District Magazine's Guide to Dublin City: July 2018 by District Magazine

July 2018

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INTRO This month we’re excited to welcome a guest designer who’ll be taking the reins for one month only. We worked with Cian Ryan on the launch of District Magazine Issue 004: Rebirth, where he dressed The Complex in a series of 60 unique posters. However, we’ve been a fan of his work for a long time. Besides his bold and daring personal work, his fingerprints can be seen all over Dublin’s house and techno scene, having designed some of the most memorable posters and artwork club music in the city has seen. More recently he was recruited to establish a brand identity for All Together Now Festival which takes place in Curraghmore House this August Bank Holiday weekend. @cyanryan1

Editor // Eric Davidson Operations Director // Craig Connolly Creative Director // James McGuirk Guest Designer // Cian Ryan Deputy Editor // Hannah O’Connell House & Techno Editor // Cóilí Collins Events Editor // Niamh Craven Food & Drink Editor // Caitriona Devery Issue 001-004 Creative Director // Johnny Brennan Advertising // Sam Greenwood

- sam@districtmagazine.ie

Photography // Ellius Grace, George Voronov, Greg Purcell, Paul Wheatley, Omar O’Reilly, Olivia Rose Words // Carla Jenkins, James Kenny, Jordan Kinlan Website // districtmagazine.ie

Cover Photography // Aldo Paredes

08/ Emmet Kirwan

CONTENTS

14/ Biig Piig 18/ Syd 20/ Syrias Vibes 24/ Perfect day in Dublin 28/ Live Guide 34/ Capital terraces 40/ K Á R Y Y N 44/ Junior x FYNCH 48/ J Hus 52/ Sean O’Rourke 56/ Obie Trice 60/ House & Techno Guide 66/ Jay Clarke 68/ Groove Armada 72/ Cailín 78/ The Black Madonna 84/ Clanbrassil House 86/ The Dublin Eight 88/ Food Marke 90/ Irish Artist Spotlight: Ange

NEW

COURSES

DIPLOMA IN

MUSIC & AUDIO PRODUCTION MUSIC BUSINESS CPD DIPLOMA IN

PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANSHIP IN VOCALS, SONGWRITING, GUITAR, DRUMS, BASS

OPEN DAY 2018

27TH JULY

EUROPEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOST CONNECTED MUSIC COLLEGE

BIMM.IE

Words: Eric Davidson / Editorial Assistance: Carla Jenkins / Photography: George Voronov

Emmet Kirwan

“Even as a poet you can use an accent to make two words rhyme that wouldn’t in another instance. You’re freed up by your accent, your accent is a tool, it’s indicative of who you are.

mmet Kirwan was the final person to step on stage at a recent spoken word event in The GPO’s main hall. Out of the 300-odd people in the room the vast majority were familiar with the Tallaght-man’s work. Whether it was his on-stage or small screen acting, voice over work, or, more directly related to that evening, his stirring and emotive poetry. By the time Emmet uttered his final syllable the entire room was ready to go to war for him. The Dubliner’s magnetism means you linger on every word he speaks. He proved this once again when he recently sat opposite a juxtaposingly less dynamic Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show. The clip of Emmet berating our current government’s approach to social welfare fraud and social hierarchies had his name on the agenda at water coolers around the country the following Monday morning. Most of the country was watching the show to hear the provisional results from the referendum, yet Emmet still managed to capture the nation. While he was silenced by the national broadcaster from speaking about what way he’d be voting (He voted yes), he tells me how important the result was. “One of the things we learned from the debate around the Repeal movement was that Ireland is a country that’s decent and has decency towards each other. People who are dyed-in-the-wool Catholics were swayed by the testimonies of women who bared their souls. And they made a choice. They said, ‘You’re more important to me than some priest telling me what to do. Even though I used to look towards him for moral guidance, I have a moral compass myself’. “It also comes from our history because for a long time we didn’t care about each other and we turned a blind eye… So hopefully we can shift all the decency that we had for the [Repeal] testimonies to new testimonies about things like homelessness and drug addiction.” If you’ve seen a little more of Emmet than usual lately, on magazine covers and talk shows, it’s because he’s involved in perhaps the biggest Irish film of the year. ‘Dublin Old School’ arrived in cinemas on June 29, with many critics heralding it as an instant classic. The film, directed by Dave Tynan and co-written by and starring Emmet, tells the story of two brothers, both in the middle of a drug-addled Bank Holiday weekend in the capital, both teetering on very different societal rungs. The dichotomy between recreational drug use and what modern society perceives as more sinister drug use is a recurring trope in the movie, and it’s something Emmet was trying hard to incorporate. “We talk about the derogatory term ‘junkies’, but everyone is on drugs. You know what I mean? It’s this idea of ‘somebodies’ and ‘nobodies’, it’s a real pernicious idea

that is populated by media and magazines and governments. It’s nonsense. Every citizen is supposed to be equal and when they do drugs some people go, ‘Well, he does heroin so he’s not the same as me, I do ketamine’. So the idea was to show the hypocrisy of the younger brother Jason’s character against his older brother who says to him, ‘You’re only one weekend away from where I started’.” The relationship between Emmet’s character and his brother, played by the immensely talented Ian Lloyd Anderson, is what binds the film. The onscreen connection between the pair is electric, undeniable and often heartbreaking. ‘Dublin Old School’ is another perfect example of a skill we often see in Irish writing - the ability to have an audience in tears and then a fit of laughter, regardless of the seriousness of the topic, with just a few raw lines. Think ‘The Young Offenders’, ‘Derry Girls’, ‘Calvary’. Talking about a tender and explosive scene that takes place in a Temple Bar laneway between our two protagonists, Emmet recalls a representative anecdote. “There was a councillor in a window in that laneway and she stuck her head out the window and said, ‘I don’t know what the fuck yous are doing here, but that language is atrocious and you’re shouting’. So someone from the crew went around and apologised to her, ‘We’re sorry, we’re actually making a movie’. And she asked what it was about, and we said addiction and she said, ‘Oh thank God. An Irish film about addiction. I’m a councillor and I work with people and addiction all the time, so work away’. It was serendipitous.” The journey to the big screen for ‘Dublin Old School’ has been a long and inevitable one. The story began as a theatre show in 2014, winning Ian and Emmet Dublin Fringe Awards for ‘Best Performers’. The play went on to sell out multiple dates and venues. It’s a slightly more unusual route for a script to make, the more popular direction being book to film. Emmet talked to me about the differences between stage acting and performing behind the camera. “In theatre, people go, ‘Oh, fourth wall, you can’t see the audience’. That’s nonsense, you can see the audience. You’re not a bleedin’ magician. Theatre is a conversation with the audience, and you judge it based on them. So I’m waiting on the sign for when to slow it down or when to speed it up. But ultimately in a film, the cameraman does that, the director does that, the editor then does that. So you have to lock in to each other in the way you can’t in theatre. You really do have to block out everything around you, whereas in theatre you’re doing it night after night after night… Once you get to that level, when you’ve done it so many times, there’s an athleticism to it.

“It was incredibly hard doing spoken word on stage and then trying to distill it [into a film script], because on stage there’s an instantaneous and inconspicuous ‘claptrap’ - you say something and then there’s an instantaneous response.” While the themes Emmet explores in his work are engaging and socially relevant, it’s also the manner in which he delivers his words that resonates with and engages those in earshot. At the aforementioned spoken word night in The GPO, there was a smorgasbord of accents and cultures, from Finglas to Chicago all the way back to Tallaght, on display. For Emmet, the concept of dialect and identity plays an important role in the future of Irish performance art. “The place where you’re from and the crucible where you’re forged essentially has a lot to do with it. You are the collection of the experiences of your friends, who your family are, your environment, and your neighbourhood. So if there are bad experiences you just get rid of them, or learn lessons from them... That has influenced my writing, my work and everything. And actually, when I started to try and not copy other cultures or other places and just try to make them influences, then basically make what I was doing solely about what I was doing or where I was, that was the only time when I turned a corner. I started to resonate a lot more with people. “[Your accent] used to be something that people tried to beat it out of people. They got sent to speech and drama lessons, as if the accent and who you were and the way you spoke wasn’t good enough. Fuck that noise. Who you are on an island like this is so much based on accent. “The prejudices we had against groupings of people is predicated on accent alone, because previous to this we were a monocultural society of all white people that basically tried to dictate your intellect, your intelligence, your character based on how you sounded. So there was a lot of weight on that and there still is. “Even as a poet you can use an accent to make two words rhyme that wouldn’t in another instance. You’re freed up by your accent, your accent is a tool, it’s indicative of who you are. It’s indicative of both your family, your friends, your experiences and where you’re from. The new Irish coming in have a new Irish accent that sounds like their parents. It’s part of where they’re from, who they are, that’s their identity, and they should embrace that. We should embrace it. “We should embrace our own accents and be confident in our own accents. And I really mean that for every accent, doesn’t matter where you’re from, don’t let anybody tell you to ‘speak correctly’ because the idea of anybody in the island of Ireland speaking correctly is a nonsense. We all mangle the English language, so whatever way you talk is your own way. So keep it... Keep it lit.” Dublin Old School is in cinemas now.

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Words: Eric Davidson / Photography: Omar Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly / Render: Ross Ryder

hen Julie Adenuga, Annie Mac and Dazed & Confused champion your sound, you’d be forgiven for having more than an air of arrogance. But Biig Piig, real name Jess Smyth, exudes cool without the usual peppering of hubris. Maybe it was her time spent working in a series of jobs that “didn’t mean anything, so it felt like you were stuck in one place, even though you’re moving all the time” that made her grateful for the success that she’s now experiencing. Or perhaps it was the constant mobility of her childhood eventually leading her to feel at home in Hammersmith that gave Jess a newfound sense of serenity. Born in Cork, her family moved to Marbella to set up a restaurant, the influence of which can be heard even today and notably on recent release ‘Perdida’, most of which is rapped in Spanish. Due to a governmental property law, her family returned to Ireland; to Waterford and then Kerry. For Jess, when she eventually moved to London from the Emerald Isle, she left behind a place that wasn’t accepting of expression. Now, however, there’s a surge in forwardthinking rap music on the island. I ask Jess why this development is at least a decade behind what’s been happening in the UK since the early noughties. “Personally, I think it’s that Irish thing of… Not exactly being ashamed... But people being like, ‘What are you doing?’ Over in the UK people don’t give a fuck and do what they want all the time, whereas I think in Ireland… Say Kerry, if you’re in any way different people were like, ‘What are you doing?’ I think also, different styles are coming into Ireland, making it more fluid and more acceptable. Also obviously the internet has played a huge part, things like SoundCloud made it more accessible than ever. You see young people doing the same thing you’re doing… You don’t feel like you’re doing it alone. “I listen to a lot of Kojaque and Jar Jar Jr. It’s starting to kick off there for sure.” While things are bubbling in her motherland, Jess still concedes that realistically she wouldn’t have been as exposed to music if she hadn’t moved to London. It was when she went to college in Twickenham that she met founder of art and music collective Nine8 Ava Laurel and artist Lloyd MacDonald. In one interview ,Biig Piig explains how she was invited to the Nine8 Christmas party and ended up freestyling on the mic, the drunken genesis of her unique rap/vocalist style. A couple of years on and Jess is perhaps the most recognisable, or at least most rapidly-ascending, member of Nine8. Her rendition of ‘Vice City’ on the Colors Berlin YouTube channel has racked up close to 3

million views, she’s had a track reviewed by alternative music behemoth Pitchfork who described ‘Perdida’ as having “a specific, smoky, after party vibe with artful subtlety”, she’s had premieres on The Fader and Dazed and some of the most respected names in UK radio are hyping her up. “I mean, it’s so fucking weird,” she admits about the widespread media attention. “What’s strange about it is you make tunes, and I obviously love to write, but having to analyse it for other people and try and understand it from a third person perspective is a bit strange.” Perhaps that’s why Jess decided to write her debut EP ‘Big Fan of The Sesh Vol.1’ as a concept project about lonely teenager Fran who feels lost in London. “It’s easier to talk about shit that you’ve been through if you put it through a character, and it’s easier for people to relate to it.” Speaking on the upcoming release Jess continues, “It’s about this chick called Fran who’s dating this fella, but things go bad. It’s in a city that’s constantly moving so she can’t find any peace. It’s about being young. You grow up quite fast. “When I was like 17 I moved to London. I finished in college and I met this guy and met some friends outside of college who were a lot older. I think sometimes you can lose your way a bit, it’s very easy to here. I feel like there’s a constant thirst for a settled community in London, and if you haven’t got one when you get here it’s a lot tougher to feel settled when you don’t have places to go or people to talk to. So I left school to be with this guy, we lived together for eight or nine months I think, and it was just mad intense. His friends were proper rock ‘n’ rollers, so… It was just intense. You learn a lot. “With the next EPs I want to focus on different parts of my life. I want three EPs for sure, three stories. I want those three stories to portray key parts of my life. The EPs will all fall into place. “Every genre of music is somewhat confessional, especially in hip hop. You’re allowed be completely and unapologetically honest, that’s what hip hop is built on. That’s why it resonates so much.” Jess may have conjured up the moniker Biig Piig upon seeing the name on a pizza menu when on the search for post-session sustenance, but that’s certainly the most ad-hoc part of her artistry. Every other element of her creative output is deliberate and meaningful. After an unsettled beginning, Jess has found her people. She’s in her place and she’s full of purpose. Biig Piig plays All Together Now Festival, August 3-5.

18 Words: Eric Davidson

ne day in the mid 2000s, Sydney ‘Syd’ Bennett walked out of her front door and found a congregation of people gathered outside her house. The group was 12-strong and were total strangers to her. It didn’t take long for a tall, thin guy to come over and ask if they could use her home studio, one she built when she was 14 to begin “engineering for local artists”. That young man was Tyler Gregory Okonma, and from that day Syd was blooded into a crew known as Odd Future. She recalls to me that on the day of that fateful meeting, Tyler, The Creator and OFWGKTA recorded ‘Seven’. “Back then I just wanted to be a producer and make beats. But I didn’t think my beats were very good, so I stuck to the technical side of engineering which I was much more confident with. Never thought I’d put out an album that I’m singing on.” But that’s what happened in 2017. Her debut solo album ‘Fin’ came off the back of another musical project, The Internet. ‘Fin’ was released by Columbia Records in February of last year and was met with widespread acclaim, solidifying Syd as one of the most adaptable and diverse artists around right now. In a recent interview with her and fellow member of The Internet (and Odd Future collaborator) Matt Martians, Martians said that most of their writing work is now done on the road, something Syd is still getting used to. “I’m not normally at my most creative when touring. Writing on the road is new to us, but our tour schedule is so random, especially now that we’ve dropped solo albums. If we tried to wait ’til we had real time off it would take forever to make the next record. We’ve all been very inspired during this trip for whatever reason. We’re all feeding off one another. “Being on the road is mostly tiring, but you do get random spurts of inspiration here and there. I just bought a new interface that I can travel with, so I’ve recorded a couple things during this trip when I’ve found myself in the mood. For the most part, I get inspired watching Steve [Lacy] make beats on the plane or in the van and it makes me want to get in my zone and do the same.” Inspiration must be in abundance on the road with The Internet, especially being around artists like the aforementioned Steve Lacy. As well as releasing a solo project in 2017, he also featured on albums like J. Cole’s ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Damn’. Not bad for a 19-yearold. For Syd though, from the day she linked up with the Odd Future crew, touring has

become a big part of her life. She seems to be perpetually racking up bus and plane miles. In terms of sound, she explains that this has made her a much stronger vocalist. “When I record my songs, sometimes I’ll barely nail it how I want to. Touring forces me to practice singing my songs, try different runs and riffs here and there, which ultimately just makes me better.” With musical progression and fluctuation, the type of crowds and atmosphere Syd finds herself in can vary vastly. The LA artist says that there was a conscious effort to inject The Internet’s 2015 album ‘Ego Death’ with a little more energy. However, while it’s next to impossible to replicate the vivacity of the Odd Future crowds, she admits she doesn’t want to. “I think we’ve found a nice balance. I see the benefit in having both sides when we perform for a really calm crowd. It’s nice being able to adjust to their energy. With ‘Fin’, we have a few more energetic songs to choose from for when it feels appropriate, and still a few moody and musical songs to jam to.” When it comes to the crowd, I was curious to hear Syd’s take on the modern tropes of live music culture. Anyone who attends shows and goes to nightclubs in 2018 is aware of social media’s role in the experience. However, the internet (both the band and the WWW) has been an integral part of Syd’s collaborative process. A regularly frustrating element is the view of the artist being obstructed by a sea of phones, recording the performance to be enjoyed later. After personally experiencing a particularly bad case of this the evening before our interview at a show in Dublin, I ask her opinion. “Honestly, I don’t always mind. Usually I take being recorded as a sign that we’re doing a good job. But sometimes it makes me more nervous, because I know that whatever mistakes I make in those moments will be recorded forever. And sometimes it does kill the mood, for instance when we bring out a guest or something and everyone stops singing and bouncing to record that moment.” Syd is wary of a ‘those were the days’ attitude however. “Things are changing. Every crowd is different. I try not to get hung up on what things used to be like. That’s dangerous.” Syd plays alongside The Internet at Longitude Festival on July 15.

20 Words: James Kenny

n the early 80s, long before house music would begin to flirt with the idea that it might someday exert any kind of influence on the globe, party ‘goers’ and ‘throwers’ would flee the postdisco main streets, bars and VIP clubs in a desperate attempt to find refuge in the underground. In New York, that meant a short walk from Bleecker Street in the West Village – by then already made famous by Dylan, Kerouac, Ginsberg and all those expelled from neighbouring NYU and Columbia for daring to be radical - to the ‘Gay-rage’ to those in the know or Paradise Garage to everyone else. In Chicago, where many say house was born, those same souls in need of respect, retribution, love (possibly?), or escape (definitely!) ran to the safety of 206 South Jefferson Street and a club called The Warehouse. Through a combination of DJs, promoters and artistic visionaries, all of whom knew firsthand the struggles of being ruthlessly marginalised in mainstream America, these clubs were able to offer something far more than fresh and exciting soundtracks that would go on to shape popular music’s core almost 50 years later. Most importantly, they gave people a space to rest and to heal from the daily physical and emotional damage that came with the crime of being considered an outcast. The gay community, both young and old, were at best forgotten and at worst abused. It’s the defining trait of the entire subculture; a new space created in these clubs for people to find solace, and later as the scene caught fire, a newer space again for people to see each other’s humanity, to empathise and to understand. “Paul Johnson, man. He’s it for me”, Dubliner Calvin James tells me over a coffee. “That whole time back then… Imagine being around Chicago back then. Pure sweaty and mouldy!” It’s hard not to agree with Calvin. His picture of house music’s origins and its curators are as romanticised and my own, but it’s difficult not to get swept up in it all. It’s also pretty fucking hard not to get swept up in the similarities between SCOOP Foundation (the NGO run by Calvin and his brother Andy) and the subculture we both idolise. Calvin runs Syria’s Vibes, an initiative of SCOOP that’s goal is to provide humanitarian and psychological aid to the innocent victims cast aside in the Syrian civil war. I can’t overstate how ballsy Syria’s Vibes is. Sebastian Junger’s 2017 documentary on Syria describes the country as “hell on earth,” going on to use the phrase as the film’s title. Clichéd though it may be, considering the only news stories we get from the petroleum-rich state, it seems unfortunately fitting. I could have spent the entire interview talking about the early days of house in Chicago and New York, but it’s a rarity to get access to first-hand information from inside an active war zone. I had spent the day writing and re-writing my would-be opening question on the Syrian civil war and had been on the lookout for a chance to ask it. When that finally came I fumbled my words and, somewhat dumbly, put it to Calvin, “So, like, when was it that it first hit you, like ‘Bollox! I’m in Syria?’’… I paused and my heart raced as the heat rose

off the back of my neck but, and as I was about to learn about Calvin’s entire M.O., what followed was the beginning of one of the most reassuring interviews I’ve ever been involved in. “Ah, man,” he smirked, “I think I know exactly when it first hit me. It was my first ambulance run. So this is on the Manbij operation and we’re dividing the team into the very, very frontline and the collection point, and I’m breaking my frontline territory. It’s my first run, right? Now in an ambulance you have a team, right? So you have a driver, some nurses and some security.” It’s probably important to note at this point that what passes for ambulance security in northwestern Syria is just some guy with an AK-47. As if ‘popping your frontline cherry’ as Calvin referred to it as, wasn’t stressful enough, he tells me that the guy who usually runs the ambulance handpicked him to be the team’s security officer. “So this dude comes in and is pretty much just like, ‘Alright man you’re on security’. Which is fine, but I’m sitting in the back of an ambulance now with a fold up rifle and I have absolutely zero interest in doing any fighting!” Calvin’s personality and maybe even his training as a social worker have the capacity to make you feel at ease, but the dark side of daily life in Syria seeps into the conversation very quickly and with very little warning. “Next thing they throw this guy in the back of the ambulance who’s just run over a landmine, so he’s absolute decimated. He was in bits.” “And then a nurse gets in with him and she was absolutely gorgeous, like she’s absolutely smokin’! Man, she looked like Braveheart’s wife or something! I’ll put it to you like this, we’re rolling through the middle of the desert, the Kurdish music is blaring full blast on the radio. This dude is dying every two seconds and she’s bringing him back. There’s a fucking assault rifle sitting on my lap and all I’m thinking is ‘She’s so hot’. I stop and I’m like, ‘Where the fuck am I?’ Six months ago I was watching Adventure Time and now I’m driving down a road somewhere that’s too dangerous to stop your car on.” What struck me immediately about Calvin, and by extension everyone at SCOOP, was his level of professionalism. A language barrier is a difficult thing to get around under normal circumstances; a language barrier when you’re barrelling down the road at 140 kmph in an ambulance while you’re falling in love reveals a completely different set of challenges. Throughout the interview it would be Calvin’s depictions of the more practical problems that would offer a glimpse into the deep complexities so often overlooked by the all-seeing eyes of politicians and foreign policy strategists. I was curious to learn how difficult communication with members of the Kurdish Red Crescent, the organisation Calvin was on the frontlines with, was. “No one speaks English there, obviously. But aside from that, Kurdish is kind of like Irish; it’s a really complicated language. But then what’s more complicated is that there are three different dialects. You’ve got Kurmanji, which is spoken by the Turks, the Syrians and the Yazidis in Iraq. Sorani would be spoken by the rest of the Iraqis, and

you’ve also got Palewani which is a more Iranian-influenced dialect, so even though you might think you have enough Kurdish to get by, it doesn’t always match up with who you’re speaking to, so everyone speaks Arabic. Well, everyone except me!” Calvin first got in contact with the YPG, a Kurdish militia, a few years ago, and while you might be inclined to think that there was a fairly strict vetting process before an organisation is willing to let you in to a war zone, he told me that the process was actually quite straightforward. As the biggest active organisation in the region, the YPG were able to put Calvin in contact with hospitals and doctors who were in need of staff. When he first landed in Iraq he had a phone number but no means to call and no Arabic. A hotel worker connected his phone and from there he was picked up and driven to a safe house. “There were all sorts of people there man: revolutionists, real political people, who were all there to take part in the socialist revolution that was going on at the time. There were some Americans and some British who were there because they thought there was still a job to do over there, like these ex-military lads who said they felt obliged to keep helping out. And then you had all the romantics like the Marxists and the Leninists. I was pretty much the only person there who didn’t have a political affiliation. It was crazy.” Hospital work was the norm for Calvin during his time with the Kurdish Red Crescent. Having mentioned his political amnesty, I was curious to know how far this lack of affiliation to any group stretched. I asked, “Have you ever made the decision to turn someone away after they had come seeking treatment?” His intuition immediately recognised the real question I was putting to him. “No, no, we’ve had to treat ISIS prisoners,” he said very calmly. “During the Manbij operation, there was a van that arrived with a load of kids in it who all had these weird kind of flash bang injuries. They were

all aged between about five and 13. They were burned and it was all pretty nasty but there was this one guy with them who was an Islamic State fighter, well prisoner by then, but you follow me. This guy is walking around out of it on painkillers missing his fucking arm that’s in the back of another van that arrived just after that. So we took the kids to a hospital in Kobani and we had to take him to a special hospital for prisoners.” Calvin’s expression kind of slumped. He paused before explaining further. “This is when it got really fucked up, if I’m honest. There were a few days left in the operation and there’s a queue of people trying to get in to the hospital. There are people outside missing legs and I kicked off with a doctor because he wouldn’t take these kids. Eventually he agreed to take them. That was one of those moments that it kind of hits you, what was going on and where you were.” We’re currently experiencing one of the largest refugee crises since the end of WW2. I wanted to know what made Calvin head for Syria. I put it to him as bluntly as I could, “Calvin, you’re pretty much the counterweight to, statistically speaking anyway, the largest movement of people since the aftermath of the holocaust. Why the fuck did you decide to swim upstream?” “The girl of my dreams left me. I had to put my dog down and I was just on this wave of shit vibes to be honest. I was a social worker and I loved the kids I was working with. I loved the staff but I was just in one of those ruts, you know? I came home from work one day and I was watching the news. I was seeing what was going on over there and I just thought, ‘What the fuck am I doing?’ That and a mid-life crisis thrown in for good measure! Ah, it’s pretty cool. Interpol have a file on me!” As the interview wound down, I couldn’t quite get over all we had discussed in the space of 45 minutes. Hearing about the work that SCOOP has accomplished in such

a short time frame and with just two people involved (Calvin and his brother), I was left with more questions than I had come in with. With our coffee well and truly digested I had one last question. Did Calvin plan to return to the Syrian frontlines? “God no! Fuck that man, no way,” His face tensed as he lost the fight to hold back a smirk. “We’re way too busy planning for a trip to Yemen!” SCOOP Foundation is an Irish NGO set up by brothers Calvin & Andy, aiming to support the most vulnerable people on the planet, through humanitarian support, free education and positive fundraising. scoopfoundation.com syriasvibes.com

You are cordially invited to the inaugural launch of

THE WORKMAN'S CLUB SIN É LIQUOR ROOMS THE GRAND SOCIAL THE SOUND HOUSE THE WILEY FOX @DublinQuaysFest @DublinQuaysFestival

19 23 JULY 18

PILLOW QUEENS SLEEP THIEVES ATTENTION BEBÉ BIRDS OF OLYMPUS CLAIRE Z MOLLY STERLING MY SWEET BELOVED FUZZY STAR (EDINBURGH) ALFI GHOST DANCE COLLECTIVE (EDINBURGH) MEAT CLOWNS CB DISCO & GUESTS GEMMA BRADLEY GABRIEL PASCHAL BLAKE MEGAN NIC RUAIRÍ JOHN FLYNN & FRIENDS MIKE PATTERSON RICHIE MCCORMACK (DJ SET) WHY AXIS WITH EMMET O’BRIEN ROBERT JOHN ARDIFF THE DES HOPKINS DIXIELAND JAZZMEN APELLA NIALLER9 PRESENTS:

THE MURDER CAPITAL SILVERBACKS GIRLFRIEND WORDUP PRESENTS:

SEAN X EVANS JUNIOR JAKE HURLEY NATALYA O’FLAHERTY #IRISHMUSICPARTY PRESENTS:

POWPIG GRAINNE HUNT LAVENGRO LAURA MULCAHY SUNDAY ROAST PRESENTS:

THE SKATUESQUES OPHELIA RHYTHM & BREWS PRESENTS:

TANJIER & GUESTS MONDAY CLUB + MORE TBA

24 Interviews & Photography: Ellius Grace

Adam Fogarty Musician (MathMan) @yomathman

Last place you ate? Two Pups on Francis Street. Just down the road from me. Whopper spot. Last pub you went to? Was in The Bowery last night to see the bros King David and Killa Yan do their thing. Favourite place to escape to? Dublin city, man. Even though I’ve lived here all my life, walking these streets is still a wonderful thing. Favourite place to go to in the sun? Anywhere with friends and cans. What’s one thing you see every day here? Potential. What would you like to see less of? The disregard for culture, history and heritage via commercial development. So many beautiful parts of our cities and towns have been ruined because of it. It needs to stop. Best memory of the city? When we absolutely lost our minds during Italia ‘90 and pretty much everything stopped indefinitely so we could all go on a fuckin’ sesh. From street to street the city was united. The Walkinstown roundabout hasn’t seen the likes of it since. Best place for a Guinness? Grogan’s. Southside seaside or Northside seaside? Shout out the Southside, but the Northside got this one.

Louise Gaffney

Musician, Artist (Come On Live Long) @louise_gaffney

Last place you ate? The last place I ate in (or on the street beside) was Coke Lane pizza at the back of Frank Ryan’s and I’d imagine the last pub I was in was the same spot. Favourite place to escape to? I often head towards the West when I want to escape, but if I had to find somewhere nearer the city for space lately I head out walking with music or a podcast, and it can be anywhere then. Disappear into a set of headphones for a while. Favourite place to go to in the sun? The best place to go in the sun is harder to answer. I usually take the bike and cycle around on days like that, and I guess the odd sea swim. What’s one thing you see every day here? I am the proud owner of a pack of alley cats who stare in my windows every morning while I make breakfast. I probably shouldn’t have started feeding them, but I’ve grown attached now. I’m slowly naming them. What would you like to see less of? I guess the obvious one is rental increase. It’s genuinely crippling people and anyone who wants to work in the arts will find it very tough financially here. I suppose the city will lose out in the long run if these people opt to leave instead of putting up with it. Best memory of the city? Being in a young band here will definitely stay with me. In the early days of it you’re like a little wolfpack and gigging anywhere and everywhere was still tonnes of craic. Best place for a Guinness? Best place for a Guinness I would think is Hughes at the back of the Four Courts. Southside seaside or Northside seaside? Northside.

Live Guide July 2018

MOTION CONTROL

LALAH HATHAWAY

ALANIS MORISSETTE

The Dublin six-piece play alternative rock music with plenty of passion and energy on stage. For fans of: Stiff Little Fingers, Aeternum Vale, Deep Purple Tuesday July 3 Whelan’s €5

Having collaborated with R&B legends like Mary J. Blige, Lalah has created a space for herself within the R&B circuit, staying true to her personal style. For fans of: Mary J. Blige, Erica Cody, Pharrell Williams Wednesday July 4 Whelan’s €39.05

The Canadian singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist is known for her 90s & 00s dance and rock songs. Particularly ‘Ironic’. Ruth Anne is on support. For fans of: Shania Twain, Natalie Imbruglia, No Doubt Thursday July 5 Iveagh Gardens

SING ALONG SOCIAL

CULTURE VULTURES

EELS

Karaoke party Sing Along Social are hosting a midnight bash in Alanis Morissette’s honour following her slot at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. For fans of: Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Natalie Imbruglia Thursday July 5 The Sugar Club €6.90

This month’s line up includes Mango and Mathman, Dublin OldSchool director Dave Tynan and music promoter and DJ Johnny Moy. For fans of: Paul Alwright, KOJAQUE, Emmet Kirwan Thursday July 5 The Sound House €11.50

The American rock group stop off in Dublin during the European leg of their 2018 world tour. For fans of: Morrissey, The Smiths, Radiohead Friday July 6 Iveagh Gardens €45

THE SOUL TREE FESTIVAL

SHRINK LIKE ALICE

LEGENDS OF DISCO PARTY

Shrink Like Alice are returning to the stage The festival will tap into the subgenres of after their latest release, ‘Beside The Last soul: hip hop, reggae, afro-funk and more, Thing You Think’, a stealthy mix of grunge, with plenty of Irish and international artists punk rock and indie. For fans of: Nirvana, Ty Segall, and DJs performing. Parquet Courts For fans of: Erykah Badu, Al Green, Friday July 6 Amy Winehouse The Underground Friday July 6 €8 The Sugar Club €16.34

A special screening of ‘Saturday Night Fever’ will kick the night off marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic film. For fans of: Bee Gees, Boney M, Kool & The Gang Saturday July 7 The Sugar Club €15

DECLAN O’ROURKE

CHRIS HAZE

SCHOOLYARD PARTY

The Dublin singer-songwriter often adds classical elements to his vintage sound with strings to back up his soft but resonant vocals. For fans of: Damien Dempsey, Mick Flannery, Damien Rice Saturday July 7 Abbey Tavern €31.50

The Galway singer-songwriter returns to Whelan’s in aid of the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice for a melodic, acoustic show. For fans of: Damien Dempsey, Declan O’ Rourke, Mik Pyro Saturday July 7 Whelan’s €12

Telephones are throwing another outdoor party in a schoolyard with DJs and soul food. Be sure to BYOB. For fans of: Soichi Terada, Stevie G, Hunee Saturday July 7 Schoolyard Dublin 8 €16.81

STUDIO 54 EXPERIENCE QUEEN & ADAM LAMABERT RUFUS WAINRIGHT A nine-piece band will take you back to the colourful and energetic days of disco and dancing. Expect all the classics. For fans of: Donna Summers, Chic, Loleatta Holloway Saturday July 7 The Purty Kitchen €15

American pop vocalist Adam Lambert takes on lead vocals backed by original Queen members. Support from The Darkness and The Boomtown Rats. For fans of: Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Pink Floyd Sunday July 8 Marlay Park €79.50

Genre-hopping from classical scores, opera, indie-pop, rock and folk, Rufus Wainwright appeals to the masses. For fans of: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Nick Cave Tuesday July 10 National Concert Hall €45

TUNE-YARDS

R+R=NOW

SOUL BRASS BAND

The duo treat their indie pop music as politically-charged social commentaries, dealing with intersectional feminism, the environment and more. For fans of: St. Vincent, Django Django, Grizzly Bear Tuesday July 10 Tivoli Theatre €24

With Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, Taylor McFerrin and more on the bill, they create contemporary jazz music in alignment with their acronym ‘Reflect and Respond’. For fans of: Miles Davis, Lalah Hathaway, Derrick Hodge Wednesday July 11 Vicar Street €33.50

Smaller than the usual brass band and more simplified instrument-wise, expect surprisingly powerful music and vocals. For fans of: Booka Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band, The Soul Rebels Thursday July 12 The Sugar Club €17.35

BRUNO MARS & SISTER SLEDGE

THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER

ALABAMA 3

Disco and R&B legends Sister Sledge and pop icon Bruno Mars will be taking the over Dublin’s Marlay Park for a huge outdoor show. For fans of: Donna Summer, Chic, The Pointer Sisters Thursday July 12 Marlay Park €79.50

The first headline show for the Irish duo promises an energetic performance. Support to be confirmed. For fans of: The Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Miles Kane Friday July 13 Whelan’s €11

LONGITUDE FESTIVAL

PAUL SIMON

A hip hop and urban-heavy line up includes Post Malone, Tyler, The Creator, Travis Scott, Solange and SZA. For fans of: Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Stormzy Friday July 13, Saturday July 14 & Sunday July 15 Marlay Park

One half of Simon & Garfunkel brings his folk and rock solo sounds to the RDS. For fans of: Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel Friday July 13 RDS Arena €106.85

DAMIEN DEMPSEY

SOFI TUKKER

ACTION BRONSON

Prepare to laugh, cry and sing until your lungs give out as the ‘church of Damo’ descends on the Iveagh Gardens. For fans of: Glen Hansard, Declan O’ Rourke, Sinead O’Connor Saturday July 14 Iveagh Gardens €40

New York duo Sofi Tukker makes bouncy and lovable contemporary indie dance music. For fans of: Tove Lo, Dua Lipa, Kah-Lo Tuesday July 17 Whelan’s €22

The New york rapper, author, contributor to Viceland and food aficionado brings his high energy hip hop to The Academy main stage. For fans of: A$AP Rocky, Post Malone, The Alchemist Wednesday July 18 The Academy €42.50

ANNA BURCH

JET

LUCKY BONES

Anna Burch’s style has been noted as deceptively complex pop music, rising as a solo artist from previous group projects she has fronted. For fans of: Billie Eilish, Kelela, St. Vincent Thursday July 19 Whelan’s €15

Aussie rock band Jet, known mainly for their song ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’, regrouped in 2016 and are now touring their first and most popular album, ‘Get Born’. For fans of: Iggy Pop, Franz Ferdinand, The Raconteurs Thursday July 19 The Academy €36.50

Known for the storytelling aspect to his music, Lucky Bones has become part of Ireland’s distinct singer-songwriter legion. For fans of: Bruce Springsteen, Lisa Stansfield, Glen Hansard Thursday July 19 East Side Tavern €10

London’s Alabama 3 are known for mixing styles and genres including rock, electronic, gospel, blues and more. For fans of: Steve Earle, The Stranglers, The Proclaimers Friday July 13 The Purty Kitchen €25

THE SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA Expect a healthy mix of soul, jazz and Afrobeat with Latin and Caribbean influences from this Canadian group. For fans of: Stevie Wonder, Ebo Taylor, Fela Kuti Saturday July 14 The Sugar Club €15

DEATH IN VEGAS

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM The group will perform their second album ‘The 59’ Sound’ to celebrate its 10th anniversary. For fans of: Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Eat World, Biffy Clyro Monday July 23 Vicar Street €36.50

AIDAN MOFFAT

RAG ‘N’ BONE MAN

Aidan will be joined by fellow Scottish folk artists RM Hubbert and Siobhan Wilson For fans of: Frightened Rabbit, Warpaint, Bill Wells Tuesday July 24 The Grand Social €18.50

JERRY DAMMERS A diverse DJ set from the founder of The Specials and 2 Tone Records. Prepare for American jazz, jump blues, ska and reggae. For fans of: Madness, Bad Manners, Toots and the Maytals Thursday July 26 Whelan’s €15

STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES Headed for Vicar Street with their Americana style, Steve’s most recent material pays homage to his home state of Texas. For fans of: Bob Dylan, The Pogues, Chris Knight Tuesday July 24 Vicar Street €42

NEW ORLEANS SWAMP DONKEYS The group take influence from traditional jazz while putting a unique modern twist on things. For fans of: Louis Armstrong, Hot 8 Brass Band, Astral Project Friday July 27 The Sugar Club €17.35

Expect soul and blues from this chart-topper with support from R&B artist Grace Carter. For fans of: Maverick Sabre, Jack Garratt, Clean Bandit Wednesday July 25 Trinity College €44.90

BRYAN FERRY The former Roxy Music frontman will be performing a combination of his solo offerings and band classics. For fans of: Roxy Music, David Bowie, Mick Jagger Friday July 27 Trinity College €60.45

THE CLANDESTINOS

MARY COUGHLAN

MADNESS

The six-piece Galway group draw influence from Jamaican and Latin sounds and are a regular name on festival posters. For fans of: Manu Chao, Buena Vista Social Club, The Specials Saturday July 28 The Bowery €5

Described as an Irish Billie Holiday, Mary Coughlan is one of Ireland’s most celebrated vocal talents. For fans of: Mary Black, Imelda May, Sharon Shannon Saturday July 28 Abbey Tavern €28

Expect all the classics from the iconic 70s ska band. Joining them on the night are the Lightning Seeds. For fans of: The Specials, Bad Manners, Toots and the Maytals Saturday July 28 3 Arena €66.35

ROSANNE CASH

IMELDA MAY

Daughter of Johnny Cash, Rosanne will explore the emotive, musical and historical landscapes of the American South. For fans of: Johnny Cash, Ry Cooder, Kris Kristofferson Saturday July 28 National Concert Hall €45

May’s genre-bending rockabilly and soul will close out the Summer Series 2018. Support from Paradisia. For fans of: Eddie Cochran, Mary Black, Jools Holland Sunday July 29 Trinity College €49.90

ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS

THE OLLLAM

THE TRASHCAN SINATRAS

The group will join forces on stage with traditional piper John McSherry, members of funk group Vulfpeck and Detroit musician Theo Katzman. For fans of: Vulfpeck, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, The Gloaming Tuesday July 31 Whelan’s €29.50

GRACE JONES

The electronic music group headed by The icon is set to play Trinity College with Richard Fearless make music influenced by support from Wicklow trio Wyvern Lingo. psychedelic rock and more. For fans of: Jean Paul Goude, David For fans of: Iggy Pop, Primal Scream, Bowie, Donna Summer Massive Attack Wednesday July 23 Friday July 20 Trinity College District 8 €60.45 €27.50

80s Scottish band bring their indie pop sound and powerful vocals to The Workman’s stage. For fans of: Edwyn Collins, The Divine Comedy, The La’s Tuesday July 31 The Workman’s Club €18.50

The Australian group experiment with traditional folk instruments while dabbling in blues and roots. For fans of: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Mama Kin, Tiny Ruins Sunday July 29 The Workman’s Club €15

GRAHAM NASH Grammy award winner Graham Nash makes his National Concert Hall debut, using his songwriting to speak up about injustices. For fans of: Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, David Crosbie Tuesday July 31 National Concert Hall €55

SAUL WILLIAMS

THE ECHOES

The American artist is is known for his blend of poetry and contemporary hip hop. He’s carved a name for himself as a truly authentic musician. For fans of: Erykah Badu, Rejjie Snow, Tyler The Creator Saturday August 4 The Sugar Club €20

This Dublin band plays alternative rock primarily influenced by the 1960s, garage rock and psychedelic music. For fans of: Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Beck Saturday August 4 The Workman’s Club €6

Exhibitions of the Month PROTOTYPES Doireann O’Malley’s ‘Prototypes’ was originally exhibited in Berlin’s Edith Russ Haus and is now coming to Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery. The exhibition explores transgender studies, touching on topics like biopolitics, artificial intelligence and more. The work focuses mainly on a female to male transition with a developed video installation including film, CGI and virtual reality. Sunday July 1 - Sunday September 30 The Hugh Lane Gallery Free

ARTFULLY Artfully is a day celebrating the nature of creativity, Irish creativity and the positive impact that creativity has had on the world. There will be salsa dancing, wall art, plenty of musicians and DJs, organic food and lots of weird and wonderful creative people all there to explore the artistic expression of culturally important ideas. Saturday July 14 The Bernard Shaw Free

THE DUBLIN COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL The Dublin Comic Arts Festival explores small press comics in Ireland, providing a meeting space for local creators to celebrate the diversity and range of Ireland’s comic output. Saturday July 28 Generator Hostel Free

NO BORDERS No Borders is an exhibition telling the stories of African characters who have been victimised by human rights violations in their hometowns. Set up in 2015 in reaction to the crisis in Syria, this year’s line up focuses on telling the stories of time, memory and trauma. It features African-inspired theatre, music and more with a hugely diverse collection of performances. Friday July 27 Smock Alley Theatre €18

10HANDS The Ground Floor Gallery COLLABORATIVE SCREENPRINT EXHIBITION Opening: Friday 13th July 2018 - Drinks reception 6-9pm Closing : Saturday 14th July 2018 @ 5pm Artists Exhibiting : Robyn Carey, Cian Ryan, Johnny Brennan, Gary Merrin, Nikki Kelly.

In creative industries, It is widely regarded that print is dead, and has been surpassed by digital and web outputs. Thus spurring an international counter movement of artists celebrating print of all its forms under the social media umbrella of #PRINTISNTDEAD Collectively, each of the 5 artists of 10 HANDS have touched upon screen printing at various stages of their creative careers and have harbored a love for it since. However, due to the small number of screen print studios, opportunities and employment in this medium in Dublin, each artist has found their creativity to be dominated by a digital outcomes. 10 HANDS is the artists’ contribution to the ‘print isn’t dead’ ideology by taking time from their digital design schedule to produce a small number of screen print editions for the people of Dublin to view. 10 hands aims to engage the viewer with screen printing as a medium. The show centers around 5 collaborative screen prints. The 5 prints consist of 3 layers, each designed by a different artist. Each artist has responded to the layer below them, thus drawing the viewers attention to a number of screen printing’s aesthetic qualities: layering, the mix of transparency and opacity, off setting and registration, and the variety of line and image quality achievable within the medium. To compliment and contrast these works, each artist will be exhibiting a selection of their own fne art prints, with mediums varying between screen and digital gliceé printing.

Photography:

Paul

Wheatley

The SSE Airtricity League, aka The League of Ireland, keeps on rolling into the summer months. While the biggest tournament in the world takes place 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 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 terraces, not televisions.

always

say,

it’s

about

PREMIER Friday Dundalk

July

19:45

Bohemians

Park

Friday

Wanderers

July

St.

Dalymount

Park

UCD

July

Stradbrook

Cobh

Stadium

Friday

Sligo

Rovers

August

Bohemians

Bray

2018

Wanderers

Park

Friday

Athletic

Bohemians

Dalymount Rovers

Dalymount

Patrick’s Park

Limerick

19:45

DIVISION

Bowl

Drogheda

St.

Park

Friday

July

19:45

Richmond

Athletic

FIRST

UCD

Athletic

Friday

Rovers

2018

19:45

Tallaght

Richmond

Patrick’s

Park

Sligo

2018 Shamrock

Patrick’s

19:45

Bray

St.

Richmond

July

Limerick

20:00

2018

2018 vs

DIVISION

2018

Cabinteely Friday

19:45 Galway

Ramblers

2018Shelbourne

July Tolka

19:45 19:45 vs

/ /

UCD

Shelbourne

Wexford

2018

19:45 July

Bowl 19:45

2018

Cabinteely

Stradbrook

Longford

Shelbourne

ParkFriday UCD

19:45

Friday /

Tolka

July

Park

Words: Hannah Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell / Photography: George Voronov

“There’s much more to my reality than this 3D that I’m looking at. There’s something beyond me, that’s much bigger than me and I may be fuelling that energy as I think we all are. Individually we’re all gods.

Á R Y Y N is sitting in her mother’s car when the Skype call connects. She’s there because she has a hypersensitivity to sound. She’s startled regularly and is distracted easily by the buzz of the world. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse for the Syrian-Armenian-American composer, but as it will be for most of the questions I ask her, the answer is both yes and no. “I think it’s a gift but I feel startled all the time and it’s not fun. Like when someone sneezes I’m that ridiculous friend of yours who overreacts... I get a lot of headaches, but part of it is that I can hone in on something. I hear something that might barely be there so that’s really interesting to me. I’m really honouring that and trying to see how that can be enjoyable for other people.” K Á R Y Y N’s sound is like nothing I’ve really heard before. It’s ethereal and meditative, and euphoric at times. You’ll quickly notice the benefits of her ability to hear sounds that others don’t. Although born in America she has strong ties to her father’s homeland of Syria. When discussing her process of creating a song she explains to me that she struggles to work to a click track because her internal meter ticks to a Middle Eastern beat. “I don’t work in time. I never do anything in 4/4. Everything is like 15/7. I always sing on the two instead of the one. I grew up listening to just Middle Eastern music. Every time I was in the car with my mom as a child all we were listening to was Arabic and Turkish music. They sing on the two; the beat hits, the singer starts. So, I naturally sing on the two. It’s so uncomfortable.” K Á R Y Y N’s father left Syria through Lebanon to follow his dream of becoming a doctor. He avoided conscription into the Syrian military and got to America via the Red Cross. “You just have to hear the story, it’s insane. My dad’s so awesome and he’s a big part of why I have this ambition... My father is what you would call the ‘American Dream’. He came from shanty town living in Syria to doing anything he could to become a physician. He’s one of my heroes and so is my mother.” Although her father can’t return to Syria, K Á R Y Y N was christened in an ancient church in Aleppo and travelled back as a child every May. Her memories from those visits are still strong. “Imagine at home (LA) I’m drinking a CocaCola out of a can, but in Syria we would be going from the hotel and we would take a van. You’re going through the desert and you’re hot so you stop for a drink and there’s a little something set up and you’re drinking Sprite out of a plastic bag with a straw and a rubber band to tie it. Then I got home and it’s like air conditioning and milk that’s not powdered.” This is a perfect painting of the juxtaposition in K Á R Y Y N’s life. She’s as Middle Eastern as she is American, and influences from both cultures exist within her. While her natural meter represents her

Syrian descent, she first discovered her voice when performing a Dolly Parton song for her parents. “I’ve always been very musical. There’s a silence in it actually. My mantra is ‘exist in the chaos’ because if you can exist in the chaos and be quiet in the eye of the storm, then you’re cool. Things are going to come to you and it’s your ability to respond that is everything.” Our conversation is punctuated with fragments of wisdom like this. Religious words and imagery reoccur in K Á R Y Y N’s vocabulary. That and the haunting nature of her music leads us on to spirituality and belief. “I’m constantly practicing the Lotus Sútra and the Upanishads,” an excited K Á R Y Y N tells me. A quick Google search explains that the Lotus Sútra is a scripture of Buddhism, widely regarded as one of the most influential and sacred. The Upanishads are a collection of Indian texts written approximately in 800 BCE. “All of these ancient texts talk about how we perceive our existence and one another and I’m very interested in how it is that we’re all interconnected… Music is the continuation where words are left behind. My music really is about tapping into feeling something that isn’t even there yet. When I make music I just record the room. I don’t think at all. I make a sound and I just get out of my own way and I let what I call my higher self just come through. “There’s much more to my reality than this 3D that I’m looking at. There’s something beyond me, that’s much bigger than me and I may be fuelling that energy as I think we all are. Individually we’re all gods.” K Á R Y Y N’s music doesn’t follow the traditional verse, chorus, verse, structure of most songs. Instead, her tracks transcend these rules and become almost hymn like, ‘Moving Masses’ in particular. “I’m really interested in figuring out how you make a song that’s at once profound if you want it to be, like if you uncover the layers, or it’s really catchy and it’s really pushing sound boundaries. My dream is to be making pop music that feels like classical music. When I say classical, like post-classical, sophisticated, beyond what we have heard so far and maybe you’re going back to the 70s or the 60s when what was popular was pushing the boundaries way more than what is now in the Top 40. “I really want to be able to make a piece, and I’m working on it, maybe it will take a whole career, who knows, but a piece that resonates with millions and millions of people and they’re going, ‘Wow I like this song and I never would have thought I would have liked this song’.” In February 2017, K Á R Y Y N released ‘Aleppo’. The accompanying video is a compilation of home footage shot in Syria in the early noughties showing her family, their home and city. Set to a backing track of K Á R Y Y N’s poignant vocals, it’s haunting and heartbreaking knowing that Aleppo now lies

in ruins, the old city, a Unesco World Heritage site, devastated by years of conflict. “I called the song ‘Aleppo’ because I knew what was happening there because of my family, but nobody was talking about it. One time I saw the city’s name in a very small print on some news network and I thought, ‘Woah, that’s so crazy no one even knows what that is’. I thought I would do it as homage, ‘I’ll name it ‘Aleppo’ and it will be like this special thing for my family and me’. “When I wrote and produced the song I was still not ready to come out as an artist. I was making the work but I was not sure it would be effective enough or worthy enough to be out there and it’s been a real process to try and feel that I am worthy to be heard.” K Á R Y Y N plays All Together Now, August 3-5

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 Haley Chambers ‘Argos Argot’ by FYNCH

Words: Cóilí Collins / Photography: Olivia Rose

rime and hip hop have been the leading lights in the UK’s rise to the summit of mainstream culture, but one of its beacons has never really leaned too heavily on either during his course to stardom. J Hus’ Caribbean-infused R&B style has slowly but surely carved out a firm place in Britain’s diverse soundscape, so much so that he was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2017. While R&B artists emerging from England and beyond aren’t anything especially new, Hus’ most notable quality may be the passion that exudes from every note he hits. In the same vein as his music, Hus is never one to proclaim his success online or flaunt a false persona, something entirely unique in a landscape where any artist that picks up a mic now has the right to build a‘brand’. J Hus is a breath of fresh air amidst an already fresh UK line up, but more importantly, he’s just come off the back of his first album, with magazine covers and star-studded co-signs already in tow. Passion and raw energy have not only placed Hus on the same pedestal as storied UK MCs and artists, they’ve made ugly, sexy.

embracing yo embracing your insecurities.

Making ugly, sexy”

embracing your insecurities.

“It’s about

embracing your insecurities 50

our insecurities.

In the lead up to your album you managed to work with a couple of other UK artists, how did that support help develop your sound? I haven’t done the most features, but I do some here and there. All the people on my album, whenever I asked any of them for a favour, they respected it and I really appreciated that. Even though you’re so big worldwide, your popularity within the realms of the UK is definitely at its peak. That shows how organic the scene is there… It’s really good, I’m getting recognised everywhere I go. I was in Ghana shooting a video and I was getting recognised in Africa, so that really shows how big the scene is getting and how far the music is going. The UK scene has swollen so much, but your sound isn’t necessarily similar to any of the major artists. Even though the scene has forged you to some degree, your sound is entirely unique. When you look at grime, it’s not just about the MC. It’s about the energy and the feeling of the music, even more so with your style. How do you manage to convert music into energy? I just want to put my own sound across all genres, in an effort to represent myself in the best way. I just want to keep it J Hus. I feel like I can jump on any track, it’s just about being me. That’s what I think about when I’m jumping on a track. Even if it’s a different beat or sound, I still keep it J Hus. One of the most distinctive aspects of J Hus is your emphasis on ‘ugly’. Was that something you consciously thought of? My friends used to call me ugly as a joke. When I first started making music I thought, ‘I’m gonna say it before everyone else does!’, then it just became a thing. It stuck with me, every time it’s, ‘Mr. Ugly, Mr. Ugly’, but I say it now before they do. It’s about embracing your insecurities. Making ugly, sexy.

So much UK music at the moment is very aggressive, but plenty of the younger generation’s tracks follow an R&B style. That has a lot to do with you. What’s it like to be in that position? I never really just fall back on my achievements because I always want more. The ultimate goal is to be the number one artist and to make my sound the sound of the UK, I want to be the one repping the UK. I find it’s a compliment [people mimicking his style]. If you want to be the sound of the UK, obviously people want to use that sound and I’ve just got to see it as compliment and keep it moving. One thing that really solidifies you amongst the ranks of other top UK artists is your authenticity. It’s the most important, I want to be able to look back at the people that knew me from the beginning so they can say, ‘Yo, J Hus is the same guy as he was in the beginning’. Obviously you grow up, change is always good, but at the end of the day, I still want to stay the same as I was in the beginning. All the way up, it’s my life story, it’s everything I go through. Is it hard to maintain a private life when you’re trying to remain authentic and is there a difference between private and public anymore? It’s not really that hard. I like to be in the studio, I like to be with my friends, so if you want to be private you can be private, innit? It’s not really hard. Anywhere I go it’s always for a reason. I’m a very private person. I’m not too serious, I’m very disorganised and laid back. Even if you plan everything and structure everything, it still might not come together. You might as well just have your goal and let it be. If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. Most of the attention on you has orientated around your sound, rather than the public image surrounding you? That’s because I’m not really that out there on social media. People don’t get to see my face too much, apart from on YouTube, so it helps them focus more on the music rather than what I’m doing. I’m not active on social media or an outspoken person, so people get a chance to let it sink in. J Hus plays Longitude Festival on July 15.

52 Words:

Carla

Jenkins

Walking past a demolition site, there are a few things that people inevitably notice: the sound of drilling, dust on the pavement from brick that’s been smashed up or brought down, glimmers of previous wallpapered living rooms, or a generally gaping absence in the usually packed and towering skyline. Or maybe they don’t notice anything at all, simply registering the absence of another landmark they might have passed on their way to work. For Sean O’Rourke, a visual artist, painter, photographer and recent NCAD graduate, these sites are impassable troves of endless artistic possibility, giving deeper meaning to the sociopolitical landscape that we find ourselves embedded in. “When watching flats getting demolished, and seeing the rough exterior crumble, I began seeing the bright coloured interiors of family homes and this gave me a different perception. Conceptually, I liked the idea of the external and the internal, using this idea to look at how people are viewed within society. You see, society profiles people from working class backgrounds - young men in particular. We only see one side of them, the rough exterior, but under that rough exterior is a humane interior. And that’s what I try to express in my work.” O’Rourke’s paintings work towards capturing the unique relationship between the past and present – what something once was, and what it comes to be remembered as. The result is a sort of artistic urban renewal, a memorial to an older time. “Seeing the environment change around me, I can’t help but notice myself change over time. The regeneration of these Dublin inner-city communities made me very conscious of how things change over time, and that all we are left with is our memories. “My ‘Crucifixion’triptych was broken down into two main concepts - how our environment influences our personality and a commemoration of Dublin’s innercity flat complexes. These complexes are a part of Dublin’s history, and that’s why I’m bringing attention to them... I sift through the rubble of these demolition sites looking for material I can make art from.” O’Rourke finds discarded material worthy of his artist imprint by excavating through rubble. In the past, he has worked with metal plates once used to board up south inner-city flat complexes, such as Dolphin’s House and St. Teresa’s Gardens, which he then layers with oil, lead and emulsion, transforming them into a

documentation of the ever-changing environment that surrounds him. “I use my own photography as a reference for most of the work, so after wandering the streets taking photos and collecting found materials, I go back to my studio and go through the material I acquired. “I pick the best photos and stick up multiple images on the walls around me. I stick them on the walls to allow me to think about what I want to paint and why I want to paint it. This helps me build conceptually and visually on my ideas. Once I chose a subject to paint, I hang numerous images of that subject from different angles on the walls of my studio and go through my metal collection to find the right plate to work onto.”

“It’s

the

personality, the

which

pose.

puts not

it’s of

the

ego’s

feelings is

others.

most

common

men,

way

vulnerable

from

among men

front,

adolescents;

hiding

This

Everyone a

just

young

particular.

adapt

our

surroundings.

Our

environment build

our

tougher the

ego

the more

represses

and

emotions normally

–

the

environment the

normal

emotions anxiety

helps

such

ego human as

insecurity, that

regarded

weakness..

are as

Material is one thing indeed, but there is something deeper lying behind the layers of O’Rourke’s work. The young men he paints in his ‘Diptych’ resist posing, and the main focus is the natural unawareness of a child being photographed and therefore “posing how they actually feel,” compared to the adopted poses of adolescents who “pose as a way to shield insecurity.” I asked if he could explain more about this. Is it the insecurities that are the point of focus in the art or is it the personalities behind the poses that attract him? “Watching a derelict building’s rough exterior crumble during a demolition, seeing the brightly coloured interiors of family homes, it gave me a different perspective of the building, a humane view. As people we are the same... We give off a certain perception of ourselves, built by our environment. I use architecture in an indirect way to highlight the conflict between the interior and the exterior. So my work’s focal point is not about insecurity, it’s about the ego – the shield we put up as an identity to protect vulnerabilities from peers. “Discipline. Look at anyone who is good at their craft, they have this level of discipline that allows them to show up all the time. There seems to be this illusion around artists that they are lazy, but if you look at any artist that is doing well for themselves, or is a master of their craft, they put in the time to get where they are and do it consistently to maintain that level of success. “I work seven hours a day, six days a week. I realised to get good at anything you need to show up constantly, and the fruits of your labour will present themselves to you over time. But it can be hard to show up if you don’t have the passion, so I believe it’s a mixture of both consistency and passion.” O’Rourke has worked himself to an interesting and exciting position. Incorporating sculpture and moving the focus away from Dublin, O’Rourke has an upcoming solo show in The Lab Gallery, where he is hoping to look at influence within a wider societal context, and how we conform to our environment. What does he hope to achieve with this show? “I would want the audience to understand the concepts behind the work... To think about how much our environment has an influence on us as individuals... Getting others to connect with your work should be the main goal of an artist. But I don’t get upset if someone doesn’t get it either. People

always interpret your work in their own way, no matter what. It’s just part of the game”. Sean O’Rourke’s exhibition takes place in The Lab Gallery, September 6– 4 November @seanorourokeartist

Words: Eric Davidson

his year marks the 15th anniversary of a record that was executive produced by Eminem, with further production by the likes of Dr. Dre and Timbaland. An LP that also featured a who’s-who of mid-2000s rap artists, including 50 Cent, G-Unit, Busta Rhymes and the late Nate Dogg. It was a project that debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and went on to sell millions of copies worldwide. However, the artist behind the album is often referred to as ‘slept on’ by fervent fans. Obie Trice released ‘Cheers’ in 2003 via Eminem’s Shady Records. Em had the utmost faith in Obie, using every avenue he could to push the artist, most recognisably perhaps in the video for ‘Without Me’.

“I don’t think I was quite ready for it at that time. It was behaviour that I had to get used to, you know what I mean? Nobody actually trained me for this. You know, you got talent out here who have been trained for the cameras since they were little, since they were kids. My situation wasn’t like that. It was just raw, uncut. “Hip hop is something that I always loved to do, Eminem found out about that and came and found me. Next, I was on stage with him rocking in front of 70,000 people. The stage is what I always loved, that’s what I was most comfortable with. The other parts of it like TV and all the other stuff, the hoopla that comes with it, that’s the thing I wasn’t ready for.” While Obie and Eminem are still friends, it was the souring of his relationship with the cofounder of Interscope Records Jimmy Iovine that caused the most tension. According to Obie, the rapper missed a radio interview with sought-after radio host Big Boy. This led Iovine to believe that Obie didn’t want success as badly as he should have, something that Obie totally denies, saying in one interview with The Boombox, “That wasn’t the case. I was just young when I came into the game.” Obie subsequently parted ways with Interscope and Shady Records and began to carve a new path via his independent label, Black Market Entertainment. “The pros of being independent are that you can do exactly what you want. It’s not some head person putting your music out or telling you what’s what and things like that. You have total control over whatever it is that you want to do. I like that part about it.” However, he does admit that if Eminem came knocking again he’d have no hesitation rejoining his ranks. “You’re basically putting your own money into yourself though. Even though a major label also use your money, they have such a huge account so they’re able to throw out cash and get certain things done. With being independent, where it’s only me and another person and we’re working on a specific budget, it’s hard to get music on those outlets, outlets where everybody knows you have got a project out. “That’s the beauty of social media today though, that the people who are following you can actually know that you have music out. “I definitely like the independent grind, but if Marshall [Mathers] ever said to me, ‘Come back with me’, I’d definitely go back with my man. We know that we would do nothing but great things if that ever happened, you know what I’m saying?” The conversation turned to Detroit, hometown of both Em and Obie. The city isn’t known for having a music industry, but time after time it breeds high calibre artists. From Motown in

the ‘60s, Dilla and D12 in the 2000s, all the way up to artists like Dej Loaf and Big Sean today, I was curious to hear his thoughts on why Motor City’s track record is so glittering. “I can only speak for myself, to be honest. I just always loved music since I was a little kid and I always wanted to be involved in the arts; it was something I was into as far back as I remember. I always liked to be entertaining and creative since I was a small child, and then I became a young adult and started seeing the harsh realities of where I lived and what I was going through and who I was as an individual on this earth. “When you’re a little kid, your mind is not on this planet. You’re always fantasising about being Michael Jackson and this type of shit, but you don’t really understand exactly who you are until you become a pre-adolescent. Obie is actively trying to encourage creativity in his birthplace. In 2011 he met with Virgil Smith, a Michigan state senator, to discuss cultivating local talent. According to an article in HipHopDx around that time, Obie wanted the city to receive government subsidies to fund a youth music program and to “create a community recording studio and soundstage to provide local talent with an outlet to develop their talents”. That conversation never directly affected change in Obie’s eyes, though.

“These these

young

killing the Life block

kids,

each

music

guys, are

other

industry...

for

stumbling art.”

“That meeting ended up turning into something else, the senator ended up getting in trouble with his wife or his girlfriend or something; nothing transpired after that meeting. I don’t know if that meeting sparked something with anybody in the city or not. “There are a lot of artists in the city in Detroit, Michigan as well, but there are not a lot of outlets for music here. The thing that I was trying to produce with the senator was a certain music district for people that are into the arts. These young guys, these young kids, are killing each other in the music industry. There’s a lot of shit going on with the young crowd in music. Life is a stumbling block for art. You just gotta make it outta the grind first, and then once you get in there, you gotta go.” These words were made even more poignant as just a few hours after I hung up the phone with Obie, the news broke that South Florida hip hop artist XXXTentacion had been shot dead outside a motorcycle dealership. While he had an unforgivable history of domestic violence, he was just 20 years of age. The very same day rapper Jimmy Wopo was fatally shot in Pittsburgh, an artist on the precipice of signing a major deal. Perhaps the reason Obie Trice is so outspoken about this is because of his close encounter with death himself. On December 31, 2006, Obie was shot in the head while driving through his hometown. He told the Chicago Tribune at the time, “I used to be carefree before New Year’s Eve,” but this has made him wiser. He’s learned from the follies of his youth, and as we part company he has some final advice for young artists growing up in difficult circumstances.

“Just search and an

within

you.

who

yourself you

individual

compromise that. that’s

Actually are

and

Enjoy

anything

don’t for

yourself,

it.

Obie Trice headlines Bare Festival, Carlow, July 6-7.

60 Render: Ross Ryder

House and Techno Guide July 2018

BAILIÚ

RYAN ELLIOTT

SCHOOLYARD PARTY

Sól Fúd This night promoting Irish drum ‘n’ bass and jungle brings plenty of local talent to Wigwam, including B-Origin, Misha Freshin, INC and more for stand alone sets and plenty of B2Bs. For fans of: Roni Size, Shy FX, The Prodigy Friday July 6 Wigwam €5

DiVision x Subject Ryan Elliott of Ostgut Ton is known for his cross-genre style credited to the house scene of his hometown, Detroit, and the techno scene of his current home, Berlin. Support comes from Sexshop, Galactic Beat Club and Vlad Miller. For fans of: Ben Klock, Kobosil, DVS1 Saturday July 7 Pygmalion €11.40

Telephones Telephones’ last summer party of the year sees local house, techno and disco talents Breen, Papa Lou, Rub a Dub Hi-Fi, Tim Tamma, Nevan Jio and more take over a schoolyard in Dublin 8. For fans of: Stevie G, Fio Fa, Sage Saturday July 7 Schoolyard in Dublin 8 €16.81

MANNI DEE

GUIDO SCHNEIDER

Operator & Stoop French techno warrior Manni Dee makes his long-awaited return. Sets beforehand come from Theologue and Jack Jennings. For fans of: I Hate Models, Rebekah, Stranger Saturday July 7 39/40 €10/12/15

Deep House Dublin Berlin’s Guido Schneider has been highlyinspired by EBM music since the 90s and works under many pseudonyms as an electronic producer, DJ and musician. Supporting on the night are Fizzy Waters and Zee Ziggy. For fans of: Tale of Us, Solomun, Mano le Tough Saturday July 7 Wah Wah Club €15

SEMTEK, TR ONE, MINOS

EJECA

JAY CLARKE

HAMMER

Belfast’s purveyor of tech house makes his return to Dublin to showcase his atmospheric trance-infused beats and melodic house tunes. For fans of: Alan Fitzpatrick, Bicep, Trance Wax Friday July 13 District 8 €19.96

Index x Subject x Techno & Cans The fabric london resident is set to bring his dark and emotive brand of tencho to the Emerald Isle. Support on the night comes from Mode-1 and Sam Greenwood. For fans of: Ben Klock, DVS1, Marcel Dettman Friday July 13 39/40 €10/€12/€15

Melodic x Modern Magic Affiliate and frequent Bicep collaborator, Hammer returns to Dublin to celebrate the release of his new EP. Local support from George Feely, Eve Collective and more. For fans of: Bicep, 808 State, George Fitzgerald Saturday July 14 Tengu €13.38

DBA Three notable participants in the underground electronic scene will take to Wigwam’s basement as part of Don’t Be Afraid Records’ first Dublin party. For fans of: New Jackson, Robert Fleck, Jayson Winter Saturday July 7 Wigwam €11.40

AUTECHRE

AUSGANG

MIHAI POPVICIU

Rooted in techno with complex patterns, Autechre’s live performances happen in total darkness to heighten the senses. For fans of: Aphex Twin, Four Tet, Actress Sunday July 15 National Concert Hall €35

DarkTrax x Momentum Expect raw, gritty warehouse sounds from this Berlin-based duo. Supporting are locals Niall Cleary, DarkTrax and D//N. For fans of: Ben Klock, Ostgut Ton, 747 Friday July 20 Tengu €10

The Romanian DJ has toured the best clubs in Europe with his house and techno music characterised by deep house grooves and now he brings his sound to the capital. For fans of: Mark Reeve, Peggy Gou, Harrison BDP Saturday July 21 39/40 €15

SHADES OF RHYTHM

CIRCLES DAY 1

Flashback Dublin The British, old school, electronic group are best known for the live sets and contribution to the UK 90s rave scene. Support on the night comes from Chris Dee, Laynee and more. For fans of: Underworld, The Prodigy, Leftfield Saturday July 21 Button Factory €22

Subject Taking place at District 8 on the first day of Circles, Detroit legend Moodymann takes over the Francis Street venue along with homegrown names Sage, Twitch DJs and Pear. For fans of: Mr. G, Boots & Kats, Kerri Chandler Friday July 27 District 8 €22.18

MEETING HOUSE SQUARE TRILOGY

LEON VYNEHALL

NANCY

CIRCLES DAY 2

Bodytonic British DJ, producer and recent Ninja Tune inductee takes over Wigwam with his house, deep house and distinct experimental and downtempo sounds. For fans of: Axel Boman, Floating Points, Joy Orbison Friday July 27 Wigwam €13.31

Mindset Musik Wales-born, Dublin-based Nancy’s live, infectious and melodic techno has led her to share stages with Carl Cox and more. Support from Dave Kerr and Chachou. For fans of: Eats Everything, Nina Kraviz, Amelie Lens Friday July 27 Tengu €11.25

Subject The Day 2 line up includes Dave Clarke, Rebekah, Sunil Sharpe, Cailín and plenty more. For fans of: Slam, 999999999, Semtek Saturday July 28 District 8 €30

ARTWORK

GLENN UNDERGROUND

Pyg Sundays Known for his genre-bending output, Artwork dominates dance floors with house, disco, acid, Afrobeat and more. Support comes from Pyg residents Colin Perkins and Ron Elliot. For fans of: DJ Deece, Peggy Gou, Magnetic Man Saturday July 28 Pygmalion €11.40

Fatty Fatty Phonographics One of the pioneers of Chicago house returns to Dublin for a rare three-hour set. Don’t miss the chance to see a legend at work. For fans of: Moodymann, Daft Punk, Larry Heard Saturday July 28 Tengu €16

Vision Collector Vision Collector Records host a party with a line up of DJ Pete, Pineal Navigation and Breen. Expect a night of abstract and Berlininfluenced techno. For fans of: Skee Mask, Tinfoil, Marcel Dettmann Friday July 27 Meeting House Square €16.90

70 Illustrations: Gavin Connol & Cian Ryan

60 seconds with Jay Clarke Words:Jordan

Kinlan

Klockworks is a world-renowned label. How does it feel to be part of the team and where do you see it taking your career? It’s a great honour to have joined Klockworks. Ben has been a fantastic mentor and, as we all know, he has a great ear. Seeing Ben really dig my productions is very rewarding. In terms of where this will take my career, I have no idea. My gig schedule has certainly increased and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me! You’ve released some strong projects on your BLACKAXON label. What motivated you to start the imprint? It all started with my track ‘Entity’. It had been played in many clubs and, in particular, at Berghain over the past few years. I’d actually sat on the track, so to speak, since 2011 when I created it. I had been approached by various prospective labels, but I never felt like it was the right time to release the track. Maybe because at the time, I didn’t feel like I had anything to compliment it. Creating ‘Entity’ made me realise, ‘Yes this is what I want to do’. So after a fair few requests of, ‘When is it going to be released?’ I decided to bite the bullet and put my money where my mouth was, and so the journey began. Has playing in some of London’s top nightclubs like fabric influenced your music productions? I’ve spent many Saturday nights at fabric as an eagle-eyed clubber. So for me, fabric has actually been my education. My first club experience of techno was when I was 18 - I had never been to a techno party and was introduced to it by Claude Young and Technasia. I’m sure I will have many amazing experiences during my career, however this night literally changed my life and I will always hold this memory in the highest regard. I believe that fabric is instrumental to who I have become as a DJ and an artist. Your career trajectory has seen you play alongside some of the world’s biggest DJs like Dave Clarke, Ben Sims, Marcel Dettmann and more. In the beginning did you

aspire to be like any of these artists and if so, how does it feel to be playing alongside them now? During my early days visiting fabric and The End watching DJs like Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Robert Hood and Ben Sims on regular occasions really set the bar high. Of course, every aspiring child wants to be just like their hero, whether that’s in sports, science or music. These people influence us, educate us and inspire us. It reminds us of how good these people really are. They aren’t trying to change the world; they are helping people enjoy themselves. Lastly, if you could change one thing about the techno scene at the moment, what would it be and why? I think people rush to release music and in many cases release music too frequently. I’d like to see more artists taking their time. Jay Clarke plays Index on July 13.

68 Words: Eric

Davidson

’ve been invited into planes and private yachts, and now I’m a farmer living around other farmers in France and to be honest I know who’s the happiest.” It’s well-documented that Groove Armada have helped shape the landscape of club culture as a production duo. Andy Cato alone set up the label Skinny Malinky in the 1990s and produced records under numerous aliases including Big C, Mother’s Pride, Vadis, Beat Foundation, Fatback Boogaloo and Qattara. After he met Tom Findlay in 1994, he moved to London and Groove Armada was born. If anyone has the right to discuss the state of electronic music today, it’s Andy. We caught up with him around the time fabric looked set to close its doors, before petitions and extremely strict regulations allowed the iconic London club to keep its lights on.

Let’s jump straight in – with Ibiza and London the way they are at the moment, do you think club culture is crumbling? The two meccas have been hit hard? There are two ways you could look at it. You could say it’s crumbling, but it’s crumbled so many times before, and you know, there’s something about pure house music that always endures. There was the moment before when house was made as a thing for basements where no one cared who the DJ was so long as it was good. There was no spotlight on anyone. Then it became this big money thing, when the first EDM wave came through, in huge sports stadiums. Now that’s kind of fallen apart, because of the millions of dollars and champagne. Look, it’s another wave in the cycle, but the fundamental thing of a bunch of people in a dark room listening to house will always live on, I think. That’s something I’d really like to talk about. Do you think the ‘underground’ still exists the way it did, in say, the Haçienda days? In terms of London and Toulouse, where I spend a lot of time these days, there are more small basement parties than there were during the superclub days of 15 years ago. There are also a lot more free parties and a return to resident parties, and all that’s cool. For me though, the death of the ‘underground’ as I knew it is because of phones. Part of the underground was that you were just in it and you were lost and nobody knew where the fuck you were. It was just freedom with a capital F. The real killer of the underground is people proving where they are and showing to others that they’re having an experience rather than just having it. That’s the death of the underground because the underground is about getting lost in a groove, whatever your type of groove is, and very few people do that anymore. When you look out into a crowd do you ever wish that people weren’t recording what you’re doing?

your life. Like what is the ‘underground’? It’s people playing records in a small room for not much money, there are loads of people doing that. But the other part is people changing the normal day-to-day bullshit of society via music to create a few moments of genuine happiness, but people really aren’t engaging now... Do you think with Pacha being bought and Space closing down, Ibiza has become even more about bottle service, VIP culture? I think music is reflecting life, in the way it always has. There’s a general obsession with the fact that everyone wants to be either a footballer and a rockstar or a footballer or rockstar’s wife, and therein lies happiness, and that happiness is a bottle of champagne away. The thing is it’s bullshit. I’ve been lucky. I’ve seen it all up close. I’ve been invited into planes and private yachts, and now I’m a farmer living around other farmers in France and to be honest I know who’s the happiest. Unfortunately it’s the media’s agenda to say to people that you can only be happy if you’re loaded and on the pages of a magazine. As long as that culture dominates, music will reflect it, and that’s what’s happening in Ibiza. Do you think that same greed has impacted what’s happening with fabric? With hotels developers buying up London? Look, the rumours of what’s going on are many and varied, but what it’s clearly not about is drugs, because I’ve never been in a more controlled or safer space than fabric. The idea that it’s about that is just clearly bollocks meaning it has to be about something else which is probably money somewhere down the line. But that’s the classic example that pop will eat itself. Why do people want to come to London? Partly because there’s a few quid rolling in from a few oligarchs and a few city boys and it’s the same idea of what happened in Shoreditch, where Groove Armada began. It was all in a load of derelict warehouses and it was funky and fun until the money rolled in. That’s what’s happening to London as a city if we’re not careful. . Groove Armada play All Together Now Festival on Friday August 3.

I’ve had hundreds of days in Ibiza when nobody knew who I was or what I was doing. As a DJ? I think I just feel sorry for people, you know? Like get that shit out of

72 Words:

Niamh

Craven / Photography:

George

Voronov

â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you see someone who you can relate to doing what you want to do, it gives you drive and motivationâ&#x20AC;?

he first time I had the honour of experiencing Waterford’s Cailín behind the decks was during her support slot for the cryptic duo 999999999 in Smithfield’s 39/40 early last summer. We had gone for the headliner, but as soon as we got there, I needed to know what the name of the DJ on warm up duties was. This year, before the postponement of the show, Cailín was due to support the Italian duo 999999999 again, but a rescheduled date led her to play with 747 instead. Having gone on to share festival and club stages with artists as diverse as FJAAK, Honey Dijon and Sunil Sharpe I wanted to ask if connections were something of value when it comes to keeping the culture thriving but not mainstream. “Yeah, techno still is a little bit more underground than what house is now. House has become, I won’t say commercialised, but it’s definitely become very, very popular amongst people who would never have gone to house nights before. I can see techno slowly going that way at the moment.” Cailín, a long time resident for stalwart techno collective Subject, who have been running gigs for over a decade, immediately professed her love for the venue and national cultural haven that is District 8 during our conversation. The Francis Street spot has been a place of significance and importance to electronic music enthusiasts since its inception, and when it was announced that it would soon close its doors to make way for yet another city centre hotel, there was an outpouring of disappointment. The date of closure is yet to be confirmed, but the area is being developed with seemingly very little consideration towards the cultural significance of electronic music in the city. Cailín weighed in. “Hangar and District 8, in my opinion, are our only two clubs that we have in the whole country that can stand internationally and match somewhere that you’d go to in Europe or the UK. It’s an awful, awful tragedy and it’s such a shame. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen. You’re trying to step all over a small culture that’s trying to thrive, and it can’t. It’s just not fair. I really don’t see what alternative there is. “Dublin’s stand alone gig scene was so strong. It’s going downhill for sure. I just hope that somebody steps in and saves it or somebody objects. I know with District 8 they couldn’t get planning or something initially, and the buyer agreed to preserve the graffitti work there but not even ‘preserve’ it, photograph it. That’s not good enough!”

Cailín exuded a humbling energy of confidence during our time together. She’s all about “the art form of DJing.” She was a notable participant of Smirnoff’s Equalising Music campaign, featuring as one of the many tenacious women of Ireland in the ‘Move the Needle’ documentary released last year. “To be honest, I’m DJing almost 10 years now. At the start in Waterford, it was just a hobby for me. There was little to no female presence in the DJ scene and I didn’t know of any other female DJs.” Cailín continued, telling me what it felt like to be the minority. “I was never really treated differently. I was treated exactly as any other new or young DJ was in Waterford...The only thing I’ve found is when you go to a gig initially you turn up with your bag of records and it’s just the sound engineers, people can get standoffish. I never use CDJs. After you’ve played, the attitude changes, they’re super nice to you. It’s kind of like, ‘Where does your one think she’s going?’ “I don’t mean to generalise, but I’ve only recently experienced it. I was kind of surprised because I hadn’t experienced anything like that in so long.” In what ended up being a motivational lesson rather than an interview, we discussed the importance of being relatable and having role models to lead by example in creative industries. Cailín, since my first encounter with her at the then newly reopened Smithfield venue, has been a stand out DJ for me. She sparked my interest again a few months back discussing her DJing roots in the ‘Move the Needle’ documentary. She started off in a college society, something I attempted to achieve. However, I failed miserably due a combination of intimidation, feeling isolated as the only female and a deep-rooted issue with confidence, an issue many Irish women experience. “I didn’t know any other girls that DJ’d in the country. Not one. But now, even in the last three years, the amount of girls that are on the scene, especially in Dublin! They’re finally saying, ‘Fuck this, we can do this too’ and we’re all giving each other inspiration and the push we need and it’s great. In the future there will be a lot of girls who won’t have regrets that they decided to give it a go. That’s the great thing about this movement, because it really helps those who want to do it. It might take longer and be a bit harder, but it will happen eventually.

“If you see someone who you can relate to doing what you want to do, it gives you drive and motivation. Irish women, it’s in our blood and it’s in our DNA to feel inferior. From shit that went down in recent history and the way we have been treated by the church and the government, I’m not surprised.” It was interesting to put into perspective and share our personal insights about the history and progression of a culture that Ireland now holds so dearly in its heart. In the last few years, the house and techno scene has exploded like a mixer that just had a pint spilled on it. “We’ve put ourselves in a great place in the last few years. But, you know what? The Irish techno scene has always been strong since the early 90s. In the last few years, since the scene has started to grow, it’s also going downhill with club closures and all that. As social media has become more prevalent people are just so concerned with appearances and they’re just there to be seen so they can have their Snapchat story or whatever. They’re not there for the right reasons at all. People aren’t there to dance. They’re too busy on their phones. “I saw a video the other day from ‘89 or ‘90. The DJ was able to mix records properly. Nobody was talking, everyone had their heads down dancing and smiling! It was a sick video. It was just a reminder of where we have come from and where we are today, and how we probably need to go back to our roots a bit. I think smartphones need to be banned before it goes anywhere or especially back to where it was... And CDJs. I’ll get shot for saying this, but people need to go out and learn to mix properly. They need to go back to the craft and appreciate it and then go back and play their CDJs if they want. That’s the thing though, nobody uses turntables anywhere. “You develop a love for your records. It’s something you become close to. You pick up a record and it’s like, ‘It’s you! I haven’t seen you in so long, I can’t wait to play you again!’ You’ll have something there forever in front of you that sounds better and that will make you a better DJ.” Social media has given rise to a constant battle about what a ‘true’ DJ really is. All you have to do is take a look at the Boiler Room channel’s comment section to experience the tiring debates. Viewers get into petty judgement calls over a DJ’s ‘skill’ level, which often descend into comments about appearance and gender. The versatile nature of contemporary DJing has given

rise to several dominant DJing styles and processes, but the majority of the time when the question is raised, vinyl DJing is ultimately the right answer. “I’m constantly seeing people dissing vinyl and I even see memes about it. They’re all threatened. There’s that side of it too, though. Let people use what they want to use at the end of the day. I just feel like the art behind DJing is slowly getting lost. That’s what I got into it for. Not just the music, but because I used to be so drawn into watching how people play records. It fascinates me. I love being technical about how I mix. You can’t get the same satisfaction from CDJs...It’s just all kind of getting lost, the pure side of it. It’s the truth and people need to start facing up to it. You can’t hide behind your BPM counter forever.” Cailín has a busy summer ahead with gigs at home and abroad. Slots at Longitude and District 8’s Circles are on the agenda alongside a set at Berlin’s Somewhere In The Distance but what about releases? As someone who has been selective about her output I wanted to find out more about what Cailín had in store, and found myself commending her dedication to her music and artistic vision. “I don’t want to do any digital-only releases. I want it to be pressed vinyl because what’s the point in releasing my music on digital if I don’t play digital? I want to and I’m trying to keep my integrity and wait for a label that’s willing to press my music on vinyl, and that’s how I want to go about it.” Cailín plays Circles at District 8 on July 28.

“Irish women, it’s in our blood and it’s in our DNA to feel inferior.”

Words: CĂłilĂ Collins / Photography: Aldo

Paredes / Illustration: Robert Mirolo

Black Madonna AD

To say that someone’s music ‘goes far beyond the DJ booth it’s played in’ is a throwaway sentence. It refers to someone as an ‘eclectic DJ’ or any other washed-out description for an electronic music artist. While we could kick off this discussion with the highly-respected Black Madonna by giving a wishy-washy statement as to the obvious far reaching effect of her music, she is worthy of a genuinely meaningful opening paragraph. In truth, The Black Madonna represents a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, she is an encyclopedia of house music, someone who lives and breaths the genre. To others, she is one of the leading voices for equality in an industry that still trips over its shoelaces when it comes to the issue of equal representation. To an even larger proportion, she is a voice for the voiceless. But most of all, she is the human embodiment of Chicago grit, something that firmly ties all of her other exploits fittingly together in a tight knot, not a pretty bow.

he Black Madonna has always been open about her struggle for success in music. Her rise to the top is one of the more documented and painstaking struggles an artist is likely to endure. As strong as her passion to succeed has been, it’s her desire to be heard that has been steadfast throughout her ascent to the top. Despite a myriad of objects being placed in front of her along the way. She has undoubtedly been one of the most successful DJs in the world for quite some time now, winning Mixmag’s ‘DJ of the Year’ award in 2016, but she has never basked in her own spotlight. Instead, she has thrust it elsewhere to highlight issues within the music industry and the world at large, specifically on the fractured terrain that is the United States. Her unmistakable ‘We Still Believe’ parties are currently enjoying the most fruitful period of their existence, coming off a full stage takeover at Manchester’s renowned Parklife festival. That was We Still Believe’s largest event to date and they have another, bigger event looming in August. It was fair to wonder whether the series maintained its original atmosphere, as they too hark back to more humble origins. “It’s a long way from the 100-person warehouse party that it started out as. The party that it came from I should say. We Still Believe was a Smartbar residency, but the name referenced a sign that used to hang at an old party I used to be involved with.” Taking the current scale of the event into perspective for a minute, she continues, “Anytime you make a leap forward, as we did last year with the York Hall show in London in December, and as we did at Parklife and as we will do again on August 4 in Shoreditch with the Block Party, there’s always a little nervousness. Anything that has your name plastered to it, the anxiety level is certainly amplified, but the reward is amplified too. “I think every show is very different. We definitely had people that came to We Still Believe events in other cities come to this [Parklife], because we could see them! Obviously, a festival is a festival, but Parklife does such a good job, particularly with that stage, of making it self-contained. It had so many of the elements of all of our other events and we’ve done them now in all sorts of venues.” With a motley crew of Mall Grab, Honey Dijon, Jackmaster, Peggy Gou, Midland and HAAi on board, it was fair to assume that things may have gotten a little bit out of hand in such an energetic environment. “It was hot as hell!” She says, laughing. “I walked up there and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I am going to melt’, but that added to it, as did the randomness; people running on stage

together, Jack [Jackmaster] played and then Peggy [Gou] ran on and then I ran on. The chaos of that and that sort of unsterile social environment is a big part of how I do things in my version of world building. “People know the difference between a show and a party, if for example, when me and Mike Servito play together, people know that we’re really good friends, part of what you’ll get is music and part of what you’ll get is just us. It welcomes them to the party, it helps lower the barrier between the dancefloor and the backstage and that’s something I strive to do. Essentially, I’m trying to cause some sort of disturbance.” Up until now, her depiction of the colourful scenes of Parklife has been totally measured. Regarding the more serious topics, she doesn’t mince her words in the slightest. “The stakes were so low for so long that I haven’t adjusted to the idea that there might be consequences. I have always been a loudmouth my entire life; there’s no question about it. I’m 40 and I understand that I am a strong flavour; not everyone likes every strong flavour. Not everyone likes truffles, but I love them. There are people that will disagree with me. That’s fine. “It’s a big world and most people can live through me having a different opinion than them on the internet. If we’re adults, it’s not too much to ask strangers to pull up their big boy, big girl pants and deal with the idea that somebody may not think the same idea as they do. That has been the case for me with many things. I hold many unpopular opinions and I am 100 per cent ok with that. I am not for everybody, but the people that I am for, I am really for.” The notion of people having to face uncomfortable situations and opinions has been amplified in America of late. Trump’s presidency has seen prejudice rear its ugly head in broad daylight across the nation more than ever. The fight against racism runs deep in The Black Madonna’s family, with her father pictured protesting the Jim Crow laws in the 1950s, something she recently posted on her Facebook page. “There were a lot of well-intentioned white people that lived under the illusion of America being much greener grass. There were a lot of really well-intentioned people that didn’t have many friends that didn’t look like them who were surprised when their neighbours took up tiki torches and tried to run over protesters!

We are a colonial country and that comes with a mighty big graveyard underneath it. We didn’t become an English-speaking country by sitting down to eat turkey with one another on Thanksgiving, that’s not how that happened. There is some really deep-seated, ugly, festering stuff that we all have to encounter in our neighbours and in ourselves and all I can say is that I have to believe that the arc of history does bend towards justice, to borrow a phrase.” With a hopeful, but equally laboured sigh, she carries on, “I have to believe that, because if I didn’t believe, I don’t know what I would do. I live abroad now and I’m as politically active, actually more so than ever before, when I go home. I have a number of organisations that I work with and help fund. If I didn’t think that we were capable of at least winning some small battles that will add up in the long run, then I don’t know what I’d do. “The state of the States is that it is really tough right now and I don’t even think I have the right to say that because it is really tough for some people. That’s why no matter how I feel, I need to keep in mind that they’re just feelings and that there are people out there dealing with things that are not feelings.” In an attempt to vaguely steer the conversation back in the direction of music, we turn our attention to Chicago and how her incomparable relationship with the storied Smartbar not only developed an adoration for house in its rawest format, but shaped her rebellious outlook on life. “Smartbar is such a unique situation because it has been around for so long. The closest thing to it is Subclub [Glasgow] and I think you see it a lot of correlation in those two venues, with their loyal crowds. Smartbar is a family business that has been going for three and a half decades, and I’m lucky enough to have been a part of it for a long time and to still have roots there. They were good enough when it was time for me to do this crazy thing that I do for a living now that they didn’t want to cut ties and we stayed together. I’m still a resident, I still have an honorary job title. Every once in a while the night manager will text me something like, ‘Love you babe’.” Laughing for a split second at that, her serious tone returns to detail her complicated relationship with the Midwestern city. “Chicago is difficult. It’s not an easy place to love. I do love it but it’s like a family member; we have fights sometimes and I can tell you exactly what’s wrong with it, but if anyone else messes with Chicago then it’s like, knuckles up.

“It’s a complicated place for me, I moved there right after college, I’m 40 years old now, and it’s kind of where I became an adult, for real. It’s the first place I lived after I got out of a dorm room! It made me ready for a bigger world which can be even harder at times. It’s an amazing place, but it’s very sink or swim. If you can learn how to be good in Chicago and you can hang, then you’re legit good. If you can learn how to not give a fuck in Chicago, then you can not give a fuck anywhere.” Formed in one of house music’s most revered institutions, alongside a network of like-minded DJs and producers, she has managed to carry her sense of community with her internationally. “Before I toured full time, I was the lead booker at Smartbar and I created the new version of the residents programme and all the rules for it and how it worked. The whole idea was to build this internal structure for the club to create residents that would persist in the hope that those people would go on to make records together and work on events. We eventually managed to take some of those events outside the building and the idea was that we were stronger as a unit then we ever would be on our own. “I drew out my grand plan for how this was going to work and for the most part it has done that, and continues to do so because one my best friends, Jason Garden, is now the booker there and he was my assistant in the past. The concept has remained the same as has the core values for how we would do things, making sure that there were different kinds of representation on the bill and so on. “When I left Smartbar that idea stuck with me. If I’m able exert any influence on who’s on the line up with me, then I will. It happens quite a lot; people are open to suggestions. “I have three jobs; one is to be a DJ, one is to be a producer and one is to be a world builder, to the degree that I’m able to. When it comes to doing that, one of the most important things is to cheerlead the people that are not just exceptional talents, but good people, people that you would like to see excel and then hopefully they get presented with the same opportunities, as you’re seeing with HAAi curating her own line ups, which are phenomenal.”

The notion of world-building is a unique one. The Black Madonna’s desire to create a better environment, not only for artists but for people too, is as admirable as it is ambitious. But it’s something that she is evidently set upon given the unwavering manner in which she describes her vision. There’s no doubting that someone discussing all of this while sitting in their studio the week after the brand’s most successful outing has an undying work ethic. In the wake of the tragic loss of Avicii however, relentless work ethic can indeed be a double edged sword, even for the most level-headed individuals. “I have so many friends that are DJs who maybe aren’t huge but they’re on the circuit and they just crash and burn. Right after that [Avicii’s passing] I had to cancel a couple of shows due to asthma and ongoing issues from having pneumonia last year and for the first time ever nobody yelled at me! I don’t cancel shows that often, but I have in the past and there are these stupid trolls that always comment on it.” She clears her throat and does her best impression of a 20-something-year-old working up a sweat behind a keyboard:

that he had had more options.” On such a poignant note, she pauses, only briefly, but it feels like it was an eternity. The silent phone line is broken by a deep breath, followed by an assertion that while music is what gets her out of bed, it’s that initial pulse that’s even more precious. “There’s nothing better than dance music and the last thing I want to do is lose it over a lifestyle. This is such a beautiful world that we live in and we’re so lucky to make music and be changed by it, and that’s worth preserving.” Wrapping these conversations up usually makes for quite an easy task. Saying goodbye to someone you solely know through a blue icon with an ‘S’ in the middle is quite a relief at times, but on this occasion, a thank you was in order for the human effort the Chicago artist expends. Whether it’s in front of a crowd or behind a screen. As corny as it sounds, individuals like The Black Madonna go much further than their music does. The world can’t be solely built in a DJ booth. The Black Madonna plays All Together Now Festival, August 3-5.

“U DONT CARE ABOUT US UR JUST AT HOME EATIN CHEESE PUFFS FUCK U”

“I hope that we can still be mindful of it. I don’t think Avicii is the last of his kind. Having watched the documentary about him, a lot of responsibilities rest with management companies not to treat us artists like fossil fuels that you can burn through. I am extremely lucky because my management company are so good and they never, ever push me. I’m the one that’s pushing to work harder when I shouldn’t. They’re so protective of me and I think that’s something we should see more. “I feel so sad for him [Avicii] and his family. He was such a bright talent, even if it wasn’t the kind of music I make. He was such a young, gifted genius. It really was a powerful wake up call for me personally to take wellness seriously. I made some changes immediately in my life afterwards. I wish

No Wall flowers

Words: Caitriona Devery

he food at Clanbrassil House showcases serious skills while retaining a simple, unfussy integrity. It’s one of a newish gang of modern Irish restaurants in the city making inventive, real food with respect for suppliers and the environment, all while using seasonal Irish ingredients. I’m thinking also of Clanbrassil’s sister restaurant Bastible, plus Delahunt, Forest and Marcy, Lock’s, Craft, the Legal Eagle. And there are more. There’s something easy about these places, even those that lean towards fine dining. They are relaxed in their hospitality, non-purist in their styles and assuredly on point when it comes to the cooking itself. They’re just getting on with it. The pleasure of enjoying food as you like it, rather than eating to show off how sophisticated you are, seems be back on the menu in Dublin. Gráinne O’Keefe is the head chef at Clanbrassil House, a small, neat and modern restaurant owned by Bastible’s Barry Fitzgerald and Claire-Marie Thomas. The menu is simple and the mains are based around the restaurant’s unique, charcoal grill. We were wowed by the perfect snack -- spherical ham croquettes, crispy on the outside, hot and creamy on the inside. There are pitch perfect pairings, like delicate crab meat topped with Gubbeen guanciale, a melt-in-the-mouth, thin, fatty, pork cheek. The grill adds real depth to the mains; the pork chop special was juicy and charred and I could eat the hash brown chips every day. Our dessert, chocolate mousse with honeycomb and marmalade ice-cream, looked a bit ordinary but my friend and I almost ended up fighting over it. The food here is honest and direct with no faffing about. I chatted to Gráinne about how cooks and her thoughts on food.

she

Did you chef?

always

want

I never really grew up with fancy food, I’m from the northside. I didn’t know what foie gras was until I went to college. But when I was younger I remember I used to watch cooking shows at home. I remember when I was watching chefs on TV thinking, ‘I want to do that. I want to learn how to do that’. I have three older brothers and an older sister and I used to try and cook for them when I was younger. I did my Leaving Cert and I actually did quite well in school, but I didn’t do the CAO. I said I’m going to get into culinary school in DIT. That was a two year course, but I knew if I didn’t do that course I just would have gone to work in a kitchen somewhere. What

about

food

influences?

When I was younger I used to go down to my grandparents a lot, they live on a farm in Leitrim. My Nan would always cook dinner at the same time every day. That was the best food I had ever eaten. Looking back now, I know that’s because everything that they cooked was fresh. It was from around them, it was local. The milk was from the cows up the road. The beef and the cheese, everything was local. There was one shop in the village. You couldn’t get anything in it. They had their own well. I suppose I never really thought about why the food tasted so good until I was older. They’re older and they’re not doing it to be cool. There’s no other option. They can’t buy avocados in Leitrim. I suppose that would have initially been my really good food memory. I didn’t eat in a proper restaurant until I went to college. I literally knew nothing. I didn’t know any chefs. I think it’s a lot different nowadays. I think people who go into cooking now, by the time they are 17 they have a world of experience at their fingertips, on the internet, in books. A lot of chefs are self-taught anyway, a lot of good chefs. It’s different now. Is

tough

gig?

You have to have the right attitude. When you’re starting out at that age, when you’re young, you’re still going out with your mates who are not chefs. They’re out weekends. You have to realise that it’s going to be no weekends off; you’re going to be working until 1am. I think for the first year or so you get that shock that this is what your life is going to be from now on if you continue in

this career. And then, you know, you start to make friends who are mostly chefs, you start going out Monday nights. It sounds a bit like a cult! Does it attract a certain type of personality? Every good chef I know seems to share similar qualities. Extremely driven, always quite intelligent, but also chefs just seem to have – not all but some – a different humour that you would get with other people. If I’m outside my work, with my family, you’d almost be stopping yourself from saying things. Anywhere else it sounds ridiculous. In the kitchen it’s totally normal. There is a sense of camaraderie. Everyone who works in a kitchen is little bit weird. I spend more time with people in here than anyone else in my life. It’s like your work family How would you describe style of cooking?

your

My style is simple and focused on seasonal cooking, as local as we can. What’s unique about here is the charcoal grill. We base the menu around what’s in season, what works, what we like, what tastes good. When I went to work at Bastible, seeing the food that was there, there was uniqueness to it. The flavours and the way it was put together... I knew I wanted to stay, even before I knew this place was opening. What

does

food

mean

you?

I think since I’ve been 17, all I’ve really done is cook food, learn about food. If I was to go into detail about it, I’d be more likely to talk about farmer, producers and the way it’s produced, what you get in the supermarket, why it’s the prices that it is compared to in a butchers. When you think, you think of the farmers – even my Granddad – working 365 days a year. Even at Christmas time the cows need to be fed. When you look at a carrot and you go into one of the big brands they are selling them for three cent each. I would just look at that and think, ‘The farmer spent however many months growing that, put however much water into the soil and they probably made minus profit on that carrot’. I’m always conscious of where it comes from, where it’s grown. www.clanbrassilhouse.com

Words: Caitriona Devery

The Dublin Eight

Dublin 8 has its own little buzz going on at the moment, food and drinkwise. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mix of places that have been there for ages alongside new spots popping up left, right and centre. As the cranes come back, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tricky and sometimes devastating dance between development and demolition, of communities as well as buildings. Cities by their nature are constantly changing. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better when those changes benefit everyone. In spite of these tensions, there is something heartening about the patchwork of distinctive, independent spots putting down roots in Dublin 8. Here are eight food and drink houses worth checking out.

LOCK’S Sitting pretty on the canal. Lock’s uses lots of strong ingredients prepared in masterful ways. Their food is a proper indulgence with lots of hearty flavours and rich treatments of serious Irish materials. Go for Sunday lunch. locksrestaurant.ie

BROTHER SOUTH

HUBBARD

GAILLOT

GRAY

Expect great value for super quality, wood-burning, oven-fired pizza in the evening and serious coffee, bread and pastries in the daytime. The pizzas are classy without being boring in this bright and airy spot - a lovely place to hang out. @GaillotGrayP

BASTIBLE

The sister restaurant to the Capel Street original, this is a popular spot for weekend brunch and daytime treats. Sometimes Middle Eastern inspired, healthy, flavour-packed and nourishing food takes up the menu. Try the legendary eggs menemen or the chorizo rarebit. brotherhubbard.ie

Bastible is the baby daddy of Clanbrassil House. They are great with fish and use a lot of rare and heritage Irish ingredients. Someone in the kitchen definitely did their food-wizard training, level three. It is fancier than CH, but perfect for a real treat, if you can get a table. www.bastible.com

THE

TWO

HEADLINE

The Headline is a cosy pub on the corner with a good mix of clientele and drinks. They do lots of craft beers, the staff are sound, and they have a solid bar menu. They definitely don’t sell your usual beer and cider fare, but they have an epic cheese board. 57theheadline.com

MARLOWE AND CO

PUPS

Just a few steps from Meath Street and the Liberty Market, this Francis Street cafe is in the heart of Dublin 8. Try the overnight oats with cardamom soaked apricots, organic yoghurt and granola. It really makes for the perfect spot to cure a tender Sunday morning head. G’wan, ya little pup. @twopupscoffee

Dublin 8 is abundant with good pastry options. Its (pastry) cup overfloweth. Why not share the love, D8? This is a generous local joint with inspired sandwiches and superb coffee. It’s simple, well-made stuff with heart and flair. @marloweandco

JOHN FALLON’S If you can manage to get the barman to make you a toastie here, you get 100 points on the Game of Life, Dublin. Legendary cheese sandwiches are on the menu but many a customer has been refused on the basis of “it’s too busy”. Perseverance is key. This is a classic boozer with an interior that time forgot in the best possible way.

Words: Caitriona Devery

Super Markets Seeing as (don’t jinx it) we seem to be getting a sustained period of pleasant meteorological consistency, the question arises: what to do on a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning? Maybe you’re jaded by cans by the canal (doesn’t that mean you’re jaded by life?). Or maybe you just want to have cans later in the day. In any case, why not drop into one of the markets dotted around Dublin and its suburbs? Markets connect you to where your food comes from; the lines of supply are generally short and transparent and local, with a bit of soul. Dublin food markets vary from small to big, from fancy to not-so-fancy. Irish Village Markets manage many of them aimed at lunchtime office workers (think Spencer Dock, along the canal and elsewhere) and they mix it up and move around so you get good variety for your lunchtime treat. I think we have a bit of an English Market fetish in Dublin - a kind of Cork-related inferiority complex. To be fair, the English Market is great. A similar idea has been talked about for many years here. At one point, Iveagh Gardens was touted as Dublin’s potential answer to Covent Garden but we don’t need a market in the same bracket as Fallon & Byrne. If something like this ever comes to fruition, hopefully it’ll be a place that retains the everyday hustle and bustle of a working market and won’t just be a rarefied, exclusive space. Perhaps Dublin should focus on the non or semi-permanent side of markets; finding immediate spaces for the traders wanting to do pop-up or regular outdoor events. The eviction of the Sunday markets in Newmarket Square is a watershed moment; these having been integral to the local economy, alternative foodscapes and community building in Dublin for years. Here’s hoping a creative and practical solution can be found soon. Until then, here’s a few of the best on offer at the moment

FOOD IN FOCUS: LUCKY TORTOISE @ BERLIN D2 Don’t you love it when two of your friends get together? Punk-y Berlin, in its new form on Dame Lane, is a breath of fresh air in the city with amiable staff and a ramshackle yet stylish interior. Lucky Tortoise have been making great shapes with their nomadic dumpling pop ups around the city. So when we stumbled on an early incarnation of their collaborative menu, it was like observing a magical first date. I love what both these gangs are doing. The food is well-priced, tasty and novel. The concept is ‘eat with your hands’, but they’ll give you cutlery, if you’re boring. The Korean spiced chicken burger comes in a bun, as do the beef, fishcake and falafel options. The loaded fries come with muhammara (actually, please give me a spoon), crispy onions, gojuchang, Japanese mayonnaise, and togarashi (a Japanese spice mix). They’re like a re-imagined, next-level, veggie taco fries except with Middle Eastern and Asian flavours. Don’t be a slow tortoise and get yourself in here to congratulate these two hotties on finally hooking up luckytortoise.co

HERBERT PARK, SUNDAY 10:00-17:00 A fairly small market with a mix of hot food, coffee and produce. I had some pork dumplings (jiaozi) and they were yummy. Don’t feed them to the ducks though. There’s also falafel, Korean burritos and carrot cake. Go for a picnic and if it starts to rain you can pop over the other side and treat yourself to a latte in Lolly and Cooks (and a sausage roll. Theirs are delicious).

DUN LAOGHAIRE, SUNDAY 11:00-16:00 The Dun Laoghaire People’s Park market is well-established and pretty big. It’s a bit of a trek out of the city but you’re right by the sea, so if you get the weather, go sit on the beach! There are lots of fresh vegetables and sweet treats.

RED STABLES FOOD MARKET, SAINT ANNE’S PARK, SATURDAY, 10:00-16:00 Another beautiful park, Saint Anne’s between Fairview and Clontarf is worth a visit. The market itself is pretty big, beside a lovely, restored stables building with an indoor café (if it rains. Sometimes it rains) and features excellent hot food as well as produce and suppliers selling freshly made bread, cheeses, chocolates and hot foods.

STONEYBATTER,PENDER’S YARD, SATURDAY 10:00-15:00 This is a teeny, tiny market in a little covered alleyway in Stoneybatter, but it’s beside an ace veg shop and across the road from Mulligan’s, so you could pop in there for a pint afterwards. Stoneybatter and Smithfield are full of great food places and boozers these days, so well worth a trip for an afternoon of moseying around.

TEMPLE BAR, SATURDAY 10:00-16:30 The Temple Bar market is one I frequent most often. Possibly because it’s central and it’s got a good mix of stalls, even though it’s not so big. You can pick up food for dinner - local vegetables, cheeses, meats, plus plenty of baked goods and hot foods. They also have a super casual oyster stall in the middle where you can have (relatively) cheap oysters and glass of wine. Up your zinc!

EATYARD,RICHMOND ST, THURSDAY TO SUNDAY, 12:00-15:00 & 17:00-22:00 I love the concept of Eatyard. You can go with friends and all eat together even if you all like different stuff. Stalls change, but a lot of them are there every week. Regulars include Box Burger, a spicy chicken wing joint and a vegan fish and chips spot, or vish and chips - interesting. There’s Kinara’s Pakistanistyle food and some healthy options, too, if you’re into kale and that sort of thing.

Captain Agne brings her knowledge of needle craft to the art of tattooing. Her distinctive tattoo style has led her to become one of the most sought after hand poke tattooers in Europe. In the last six months alone she has tattooed in India, London, Barcelona, Berlin, Belfast and Newcastle. One of the creative minds working at Dublinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s True Black Tattooing, her distinctive bold tribal tattoos are sought by collectors and tattooists alike, seeking her unique hand poke tattoo experience. As well as tattooing, she has a handmade store MAGNE in Dublinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Temple Bar district where she has been creating her signature leather bags and hand stamped jewellery for over five years now. If this was not enough of a workload, she is also a partner at @YOGI XIII where her eye for detail took the brand to an International audience within its first year of launch, their STAY TRUE Exhibition, a collaboration with 100 tattoo artists, will be a feature of the London Tattoo Convention in September 2018.

@hands.inked magne.ie trueblacktattooing.com

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