trinity ball guide
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(a place for luxurious lends)
Editorial.
Contents.
It is that time of year again, lads! Get your glad rags on! Trinity Ball time! We have spent a couple of weeks getting this ball guide together for you, and we hope you enjoy our efforts! If you are a T-Ball virgin or a self-professed ‘veteran with three balls under your belt’, there’s something in here for you. We have got the pre-drinks, the style and the overall debauchery of the ball covered, and we have even included an interactive map for those who don’t know or can’t remember where the stages, drinks and secret sex-spots are at. Trinity is a mad place at the best of times. But Trinity Ball night –despite all the madness, the inevitable cold, and the awkward encounters with random people – will deliver some of the best memories of your college life. So drink, dance, be merry and enjoy your night!
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Staff.
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Editors: Atalanta Copeman-Papas, Dargan Crowely-Long, Elaine McCahill Deputy Editor: D. Joyce-Ahearne Copy Editor: Ciar Boyle-Gifford Photographer: George Voronov Illustrations: Ciar Boyle-Gifford, Ena Brennan Contributors: Louis Camp, Ronan Corrigan, Thomas Godfrey, Tara Joshi, Michael Lannigan, Jennifer McCahill, Aprille Scully, Matthew Taylor
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Thanks to Dave Whelan, Laura McDermott and all at Trinity Fashion Soc, Damien Carr and Trinity Publications. 3
Budget Decadence Rethinking Predrinking Prime Cuts All that Glitters If You Wanna Survive Storming the Bastille Not just on a Good Day Thriller Night The Best of the Rest Ceremonial Depravity Following Suit Cans, Campaniles and Costume Jewelery A Map Sex Diary
FRONT MATTER
Budget Decadence Elaine McCahill gets boozy with these cheap and classy drink ideas. Illustrations: Ciar Boyle-Gifford
Dirty Trinitini
Ball-ini
Ingredients: • 2 shots vodka, or gin if you’re feeling flash • 1 shot dry vermouth (Lidl’s finest) • Olives
Ingredients: • Prosecco (or cheaper sparkling white wine if you can find it) • Peach schnapps
Get a touch of class on the cheap, with this vodka twist on the classic Bond-esque Dirty Martini. A definite crowd pleaser if you’re looking for distinction at your T-Ball pre-drinks. Gin or vodka will work equally well for this concoction, and you can grab vermouth and olives on the cheap in your local Lidl. Mix two measures of your chosen poison with one of vermouth, add ice, shake and serve in a chilled glass. Remember, no ice in the glass — you wouldn’t want to dilute this powerhouse of a drink. Finally, it just wouldn’t be the same without sticking a pick through an olive as a garnish. The true elites will be wanting a pickled onion on there too, but that might just break the student bank, so use at your own risk.
Here’s one for the fruitier friends among us — also an insanely easy one to make, as the evening moves on and pre-drinks take their toll. Line the bottom of your flute with a measure of Schnapps (judge according to your own sweet tooth), grab a bottle of prosecco (or the finest sparkly wine a fiver can buy) and fill that mother up. Even if the makings of your Ball-ini are sourced from the famous cellars of Chez-Lidl on Thomas Street, if you keep a hold on that flute like it’s the top rung of the social ladder you’ll look like a star in any case.
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FRONT MATTER
Moj-Trinito
Harvey Ball-Banger
Ingredients: • 2 shots rum • 1 sprig mint • A dash of lime cordial • A dash of soda • Sugar • A wedge of lime
Ingredients: • Vodka • Orange juice • Galiliano (again scour Lidl) (...or forget the Galliano and have yourself a screwdriver)
OK, so we’re stretching it with the name this time around. But the drink itself is a sure winner — who can resist the taste of a warm, Cuban Summer’s eve? Sure, you’ll need it if you’re going to make it through the gruesome Dublin night. Muddle the mint to the bottom the glass with some crushed iced, and add two shots of rum (or more, if you really want to fan that Latin fire). A dash of soda (and no more — this drink means business), then lime cordial and a dose of sugar according to taste. Crushed ice is important here; what makes this drink a Moj-Trinito is the sure knowledge the only way any of us is crushing ice is in a teatowel with a (really) big textbook. Garnish with a lime wedge and stir.
They say never mess with a classic. But whoever ‘they’ are, they can clearly afford Galliano – and in the event that your T-Ball budget doesn’t match theirs, then forget the Liqueur and stick to vodka and orange juice in a tall glass on ice – A.K.A. a good old Vodka Screwdriver. Remember, though, that Trinity Ball comes but once a year, and it at least deserves the flourish of an orange wedge squidged on the side. Best not to down too many of these before heading out though, as all that orange juice is not going down well with a few beers and a dirty burger at two in the morning.
Pimmers for Trinners
Black Tie Russian
Ingredients: • Bottle of Pimms • Lemonade (or sparklinr white wine for a lethal touch) • Mint • Cucumber, Strawberries, Orange wedges, Lemon wedges
Ingredients: • 1 shot vodka • ½ shot Kahlua • Dash of coke (or if you have milk that hasn’t gone off, throw that in for a yummy White Russian)
A cure-all elixir for all the homesick Team Englanders. A jug of Pimms will do wonders for the team spirit. Plonk copious chopped cucumber and fruit (yes, this drink has actual nutritional value, darlings) into a jug along with torn min – no excuses for leaving it out, getting your five-aday once over the course of the year won’t kill you. Add approximately a third of your bottle of Pimms and then fill to the top with either lemonade or sparkling white wine. Serve to your friends in tall tumblers with ice, sit back, and just let the posh wash over you.
Black Tie, Black Russian. There’s a song in there somewhere. This one is particularly popular with the boys, possibly since it looks just dashing against a black tuxedo. But don’t go ‘Russian’ yourself (!) with too many of these — they are rich as Guinness, and a fair bit stronger. Simply two parts vodka and one part Kahlua, poured over ice and topped with coke (this part is usually optional, but you’re going to need that sugar as the night goes on). If your friends are more ‘smooth jazz’ than ‘bubbly pop’, add full-fat milk instead of coke for a Russian of the white variety.
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FRONT MATTER
Re-Thinking Pre-Drinking D. Joyce Ahearne sends out a rallying cry for abstinence from pre-drinks this year − in favour of good old-fashioned, actual drinks.
Photo: Ciar Boyle-Gifford
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re-drinking. There’s a bullshit term if ever there was one. How sitting in a house, skulling cans and naggins ever came to be known as pre-drinking is beyond me. Tell me, Trinity, is it just me or is that not what we used to just call drinking? When the fuck did drinking get prefixed? I’m sorry, but there’s no such thing as pre-drinking. You’re either drinking or you’re not. The fact that we even came up with the word pre-drinking − a word that can respectably cover drinking twelve cans at home before a night out − is part of the same twisted Irishness that leads us to respond in the negative when asked if we’ve been drinking, as long as we’ve had under four pints. It’s a euphemism we use to justify drinking for extended periods of time. Ten hours on the piss is questionable; but if you spend Ball night on the tear from midnight until 5am and precede that with 5 hours of pre-drinking then that’s totally civilised. But then, 5th April will not be a night on which drinking needs to be justified. On the eve of an event in which we’re all going to get spectacularly shitfaced, let’s leave our warped and worrying national attitudes to drink aside. We need to embrace our drinking. And to do so, this idea of pre-drinking must die. First of all, pre-drinking sounds shite. It sounds like an activity that doesn’t actual-
ly involve alcohol at all. As far as I’m concerned, having a shower, getting dressed, even buying cans, are all activities that actually constitute pre-drinking. Pre-drinking also seems to imply that after pre-drinking, you will then be drinking. Quite frequently, this is not the case. How often have you heard someone say, ‘and then I didn’t even make it out of the house!’ in disappointment that they didn’t get to go out. Disappointment that they only got to pre-drink. What the fuck is wrong with people? Pre-drinking is where the craic is, it’s just been horrendously mislabelled. Frankly, it’s usually better than the night out. Why? Because, and here’s the surprise, pre-drinking is actually just fucking drinking. Why, then, have we bastardised her good name?! No longer shall we use this demeaning, misleading, and blasphemous leech of a word to sully the good name of drinking. I now repeat my statement from the preceding paragraph without use of the offending prefix. Drinking is where the craic is. But when you go out you usually have to tone it down (for financial reasons of course, nothing to do with common sense) – so really, going out to bars and clubs (and balls, as the case may be) should be deemed post-drinking. That makes far more sense. With the terminology corrected, let’s actually, finally, look at drinking (A.K.A. The
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Activity Formerly Known as Pre-drinking). Ball Guides are usually the place for list type articles like ‘How to Have a Fab Sess’ or ‘How to Pre-Ball’, with talk of pacing yourself and thinking ahead (which, in fairness, I was originally going to do too − until I realised that if someone had the audacity to tell me how to drink at Trinity Ball, I’d tell them to fuck off ). But that sounds like pre-drinking bullshit and, as you’ve read above, we’ve put that to bed. We’ve reclaimed the word drinking. There will be no pre-drinking before the ball. There will be drinking. Serious drinking. Past Ball Guides will tell you that you don’t want to be that guy who pre-drinks too much and doesn’t make it to the Ball. I say challenge accepted. Get thee to a Lidl. Stock up and hit that can like there’s diamonds at the bottom, because that’s where the craic is. At the Ball itself, you’re going to have to deal with absurd prices and queue, so let the Huzzar and the finest brew that Southeast Germany has to offer flow while it can beforehand. For as long as possible. You’re in a house, make the most of it. Gin and Berocca? Why, thank you. Another Calpol and vodka? Don’t mind if I fucking do. So enjoy the drinking, and have a Happy Trinity Post-Drinking 2013.
FRONT MATTER
Prime
Cuts The Haircut Maketh the Man: Thomas Godfrey tours Dublin’s finest barbers to get you looking scissor-sharp for Ball night.
The Waldorf on Westmoreland Street. Photo: Declan Carr
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he Ball is fast approaching. Suits are being dusted off, borrowed, rented, maybe even bought; but all that bother and expense could be for nothing if you don’t pay attention to the details. A man’s haircut and shoes are the most important part of his outfit; get these wrong, and it won’t make a difference what you are wearing. Shoes can be difficult, limited by what is available and how expensive they are − but in a city like Dublin, there is no excuse for having a bad haircut, whatever your budget. If you are tempted to pamper yourself in preparation for the Ball, getting a proper haircut is a worthwhile expense – but you do need to know where to go. I spent a lot of time when I first arrived in Dublin looking for the cheapest barber I could find, before I bit the bullet and decided I would find The One. In the process, I found that you don’t have to spend much to get a great haircut in this city, but it does pay to be discerning. Of the barber’s shops that I have been to in Dublin, three really stand out as exceptional, and it is the unexpected excellence of these three that means I cannot decide on just one barber; I now tend
to move between the three. My first recommendation would have to be what is now called The Butcher Barber, in Johnson’s Court, just off Clarendon Street. When I first went there it was very quaint, but quickly underwent a transformation into an incredibly trendy establishment, so expect to hear a lot about Berlin and East London. The butcher’s shop theme is a lovely concept for a barber’s, and really sets it apart − but what kept me going back was, of course, the haircut. Emmet was the first person in Dublin to give me a really nice haircut, and really listened to what I wanted. The Butcher Barber is a little expensive for regular haircuts, around the €30 mark, but for a special occasion it is perfect − you’ll need to book for Trinity Ball though! My second recommendation is the Waldorf, on Westmoreland Street. I say recommendation; really, I have a mixed review of this place. On the one hand their dry cuts are cheaper than going to the Butcher, but they can often come across as a bit rude. The decor is beautiful, and I can understand that as their whole selling point is a traditional authenticity, but
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they can sometimes take it a bit far. Avoid Len, the older man, and, if you can, go for one of the younger barbers. There’s a Romanian guy who knows a lot about Count Dracula, he’s great. Despite this, I’m pretty sure that if you went for the wash and cut (€27) they would treat you like a real gentleman, and the cuts are certainly worth it once in a while. Dublin’s real gem is The Regent, on Fownes Street Lower in Temple Bar. With a €10 deal on Monday and Tuesday, you will be hard pressed to find better value for money. The Regent has been handed from father to son for 60 years. Allen, the current barber, is a friendly, if no-nonsense, guy. The place is full of hairdressing equipment from all eras, something I find interesting, and Allen certainly has a story or two. They also do hot towel shaves, and probably cheaper than the Waldorf equivalent – while not many students would treat themselves to one, I’m sure a voucher would be a welcome gift for that friend who has everything. This is the barber that I will be making my regular, for the time being anyway, and I would encourage anyone else to give it a go.
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PREVIEW - ELLIE GOULDING
All that Glitters is Goulding Elaine McCahill takes a look at the changing faces of this year’s headliner.
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where she mingled with royalty and uber-celebs, she was also invited to sing at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the White House in 2012, joining Barack Obama onstage for a round of carols. Performing at that wedding was evidently one of her career highlights, and after months of secret negotiations, during which Ellie was sworn to – and maintained – her silence, she sang a selection of her own songs and covers including tracks by Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and the inevitable Your Song by Elton John. An enduring commitment to loyalty and discretion (or more likely watertight non-disclosure contracts) prevents her from going into too much detail, but Ellie clearly found the experience surreal. ‘We’d gone for a rehearsal the day before. I’d driven past the palace so often, I’d stood outside it as a child and thought: ‘I wonder what it’s like in there’. And all of a sudden, I’m driving in. Mental.’ Ellie is currently promoting her new album Halcyon, which critics are classifying as her ‘break-up’ album although she claims that was not her original intention: ‘This album for me is a journey from dark into light from confusion to understanding. I didn’t set out to write a break-up record but I think it became one.’ Before writing the record, she had broken up with Radio 1 DJ Greg James, whom she had been dating for eighteen months, and the
llie Goulding is one of the biggest mainstream acts to headline Trinity Ball in years, making her appearance between scheduled tour dates in Dublin and Belfast. Following a number of high-profile cancellations in the last few years, booking such a well-known act has evidently contributed to the increased hype and the ticket sales for this year’s ball. Ellie burst onto the scene back in 2009 with cult hit Starry Eyed, and has since gone on to sell over 1 million records worldwide, perform at the wedding of the century and embark on a worldwide tour. Her debut album Lights, released in 2010, sold 1.5 million copies and generated 5 million single sales worldwide. The British singer songwriter first came to prominence when she topped the BBC Sound of 2010 Poll and was simultaneously awarded the Brits Critics Choice Award. She remains the only artist other than Adele ever to have received both accolades. Goulding has also encountered huge success stateside with her single Lights selling over 2.5 million copies made it to the Top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 40 charts. After months relentlessly touring there, making appearances at festivals and even opened for Katy Perry on her sell-out California Dreams tour. Not content with singing at Kate and Will’s April 2011 wedding
“I've moved on quite a bit since the first album… I've learned a lot more and I've grown up a lot more” it. She suffered a number of panic attacks in those early days. She insists, though, that the new album is a world away from where she was three years ago: ‘I’ve moved on quite a bit since the first album, because I’ve discovered so much; I’ve learned a lot more and I’ve grown up a lot more. I’ve gained more influences — and different influences and people have influenced it; I suppose just circumstances. It’s a bit more tribal and anthemic, a bit more piano and vocal than anything. The last album was very electronic, but it was tied in with my voice; this one, to me, is way more of a pop record.’ It has recently been announced that after the Halcyon tour, she will support Bruno Mars on a number of dates of his Moonshine Jungle World Tour, another great supporting coup that will undoubtedly put her on the map for a wider base of fans. For those who are not in the know, the tracks most likely to define her set-list at the T-Ball will be Anything Could Happen, Figure 8, and I Need Your Love, which is a collaboration with Calvin Harris — as well as classics like Starry Eyed, and Guns and Horses. Odds are she’ll treat us to a rendition of Your Song which will be a nice tune to help with the come downs.
sophomore album is reportedly based on the ill-fated romance. Halcyon is an album whose title belies much of its content. ‘Giving it that name does seem a bit ironic,’ Ellie concedes, ‘because it’s quite a sad album. But then the songs that are joyous are so joyous. And it’s such a beautiful word.’ As crushed as she felt when she first started writing the album, in the end Ellie found the process empowering. ‘The biggest change that has happened is that I don’t feel that I need to impress people or justify the things I do. It would be mental if now, at this point, I was still apologising for myself, which is something my manager used to tell me off for doing. I’ve got to the stage where I see that I can believe in myself, and that I can have a feeling of self-worth about my music.’ This more confident Ellie is a far cry from the unsure girl who desperately desired the validation of her fans, and would spend hours reading tweets and comments after shows, and hanging out with them outside her tour bus in the early days of her career. Her sudden rise to fame took her from mixing tracks with mates at the University of Kent to being the featured performer at charity balls and royal weddings before she could have known how to deal with
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PREVIEW - VACCINES
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If you wanna survive
ow that the internet is an essential everyday tool, the infinite buffet has left us spoiled for choice. By satiating voracious users to the point of cultural obesity, we’ve reached a point where if our favourite creative boffins are inactive for a few weeks, they are almost redundant, regardless of merit. The time comes to sink new mines, and sap them for all of their worth. A charming thought, but that is the ravenous Generation Tweet for you. Indeed, anyone who has spent the last decade blogging about the slight delay of My Bloody Valentine’s third album will understand the frustrating demands of patience more than a Skrillex obsessive might ever fathom. Only a few bands are capable of satisfying both online obsessive and live lunatics at a rate that would make Mark E. Smith keel over with sheer exhaustion. Somehow, the Vaccines have maintained this unstoppable momentum since their formation in 2010, never starving their followers for agonising aeons in musical waiting rooms. Since their instantaneous burst onto the British music scene in late 2010, the Vaccines have been unrivalled in their prolific recording output and touring ethos. Following in the traditions of the Clash, the Libertines and Manic Street Preachers, their dedication constitutes a lifestyle, as opposed to a sporadic interest laden with murderous droughts in the reservoirs. I spoke with chief songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist, Justin Young, in the aftermath of a Muse support slot at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Having just closed off 10 months on the road touring the four corners
Michael Lanigan talks to Justin Young of The Vaccines, one of the hardest working bands in show business.
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PREVIEW - VACCINES
of the globe in support of their second album, The Vaccines Come of Age, this was a man truly deserving of a lie down. I was fully expecting to hear a man in the throes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; yet the jovial voice on the other end of the phone was not the sound of someone who had embarked upon a gigging epoch. Free of sluggishness, or the self-pity that is common with young bands on the road, it became evident from word go that Young is a man utterly smitten with this lifestyle. ‘We just want to try as hard as we can and pour our hearts into the songs and hope we get that in return. It is high-energy music written to be played live. The energy comes from that. It’s one hour in the day that we have to exert energy’, he insisted modestly. ‘Our music is fun and if we didn’t have fun playing it, then there probably wouldn’t be much point in playing. If you want energy from the audience, then you have to give them the energy, and the more we give, the more we get back.’ March is set aside for recuperation from the intense travelling schedule, and that rest should bode well for their upcoming triad of gigs in Ireland this April. This recent announcement stirred a maelstrom of excitement in the Irish press, intrigued at the variety of venues chosen for their first proper headline dates on these shores. Commencing at the Trinity Ball on April 5th, followed by an intimate show at Langtons Set Theatre in Kilkenny on the 7th, before concluding in the Olympia Theatre on the 8th, it is quite a mix of settings to perform. ‘We’re really excited’ he interjected, as the topic arose. Yet, how does a band in existence for only three years manage to adapt comfortably between settings both little and large? It is a Turkish bath of contrasts. ‘That is the best thing about being in a band; it’s the intrinsic diversity from day to day. Every day is so different, sometimes we are playing in front of 10,000 people; sometimes we are playing for 400 people. That means playing live never gets boring. It constantly remains a challenge, adapting to your surroundings. I think big and small shows are intense in different ways. There’s a different intensity, but they are both equally as thrilling.’ His lack of apprehension comes as no surprise, since the band was on the forefront of the music press from day one, with an NME cover prior to their debut album and an appearance on Jools Holland before their first single. This popularity has been ubiquitous since the demo of ‘If You Wanna’ garnered major interest online, before they had even made a live appearance. This inaugural show at the Flowerpot, in London, saw Alex Kapranos in attendance, with 200 people turned away at the doors due to fierce demand. For the record, this is not a conventional arrival for an indie band, not even the Strokes can compare with such instant mania. Normally this hype is a lethal injection, offering scant opportunity to make mistakes in private. However, in spite of the quartet being together only a short period, all four members had musical backgrounds before the band took flight. Guitarist Freddie Cowan played with the Daze and briefly with the Horrors as Joshua Haywards proxy. Meanwhile Justin, formerly solo recording artist Jay
Jay Pistolet, has been performing consistently since his mid-teens, describing the ‘madness’ of ‘playing shows for ten years’ before he was signed. ‘You’re driving up and down motorways for hours on end before you play to forty five people. You truly believe your songs are good and what you are doing is valid. Then, someone finally turns around and agrees with you. Because the band rose so quickly, people do not realise that we earned our stripes as individuals. We made mistakes, so when the success came, we didn’t feel we deserved it, but it felt earned more than people might think. That was extremely exciting and gratifying.’ While 2011’s critically acclaimed debut ‘What Did You Expect from the Vaccines’ labelled them Britain’s indie saviours, ‘The Vaccines Come of Age’ veers towards a rock ‘n’ roll pastiche of playing all your favourite 45’s spanning several decades. ‘It is a collection of songs, rather than a cohesive record. I like the diversity, to hear that we are searching for something: trying to find our place on the pop landscape. It was a natural progression, but it’s funny because normally people’s first albums sound more diverse, and on their second album it’s more solidified. Ours was quite a searching record.’ Defying conventions once again, the band used this period to experiment with the idea of a shared labour for their B-Sides. By giving individual members a chance to display their own songwriting on each single, the notion has grown to fruition displaying different perspective on each musical input. ‘Our bond deepened and the process became more collaborative than the first record. Those B-Sides are real great ways to get to know the people creatively and hear the different elements. I know they don’t sound like the Vaccines, but there are elements of the band in all of them. That was a really interesting experiment.’ It certainly offers a new method of writing in the future, as Justin agreed: ‘I started off with all of the songs of mine and on the second record we collaborated more, but now it has become even more of a collaborative process.’ On that note, the opportunity sprang to pry into their next plans to record. Just back from America and Japan, the band chose March for a live sabbatical before restarting the tour, which will include a performance at London’s 02 Arena for their largest crowd of 20,000 people. However, the brief relaxation is only a break by Vaccines’ standards. In response to the matter of new material, Young revealed their next project; ‘We are recording an EP of some new music. Our aim is to get better and as soon as we feel like we can, we want to get into the studio. That’s the reason behind this next EP, to release four songs that we feel are a lot better than our last.’ When asked about the musical direction, he was adamant in not over-hyping any idea before its final varnishing; ‘It’s still up in the air. You can say what you want before it is committed to tape’, implying it could move down a multitude of different paths at present. He added, ‘we like a lot of pop music, so I think it is more poppy.’ Yet this was only half of the news − Young offered further insight into their timetable, already bursting at the seams. Once this next stint of performances concludes, Young explained their intentions to ‘stop touring in September to take longer for the next record, allowing it to grow.’ Before I could collapse with complete exhaustion just contemplating their monstrous schedule, we bade farewell, his closing remark setting in stone their indefatigable work ethic. With few musicians as motivated as the Vaccines, there is no excuse to miss what should be one of the Trinity Balls highlights. Enthusiasm is a virtue difficult to fake, and nigh on impossible to conceal. After our brief discussion, Justin Young has proven that the Vaccines fall into the latter category without a shadow of doubt.
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PREVIEW - BASTILLE
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Storming the Bastille
n the wake of the incredible success of chart-topping debut album, Bad Blood, it seems difficult to fathom the fact that until just three years ago Bastille’s musical oeuvre consisted of the solo bedroom recordings of Londoner Dan Smith. ‘I basically started making songs in my bedroom,’ Smith concedes when he speaks of those early days, ‘But I’d always wanted Bastille to be a band - we started rehearsing as a four piece at around the same time I was writing all the songs’. The three members who were recruited were Smith’s friends Chris Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons; from that point, it seems fair to say that Bastille haven’t looked back. After a couple of years of building themselves up in the indie circuit, 2013 has seen Bastille rise to the fore – but even with that said, battling it out with the likes of Justin Timberlake for the number one spot on the UK singles chart is possibly not something that they anticipated during their formative years. ‘It was very weird’, Smith says of that week where their single Pompeii contended with Timberlake’s Mirrors, ‘But we were (and still are) away on tour, so felt quite removed from it all. It very much felt
Bastille’s Dan Smith talks to Tara Joshi about early days in London and late nights in Dublin.
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PREVIEW - BASTILLE
for Bastille is now available. That’s quite a good feeling I guess.’ Looking at their output so far, there is a similarity across all of Smith’s lyricism, in that his songs seem to tell stories rather than explore personal experiences. ‘I try not to write too autobiographically and I try to write about situations that interest me, or to use characters that interest me as a way into a song… if that makes sense.’ That would explain the existence of songs such as Icarus. ‘I’m not massively interested in myself, so I’d rather imagine someone reacting to another situation.’ Continuing on the subject of his song writing, Smith brushes off the idea that he might have been aiming for a particular, distinct sound with Bastille’s music. ‘There wasn’t really a conscious effort to aim for a particular sound. I’d wanted to try different things from song to song and bring in different sounds that interested me, so there are loads of strings and big epic drums on the album, but also loads of electronics and harmonies.’ The inclination towards electronics and harmonies is certainly apparent on the mixtapes that Bastille have released. There is a particular interest in the slickly produced R&B of the early 2000s, with covers such as TLC’s No Scrubs and City High’s What Would You Do. ‘Those are songs that I heard when I was a kid, so in some ways they are burned into the back of my mind.’ Smith tells me, ‘I was looking for songs, particularly with City High, that people would know and find themselves singing along to, but have no idea who they were actually by or how they knew them. I also wanted to take songs from hugely different contexts and then produce them as if they were our own songs. Making the mix tapes was just quite a fun way to mess around with production.’ Aside from the R&B of his youth, then, what other music would Smith say has influenced Bastille’s sound? ‘I have no idea’, he admits, before tentatively going on to describe a rather impressive range of artists: ‘Everything from Antony & The Johnsons to Simon & Garfunkel and Yeasayer.’ But more generally, whose music has he been listening to lately? ‘At the moment I’m listening to the new James Blake songs that are emerging from his second album (which I can’t wait for). I loved the Everything Everything album as well, and To Kill A King’s record Cannibals With Cutlery is brilliant.’ I ask Smith about the reports that Bastille are looking to improve the visuals of their live set − what exactly has it entailed and how might it affect their performance at the ball. ‘We’ve got a new lighting set up that is a lot of fun to play with. Unfortunately we’re not able to take the cinema screen we sometimes use round with us everywhere we go, but hopefully further down the line we will be able to. I really like incorporating visuals into the show - anything to distract from us is always a plus.’ Bastille will be playing at Trinity Ball for the first time this year, but it won’t be their first time playing on the Emerald Isle and so I take the opportunity to ask for Smith’s thoughts on how Dublin crowds weigh-up against other audiences in the world. ‘The last gig we had in Dublin was loads of fun, the stage was low so it felt like we were in the crowd and everyone was jumping around. It was definitely one of the livelier gigs we’ve done.’ One suspects that ‘lively’ might end up being something of an understatement when it comes to the crowd at Trinity Ball. Though they might still be humble and surprised by all the attention, it seems fair to predict that whatever tent Bastille are playing in this April 5th is going to be jammed.
like it was happening to someone else and we were just watching on.’ In which case, their debut album taking the number one spot in both the UK and Irish charts must have felt very strange indeed? ‘Yeah, it is completely surreal,’ Smith confesses. ‘We all feel a bit detached from it as well. It wasn’t something we ever really aimed for, or even thought about, so it’s taken us massively by surprise.’ Then again, is chart success something that they had aspired to, or does Smith define success in a different way? ‘I’ve never really thought about how I’d define success, I guess we’d always just hoped we’ll be in a position to keep doing music full time. Here’s hoping that happens.’ Given the public reaction to their eclectic brand of intelligent, electro-tinged indie pop music, it certainly doesn’t seem as though they’ll have too much to worry about on that front. When asked to describe the album in question and what it means to them, Smith says, ‘It’s a bunch of songs that we’ve been working on over the last few years. Now that the extended version of the album and all our EPs and mixtapes are out, everything we’ve ever done
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PREVIEW - ABOVE AND BEYOND
Not just on a good day Words: Ronan Corrigan
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fans, unofficially declaring it the biggest gig ever. The same year they ranked #4 in the Polls, breaking the Top Ten just ahead of David Guetta (before he sold out). To celebrate, and to thank their fans, the release of their compilation “Anjunabeats Volume 6” was accompanied by the launch of a free competition for fans - with an unbelievable prize: the two winners had the chance to meet the group for a private acoustic gig… in a hot air balloon. The final milestone for Above and Beyond was in 2012, when the group moved the label to L.A. - a practical decision aimed at making their world tours easier. A collaboration with arguably the single biggest name in Latin music, Miguel Bose, transformed original Above and Beyond song Every Little Beat into last year’s hit Sea Lo Que Sera, helping to promote the new album. That same year Trance Around The World, the radio show which had run since 2004, finally came to end – and the group said goodbye in style with one final gig in Bangalore, India. The whole label underwent a thorough revamp to coincide with this momentous shift, and the new era of Above and Beyond was marked with the start of a new radio show, name “Group Therapy” after their 2011 album. Trinity Ball will be the first time Dublin meets the new, redesigned Above and Beyond. It has been over two years since their Halloween gig in Dublin. But in the absence of Above and Beyond themselves, we have been consoled with appearances by members of the extended Anjunabeats family including acts such as Arty, Mat Zo, etc. For those of you not yet familiar with the trance gods we are about to receive, be sure to check out A&B TV on YouTube. Songs like Anjunabeach, On A Metropolis Day, and Prelude deserve your attention. And in case there are any aspiring producers out there, don’t be afraid to contact them with demos. The label is famously receptive to new talent, and they are forever openminded when it comes to style – they have been quoted as saying themselves, “we’re much keener to sign stuff that doesn’t sound like us.”
t was summer of ’99. Two music students, Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamaki, released their first album, Anjunabeats Volume 1. It was clear that even in their debut, the pair had created something important: the album got immediate attention, played by big names of the scene like Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, and Paul Van Dyk. Sure enough, by 2001 Tony McGuiness, the marketing director and manager of Warner music, wanted to get involved. He liked their sound, and was interested to get them working on a remix of Chakra’s song, Home. The resulting track was released under an alias taken from a motivational poster: Above & Beyond. Since those early days, the meteoric rise to the dance hall of fame has been punctuated by three milestone years. The group’s ascent started to gain momentum in 2004 when they broke the Top 50 of the DJ Mag polls, ahead of huge names like Fatboy Slim, 2 Many DJs and DJ Shadow. In the same year, they started their long-running show, Trance Around The World With Above & Beyond, which went on to reach a total 450 podcasts by its end in 2012, with each episode averaging about 10 million listeners in its late life. The radio show was known for playing and promoting a wealth of talented new producers, and was probably one of the first places anyone would have heard names like Deadmau5. Pete Tong also awarded them “BBC Radio 1 Playlist of the Year”, an honour they’d receive from Annie Mac again seven years later. Armin Van Buuren, the biggest name in dance, also declared their song “No one on Earth” the song of the year. Their success continued the grow over the following years, and so did their label, with big names like Mat Zo, Jaytech, Super8 & Tab and Andrew Bayer joining the ranks. Just a few years later, the gigantic following the group had accumulated became apparent when they reeled in 2008 with a gig on Rio de Janeiro’s “Barra” beach. They were joined by over a million
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PREVIEW - TRINITY ORCHESTRA
Thriller Night D. Joyce-Ahearne talks to Trinity Orchestra’s Laura Greene about the special place the group holds at the heart of the Ball, and the plan for this year’s set
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ounded in 1989, Trinity Orchestra is the only entirely student-run orchestra in Ireland. The Orchestra was named Trinity’s Best Overall Society in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2012 at the CSC Society of the Year Awards and, upon receiving the CSC Best Medium Society Award in 2011, was chosen to represent Trinity College as Overall Best Society at the BICS Awards. Trinity Orchestra features some of Ireland’s most talented musicians, all of whom are currently students or staff in Trinity College Dublin. Members come from various disciplines within the college, but are brought together by their love and aptitude for music. Laura Greene, Trinity’s Orchestra Treasurer, speaks to the Ball Guide about Trinity Orchestra’s Ball memories and their plans for this time around.
having Trinity students performing at the Ball but hadn't found a way to involve them, except through Battle of the Bands. There's so much talent found in Trinity Societies that we think it's a real privilege to have represented them last year. Stevie Wonder was a huge success and we hope that Michael Jackson will get people dancing again in Front Square.
Trinity Ball Guide: Can you give us an outline of the year that Trinity Orchestra has had?
TBG: What acts are you looking forward to most?
Laura Greene: We had a whirlwind of a year. A performance of Stevie Wonder in Fresher's Week, which was also performed at last year's Ball, set the year off to a tremendous start. We had two extremely successful classical concerts in Christchurch cathedral; one at the end of each term, conducted by students Cillian O'Breachain and Karen Ní Bhroin. On top of our first tour to Budapest, we also ran a new event with DU Food and Drink, Vis Arts and Trinity Singers, called Exhibitions; that showcased new compositions by members of the orchestra. Finally, in February we returned to the Exam Hall, playing a sell-out concert of songs by Queen, with music arranged and conducted by James O'Leary.
LG: We'll be there to see the Trinitones before our own set, and afterwards some of us will head to AlunaGeorge and the Magician. With there being so many of us, I'm sure there's something on the bill for everyone! TBG: In terms of style, Trinity Orchestra is completely different from the other acts at the Ball this year. How is it that the chamber music style fits so well into the line up at the Ball? LG: Although classical chamber music isn't exactly what you'd expect to find at the ball, the twist on popular music that the Orchestra offers is enough to draw that extra bit of interest, whilst still remaining familiar and accessible to the audience. The addition of a band and singers to the Orchestra allows us to fit well into the line up, and also means we can get more talented Trinity musicians involved.
TBG: What's your best ball memory? LG: The best memory we've had has to be playing our final number (the Daft Punk medley) to a jam-packed Front Square at last year's Trinity Ball. The crowd's reaction was phenomenal, and the view from stage absolutely unforgettable. It was a great way to round off our debut Ball performance.
TBG: What are Trinity Orchestra's plans for next year? LG: There's a new committee being elected on the 28th March at our AGM so it's mostly up to them. We'll have our classical term concerts, as always. At the moment we're planning to perform at the Forbidden Fruit and 10 Days in Dublin festivals again over the summer. The overall aim is to keep improving and organising bigger, better events than have been held in previous years.
TBG: Trinity Orchestra has always been very ambitious in its choice of music, what will be you be playing for us at the Ball this year? LG: This year we'll be performing songs by Michael Jackson, arranged by Alex Ryan. We'll also be opening our set with a look back at some of the artists we've covered in the last two years. Expect to hear the best of Arcade Fire, Pink Floyd and, of course, Queen!
TBG: Is the Trinity Ball a type of end of year homecoming for the Orchestra after such a successful year?
TBG: How has Trinity Orchestra’s involvement with the Ball been in the past?
LG: What we most appreciate about it is that we can perform in a festival setting that's exclusively for Trinity Students. That opportunity doesn't arise outside of the college or during the summer festival season, so it's a great way to round off the college year!
LG: From our experience, organisers have always liked the idea of
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PREVIEWS
Hudson Taylor
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ublin brothers, Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor, now twenty and eighteen respectively, began performing early. At twelve and fourteen, the boys were asked to perform an impromptu song at their older brother’s wedding, and today they cite the experience as one of their great lessons in performance, saying “it’s much worse doing it in front of your family than it is doing it for strangers.” Growing up in the deep suburbs of South Dublin, they were raised in a musical household, surrounded by regular renditions of The Beatles, Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel by their dad, a trumpet and keyboard player in a ‘60s brass band. It was through his influence that Harry began playing the trumpet at age three, and moved onto the piano by six. Alfie, on the other hand, was an Irish champion dancer as a child. The brothers started their eponymous band in 2008, after Harry purchased his first guitar. They started playing beach parties when on a family holiday in Italy, and this whet their appetite and they began busking as soon as they returned to Dublin. Between busking and incessant promotion of their YouTube channel, Hudson Taylor started gigging and eventually the two were luckily spotted by their current manager, Alys Gibson. It was Gibson’s encouragement that really nurtured the brothers’ sound, steering them away from cover songs and building up confidence in their own songwriting ability. Since then, Hudson Taylor’s style has matured, and today the band produces a fully-developed, sophisticated and fun pop sound. They have been described as “cascading folk stomp”, mixing the buzz of acoustic guitars with pop melodies. The band released their first EP, Battles, in August 2012, and its reception was encouragingly positive. The record shot to number one on iTunes Ireland, as well as number fourteen on the iTunes UK chart. Whilst it is a pop record, the intricacies of the melodies and the intimacy of the lyrics set it apart as a more interesting break from
the usual acoustic drone. The record has hints of Mumford and Sons as well as Ben Howard, which goes some way to explaining their success. The brothers, however, would probably rather see themselves as more Crosby, Stills and Nash than Lumineers: “Our music is raw and folky, like Simon & Garfunkel. We’d never play a seven minute jerk-off song.” A second EP is in the works for Hudson Taylor this year, after which it looks like a full long-player record is on the cards. The boys are more interested in honing their live skills however, “We want to be known as a live band,” says Harry. “We plan on touring constantly… forever.” This dedication to performance, along with their recent listing as “Hot for 2013” in Hot Press, should bode well for this year’s Ball — where they should also be previewing some new material.
Flux
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in (and quickly out) of love with the KONY 2012 campaign, the video’s real legacy was an audience of 100 million people worldwide now able to look back fondly on the use of Flux’s I Can’t Stop at the climax. Since then, Flux has released songs with the likes of Foreign Beggars, Example, and the ultimately cool Diplo, also known as Major Lazer. And critical acclaim is beginning to build, too, since Flux Pavilion has also been nominated for the BBC’s Sound of 2012, unfortunately missing out on a place in the top five. Nevertheless, the real dance fans out there continue to rate him among the best acts around: he is currently he is placed at a very respectable 131 in the world by DJ Mag polls, and shows promise to rise even further. Who knows, Trinity Ball 2013 could be the night you fall in love with Flux Pavilion. While this April will be only his second ever performance in Ireland, Dublin has already shown its appreciation of this rising star. About this time last year, his first scheduled show on Irish shores unfortunately had to be postponed until October at the Academy − but the circumstances did nothing to stop tickets selling out entirely when he did come. Expect crowds, then, but don’t be put off. They’re there for a reason.
oshua Steele was born in the small rural town of Towcester in England, and started out in music at an early age, learning to play the piano from age six. Loving the unparalleled excitement and response that only dance music could create, he had already started producing his own songs by his late teenage years. He found himself most at home with the sounds of dubstep and brostep, and quickly began to make a name for himself, receiving attention from many record labels and agents. Drawing influences from artists like Prodigy, and dubstep pioneer Rusko, his rise to fame was a gradual process. These days Steele, or as you probably know him, Flux Pavilion, works with some of the biggest names in electronic music. In 2009 Steele and his childhood friend and successful producer Shaun Brockhurst, also known as Doctor P, set about building their own record label. It was with Doctor P’s label that Steele would release all his new songs. In 2011 we saw the release of his song Bass Cannon, which placed on the BBC Radio 1 A-List, and put his name in proverbial lights all over the world. In 2012 Jay-Z and Kanye West’s album Watch The Throne made use of a sample from a Flux Pavilion song. Later in the year, that same song enjoyed worldwide fame from a less likely source: as the world fell
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PREVIEWS
Imagine Dragons
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as Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons started small, playing small bars and seedy casinos along the Las Vegas strip. The fourpiece, consisting of frontman Dan Reynolds, alongside guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman, has come a long way since those days. Releasing three independent EPs gained them an underground following, eventually leading to a major signing with Alex Da Kid’s label, KIDinaKORNER. The Continued Silence EP was released with Kid’s label, and included the band’s most successful single to date, It’s Time — earning them a MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Rock Video and being certified platinum in the US. The band released their debut full-length, Night Visions, in September. Reynolds has made no attempt to hide his excitement over sharing Imagine Dragons’ music with the world: ‘We feel that we have finally created something we are all truly proud of and that can hopefully inspire others and help them feel a little less alone. That's what music is about. It's the greatest communicator I know.’ It seems he was not alone in his excitement, as the album was well-received by both the record-buying public and the press. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard Charts after selling over 80,000 copies in the first week. Internationally it was a similar story, with Night Visions going gold in Canada, Norway, and Sweden. Imagine Dragons cite Las Vegas itself as a crucial part of their musical identity; the band has often talked about the difficulties of trying to make a living in sin city. For Reynolds, their unique
experience over years of trying to compete for audiences with card tables, slot machines and showgirls is what made the band work harder and succeed. Their sound reflects this hard work, along with the rawness of Las Vegas as a city. Whilst you could describe Imagine Dragons’ sound as straight-up rock & roll, the delicacy and precision of the melodies, along with the experimental undertones, set their tunes apart from the rest. The band benefits from classical, technical musical education, as three of the members attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. It is clear when you listen to their deceptively well-crafted tracks that this helped mould Imagine Dragons’ individual sound, use of unfamiliar instruments and experimental nature. However they came to their distinctive sound, the end result is one that promises to suit the Trinity Ball atmosphere perfectly. There are throbbing beats with strong, catchy lyrics to get even the drunkest fists pumping — and they are perfectly balanced with appropriately trippy guitars, a welcome ingredient for those of us on even more distant planes of consciousness.
Tiga
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and the duet performed with Jake Shears You Gonna Want Me followed shortly after. In 2005, he workd on remixes for Depeche Mode, The Vests, and Moby, among countless others. Sexor, Tiga's debut album was released in 2006. It was followed by tours in Europe and Canada, and in that same year he released the video for his single (Far From) Home, shot in Tokyo by Japanese director Nagi Noda. Tiga's success continued to grow as he dutifully drew up dance contracts for tracks by Coldcut and Pet Shops Boys. He said of his work, ‘As both a student – and a significant part – of history, I feel it would be a betrayal of my stewardship to ever remix music in anger.’ Tigas' second album, Ciao!, was released in 2009 and included numerous collaborations with Soulwax, Jesper Dahlbäck, Jori Hulkkonen, and many more. The album included the popular tracks Shoes and What You Need. ZZT, Tiga's collaboration with Munich based producer Zombie nation, released their debut album “Partys Over Earth” in 2011. His latest release, a mix CD called Tiga Non Stop, features songs by Duke Dumont, Jacques Greene and Locked Groove. The diversity of Tiga's music has created confusion for fans and critics alike. Having made a career of walking the line between pop and club music, Tiga has at times balanced too precariously on that line to fully satisfy the requirements of either. While admitting that this has sometimes been a difficulty, he has made it clear that the only argument he feels he needs is that he's still going.
anadian born musician and producer, Tiga, has quite the interesting back story. Until the age of twelve he lived with his parents in Goa, the foundation stone of hippy culture, and it's hard to imagine that this didn't influence his love of rave music and extreme partying. Or, as he so eloquently puts it, ‘the drug culture, the freedom, the dancing.’ Returning home from India, Tiga was influential in setting up the dance scene in Montreal. He threw small parties and worked in street promotions, and along with the acquisition of DNA Records in 1994 nightclub SONA in 1996, giving him a stage upon which to evangelize about the music he loved: ‘I was a preacher, and—looking back on it—I was quite one-dimensional.’ In 1998 Tiga started Turbo Recordings as an outlet for his wildman organ escapades, but he soon expanded to a wider range of releases, such as Peter Benisch’s Soundtrack Saga, Christopher Handlebar’s To a Time of Asia, along with his own Mixed Emotions and American Gigolo. Tiga recorded a rendition of Corey Hart's solo song, Sunglasses at Night in 2001 with producer Zyntherius. The track made it to number two on the UK Dance Chart, and was number one on the MTV Dance Chart for over six weeks. Following the success of Sunglasses at Night, Tiga completed remixes for the likes of Martini Bros, Alpinestars and Linda Lamb, to name but a few. In 2003 his mix CD for K7’s legendary DJ Kicks series drew attention from the whole scene, and his ethereal reading of Nelly’s Hot in Here, which went on to a cult success. Tiga's smash hit, Pleasure From The Bass, was released in 2004
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PREVIEW
BURNS
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URNS started making music aged twelve with a guitar and keyboard, before discovering sampling as a teenager. By the age of fifteen he was already starting to produce his own tracks. Burns, whose fans include Calvin Harris, Mylo and Erol Alkan, cites a range of influences spanning from Fleetwood Mac to Supertramp to Daft Punk and he has already worked for the likes of The Gossip and Late of the Pier. His debut single Lies was released in 2012 through the reformed Deconstruction Records. In the last year, he has supported acts such as Calvin Harris and Deadmau5.
Charlie XCX
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harli XCX, 20, is an English singer-songwriter from Hertfordshire. She began recording her debut album Fourteen at fourteen years of age; and although the album was never actually commercially released she released two singles from it in 2008: Emelline/Art Bitch and !Franceskaar!. Her next album True Romance is scheduled for release this April, after having been delayed a whole year. The new album includes several tracks already released as singles; Nuclear Sessions, You’re the One and You (Ha Ha Ha). Her dark, emotive songs have seen her compared to the likes of Marina and the Diamonds, M.I.A and Robyn.
TheRumour
Gavin James
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rinity natives, TheRumour initially formed as a singer-songwriter duo in 2008. Now playing as a fourpiece, the band is formed of Joe Hogarty, Cillian Dervan, MD McKernan and Jordan Roche. The band’s debut single, Elegantly Wasted, reached number two in the iTunes Rock Charts in 2010, which laid the groundwork for the release of their first album, Hurricane in 2011. The boys cite bands such as Arcade Fire and Radiohead as their influences, and Hot Press have praised TheRumour’s sound as a ‘happily theatrical dose of rockabilly’. Currently recording their second album, the band is set to unveil new material at this year’s Trinity Ball.
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ublin native, Gavin James began his career performing around town aged eighteen. Having performed and impressed at the Worldwide Radio Summit in Los Angeles, he subsequently signed a record deal with Believe Recordings, and in 2012 James’ debut EP, Say Hello, entered the Irish iTunes album chart at number one. The title track of the same name went on to win the Meteor Choice Music Prize for Irish Song of the Year in 2012. Hot Press have described his voice as ‘all depth, warmth and soul... recalling the classic R&B stars of yesteryear.’ His album is scheduled for release in mid-2013.
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PREVIEW
Raglans
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sychedelic four-piece Raglans have had a prolific few years since their inception in 2010. They have played nearly constant shows and festivals and released two EPs. The band’s sound has been described as an ‘infectious blend of indie, folk and punk’, using unusual sounds from mandolins and banjos to complement the customary guitar and vocal harmonies. The band’s enviable work ethic has served them well; they have played numerous sold out shows, as well as almost every major Irish festival. 2013 is set to be another strong year for the group, who are back in the studio for another release this year.
Tom Odell
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nly having emerged in 2012, 22 year old Tom Odell has already been handed the Critics Choice at the BRIT awards and a nomination for BBC’s Sound of 2013, while receiving plenty of attention following the release of his debut EP Songs From Another Love. The grade seven pianist and singer songwriter has appeared on Jools Holland and is set to release his first album, Long Way Down, on April 15th. Influenced by Elton John and Jeff Buckley, this rising star will without a doubt pull in one of the Ball’s largest crowds with his radio friendly sound.
Leaders of Men
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lthough Leaders Of Men only formed in 2011, they wasted no time in releasing their first EP, The Debut Collection. In the same year, the band found success when they won the national final of the Guinness Arthur’s Day Play On The Day competition. As a result, the band featured on the cover of Hot Press and played a concert alongside Paolo Nutini and Stereophonics at the Guinness Hopstore. Following this success, Leaders of Men released their debut single, A Trick On Confidence, in 2012. Set to release an album this year, the band will be debuting new music at Trinity Ball 2013.
The Magician
Alunageorge
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n enigma in its truest sense, The Magician has defined himself as a ‘Selector’, ‘DJ’ and ‘Tastemaker’, though he opts to divulge little else of his identity. Shrouded in secrecy and located simply on ‘Planet Earth’, sonically he ventures through psychedelic music of the last 60 years. From disco to acid house, his monthly Magic Tapes (of which there are 29) are scattered with a multitude of styles incorporated into addictive dance hooks. The eclectic output will keep any interest more than busy until April 5th comes around and by then, chances are the Magician will have shot off in a completely new direction.
ased in London, Alunageorge are an electronic duo comprised of Aluna Francis on vocals and George Reid on production duties. Their urban sound has its roots in R&B, with house, minimalist and hip-hop backdrops. Following the release of debut album Body Music last year, and finishing second in BBC’s Sound of 2013 poll, this futuristic pop should attract quite a few movers and shakers with ease. Having just recently appeared on Disclosure’s number two hit, White Noise, keep an ear out for their own upcoming single, Attracting Flies, which should make their own set one to remember.
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Ceremonial
DEPRAVITY 20
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Credits Cover - Rob & Sabina, p.20 - Steffan & Nicola, p.21 - Darragh & Sarah, p.22-23 - Donal & Aoife, p.24 - Steffan & Nicola, p.25 - Garret & Ellen. All suits are model’s own. All dresses are available to rent from Covet, Powerscourt Centre. Prices from ₏165 for three days. Styling by Katie Murphy and Laura McDermott. All photos by George Voronov. Thanks to DU Fashion Soc.
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dublin city centre 28 South Anne’s Lane, Dublin 2 28
balbriggan
Unit 3, Balbriggan Business Park, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin
FASHION
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to avoid the appearance of an s a veteran, with Edwardian waif. three balls unAccessories are my perder my belt, I can sonal favorite part of black tell you it’s been an acute tie. Let’s start from the top − though sparsely evoked − down. learning curve on the best Bowtie: There is only one way to do it outfit-wise. bad bowtie — a fake one. This In my first year I made the is the cardinal sin of black tie. hideous mistake of wearing Anyone attending a third levsuede loafers. Needless to el institution of the Trinity’s say they were done for becalibre should be able master fore 2am, at which point the tying a bow around their own clothes I was donning were neck. Then again, you would the last thing I could possihave thought they may have bly be concerned with. When copped on to how to flush one is tripping balls (so to toilets in the Ussher, but no. speak) in the dance tent, Just don’t wear a tie, you’re bowties and cummerbunds not Brad Pitt, this is not a seem fairly inconsequential. swanky LA movie premier. At the end of the day black It’s Europe’s largest formaltie, for men, is essentially wear rave. a uniform dress code, and Cufflinks: this should perthere are very few variations haps have been in the shirt on the classic original. It is section, as it does require a capitalizing on these small double cuff. While button individualisms that will cuffs are grand for the office, make you look good on the Don’t let the girls have all the fun: Louis they really have no place in night, or at least the preBall attire. Golden or shiny Camp shows the boys how to make the black drinks. cufflinks are a good call, as There are four main comtie uniform their own. they are discrete but a can ponents to any ball outfit, add a little glint. not including trousers, with Illustration: Éna Brennan Waistcoat: key for warmth, which I assume many readOh and one more thing — BUTTONS: key for looks. If you have acers will already be quite familiar (though, there’s much more to these little fellas cess to a waistcoat, wear it! Classy and sodo make sure the seam stripes on the outer than one may think. If you are wearing a phisticated, a plain or patterned waistcoat leg match your tuxedo lapels). double-breasted jacket, keep it fully done will stand you in good stead. However, if The Jacket: obviously key. I didn’t want up. If your jacket has three buttons, only you don’t, perhaps consider a cummerto write this article like a fascist bent on indo up the middle button; for two button bund. This unfortunately named addisisting everyone should bend to my tastes, affairs, the top button alone will suffice. tion to your ensemble will not go amiss. like many advice articles I have perused. Please, please, please, if nothing else folIt will look slick, and cover the unsightly Feel free to express yourself. Just rememlow this advice, it makes such a difference shirt-trouser tuck in line. Of course, cumber these few main rules of the jacket: in how your suit will look. Just trust me. merbunds are not for everyone; they are make sure you’re jackets lapels (that’s the Shoes: don’t be a plonker and wear for me, though. bit on the front that folds over) are faced suede, to be honest the only people lookAll I can hope for is that some of this with a silk or matt satin finish. ing at your feet will be the innumerable information will seep through to a few Colour-wise, black will be the easiest girls who manage to lose their own shoes punters. Finally, a word to the wise, don’t to pull off, and the most versatile. I peron the dance floor, so really it doesn’t matforget your flask or naggin and chewing sonally go for cream, as you don’t see too ter that much. I would strongly recomgum if you’re a smoker. Leave your rollies much of it and it increases your visibility mend lace-ups as they tend to stay firmly at home, you can’t be messing with pa− an invaluable quality when it comes to located on the foot, but really just go for pers and filters making fags at a ball, get a being found by your mates when you’re so comfort, as you’ll probably be on your feet pack of straights. Oh, and don’t overdrink. mashed you thought the first aid tent was for about 7 hours. You’ve most likely paid the extortionate an oxygen bar. If you have the eccentric Shirt: wear white, unless you want to 80 euro, damned if you have to leave besort of taste for a velvet jacket, a wider valook like a bouncer, or one of the minor fore they make you. At any rate you’re in riety of shades are possible from scarlet to characters from the Matrix. There are two for a solid afters in McDonalds. And with purple or navy. I wore a navy velvet jacket main collar types, standard and wing. The this advice, and a polkadot bowtie draped with my tuxedo trousers in second year former is, I suppose, the more modern nonchalantly around your neck, you will and was warm all night; remember this option; the latter is a classic, but can be be looking the bollocks. ball is mostly an outdoor affair; you will grim if done wrong. Just make sure your be cold at some stage. winged collar is folded behind your bowtie
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FASHION
Cans, Campaniles
and Costume
Jewellery Let’s get theatrical: Aprille Scully on how to fake that effortless Trinity Ball style
Illustration: Ciar Boyle-Gifford
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FASHION
H
ow even to embark upon our romp through Trinity Ball style? In truth, guiding people to style will inevitably kill it – so be warned, I will not tell you what to wear. This is a series of pretentious tips, posed in earnest to the student body; take all, some or none to heart, but do be fabulous, and do be free! After all, Trinity Ball is the ultimate juxtaposition − like dressing for a glamorous rave. Here alone can silk and polyester flow in equal measure. Deny fabulous clothes their status by wearing a scratchy Fruit of the Loom jumper over tulle. Treat Trinity Ball like a mate you are meeting for coffee in the Arts Block: don’t be afraid to turn up half an hour late, with a Starbucks
already in hand. But mock the Ball too much, and suddenly you’ll find your dress tucked into your knickers, vomit in your hair and mascara smeared on your cheeks like warpaint − like some sort of classy Lindsay Lohan. You can expect it to be cold, you can expect it to be expensive, and you can’t hide from the inevitable, crushingly embarrassing memories made – but surest of all, you can expect truly the best night of the academic year. It simultaneously brings out the best and worst of a post-Celtic Tiger generation who jump taxis, get hideously drunk and champion champagne socialism. Style at Trinity Ball goes beyond clothes, it is a rallying cry for the sheer eclecticism of
students. Right in the middle of the city centre, where outside of campus walls respectable people are doing respectable things, Trinity explodes into a cacophonous hub of technicolour angst. Velvet and vomit, salty sweat and sugary mixers… Emerging sheepish and slightly punchdrunk from a time of Herve Leger bandage dresses and limos, we are entering a second wave of punk; where people (me) boast about how little they’ve spent on their clothes, and anything as shameful as a €300 coat is shoved under a lecture theatre chair so as not to get any ideas about itself. Status and opulence have become nauseating, and suddenly it’s terribly fashionable to be working class. But for those
“Dress how you would usually dress for college, but throw your thrifty student impulses out the window.” of us who are unlucky enough to be born in a house replete with hummus and ski trips, there are other ways to roughen our edges for Trinity Ball. Don’t follow trends. Trends are for those ghastly Xposé girls and people who wear thongs. No one wants to see that. No one wants to see ‘a blend of metallics’ or ‘gothic chic’. Dress how you would usually dress for college, but throw your thrifty student impulses out the window. Be more of yourself. More jewellery, more perfume, more fabric, more drink and more food. Wilde’s advice of “nothing succeeds like excess” has never been more apt than for the Trinity Ball. Drown yourself with costume jewellery. The kind that will inevitably be sacrificed to the night, and in some of the more violent crushes result in actual ring-dents on your hands. By the morning you will be left with nothing more than green stains on your fingers and a rash blossoming on your neck. Dress in the full knowledge that you will unravel towards the end, like the Strokes, only with more fur. Be Anita Pallenberg, back when she was flirting with drink and drugs rather than a slave to them. That way, when *skinny-white-drummer-from-genericindie-band* doesn’t show up to the Ball, you can give a throaty laugh and inform everyone he’s still strung out naked in your bed. We will hear, this year as always, those
past students reminiscing about a time when Trinity Ball represented luxury. (Questionable) stories circulate every year of students wearing Couture to the Ball, and John Norris informing us all that his date wore an original Balenciaga in the 60s. But Trinity Ball has not lost its luxury, we’ve simply warped it. Like Warhol, we’ve stretched, coloured and embroidered the original format until we step back and marvel at its disgrace. We have lost the dress code, found it, then lost again − until we finally realised a band t-shirt under a sequinned dress is completely appropriate, when coupled with great boobs. But for those of us who still yearn for those more glamorous days, we still needn’t pay the Parisian prices. We can now choose Zara, who reproduced Balenciaga Spring/Summer ‘13 so fast it was enough to induce whiplash. There were structured monochrome frills all over its website before Ghesquière took his final bow. Or we simply bullshit, for no one can bullshit like students. Especially Trinity students. What did John Galliano do when he was fired from Dior? Actually, he’s spent the last two years cooped up in a Parisian loft constructing my dress for the Ball... Did anyone see Prada Autumn/Winter ‘13? Striking the perfect balance between dishevelment and Russian rigidity? The theme being ‘I prowl the streets of Moscow. I just slept
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with your husband, and after, I stole his wallet and your perfume. Careful now not to be impaled on my cheekbones.’ Yes. That’s the look I’m going for. As students, we know there is only so much longer we can tussle with obnoxious individuality before the world expects us to figure ourselves out. But we haven’t reached that moment yet, so let’s wring every last fibre out. To paraphrase Mean Girls, Trinity Ball is the one night a year when you can dress like a freak and no one can say anything bad about it. Wear a coat as a dress. Dabble in cross-dressing (if not now, when?). Don a white satin wedding dress with steel capped boots à la Abbey Lee Kershaw. Be ‘ironic’ and go as a middle class mum, in an A-line dress and a string of pearls (wear with Converse or Doc Martens to scream “FUCK THE BANKS!”). As the night wears on you will reach those Siouxsie Sioux heights of smudged eyeliner and matted hair. And grunge has never been more appropriate. Bring fresh flowers. Stick some in your hair, weave them into a hemline or get that Boy to bring you some. When they wither and die at the end of the night, you can sit in Front Arch with a lover on one arm and alcohol in the other, crying about how the flowers were inspired by Alexander McQueen Spring/ Summer 2007 and how their death is too tragic, too perfect. Just like the night. How symbolic.
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Once more unto the breach, dear friends... But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger... Illustration: Ciar Boyle-Gifford
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SEX DIARY
6pm Not feeling especially jazzed about the entire idea of a ball — or the inevitability of my cold, single bed at the end of it. Set myself a mission: get the ride by the end of the night. Begin identifying potential candidates… Midnight Bump into friend from secondary school, who promptly vomits on my tuxedo. Chances of ride almost over before they begin. Attempt to wipe chunks of suspiciously coloured creosote off my lapels with pocket square. Limited success. 12.30am Run away from pukey friend to drown sorrows with overpriced can of cranberry and vodka. Liquid does not react well with already potent stomach contents. Rush to portaloo. Queue for 15 minutes, and burst in the door just in time. Portaloo surprisingly clean, but the ‘atmosphere’ is marred by my bowel movements and the smell of vomit on my jacket. 1.00am Leave toilet cubicle relieved but also disgusted at myself, and others. Still yet to see a single act, but not that fussed. Attempt to find missing friends, but lack of signal and near total darkness stifle my efforts. During search, there’s a smattering of awkward conversations with little-known and lesser-liked acquaintances. Walk past attractive male that I once scored; a meeting of eyes, a flash of opportunity. 2.00am Find friends huddled for warmth, smoking outside the GMB. One friend has blood all over his teeth from excessive cheek chewing, the rest are somewhere on the broad spectrum of mellow to hysterical. Not being much of a pill fan, I do not sympathise with or understand them, but better than
another lonely vodka and cranberry. 2.15am Decide to see an act. Main stage too packed, so we go to that small, catch-all tent on Library Square. Some goon is playing an acoustic guitar but none of us know, or care, who it is. See attractive male swaying gently to himself at the front. Not yet, but soon… 2.40am Some members of the group, myself included, peel away and head to the dance tent. It is that time of the evening. Walking across the cobbles, one of the group recognises attractive male and his group of friends. We saunter over. They’re heading to the dance tent too; we converge. On closer inspection, attractive male is not as attractive as previously believed. Still. Wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crisps. 3.00am Homogenous mass grinding away in the dance tent, people throwing elbows and just generally “losing their shit”. The group of ten-ish form a circle and “lose our shit”. When in Rome etc. Stomach feeling better, sex drive slowly returning. Suddenly, breath on the back of my neck, followed by hands on hips. 3.15am Down the back of the dance tent chowing on his face. We are both drunk/high, so there is a lot of ambiguous groping and movement. All very pleasant, not terribly civilised. Cheeky hand down the back of his tux trousers. 3.30am More of the same. 3.45am Both pretty much exhausted at this point,
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so leaning on each other to keep standing. I look over his shoulder and see that the back of the tent has been transported, via time warp, to the biblical city of Sodom, with couples of various descriptions doing things better left in private, but given my complicity I don’t judge. 4.00am Sheepish friend comes over to tap me on the shoulder and inform me that we’re all going to an apartment in Irishtown. Scoop dignity off the floor, grab attractive(ish) male and make for Nassau Street. Outside, we bump into the rest of the group of twenty or so and grab taxis. I’m grabbed by one arm and dragged into a dodgy looking Toyota Corolla with my friend’s flatmates, losing grip of attractive male. He says he’ll follow. 4.30am Drinking two-week-open red wine from an unwashed coffee mug on the carpet of the filthiest apartment I’ve ever had the misfortune of visiting. The room is slowly filling up with people and smoke, the uneven and unhoovered ground becoming thick with ash. Still no sign of attractive male. Final members of the group arrive. Attractive male and his female friend have absconded because they were “tired”. Probably wouldn’t have been able to get it up anyway. I go to the bathroom and wash my fingers. 5.00am Assess my evening. Moderate success, only slightly nauseous and still having a decent time. The conversation is flowing, though I am drinking water from a saucepan lid, since all other vessels are too dirty, even for me. 7.00am Pass out in a pile of platonic women. There are worse ways to end an evening.
Trinity News is Hiring! Trinity News 2013/’14 is currently looking for new members of our team. Interested in working in journalism, design, illustration or photography? If you are interested in applying for any of the positions listed below, please email your application outlining any previous experience, plans for the position and examples of your work to apply@trinitynews.ie. News Editor InDepth Editor Comment Editor Science Editor Sport Editor Copy editor online editor art director illustrators school co-ordinator business manager The deadline for applications is Monday 8th April at 5pm. If you require further informatio about any of the positions please email editor@trinitynews.ie
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