which is the main way you get STIs. Unprotected oral sex, people not getting checked. What you should do is make sure you’re clean and make sure you’re getting regular checks because, let’s be honest, who puts a condom on when they’re getting a blow job? You just don’t.”

Our time with James is almost up. In fairness, it’s going on 11 o’clock, on a week night, and we’ve taken over his entire sitting room. Just before he lies across the tiles in his hall for one last photo in a gold, velure tracksuit he’s so graciously donned for us, he tells me that next on his political agenda is a look at marriage equality and abortion rights in Northern Ireland among other things. “There’s always someone to be pulled up beneath you. That’s what you always have to think of. You can’t just rest on your laurels. Even now, as a gay white man I’m in a pretty good position, but in the LGBT community trans people need a bit of help now. We need to reach down and pull them up. I think it’s all about looking around you to see who needs a bit of a hand.” The Currabinny Cookbook is available for pre-order now and will be out in October.

24 Interviews & Photography: Ellius Grace

PERFECT Aisling Kelly

Makeup Artist @aislingkellymakeup

Last place you ate? Forno 500. Last pub you went to? Grogan’s. Favourite place to escape to? The IFI. The cinema is one of the only places I can turn my phone off and not feel that anxiety of unanswered emails. Favourite place to go to in the sun? Killiney Beach for a dip or Dun Laoghaire pier for a walk followed by the food market in the People’s Park. Being near the sea chills me out loads. What’s one thing you see every day here? Seagulls. What would you like to see less of? In no particular order: Needles. People living on the street. Lads in Dublin city with their tops off. Best memory of the city? May 26, 2018. The sense of solidarity and fulfilment seeing a sea of smiling faces, happy tears and Repeal jumpers. I’ll never forget it. Best place for a Guinness? With friends, crisps, good music, and preferably with a dog nearby.

DAY

Southside seaside or Northside seaside? Southside, but only because I live there.

David O’Carroll

Filmmaker @dave_thepeoplewemeet

Last place you ate? Two Pups. Get the dish with the peanut butter. Last pub you went to? The Glimmer Man. My first time there, which was an experience. It’s crazy how much character the place has. Favourite place to escape to? Walking around Lombard Street in Portobello is weirdly relaxing. Favourite place to go to in the sun? I listened to two albums while lying in the grass outside Locks on the canal a few weeks ago. Was lovely! What’s one thing you see every day here? A little group of dog walkers in St. Pat’s Cathedral park. What would you like to see less of? Three hotels are being built within 100 metres of my house. Hotels out, apartments in. Best memory of the city? The referendums, by a mile. Best place for a Guinness? Fallon’s I’m told. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Guinness. I think I had half a pint once. Southside seaside or Northside seaside? South. Seapoint.

DUBLIN 27

Live Guide August 2018

SILVERBACKS

SYLK

BISHOP NEHRU

Silverbacks create slacked indie pop and rock-influenced music. The Dublin five-piece are growing in popularity by the day. For fans of: The Strypes, Villagers, Wyvern Lingo Monday August 6 The Workman’s Club

Perfectly bridging the gap between experimentation and melody, Sylk are fresh off a captivating performance on Bulmers 100% Irish Stage at Forbidden Fruit. For fans of: The xx, CHVRCHES, Wolf Alice Monday August 6 Crowbar

The New York rapper and producer takes influence from classic hip hop names like Tupac and Wu-Tang Clan while bringing fresh ideas to the genre. For fans of: Joey BadA$$, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples Thursday August 9 The Sugar Club €15

THE MURDER CAPITAL

ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND THE RNB CLUB

Five-piece Dublin band The Murder Capital have been branded as Ireland’s best new alt-rock group thanks to their imposing live sounds. For fans of: Soundgarden, Arctic Monkeys, Weezer Thursday August 9 Whelan’s €10

The Welsh singer, songwriter and producer possesses a haunting quality in her voice, sitting well with her continually evolving, soft, instrumental productions. For fans of: Hannah Reid, St. Vincent, Daughter Thursday August 9 The Sound House €11.50

The RnB Club are back with all of the best of 90s hip hop, R&B, trap and soul cuts with DJs Papa Lou and Stevie G behind the decks all night long. For fans of: Faith Evans, The Pharcyde, TLC Friday August 10 The RnB Club €14

SPIES

PAPER DOLLHOUSE

BISHOP NEHRU

Spies blend a mix of dark and dynamic textures with the intense vocals of lead singer Michael Broderick. Expect theatrical sounds. For fans of: The Frames, The Libertines, Razorlight Friday August 10 The Workman’s Club €13

This London electronic folk soundscape duo fuse post punk sounds with ambient pop. On support are Sculptress and BB84. For fans of: Jane Weaver, London Grammar, Liz Greene Saturday August 11 Bello Bar €15

The New York rapper and producer takes influence from classic hip hop names like Tupac and Wu-Tang Clan while bringing fresh ideas to the genre. For fans of: Joey Bada$$, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples Thursday August 9 The Sugar Club €15

ARIEL PINK

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN

BOOKA BRASS

Los Angeles multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Ariel Pink writes shimmery pop influenced by psychedelic rock with vintageinspired sounds. Read an interview with him on page 78. For fans of: Mac DeMarco, David Bowie, Arcade Fire Thursday August 16 Button Factory €24.75

A starkly honest lyricist and soulful vocalist, the American songwriter and producer returns to Dublin after gaining the attention of artists like Beck and more. For fans of: Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Anohni Thursday August 16 Whelan’s €24.50

One of Ireland’s favourite brass ensembles cover all of your favourite songs, adding a booming brass flare to everything. Special guests will join on the night. For fans of: Hot 8 Brass Band, Trinity Orchestra, New York Brass Band Friday August 17 The Purty Kitchen €18

THE WINTER PASSING

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER

HOPSIN

Dublin and Tipperary four piece create an infectiously raw mix of garage punk energy and indie rock quirks that have gathered critical acclaim. For fans of: Hüsker Dü, Jimmy Eat World, Frankie Cosmos Saturday August 18 The Soundhouse €5

The American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist embraces unusual influences such as 80s goth pop and more. For fans of: Matthew Friedberger, The Fiery Furnaces, Parquet Courts Saturday August 18 The Grand Social €15

Sometimes referred to as the king of underground hip hop, Hopsin is known for his feuds with several popular rappers which he makes known through his horrorcore raps. For fans of: Tyler, The Creator, ScHoolboy Q, Joyner Lucas Saturday August 18 Voodoo Lounge €31.50

ODD MORRIS

BROCKHAMPTON

BRIAN WILSON

Dublin band Odd Morris make fresh-faced indie with vintage rock influences. This is their first headline show. For fans of: Arctic Monkeys, Pixies, Wilco Monday August 20 The Workman’s Club €**

American musical group led by the esteemed Kevin Abstract formed in Texas create hip hop with multicultural influences. For fans of: Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, Kanye West Wednesday August 22 The Helix €36.50

Co-founder of The Beach Boys and one of the greatest American pop music composers of all time is headed for Vicar Street. For fans of: The Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Elton John Wednesday August 22 Vicar Street €92.50

FRANKIE COSMOS

THE LONE BELLOW

JOYNER LUCAS

Greta Kline, better known by her stage name Frankie Cosmos, is an American musician and songwriter with an alt-rock style distinguished by her soft vocals. For fans of: Porches, Mitski, Car Seat Headrest Thursday August 23 Button Factory €15

This Brooklyn-based band infuse Americana music with transcendent harmonies and indie influences. Their last album was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner. For fans of: Shakey Graves, The Civil Wars, The National Thursday August 23 Whelan’s €20

After leaving his past moniker Future Joyner in the past, the rapper and poet produces smooth flows of socially aware music accompanied by videos dealing with issues of race, society and more. For fans of: Cyrus Tha Great, Kendrick Lamar, Immortal Technique Friday August 24 Tivoli Theatre €26

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

TIM CHADWICK

SLUM VILLAGE

These Belfast punk rockers grew up in the height of The Troubles, with their music revolting against and focusing on similar themes. For fans of: Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Stranglers Friday August 24 The Academy €25

Dublin singer songwriter Tim Chadwick is following in the footsteps of songwriters like Glen Hansard. He pens passionate and personal songs. For fans of: Glen Hansard, The Ocelots, Damien Rice Friday August 24 The Unitarian Church €15

Last remaining member of the original Detroit-based group T3 now tours with producer Young RJ who replaces the late J Dilla and Baatin. They perform new tracks and classics. For fans of: J Dilla, The Pharcyde, Illa J Friday August 24 The Sugar Club €22.90

28 EDEN QUAY, DUBLIN

• Live gigs • Club nights • Private functions • Full backline • 230 capacity (standing) Visit www.thesoundhouse.ie for more details. For bookings please contact Andrea thesoundhouseevents@thewileyfox.ie thesoundhouse.dublin

thesoundhouse_

thesoundhousedublin

MIK PYRO

IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE

BUCK MEEK

The Republic Of Loose frontman turned solo artist will be performing music from his upcoming album alongside all of the classics from the Republic of Loose archives. For fans of: Republic Of Loose, David Kitt, Damien Dempsey Saturday August 25 Whelan’s €16

The Peruvian-American hip hop artist writes hard-hitting and controversial lyrics focused on global politics. Poison Pen and Chino XL, two notable artists in their own right, will join him. For fans of: Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Public Enemy Saturday August 25 The Sugar Club €25

Big Thief’s guitarist takes on a solo pseudonym, showcasing a more laid back approach to his music and swapping indie rock for dazzling folk melodies. For fans of: Big Thief, Rostam, Frankie Cosmos Sunday August 26 The Grand Social €12

GZA

THUNDERPUSSY

SHANNON AND THE CLAMS

GZA aka The Genius is one of the most celebrated MC’s and contributors to WuTang Clan. He is quite literally a lyrical genius. For fans of: Ghostface Killah, Method Man, RZA Monday August 27 The Sugar Club €27.50

This Seattle band stay true to their roots with rock music that’s winning over audiences the world over, along with their energetic live shows and classic rock vocals. For fans of: Alice in Chains, Queens of The Stone Age, Janis Joplin Monday August 27 The Academy €31.50

This indie garage quartet hailing from California are known for incorporating vintage sounds such as doo-wop into their music. For fans of: Imelda May, Alabama Shakes, Courtney Barnett Wednesday August 29 Whelan’s €15

ELKIN

SCREAMING FEMALES

This folk pop group have been known to collaborate outside their genre, most notably with Irish hip hop’s Tebi Rex. Their sound is multidimensional. For fans of: Sylk, AE Mak, London Grammar Thursday August 30 The Bowery €13.50

The American three-piece rock band create punk, alternative and indie music with distinct vocals from lead vocalist Marissa Paternoster. For fans of: The Pixies, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Royal Blood Thursday September 6 The Grand Social €15

THE BEAT STARRING DAVE WAKELING

MATT HOLLYWOOD & THE BAD FEELINGS

ICEAGE

Danish punk rock quartet Iceage are known Expect playful experimentation with classic for their impulsive and upbeat pop-gothic genres making for a tripped-out, psychedelic songs, with emotionally driven lyrics and a distinct energy on stage. folk sound. For fans of: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, For fans of: Ariel Pink, Parquet Courts, Black Lips The Out Crowd, Jeffrey Davies Friday September 7 Thursday September 6 The Workman’s Club The Workman’s Club €16.50 €12

SOCCER MOMMY The young nashville native has toured her authentic, emotional, bedroom indie music with Slowdive, Mitski and more. For fans of: Clairo, Preoccupations, Mitski Friday September 7 The Grand Social €13.35

Surging onto the scene in 1979, this Birmingham ska band tackle social issues with their music. For fans of: The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners Thursday September 6 Button Factory €26.50

FALSE HEADS The East London punk rock band have gained the attention of legends like Iggy Pop, Josh Homme and more with their energetic sounds and stage presence. Support comes from The Clockworks. For fans of: Queens Of The Stone Age, The Libertines, King Krule Friday September 7 Whelan’s €10.50

Exhibitions of the Month DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL TATTOO CONVENTION Bringing together those who love for the art of tattooing, the Dublin International Tattoo Convention offers a chance to celebrate tattoo culture, network and exchange information about the latest developments with the art form. Expect plenty of guest artists available for tattoos on the day. Friday August 17 - Sunday August 19 The Convention Centre â&#x201A;Ź15 - 30

LIVING PROOF Living Proof will provide an evening of visual art, poetry and live performances in aid of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, providing a platform seeking to create a space where individuals can remove the isolation and shame that is often attached to trauma. Performing will be Dylan Kerr, Molly Sterling and more. Saturday August 18 The Tara Building â&#x201A;Ź8

32 Words: Anna Rodriguez / Photography: George Voronov

rica Cody may be a newcomer, but she is quickly making herself a permanent fixture on the Dublin R&B scene. At just 21 years old, she has been writing and creating music for years with the hope of releasing a project of her own, a dream that will be realised later this year when she puts out her debut EP, ‘Leoness’. Aside from dropping new music, the singer-songwriter will also be doing the rounds at a handful Ireland’s summer music festivals, having kicked off proceedings at Bulmers Forbidden Fruit Festival in June. “It was fantastic. It was great because the tent we were playing at was literally at the main entrance so everyone was just filling the space and it filled quickly, so that was really good.” With a slot at Body&Soul already complete and Electric Picnic still to come it was Longitude Festival in Marlay Park that marked the turning point Erica this summer. Speaking to us before that show she expressed how important the line up is for Irish music. “It will be insane. I’m really excited for that one just because of the line up as well… Oh my god, it’s just so refreshing to see that Ireland has taken on such an urbanheavy line up. Normally it’s really indie line ups. It’s really refreshing because it’s more like a Wireless London line up, which is sick.” Erica performs both covers of R&B classics, like Destiny’s Child’s ‘Say My Name’, and original songs like ‘Good Intentions’ that dropped earlier this year. She says her EP will have a very similar sound to the music she’s released, but is hesitant to reveal too much. “You can expect a lot of funky basslines, loads of really catchy melodies, just something that everyone can listen to and have their own take on. Whether they’re going through a relationship or just having a shit day or whatever it could be. I write in a way that people could apply it to their own situations. “A lot of people that have heard the couple of songs have been saying that they’re very, very 90s because everyone that knows me knows I have a very heavy 90s influence, from the likes of Jodeci to Aaliyah to Brandy, all of them. I think it’s only fair that I pay tribute and pay homage to the people that have inspired my music.”

34 36

For those wanting to see more of Erica Cody her Leo Series is a collection of videos documenting the artist’s come up. She goes into more detail. “So basically, the Leo Series is just something I came up with because it’s really reflective of the EP with the name… It will all make sense, but it’s basically just something I wanted to start to give people, especially my new following, an insight into what I’m all about, to meet my team, and make them feel like they’re coming with me for the journey – from festivals to my new project to everything else. “I’m all about my star sign. I know it sounds so cliché but if you look up a Leo it’s literally me and my mane. It’s just my mantra so I thought it was really important to stick something that personal on it. It’s going good so far. I love the concept now. I’m like, ‘Oh, it makes so much sense [laughs]!’” Erica certainly has the undeniable optimism and infectious energy commonly associated with her star sign. Whatever she lacks in terms of time in the industry, she makes up for with plenty of positivity, drive and confidence but despite her sunny outlook, the beginning of her songwriting career was a distressing one, sparked by a difficult event in her personal life. “My mum was diagnosed with cancer when I was 10. She’s ok now, thank god, but I used to keep a diary and I used to have little headings in my diary and then they turned into poems and the poems evolved into songs. I’d come up with a concept that revolved around the title and I’d come up with a story around it. “Some of it was pure imagination and some of it was real, and as time went by I was like, ‘No, I need to write about how I feel in certain moments’, because it was kind of like therapy to me. I didn’t really know what the illness entailed, so that was my little outlet to really get my feelings on paper. There was a release from it when I was writing. I’d just feel like there was a weight that was totally lifted off my shoulders. So it became my little addiction, I suppose, from when I was eight until now.” Since then, Erica’s approach to writing has undergone many changes, but she continues to keep up her output of new songs.

“I feel like I’ve gone through nearly every kind of songwriting process. Now, because I produce as well, I normally start off with a bassline and then come up with countermelodies for that and then the main melody of the hook and the bridge and all of that. “I don’t really write titles first anymore. The title comes naturally after I finish the song. More or less now I write with a bassline and then sometimes I’ll write with a chorus. If my producer gives me a track, instantly I just hear choruses when I’m writing to tracks that aren’t my own that I’ve produced. Really it just depends.” When creating music, she’s not only influenced by R&B legends of yesteryear, but also by rising stars. “SZA, Bryson Tiller, Kehlani. Londonwise and UK-wise there’s Mahalia… I could literally sit here for hours and just go on and on,” she told me. “There’s just such good music out right now! There really is, and the scene is in a really good, healthy space and everyone’s on the same wavelength.” Just before I let her go, I ask Erica if she had any nuggets of wisdom to share with other up-and-coming artists. “Don’t rush. Take your time. I’ve noticed that because I’m such a person that likes to be at the end product. You need to just take five minutes out for yourself. If you really want to take it seriously, you’re going to have to invest. There’s going to be points when people will only do stuff for free for so long... “I know it sounds really cliché but selflove is a huge thing. If you don’t believe in yourself, when it comes to music, it’s a really, really tough business to be in. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, it’s like, ‘Well, what am I really doing then? What if I can’t actually reach my full potential?’ “I started off by literally just doing any gig that I could get, just getting a seven-piece band together and we would get 100 quid and try to split it among all of us. I think you need to make a lot of sacrifices, too, but they’re so worth it at the end of the day. But I think no matter what kind of situation you’re in, you’re always going to have to make some sort of sacrifice, so if it’s with something that you really feel could be your career, just do it. You shouldn’t have to think twice about it.” Erica Cody plays Electric Picnic, August 31-September 2.

Delivery Tab’s mission is to delivery Premium Pre-drinks to the people of Dublin, we caught up with CEO and founder George Beeby to get an insight into how the alcohol delivery service came about. What was the Delivery Tab?

spark

for

It started off originally as food, when I was living out in Los Angeles there was a lot of different kinds of foods and cuisines you could get, there was so much range to what you were getting, and when I looked at Ireland there was only really Chipper, Chinese, and Pizza. So it was that idea of going out and getting those places on board (restaurants and cafés) so they could be delivered out across the city. Coming back here the first approach we made was JustEat because we noticed they had a greatonline menu platform with all these restaurants and we wanted to try and help them push to be market leaders and it kept rolling from there. More and more restaurants started to get on board with the delivery service, and as the numbers grewwith JustEat, the Cocktail idea came along as I have a lot of friends who are involved in the bar industry & was always looking for this premium type of drink to be available at home. How did it start out with cocktails? Were you met with any resistance? There was a lot of trial and error, there was working out how we were actually going to deliver the cocktails and that’s how the jam jar/Mason jar idea came about. We trialled so many different runs with different cocktails, different ways of keeping the ice cool and transporting the ice and idea of putting ice in and shaking them (cocktails), eventually we got down to a list of cocktails that we could do and then added the beers, wines and prosecco’s to the offering.

Where will people be getting their cocktails from? Simple download of the Delivery Tab App which is supported on all platforms! Then the bar we use is Bar Rua, that’s where we kicked it all off and we’re looking forward to pushing on with them, but obviously the end goal is to make it broader across the city, but Bar Rua is #1 for us and they’ve been great. There’s a bit of theatre when the cocktails arrive at people’s door, what’s the reception been like for that? It’s been brilliant, what we do when we get the cocktails to the door, the driver has a big bag of ice in his cooler and adds it to the cocktails and shakes them in front of you which does add that bit of theatre to the experience. What do you feel has been the most satisfying element of starting Delivery Tab? Being sat on your couch and being able to order cocktails to your door is just brilliant, I love my own space and like most Irish love a good drink from time to time. The main thing is getting the cities finest drinks from Bar Rua out to people in the comfort of their own home and attempt to get this great Irish kind of atmosphere mixed with these great products both in the bar & and as I said from the comfort of your home. What would your Cocktail recommendation be? Pornstar Martini made by Peter Donoghue is number one for me, the flavours are great, as we say, these are fresh cocktails – it’s fresh ingredients and the Passionfruit on top just makes it! 37

Bury Me With The Lo On A conversation with Thirstin Howl III

y the late 1980s Ralph Lauren’s Polo brand was the epitome of wealthy, predominantly white, America. While Ralph himself, born Ralph Lifschitz, grew up in a working class Jewish family in The Bronx, the name he created in the fashion world was a far cry from those small-time roots in the Big Apple. It was around this time, however, that Polo gained a following from a little outside of their target market. Groups of youths, mostly from Brooklyn’s Crown Heights and Brownsville, like United Shoplifters Association and Raplhie’s Kids became obsessed with Polo. In their crack-riddled neighbourhoods their drug of choice was Ralph Lauren’s garments. These young men were dressed head to toe in ‘Lo’, right down to the socks and drawers. In 1988 these once separate groups were brought together by Victor DeJesus, aka Thirstin Howl III (named after ‘The Millionaire’ of a similar name from Gilligan’s Island). Thirstin and others formed The Lo Life Crew, the name coming after Thirstin was called a low life for shoplifting, or boosting, Polo from well-todo department stores in NYC. Lo Life would go on to shape the aesthetic of urban culture in New York and heavily influence hip hop fashion. After decades of being ignored by the brand they adored, Thirstin this year modelled for Ralph Lauren’s Snow Beach line. On August 23 Hen’s Teeth will invite documentarian and photographer Tom Gould and Thirstin Howl III to their Fade Street store to launch the pair’s book and film ‘Bury Me With the Lo On’. As well as a screening of the film there will be an exhibition of bootleg Lo merch and a talk. We caught up with rapper, artist and now Polo model Thirstin Howl III (pictured left) for a conversation ahead of the event.

“If people saw me on the street they’d think I was the flyest guy, then if you went into my apartment there was no furniture”

Was it odd after all of these years to be acknowledged by Ralph Lauren? It was unexpected. But it finally happened. It wasn’t like they weren’t aware, they’ve been aware all this time. I’ve heard that photos of myself and the other Lo Lifes are all over the Polo offices and have been for many years. In a Complex Documentary, Jeffery Tweedy from Sean John was speaking about working for Ralph Lauren back in the day. He recalled the brand looking at what styles were stolen the most as a way to dictate which items were most sought after. Did you know you were having such a big affect outside of your world in Brooklyn? We knew we were making the impact, we just didn’t know how far it was going. Because our impact was happening all around us, anything close to us was being infected by us with the Polo. Everybody was picking it up all over Brooklyn, all over my housing projects, even within my own family. So we knew that impact was happening, but we didn’t know we were affecting the world. When did you realise that it wasn’t just a love for a clothing brand but a movement? It’s a brotherhood, it’s always been that way. The bond and the way we were associated, that’s been ongoing forever. Ralph Lauren was born in the bronx to immigrant parents. A$AP Ferg is even quoted as saying, “He came from the dirt just like me”. Did Ralph Lauren’s backstory have any bearing on why you guys picked up on Polo so much?

Not at all. It was just a coincidence. When we were doing what we were doing, we had no clue about his background, nor were we seeking it out. What was it, then, that drew you to the brand? The style! How everything looked. It was based on that, nobody really cared about anything else. I don’t think anyone was interested in the fabric, the texture, none of that was a factor, all that mattered was how you looked in that shit. You said in that same Complex documentary that wearing the clothes made you forget about what you were dealing with. How did that work? Well, you felt like a million dollars. And you were poor. If people saw me on the street they’d think I was the flyest guy, then if you went into my apartment there was no furniture. There were so many things in reality that we had no control over, but we also didn’t let it affect us that way, you know? It didn’t matter what I didn’t have, it mattered how I felt. Did you ever feel like you had a target on your back wearing Polo? I read people’s houses used to get broken into specifically for it? I was one of the guys painting the targets on people’s backs, so it was different for me. It wasn’t just the Polo either. Jewellery had the same effect. It’s up to you, if you’re willing to deal with the problems with the stuff you’re wearing… A lot of different things gave us that drama, it wasn’t just the Polo. Just being from a certain area you got those problems. Period. Do you remember the first time seeing it on someone and thinking, ‘Yeah I like this’?

Not really, I remember seeing it various times in other places, but when I started seeing my close, close friends adapting to it heavy that’s when we knew it was it. Because we were all influencing each other, we weren’t influenced by anything outside. I saw security tag merch online. The celebration of that is super interesting. There’s a Robin Hood vibe to it. Was this an important part of the story and the mythology behind Lo Life? Yeah people are purchasing them as merch, but that was the shit we were trying to get off the clothes. Some people would keep the alarm on, to brag, but having the holes in the clothes from the alarms was just as braggadocious. ‘Dad hats’ became cool in recent years, with lots of people donning Ralph Lauren versions. Do you feel like that brand would have even been considered in 2018 without Lo Life? Not in hip hop. It probably would have been a major brand in America, but not to urban people and the hip hop world, which is what, I believe, has kept Ralph Lauren going so long. What we’ve done for the urban markets… We made Ralph Lauren an all time favourite brand that never goes out of style. All of the brands that have been in existence, they’ve all gone through periods and phases of popularity and the opposite. We made sure Ralph Lauren never had that. It never went up and down, it remained the brand. ‘Bury Me With the Lo On’ launches in Hen’s Teeth on August 23.

Junior is an annual photographic journal that provides a platform for emerging talent in Irish photography. With this series, the magazine’s editors create a new form of narrative by stitching individual images into the verse of a different Irish poet or spoken word artist each month.

Photography by Ellius Grace ‘Slán’ by Máirín Uí Choileáin

Poll mór dubh I gcoirnéal páirce Gaoth fheanaideach Eanáir

ag séideadh

Clocha sneachta ag gearradh éadain Scata teanntaithe le chéile cois claí Ag brón nó ag fuacht – cá bhfios? Radharc diamhar ar an dúiche mórthimpeall Ithir dubh cartaithe ina chárnán ag fanacht Garraí úr nach bhfásfaidh barra chaoin Ach a sholáthróidh coirp

don Tiarna

Lá an Bhreithiúnais Úireacht lom an gharraí ag treisiú an uaignis. Thar an gclaí - an seanreilig Ársacht is stair ag dul siar na glúnta Fuacht ag cuir faoi ndeara dúinn tú a thréigeadh Gan seans ceann a chromadh, slán a fhágáil agat I do chónaí nua Sa bpoll mór dubh. Meastú an airíonn tú an fuacht inniu?

48 Words: Anna Rodriguez / Photography: Petecia LeFawnhawk

first heard Lucius on the radio while driving home from high school in 2014 a few months after their album ‘Wildewoman’ had been released. The Current, a gem of a public radio station in Minnesota, was playing ‘Turn It Around,’ an infectious indie pop song with a bite to it that competitors were failing to deliver at the time. In a surreal turn of events, four years later I find myself speaking on the phone to one of the group’s frontwomen, Holly Laessig. No longer in the States, I’m on the top floor of an office building in Dublin on a cool July morning. “When we had our first show in Dublin we had no idea what to expect. We were playing Whelan’s and we were like, ‘Ok, probably no one will be there but it’ll be fun’. We went and it was packed. We started playing the songs and people started singing them back to us so loudly that you couldn’t even hear the monitors. We were looking at each other like, ‘What’s happening? How do they know who we are?’. “Then after the show Jess and I went to the merch table to sell merch and this woman approaches the table and slams down two pints of Guinness and two shots of whiskey and she’s like, ‘Welcome to Ireland!’. She was so lovely and it was a great introduction to Dublin. We’ve had surprises like that in weird places and we’ve been very lucky with audiences.” But perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising at all with their albums receiving critical acclaim from Rolling Stone and NPR, not to mention the diversity of the millions of fans that they’ve amassed. Highly esteemed political and economics journalist Paul Krugman proclaimed himself a follower in his Friday Night Music column in The New York Times. I ask Holly how she thinks the band have attracted such a variety of listeners. “I think that sort of surprised us in the beginning, and I don’t know exactly why it is but I do think simply the nature of the way that we compose stuff. Jess and I are writing the songs together and we’re all arranging them with the guys together and all of us have pretty different musical influences between the four of us. So there’s all these perspectives, even in the lyrics there’s at least two perspectives on every song. Musically we’re coming from all these different worlds so I think there’s something for everyone in our band and I think maybe that extends to the audience as well.”

No album showcases this mix of styles and influences more than their most recent release, ‘Nudes’. Recorded over just two days at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the record is a mix of revisited old songs, fresh tracks, and the band’s take on classics like Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Right Down the Line’. The songs on the album are pared down and raw, making for a highly intimate listening experience. “We wanted to give [the fans] something special and a part of our show is a super broken down set. All of our touring up until now, we had a portion in each of our sets where we stand around one mic and the whole thing breaks down and the guys play a couple acoustic guitars and it’s very intimate. Sometimes we’ll do it in the middle of the crowd with everybody right around us and it’s a place for us to really connect with the audience. “People will oftentimes after the show say, ‘Oh I want that on recording! I wish that we could have that on recording’, so we thought we should try it and we did. We recorded it in two days and we weren’t too precious about it because we didn’t want to lose that live feeling. So that was that.” Continuing Laessig tells me, “It feels special because we’re all perfectionists in our own ways. Because of timing and everything and the way that we decided to do it, it didn’t allow for us to be too obsessive about stuff so it was like, ‘Ok, we have two days to get this done’. So we were in a room all together and just playing through the stuff, and some of the stuff we’ve been playing for years and years and some of them [the songs] were ones we’re working on now and some were covers we rearranged, so it was cool to explore those in another way.” The album is 10 tracks long and the process for selecting those 10 was an organic one, I learn. “I think there were some [songs] we definitely knew were gonna go on there and there were a couple we weren’t really sure about until after. It really was such a whirlwind… It was whatever seemed to fit together the best in the end.” On ‘Nudes’, the band collaborates with an impressive bunch of artists, including Wilco’s Nels Cline and the legendary Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, whose Us + Them tour featured Lucius prominently. When I ask about other artists that the group would love to work with, Holly giggles but answers without hesitation.

“Dolly Parton. I don’t know why but that’s always my number one. I just think she’s so over the top and incredible. Big-hearted and big… Other things. She’s just great. My number one was David Bowie, always. There’s so many people, though. Mavis Staples… We’ve already performed with her and I just want to perform with her all the time because she’s just a big ball of joy and so incredible. I’ve never met anyone like that. But yeah, I guess Dolly Parton. Dolly, if you’re reading…” A pairing like that doesn’t seem out of reach given Lucius’ success and the longevity of the partnership between Holly and fellow frontwoman Jess Wolfe. Spanning more than 13 years, their creative friendship blossomed at Berklee College of Music. Since then, the two have cultivated a special kind of synchronisation that can be seen in everything from their voices to their sartorial choices. “I think the whole thing has evolved over time. The same way our voices have morphed into one thing, we also now know what shapes work on both of us and our visual aesthetic is very similar. We have so many shows and so many different opportunities for outfits so it’s always like, ‘Let’s try this for this time and we’ll try something else next time’. It’s never really an issue. But it’s just different phases. Right now we’re in this glitter, sparkly situation with lots of sequins on our faces and whatever else. We have a lot of fun with it and we usually gravitate toward the same thing.” But the connection the women share is anything but superficial. “We spend pretty much every day together. I don’t know that many people that have done that successfully. So it’s pretty easy for us. We have the same aesthetics, we have the same goals with what we want to do artistically. We’re very much on the same page and I think that our personalities are different enough as individuals that it’s complementary and we’re always lending each other a perspective. “Then when we’re not working we’re exploring the cities we’re in. It’s fine if we take a walk in the park and don’t even talk. When you’re that close to somebody, there’s no pressure to have awkward conversation. It’s kind of like that. It’s very sisterly. We’re very lucky that it works out that way.” Lucius play St. Patrick’s Cathedral on September 8.

52 Words: Eric Davidson / Photography: Ellius Grace

ull disclosure, FYNCH is on District Magazine’s label District Recordings and we were proud to release his latest project ‘MIXVAPE’ at the end of June. Writing this intro I find myself struggling to be unbiased towards an artist we’ve worked so closely with. However, from the first time ‘burner.’ landed in our inbox it was clear FYNCH had all the things we love about Irish hip hop, wrapped up neatly in a St. Patrick’s Athletic jersey. Lacing laidback flows over cosy beats, his lyrics thematically stretch from allusions to obscure footballers to gauging the political temperature, all with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Since the last wave of Irish rap crashed onto Dublin city there have been dozens of artists trying to squeeze through the door, but FYNCH’s nimble flow and nonchalant demeanour might just be enough to help him burst it wide open. ‘Drimnagh’s Human Sacrifice’ is ready to be your new favourite rapper. Are you ready to be saved? The last year or so has been fundamental to your trajectory as an artist. What was the most important step you made? I think, in terms of where I am now, releasing ‘burner.’ as my first song. Of course, it being my first venture into making music, it’s going to hold significance, but it was more so me finally saying, ‘Fuck it!’ and doing something proactive and creative. I had just quit my job of two years, so making that change sort of allowed me to dive head-first into music. What are you planning on doing differently now? New sounds, new song structures, the introduction of real and tangible themes within works. I think ‘MIXVAPE’ can somewhat establish who I am as an artist, with aimless pomp and braggadocio, alongside some self-critique and selfdoubt for good measure, but because it’s a mixtape, I kind of designed it to be a bit all over the camp. I’ve always found myself going back to projects that have consistent concepts and themes throughout, so it’s something I want to do myself. You have a design background, does your eye for that help when establishing an act, image and sound?

In everything I do as an artist, I always try to look at it from the outside in. So, with how my merch looks, what my music sounds like, how I act on stage or at the bar in the aftermath, I always think about how I would view it from an outside perspective. If I saw an artist that was bringing out merchandise with a bastardised version of the Amber Leaf logo, I’d fuck with their vision. I’ve always been on a pursuit to be the artist that I always sought out when I was younger. Do you find it difficult treading the balance between trying to establish a music career and trying to set up a safety net of alternative work? Absolutely, I think that ‘Deli Daydreams’ by KOJAQUE exemplifies that, at least in my experiences anyway. It feels as though, unless you’ve gotten extremely lucky, you have to throw yourself into mundane employment in order to have enough coin to survive as you strive to give yourself a fighting chance in the creative world you desperately want to live in. What gives you the confidence to continue making music? Currently, it’s the amount of people that tell me how much they enjoy my tunes and their borderline impatience for new material. It’s genuinely mad to think that people who I have idolised for years are telling me how much they enjoy my work. I could never have envisioned that happening when I started rapping. Also, having District Recordings as a backer of me and what I do gives me a huge boost, and sometimes a desperately needed kick up the hole. Who gave you confidence to music?

the original start making

I don’t think it was anyone in particular. When I originally began listening to Irish hip hop there was always the blind bravado of, ‘I can do that’, yet knowing deep down that I’ll never be Big Siyo, I’ll never be Nucentz, I’ll never be Lethal Dialect. But hearing those voices back when I was 16, the thought always stayed in my head. Then I made a mock album cover for ‘MIXVAPE’ years ago and put it on Twitter and every so often I teased that I was going to release something. After a while my mates got

bored of my empty promises, so releasing ‘burner.’ was almost like a ‘told you so’ moment for me. I remember seeing Sick Nanley in Workman’s about two or three months before I dropped ‘burner.’ and we were both out of it chatting about how we were going to start rapping during the summer. Look at us now, baby. Did you ever rap in an accent other than your own? Oh Jaysus no, never, sure I’ve not even been rapping a year. It boils down to an authenticity and pride issue for me, really. As I talk to different people, my voice changes accordingly, I’ve no idea why, but you can still tell I’m from Dublin. Hip hop, by its very nature, is all about where you’re from. If you’re chatting Dublin shit, but sound like you’re drowning in the mid-Atlantic, your lyrics are pointless. Also, I couldn’t walk around town with my head up if I knew that I was selling out my accent. Ireland has a raft of great accents, especially given that it’s such a small island. Those accents sound unreal on hip hop tracks, utilise them. You work football into your music aesthetically and sonically. Why is it so culturally significant to you? I think football is such a huge element of my music because it’s such a significant part of my make-up. I’ve been obsessed with football probably since I was five, I remember watching Ireland beat the Netherlands 2001 in a murky Portuguese bar because my parents thought the Irish bar was too packed. Sure, I probably had no choice but to become a football nerd, my oul fella put me in a Chelsea jersey at birth. As well, I think it may be the one subject that I can speak on and reference confidently. Much like music, it’s allowed me to experience things I’d never thought I’d experience. Football can be used as a storytelling tool because it’s so ubiquitous, just look at the World Cup, it’s everywhere. There are so many sub-sections of football which can turn into a great line in a song, and they resonate with people. It’s just mad funny to reference obscure footballers, even those that are just on the periphery of the mainstream. Just wait until I start with the League of Ireland references, you definitely won’t be able to understand me then. FYNCH plays Electric Picnic, August 31-Septemeber 2. ‘MIXVAPE’ is out now.

Words: Eric Davidson / Photography: Shervin Lainez

INTRODUCING...

SOCCER MOMMY P

eople drop out of college for lots of different reasons. Some students lived a little too hedonistically, some have existential crises about their direction in life and others leave to become successful touring musicians. At least that’s what Sophie Alisson, aka Soccer Mommy, did. She packed up and dropped out of New York University, making her way back to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee to carve out a career in music. She’s now about to embark on a tour with Paramore, having already supported artists as diverse as Mitski and Slowdive, as well as receiving overwhelmingly glowing reviews for her 2018 record ‘Clean’ from some of the biggest music platforms on the planet. Before she goes on the road with Hayley Williams et al, she’s set to play a string of European shows, stopping off in The Grand Social on September 7. We caught up with her for a Q&A before the Dublin date. New York Times, Pitchfork and The Fader have all reviewed ‘Clean’. It’s an odd collection of publications; mass appeal, indie appeal, youthful appeal. It must be nice not to be pigeonholed into one set group? Yeah definitely. That tends to happen a lot, especially with young female artists. I think blogs tend to really group them together, even if it’s not necessarily the same stuff. So yeah, I totally get that. It is kind of a difficult thing because press, especially if they’re praising it, is always good. But sometimes it does pigeonhole you into a group of people or a genre. When you were writing music originally and you started to take it seriously, did you have an audience in mind? When I started making it, I didn’t really have an idea for what it was going to sound like production-wise and everything. The songs were already written at a basic level, but I wanted to have full production ideas for

everything and I didn’t really know where it was all going to go. I think once I started producing it and making it, it turned out the way I wanted it to. It encapsulated the feeling that I wanted it to have and I think that’s where the sound generated from. What was more important to your growth or progression as an artist, moving to New York or moving back to Nashville? I don’t know. I think it might have been more important to me to leave home [Nashville] for a little bit, just because it gives you a new experience in the world and helps you grow a little bit. I think it also gave me a new appreciation for where I was from and being away from that area. I think moving to New York and moving back helped me grow a lot and helped me realise more about myself and the things I enjoy being around and the environments I like, too. That’s interesting, because I read somewhere that you describe the sound of ‘Clean’ as “sitting in the field in the South on a summer night”. Was that something you longed for when you were in New York? Yeah definitely, but ‘Clean’ goes through the triumphs in both cities. You once said the internet was an empowering tool which you could use to put music up with no cost. Do you feel more pressure on your shoulders now, with the attention and acclaim you’ve received? Yeah, I think there is a lot more pressure now, especially with the internet. It’s definitely an easier way to access seeing what people think about me and if people like or don’t like anything I do. Which is something that can be really toxic. There is a lot more pressure on you as an artist when you start gaining attention just because there are more people watching and they’re more aware of you.

How much attention actually pay to that?

you

I guess I pay attention to it, I think it’s hard not to just because there is a temptation to look at what people are saying about you. You can do it at any moment, and there’s just this temptation always lingering to do it. I mean, it’s great to see what good stuff people are saying, but it’s also something that a lot of self-deprecating people do. They’ll look into the stuff people are saying that’s bad because it feeds the voice in your head. I definitely see it, but I try not to let any of it get to me too much because it can be a little bit dehumanising to read stuff about yourself all the time. Even though it’s overwhelmingly positive, it’s almost like you could easily look at the positive things and it could skew your artistic vision? Yeah definitely. Even good stuff can make you feel weird. It can kind of twist you a little bit. You’re finishing this tour at Scala in London; a 1,000-capacity venue. You said in another interview that you don’t idolise artists. How does it feel to now be idolised? Is it an odd experience? Yeah, it’s definitely weird. I don’t think I really like it so much. It can be a little dehumanising to have people looking to you when you’re just a person, assuming that they know you. They’re creating this pedestal for you that you don’t always feel like you live up to or want to live up to. It’s definitely not the part of making music that I like. I think a lot of artists feel the same way. It can be very strange to have that kind of commitment to other people, to uphold their ideas of you. Soccer Mommy plays The Grand Social on September 7.

Capital terraces Words: Eric Davidson / Photography: Paul Wheatley

he SSE Airtricity League, aka The League of Ireland, keeps on rolling into the summer months. While the biggest tournament in the world has just closed its curtains 6,000 km away, grassroots football is happening on your doorstep. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re in Dublin city, either for a visit or something of a more permanent fixture. So if you’re looking for a taste of homegrown football, below is a list of all the games taking place in the capital in the Premier and First Divisions of the league this month. Like fans of the league always say, it’s about terraces, not televisions.

SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION Friday August 17 2018

Shamrock Rovers vs Bohemians 20:00 / Tallaght Stadium

Friday August 31 2018

St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Athletic vs Waterford 19:45 / Richmond Park

SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION Friday August 17 2018

Cabinteely vs Drogheda 19:45 / Stradbrook

Friday August 31 2018

Shelbourne vs Athlone Town 19:45 / Tolka Park

Four Four Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Electronic Music Guide Each month, Four Four Magazine give us a comprehensive guide to electronic music in Dublin city, as well as catching up with some of house and technoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most impressive international and local names. The month of August sees the festival season coming to a crescendo. This month Four Four are in conversation with Boots & Kats, a Dublin duo that are leading the way in Irish house and disco. They also catch up with Blawan, the English DJ and producer making waves on the back of his recently released debut LP. On top of that, they chat with cult heroes Optimo, an iconic Scottish club night turned DJ duo moniker known to have influenced dance music experimentation in a way that has defined a generation of clubbers in Glasgow.

fourfourmag.com facebook.com/fourfourdance instagram.com/fourfourmagazine twitter.com/fourfourmagazin

House and Techno Guide August 2018

HOTHOUSE DUBLIN

YURT CITY

EATS EVERYTHING

Hothouse x H&G Creations Hothouse are back for their August installment with PrYmary Colours. Expect indoor festival vibes and music from Jus Damien, Reveller and a special guest. For fans of: Kerri Chandler, Adamant, Kornel Kovacs Friday August 10 Berlin d2 Free

Boots & Kats have curated a line up for a day to night summer party featuring George Feely, Adult Store, Mark Blair, and Quinton Campbell and more. For fans of: Mall Grab, Peggy Gou, Carl Cox Saturday August 11 District 8 â&#x201A;Ź22

District 8 The Bristol producer has made a big impact on the electronic music scene with his forward thinking productions and sets. Josh Coakley and Andrew Azara support. For fans of: Green Velvet, Patrick Topping, Jamie Jones Friday August 17 District 8 â&#x201A;Ź20

OSMOSIS BYOB

AMINE EDGE & DANCE

OPTIMO

Bobofunk and Adamant will headline this BYOB warehouse party. Spare Some Change are on visuals and there’s an afterparty in 39/40. For fans of: Denis Sulta, Boots & Kats, Mella Dee Friday August 17 The Complex €22

Hailing from Marseille, this duo have a built a name for themselves with their blend of early house, hip hop and everything in between. For fans of: Jeremy Underground, Hot Since 82, Hannah Wants Saturday August 18 District 8 €17

Bodytonic Scottish production, DJ and legendary club running duo Optimo combine their influences for a mix bag of everything from funk and jazz to reggae, rock and more. For fans of: Jackmaster, Mall Grab, Or:la Saturday August 18 Wigwam €14

THE PRODIGY APPRECIATION NIGHT

CAILÍN X AERON

PARANOID LONDON

Index Index residents Cailín and Aeron take over DoubleScreen x FlutterTone DoubleScreen plays a two-hour set through 39/40 for an after party with their distinct the best of The Prodigy’s back catalogue. styles of techno. For fans of: Ed Davenport, Inland, KiNK Expect all the classics. Saturday August 25 For fans of: Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, 39/40 Daft Punk €9 Saturday August 25 The Grand Social €8

This three piece collective specialise in acid house and analogue house sampling. On support are Colin Perkins and Josh Green. For fans of: Peggy Gou, Jackmaster, Skatebard, Joy Orbison Saturday August 25 Pygmalion €10

PEKING DUCK Australian DJs Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles form a duo creating electronic music and alternative dance. For fans of: Disclosure, Odessa, Clean Bandit Wednesday September 5 The Grand Social €17.35

28 EDEN QUAY, DUBLIN

thesoundhouse_

thesoundhousedublin

64 Words: Niamh Craven / Photography: George Voronov

oots & Kats have well and truly made their mark on our island. Their sights are set a little bigger now with past gigs in New York and more upcoming American dates, but they’ll honour us, once again, this summer with Yurt City, a selfcurated festival in District 8. A humble Toast residency in Opium was where the boys made a name for themselves within one of the most prominent collectives in the city at the time. They’ve since skyrocketed to the top with their versatile, fun and passionate stage presence captivating almost everyone who encounters them. Their rise to the top of the Irish club world was fast, with certain monumental festival moments tipping them into the big leagues, leading them from a weekly student residency to selling out some of Dublin’s best venues. For Boots & Kats, aka Jack and Ciaran, there’s more to them than just ‘the music’. They make sure their personalities shine through in every set they put together, and it’s this that’s got them support slots for industry heavyweights like Annie Mac and Joey Negro and billings at Life Festival and Electric Picnic’s Casa Bacardi stage, one they’ll return to this August. When I caught up with the pair for a chat it was our mutual place of study, DCU, and its Snow Sports Society, known for belting out the best tunes at the society fair, that provided the common ground. The duo have had a busy few years championing DJ careers while also maintaining their separate interests and professions. They told me what they’d been up to.

Dublin is home to some of the most innovative, exciting and ambitious DJs and producers in the country now, with Boots & Kats right at the centre of it all. How do they feel about the current landscape of dance music in Dublin? Are we experiencing a saturation of young DJs and producers? Ciarán: It’s absolutely thriving. Obviously, there wasn’t that social media element a few years ago and that kind of made it way more accessible back then. But I definitely don’t think there were that many people doing it back then. Everyone has a really distinct style too, though. It’s mad. They’re all from a very small country, most of them are even from Dublin, but they all have a massively different sound. You can still tell their productions and tracks apart straight away. Jack: It’s snowballing. Once someone sees someone else who could be their peer having success, everyone gets out there and has success, in their own right, with just being class creative people and good performers and stuff. Even though they’re all based around house and techno, it’s kind of mashed into this new sound for everyone else. It’s not defined like it was before, where it was, ‘This is house and this is techno’ and that’s it. New sounds are coming from all of those that came before. Agreeing with me about the multidisciplinary requirements that come with being a DJ these days and the ‘be your own manager’ attitude that manifests, Boots & Kats have unintentionally built a brand. It’s grown entirely from songs they love and their desire to just have the craic with their mates. They tell me more. Jack: I think personality is definitely a massive driving factor with most people these days, especially with social media and how it is. I think it’s definitely a factor with us, because people can see that we’re people, they can see that we are just lads that have somehow managed to get to this position. Ciaran: Even before all of this sort of happened. Some of the artists I’ve looked up to, you end up meeting them face to face whether it’s through this, promoting, or District 8, or whatever. I’ve just realised that they’re all just really normal, but because they don’t have very much of a social media presence, you wouldn’t really know that. It makes them a little bit less relatable. But it works well in some cases. Jack: It’s not the same as it used to be where, I don’t know, celebrities or artists you’d be in to or whatever, it would be a lot to do with the mystery behind them and that definitely

added to the appeal, there was a certain aspect of that. But nowadays people want personalities and relatability. When talking about their residency at Dublin collective Toast we soon stumbled upon the subject of venue closures in Dublin. Ciaran: It’s very sad. The state that it’s in at the moment, we couldn’t have gotten to the position we’re in now without those places and where the scene is at now, you know? We had our residency in Opium Rooms, now that’s gone. Twisted Pepper, that’s gone. It’s just very hard, especially if you’re just trying to start a small collective. It’s not a very good place to start off. Jack: At the same time, I think it might pick up. There are these little boutique venues starting up everywhere and they all have such personality in the buildings. People need to be more creative about where they have their parties. I ask if they think Ireland supports its creative inhabitants enough, or at all. Ciarán: Obviously you want to get noticed elsewhere, but we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket. We’ve both got our own things going too. The way it’s going at the moment, with the growth, I can see it more and more likely for me to be able to build myself here [in Ireland]. If we keep that kind of level up, though, we are aware that we will burn out in the eyes of the crowd.

issues, even if you go too hard and you’re with someone else you’re more rational about things, instead of being caught in an irrational train of thought by yourself. Our conversation winds down and I’ve just one more question for the pair. As their selfcurated day festival Yurt City looms, and with a host of festival slots and gigs just around the corner, is there an element of their job they love the most? Ciarán: Being able to curate Yurt City was absolutely class. Just being able to give this platform to our friends that I just consider to be so talented. I love to push them as much as I can. Jack: Just being able to play with your mates... We definitely prefer our own events because it’s more of a community affair. Your mates will be there, with their mates and so on. It’s always the best buzz and it’s always going to be a great crowd of people who will be really fun to play to. Everyone on the [Yurt City] line up we have met through DJing, obviously we have loads more people that we would have booked but there’s only so much space on a line up. It’s all people we’ve met in the last three years that we happen to get along really well with and they happen to be some of the most class DJs around. Yurt City takes place in District 8 on August 11.

We moved on to the topic of touring. The life of a DJ can be an exhausting and lonely one with artists like Scuba temporarily retiring from touring to protect his mental health. It can take its toll but, as the lads explain to me, gigs are made a lot easier just by having the company there. Ciarán: That side is made a lot easier by having two of us there. The travelling is awful, but if there’s two of you there you can always kind of buzz off each other. I imagine travelling by yourself you’d be bored out of your skull. Jack: One thing I can’t understand, and I don’t know how DJs can do it by themselves, is going from complete isolation to a thousand people screaming in your face, and then straight back to isolation. We can kind of wind up and wind down together, which helps completely. We’ve both had encounters with mental health

68 Words: CĂłilĂ Collins / Photography: Marie Staggat

he concept of an album has been, for a long time, one of the most solid and reliable notions within the music industry. An album is what you work towards as an artist and it’s meant to be what represents your music in its most true form. Looking at the long-playing format in that regard, it’s kind of strange that we expect club-focused electronic artists to turn out albums that contain more ambient and abstract work than their previous releases and that, in turn, an album from a house or techno artist has to stray away from their sound and embrace a more pensive one. Expanding one’s sound isn’t a bad thing and should never be frowned upon; for artists to do so is a gutsy move that should be acknowledged, especially if it’s done well. With that said, when an artist sticks to their guns and embraces the dancefloor in an extended format, why should we take that away from them? Surely, they can coexist? Enter ‘Wet Will Always Dry’, Blawan’s latest LP, released on his Ternesc label; an eight track record full of the storming industrial techno sound he has cultivated over the years. While it has and always will remain a tough task to fully encapsulate Blawan’s sound in a series of words, his album does a much better job of perfectly capturing that unique marriage of thunderous kicks and the most intelligent blips and beeps. The process of developing his harsher side and ultimately an album to highlight it began with a switch from London to Berlin. While one would be easily forgiven for assuming such a move was in hope of chasing the real ethos of underground techno in the place where it’s most widely celebrated, the producer’s explanation is a touch less glamorous (then again, there’s no real glamour with Berlin-style techno, is there?). Commitments in London held Blawan down for longer than he had intended and once a relationship there came to an end it was time to swap cities. Berlin offered a larger group of musical contacts and more affordable studio space. His sound now had room to grow exponentially, leading to easily one of the most well-received techno albums of the year. Questioned if whether the social differences between both cities have influenced his creative process, he was quick to point out that he doesn’t go out much, “It’s basically like I’ve just moved apartments, really”. While recounting his move from the UK to Germany, his tone is just about as straightforward as any of the eight tracks we were about to discuss, pointing out that he still plays the same clubs in London now that he did when he lived there, but his steely exterior creaks when he finally gets chatting about the album itself. “I’ve always been a bit scared of doing the album format really. I didn’t feel like I really wanted to do it, but I’m really happy I have.”

He ponders for a minute as to why exactly some people have questioned the clubby nature of the brand new collection, pointing out that he has always made that sound. “So why would I deviate from it now?” Several of the biggest names in techno were on the receiving end of rave reviews from critics for albums that did deviate, some more so than others, away from sounds that we had come to expect from them on previous EPs. That deviation was typically a move towards easy-listening, rather than towards an even harsher techno sound, something Blawan doesn’t necessarily see the point in doing. “It’s a weird paradox. For me, if I was writing edgy music, writing an album in that sort of style, I’d want it to be more edgy [than just a few ambient tracks]. You get this sort of watering down of stuff because people think it has to appeal to everybody. It’s a shame really. When I wrote my album, I wasn’t thinking of that, my main goal was to do a bunch of tracks that work as my ID card.” The notion of an ID card is a useful one, despite the overarching feeling of giving in to the hyper-paced nature of today’s instant consumption market. However, Blawan has divided his sound into multiple, microcosmic aliases that all in turn have had their moment in the spotlight. Karenn, a side project alongside the newly Houndstooth-released Pariah was the most celebrated of all, with other sounds coming under the guises of Bored Young Adults and Kilner. Even with so many monikers, the Blawan objective has never stayed in one lane, something we see on ‘Wet Will Always Dry’. “That’s exactly what I wanted it to be about. Full stop sounds a bit heavy, but it definitely was that, hence why it was a club album. I wanted it to signify everything I’ve been trying to do as Blawan over the past few years and I hope I achieved that.” While alluding to the past few years the question of modular use crops up. Blawan’s latest record is made up of 100 per cent modular music, in acknowledging that he points out that if Jeff Mills were to drop an album next week, we wouldn’t refer to it as “100 per cent 909, would we?”. While laughing at his own joke and at the media’s never-ending hunger to slap labels on anything and everything, he shrugs off the question. “I’m a little bit wary about playing modular tracks because they can sound a little bit too raw and unpolished.” While Blawan’s sound has ebbed and flowed much more than most techno artists would ever dream of, one thing that has always remained consistent is his flawless live performances. His latest Irish outing saw him command two turntables at Life Festival’s Index stage as if they were a pair of CDJs stuck on sync mode. His legendary B2B with Sunil Sharpe goes down as one of the most iconic sets ever played at the festival. With such a cathartic approach to production and a chaotic sound at that, Blawan always keeps it smooth in the booth.

The commitment to wax goes even further than the stage though, as he notes that the album is designed to be played on vinyl. “It was just the way I went around producing it. I have a vinyl cutter in my studio, so every time I make a track I’m cutting it to vinyl and playing it out. A lot of the tracks were based around how it sounded on the record. It was the first time I got to do that as I only got the vinyl cutter at the end of last year. “I chose a mastering engineer that does his job really nicely and that masters just for vinyl. If you get the vinyl and play it versus the digital files, the vinyl sounds so much better, the difference is huge!” Laughing for a minute at the fact that he took the time to cut each track to vinyl after making it, he goes on. “It takes a little bit longer alright. I’m just a nerd! Some people think it’s an old thing but I’m just clinging onto it with a tight grip. It’s extremely important, it’s where my real passion lies. I really like how vinyl changes the sound of music. The whole process behind it, the whole industry behind it, I think it’s worth supporting. There are a lot of people involved in it. “At the end of the day, you have a physical, touchable version of the music that you love, and you just get rid of it and use MP3s, what is that? It’s nothing. Having a vinyl just solidifies your music.” In the midst of this passionate decree he interjects, pointing out that the whole process of making the album amounted to “about a month and a half I think” but that “it was every day in the studio, it obviously seems short but given how much time I spent on it every day it wasn’t”. Right after putting the album together across the months of January and February, the Englishman proceeded to head back on the road for a series of club shows, something that allowed him to further harness his grip on what Blawan’s conclusive sound is, but also to test out the tracks he had in the environment they were created for. The most prominent stop on that tour was a step on arguably the world’s biggest mix platform. Blawan recalled to me how it felt to finally record a BBC Essential Mix. “I was super nervous because it’s always difficult to approach those things, they can be club mixes, but you’ve got remember that people will be listening to it at home and then you’ve got to be super picky about what tracks you’re playing. I’m honoured to have done it and amazing that I’ve been able to do one.” The Berlin-based artist’s sound has meandered through some of the most alien and exciting landscapes modern techno has ever heard, but never really found itself a home. In ‘Wet Will Always Dry’ we have a concise bookmark on the current embodiment of Blawan, but whether he will ever remain the same is something we should never bet on. From UK-entwined techno to more machine-driven, bleepridden club weapons and every alias and collaboration in between, Blawan has torn down a sonic wall we never knew existed. Why should we expect him to stand still now? ‘Wet Will Always Dry’ is out now via Ternesc.

Words: Jordan Kinlan

60 SECONDS WITH:

OPTIMO D

J duo JD Twitch and JG Wilkes aka Optimo are two key figures in the history of Glasgow’s club culture. With their famous residency at the iconic Sub Club the pair shaped their night around a ‘no genre’ policy. Now touring across the globe, they’re keeping things consistent with their fabled Optimo Music imprint. We caught up with them for a chat about Glasgow’s club scene, friendship and maintaining their sound. With over 60 years of combined experience you have both seen musical trends come and go. How substantially has the Glasgow scene changed? JG Wilkes: Glasgow never had a ‘sound’ and still doesn’t, thankfully. We have a breadth of talent and diversity to rival cities 10 times the size of ours and what I see, and hear, is that energy getting louder, more diverse and rightfully being acknowledged further afield. Speaking of Glasgow, there seems to be a host of talent coming out of the city in recent years with the likes of Denis Sulta, Jackmaster and Jasper James. JG Wilkes: I’m happy for them. They are super-talented great lads and we’ve watched them come up and now enjoy tremendous success – we even get to warm up for them sometimes! You’ve both been friends and colleagues for years now. Is the friendship as strong as ever? JG Wilkes: I think it gets stronger as the years go on. It feels that way. I believe we respect one another, that’s fundamental. We have fantastic communication through work but I think we’re also very aware that we’re different animals, with different strengths, different lives outside of music and touring, different routines, different habits and sometimes different tastes. When someone accepts that about you, acknowledges it and then can work with you to build something you both love and can be proud of, then I consider them a true friend. It’s by far my longest relationship.

Your weekly Sub Club residency ended in 2010 after 13 years. You were known to be different than the norm and genrebending. What are your thoughts on that perception? JD Twitch: We always get asked this, as if it is a weird thing when it just seems totally normal to us. I guess we were bored with the music in clubs at that time, wanted to play lots of music we liked and felt it being on a Sunday would allow more musical freedom. You’ve regularly appeared on Boiler Room and recently did a set for them at AVA in Belfast. How do you approach these sets and your performances in general? Do you plan ahead? JD Twitch: We will often think about what kind of event it is and who else is playing when picking music but never, ever plan a set. At that AVA Boiler Room someone asked me what my first track was going to be five minutes before we started and I had no idea. How do you maintain consistency with the Optimo Music label while still adopting a ‘no genre’ policy? JD Twitch: Simply by releasing music I like without thinking about how it fits in to the general scheme of things. I look very hard for the music I want to release and am also fortunate that a lot of great music makes its way to me. Optimo play Wigwam on August 18.

Every Saturday & Bank Holiday Sunday

Garden Terrace Takeover 33 South Main Naas

75 75

New location now open: 6 Jervis House, Millenium Walk, Dublin 1 www.madegg.ie

78 Words: Eoghan Barra / Photography: Eliot Lee Hazel

ARIEL PINK

o borrow a line from David Bowie’s 1975 number one hit ‘Fame’,

Fame, it’s not your brain It’s just the flame That burns your change To keep you insane

The notion of ‘fame’ in the music industry is a highly contentious and widely-debated one. It evokes a question about what it means to have more fans, more money, more ego, more spotlight, and fame is the very first word that comes to my mind when Ariel Pink is concerned. It’s a theme that seems somewhat up for debate in the mind of this unconventional genius. Just under a year has passed since he released his last album, ‘Dedicated to Bobby Jameson’, the title of which refers to a Californian musician tipped for stardom in the 1960s. While Jameson garnered a cult following, he retreated away from the music industry on the back of a series of unfortunate struggles, only to resurface online 40 years later with an autobiographical blog telling the story of his rendezvous with fame. The blog grabbed the attention of Ariel Pink and he felt that naming the album after someone else, one Bobby Jameson, would divert attention in the other direction. ‘Dedicated to Bobby Jameson’ carries the clear-cut essence of Pink’s reverb-heavy dream-pop. His unique brand of bedroom psychedelia is a harmonious concoction of folk, punk, kraut-rock and funk. The semi-concept album has at least a touch of David Bowie’s magical theatre in there too, with a hint of John Lennon. Interestingly, Lennon happened to collaborate with Bowie on the creation of ‘Fame’. The record received widespread acclaim from critics and fans, so I ask Ariel what sort of effect he feels it’s had on his career. “At least it’s being appreciated,” he tells me. “And new fans are getting turned on hopefully. I don’t see my lifestyle or career changing all that much ever really.” In recent months, two fellow musicians have independently claimed Pink would have been as big as Bowie in another era.

Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon released a song in April called ‘The Mark Kozelek Museum’, the lyrics read: Ariel Pink ain’t your run-ofthe-mill indie rock If it was 1975 He’d be a household name And we’d be neck-and-neck He’d be David Bowie famous And I’d be Neil Young famous Selling out arenas But that ain’t the case here In 2017 “It’s kind of flattering,” Pink replies to my mention of the song. “I don’t agree with that sentiment, but hey, to each his own. Anything that draws attention to me in that way makes me kind of squeamish to be honest.” The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas made a similar remark just a month previous in an interview with Vulture. He said that Ariel Pink is analogous to Bowie and that “in another era, he would’ve been much more popular”. He continued to confess that he strives to build a world in which “Ariel Pink is as popular as Ed Sheeran”. All this talk of bygone times had me thinking. What if Pink had the choice to exist as an artist back then? Would he step into the hypothetical time machine? “I wouldn’t choose to perform if I had the choice. Take me back to the 90s please”. The endorsements from Kozelek and Casablancas reminded me of a tweet Pink posted in May. It simply read, ‘wish i was more famous’. Did he though? “I was being facetious. Of course, I don’t want to be more famous. I’m too famous as it is!” Another brief reply. Was he being short with me or merely concise? It was beginning to become clear that the journalistic rumours about Pink were somewhat true. Artistic merit aside, he’s not always an easy man to interview. He once told The Guardian that one of his tactics is ‘to never stop talking once he starts, so the interviewer cannot ask any questions’. Not a tactic being used in our conversation evidently.

“I TRY TO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH THE DEVIL. I AM THE DEVIL!”

“I READ A LOT, I THINK A LOT, I TALK A LOT. I EAT A LOT. SMOKE A LOT. I DO A LOT OF NOTHING AND I’M NOT ASHAMED OF THAT EITHER.”

I ask him about the idea of selling one’s soul to the devil for fame, talent and success. Think of the rumours about Jay-Z, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Page, Paganini… “I don’t know. I hope it makes them happy, I guess. I try to not make deals with the devil. I am the devil!” The devil? I’m not sold, but Ariel Pink is a devil’s advocate for sure. He’s made comments during his time in the spotlight that the press has jumped on, for obvious reasons. He’s voiced derogatory opinions about Madonna and Grimes and has claimed love for paedophiles (“like Jesus loved paedophiles”) and the Westboro Baptist Church. Maybe the things he said were just spoken accidentally. Maybe his words were taken out of context. Maybe he was acting in support of free speech and ripping up the rulebook for the way an artist is meant to act these days, or maybe it’s just his twisted sense of humour. When Stephen Hawking passed away in March Pink tweeted, ‘steven hawking would have made a great hollywood villain’. It should be pointed out, Stephen Hawking had previously said he’d make a good fit for a James Bond bad guy, but it still begs the question about Pink’s consideration for audience sensitivity. He also spelled Stephen’s name incorrectly. I broach the subject with him. “No comment. That’s how I feel about all of it. I don’t want drama. I don’t want my thoughts under a microscope. I just wanna keep it clean, and say as little as possible, ok?” Today is one of those days where Ariel Pink is choosing to be cautious about his opinions of others. Perhaps he’s willing to share something about himself, his driving forces, and what keeps him ticking. “Personal question… I read a lot, I think a lot, I talk a lot. I eat a lot. Smoke a lot. I do a lot of nothing and I’m not ashamed of that either.”

We come to the end of our conversation. Although fleeting, it’s a welcome relief that when I ask Pink how he feels about maintaining a relationship with the media, he confirms his passiveness for interviews across the board. “I have no opinion on it one way or the other. I’m fine with it. I don’t like interviews, but I don’t have a problem doing them in principle. What choice do I have anyway?” Ariel Pink embarks on a sprawling tour of Europe this month. After more than 20 years in the game, and despite a self-proclaimed lack of desire to perform, he still puts a hell of a lot of heart and soul into each show for the fans. “I’m getting too old to tackle the logistics; getting a band together, rehearsing, spending all sorts of money in advance, and that’s all before the tour starts. So much work! The best part is travelling and putting smiles on people’s faces.” And so, Ariel Pink plays the Button Factory later this month. Alas, he hasn’t yet reached the level of recognition that he may deserve here in Ireland, but that’s just fine by me. Do us fans really want to watch him in a sold-out Croke Park, sitting on a €90 seat? No thanks. This upcoming gig is an opportunity to see a should-be indie superstar in an intimate venue with great sound quality. It will make for a nice change from his last billing in the city when he played on the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2016, supporting Patti Smith and Spiritualized. Torrential rain pushed dedicated revellers under the cover of nearby festival tents, where unfortunately the sound was as muddy as the surrounding fields. “I’ll try and bring the sunshine this time,” he tells me. “See you there.” Ariel Pink plays The Button Factory on August 16.

84 Words: Catriona Devery / Photography: Georfe Voronov

Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese

o you have a sweet tooth or a savoury tooth? Mine lies very much on the savoury side. Cheese is my chocolate, the ultimate comfort food. Some people claim that the same addictive reward processes activated by chocolate are activated by cheese. Like how sugar releases a hit of dopamine, proteins in cheese (casomorphins) apparently have an opioid-like effect on our neural pathways. Can I use this an excuse for my excessive cheese consumption? Ireland doesn’t have strong history of cheesemaking. Well, it did according to food historians until the seventeenth century when for various reasons the skill died out. It’s only in the last 30 years or so that we have embraced farmhouse and naturally made, hand-crafted cheeses. Many generations of Irish people grew up thinking there was only one type of cheese, and it was orange. But now we are mad for the stuff, and while we still cherish cheddar our cheese repertoire has expanded. Good cheese is flavoursome, rich and satisfying in a way that few foods are. You can overdo it, true, but for me it’s is a kind of magical product. There’s an alchemy in the turning of dairy into cheese. Like honey, it manifests the characteristics of the landscape and environment around it, distilling its organic context into a flavour sensation. The scale of Irish food chains means there’s a very direct and visible path from land to sandwich. While Irish fromage was once Calvita, Easi-Singles (I know a few of those) and generic Trump-coloured cheddar, what you might call the gateway drugs of the cheese world, we are now blessed with a bounteous assortment of cheeses, with a rake of great cheese-dealers, I mean -mongers, selling class A dairy. Fallon and Byrne do great cheese. As do Morton’s in Ranelagh. Donnybrook Fair have lots of fancy options, but I can’t go in there because of my blood pressure and the price of everything. Loose Canon Cheese & Wine is the new kid in town having just opened on Drury Street It’s run by the Meet Me in the Morning peeps, so you can bet on an epic selection of (mostly) Irish produce and natural wines. Corleggy Cheese are the go-to Temple Bar market cheesemongers these days, selling their raw cow and goats milk creations and a selection of others, but before Corleggy, Sheridan’s was the spot. Their regular stall at the market they helped set up was always a favourite feature. Born in Galway they’ve now grown to have shops around the country including their wondrous chilled cheese cave on South Anne Street. I met with John Leverrier, manager at the Dublin 2 location. Sheridans’ shop is an Aladdin’s cave of blue cheese, goat’s cheese, washed rind, brie and hard and soft cheese of all varieties. They also sell a small selection of the ultimate cheese partner, wine, plus amazing Le Levain bread, cured meats and essential cheese paraphernalia

such as crackers and chutney. John says Irish cheese is more exciting than it was 30, even 20 years ago, although they sell cheese from all over Europe. The number of cheese producers in Ireland has risen from around 10 in the late 70s to over 60 now, with practically every county represented. Cheddar features here, they have five carefully chosen flavours, but it’s certainly not the only show in town. John tells me that despite its apparent banality, cheddar is one of the most difficult cheeses to produce well. The most popular cheese in their shop is the nutty, toothsome Comté, a semi-hard, unpasteurised cow’s cheese from the Jura mountains in France. Coolea is another hot tip from the Sheridan’s manager, a gouda style hard cheese made on the Cork/Kerry border. He also says Irish blue cheeses rank up there with the famous Frenchie ones. Another Cork treasure, the Gubeen farm cheeses from the Ferguson family, are of legendary status. Try the oak smoked version if you like a smokey, hard cheese. Continental-wise, Sheridan’s do a Parmesan from Giorgio Cravero, a ‘cheese banker’, who sources consistently good parmesan from Emilia-Romagna. Parmesan is probably the most useful cheese to have in your fridge; it lasts a long time and can add a serious umamibomb to pasta dishes. Try Cacio e Pepe, with spaghetti or ramen, David Chang style. If you love the springy stretchiness of melted mozzarella but find it a bit bland, he recommends Italian Asiago which has similar textural qualities but a bit more of a savoury bite. I tasted a few cheeses which were new to me that day. One was Mimolette, a pretty, pumpkin-hued hard French cheese with a sweet and buttery flavour. Erik, a cheesemonger in the shop, gave me a sliver of his favourite; Pouligny-Saint-Pierre is a triangular-shaped, soft, rich and crumbly cheese with a wrinkly rind. It is yummy. They also do a seriously goaty, Gouda. Most of these cheeses are reliant on variable factors like what their dairy herds can eat, the weather during production, the moisture content and temperature of the storage environment. Many things can affect how cheeses taste. John agrees that the shop must work closely with producers to manage the natural mutability of the products they sell. I also learned that the cheese industry, despite being founded 8000 BCE, has not escaped automation. Swiss cheesemakers, never short of a bob or two, use robots to rotate their wheels of gruyere on the regular. You won’t find any cheese robots in West Cork just yet, but it’s surely coming down the line. Hello, Cheesoid! sheridanscheesemongers.com

Fondue at Edelwise

Cheese Boards

Fondue is perhaps the most famous cheese-based dish. Invented in Switzerland, many moons before cheese robots, it was originally created as a way for peasants to use up leftover cheese and make old bread palatable.I won’t dwell on the shadowy Swiss Cheese Union, a cheesemakers lobby who promoted fondue as the Swiss national dish, amid whispers of corruption, conspiracy, and cheese-based social control. Shhhh. Fondue is delicious. Ranelagh’s Edelwise is, to my knowledge, the only dedicated Fondue restaurant in Ireland. They bring a dish of molten cheese to your table, and it’s kept warm with a little flame underneath. There are a few varieties: start with the moitiémoitié made with Gruyere and Vacherin. They do a corsé, which is richer and includes Appenzeller and Toggenburger. They also do a truffle-flavoured version. We were sated by the two-person quantity, but our waiter told us a table of two once ate seven portions. Imagine the nightmares! The flame keeps the melted cheese in an ecstatically liquid state, and it is perfect for dipping the beef, bread, potatoes and vegetables that come alongside. Nibble on little gherkins and silver skin onions. They also do Raclette, a grilled cheese dish which evokes ski-slopes and Alpine air. Go there hungry, be prepared to eat large volumes of liquid cheese. Both Raclette and Fondue are happiest when paired with a crisp, dry white like a Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc. Bring a load of friends, share a few pots and let the end of the cheese mixture form a crust at the bottom. This is fondly referred to as ‘le religeuse’ and considered a delicacy.

You either get cheese boards or you don’t. If you’re sweet-toothed, the idea of foregoing dessert for a plate of fermented curd may horrify you. Top tip: have dessert as well. Lucky for cheese-fans, Dublin is cheese board boom town these days. They are top in food-focussed boozers (I hate the prefix gastro, it should only be followed by enteritis), like L Mulligan Grocers in Stoneybatter, who offer great cheese-beer pairing recommendations. Walsh’s, also in Stoneybatter, do a ‘Cheesy Chewsday’ menu with cheeses from Lilliput and an extensive choice. Wine bars are another great place for cheese boards, and wine, the perfect partner. Piglet in Temple bar is a casual spot with tempting mini tapas bites and amazing biodynamic wines. They do a creamy baked Cooleeney, and their cheese board features a carousel of cheeses from Sheridan’s. 64 Wine Bar in Glasthule got a shout out from Sheridan’s manager John, and the swish Ely wine bars. Often where there’s cheese, there’s charcuterie and Irish charcuterie is superb right now - Gubbeen and the Wooded Pig are worth trying. Keep your eyes peeled for cured pork.

swiss-edelwise.com

Mac & Cheese at Woollen Mills The Woollen Mills are committed to Irish cheeses, in fact they are champions of Irish ingredients of all kinds. They rotate the varieties on their menu and cheese board regularly. They often have a Toons bridge Dairy burrata on the menu, which is like an insanely creamy, unctuous, super-luxury mozzarella with a molten core. After trying it in Italy I used to feel obliged to order it whenever I saw it in Ireland, as it was a rarity. But now Toons bridge are making it I might have to calm down for fear of burrata-overload. They do a regular cheese board with three Irish cheeses, crackers and chutney and you can rely on their discerning cheese-choices. But their mac & cheese is probably where you should focus your energies, if you are seeking cheesy comfort. They used to do a legendary porkbelly mac & cheese, which has been replaced by their current ‘sloppy’ mac & cheese. It’s basically a beef-ragu, cheesy, béchamel sauce, made with blue cheese and cheddar. Of course, they do a non-beef version also, which is equally sumptuous. It’s not cheap, but sometimes a bowl of savoury, melting cheese covered carbohydrates is exactly what you need. thewoollenmills.com

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Curved Street, Temple Bar Dublin

I Don’t Think You’re Ready for this gelato 88

utter pecan, apple crumble, black cherry, strawberry and black pepper, salted banana caramel - I got serious scoop envy when I did a straw poll of nonIrish friends’ favourite ice-cream flavours. Before I started properly investigating, my sense was that Dublin options were a little, well, vanilla. It’s no accident that you can easily confuse an Italian by suggesting going for a few scoops. Gelato in Italy is a national pastime and, in this case, it’s no insult to Irish efforts to suggest that Italians do it better. Gelato has less cream and more milk than ice-cream. The way it’s churned means it’s denser and silkier than what we’re used to. It sometimes has more sugar than regular ice-cream, and it’s served at warmer temperatures. All this culminates in a more flavoursome experience. And there’s less chance of brain freeze. I’ve had amazing ice-cream and gelato in Ireland, the lushness of our pastures means Irish dairy is top quality, but it seems that flavour-wise we weren’t as imaginative as the inventors of gelato, or even the experimenters extraordinaire - the hipsters of Sydney. I suppose it’s unfair to compare. Ice-cream innovation occurs in the places where eating ice-cream makes sense. The hand-held dessert of the Irish summer has historically been more of a drooping 99 cone with a sprinkling of sand and a tang of disappointment on an overcast day. But things are changing. Nowadays there are some quality ice-creams and gelato on offer around the city, with plenty for the vegans too. If you don’t mind shelling out €3 or so for a scoop, there are lots of decadent options to choose from. Unusual flavours are there as well, just a little hard to find. Maybe we need to step out of our comfort zones a bit more. Brown bread ice-cream, to me, sounded awful until I tried it and JP McMahon, in his Michelin starred Aniar in Galway, makes oyster ice-cream. I’m thinking let’s embrace the strange. We have the amazing ingredients and the master recipe. Let’s get remixing some homegrown flavours. Coddle icecream anyone? How about a full-Irish gelato? If you’re seeking non-alcoholic scoops in Dublin, check out some of these spots.

Murphy’s Wicklow St.

Murphy’s ice-cream was invented in Dingle, Co. Kerry and they’re now a big operation with shops all over the country. They make icecream rather than gelato, with milk, cream, eggs and sugar. They have an epic selection of flavours, try caramel honeycomb, Dingle gin and peanut, and an impressive adventurous streak. They’ve tried tastes in the past like honey lavender as well as smoked salmon, which they even admit wasn’t very nice. No harm though, as Beckett said, ‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better’ in his famous play, ‘Waiting for Gelato’.

Scoop Aungier St, Ranelagh

Scoop are a relatively new player in Dublin’s gelato game. They do a super range of sorbettos, which are vegan-friendly. Try the watermelon, green apple, peach, raspberry, or the 90 per cent cocoa chocolate version. Their most popular flavours include sea salt caramel and Snickers. They also had a fun project with Deliveroo to make pregnancy craving-inspired ice-cream which resulted in cheese & onion crisp gelato. Sadly (?) no longer available.

Storm in a Teacup Skerries

A bit of a trek, unless you’re from Skerries, but S.I.A.T. is a nice spot for a walk along the seafront on a sunny day. And this ice-cream shop wins the prize for cutest premises, you’re looking out for a little hut right on the pier. They do a range of flavours with the very popular Ferrero and chocolate cookie crumble hot sauces, as well as crepes and milkshakes. Try their rum and raisin, a controversial, but to my mind, excellent choice.

Gino’s Grafton St, Henry St, South Great Georges St

Gino’s may seem like a bit of a supermarket option given their ubiquity, I used to always think, ‘That’s ice-cream for tourists’, but it’s good quality gelato in the traditional Italian style. It’s always busy and there’s an extensive range of flavours, all freshly made in Dublin. They use organic Irish milk from ‘happy cows’ (how do they know?) Try the pistachio.

Sun Bear Gelato Dawson St

Sun Bear Gelato, a cute little shop on Dawson Street, is named after the adorable sun bears who are at risk of extinction due to deforestation for palm oil production in Southeast Asia. The shop’s USP is that it sells ice-cream free of palm oil which apparently is used in most commercial ice-cream production. They use fresh Irish milk and always have lots of vegan options, try the mint or the cookies and cream.

Irish Artist Spotlight:

Nuala Convery N

uala Convery is a multi-disciplined artist and second in command at Guerrilla Shout and DSNT. Her time is spent, designing and producing clothing, building lighting installations, dancing and nurturing a healthy community of techno-loving gremlins. She holds the crew together with a loving grip and keeps them all sane. Nuala graduated with a degree in Fashion Design & Marketing in 2016, and won the prestigious ‘Fashion Marketing Award 2016’ at Graduate Fashion Week in London for her final project. Since graduating she’s been working freelance predominantly on the creative, production and marketing teams of electronic music events, and has worked for AVA Festival, DSNT, Guerrilla Shout, Dimensions Festival, Outlook Festival and Sunflowerfest over the past two years. Nuala has a recognisable illustration style and her ‘gremlins’ can be seen within the designs of DSNT Clothing, in their event decor and spray painted in locations around Belfast and beyond. Potography by Jasmin Bell & Oisin O’Brien.

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