Volume XX – Otwo – Issue 3

the university observer culture magazine

martin freeman

the honourary l&H fellow talks to otwo

Hayao Miazaki retrospective

interview with

local natives

otwo talks to

Poliรงa

otwo

letter from the editors

What’s hot & What’s not What’s not hot UCD Cycle Paths

What’s hot James Murphy Remixing David Bowie

Oi! Welcome to issue 3 of Otwo.

It’s getting colder outside, but our twenty-four pages of fuzzy culture will keep you all warm and snuggly.

Or use this magazine for the fire. We don’t mind, so long as you like the font. We’re proud of our font.

Martin Freeman (aka Bilbo Baggins, aka Dr. John Watson, aka Tim from the Office) shares a pipe of Old Toby with Steven “Oh Captain My Captain” Balbirnie, talking at length about working with Peter Jackson, his role in Sherlock and the importance of a darn good script.

In Film, Jack “Nelly” Walsh speaks to producer Adam Scorgie about, among other things, Old Toby.

Also in Film is a career-spanning piece on visionary director Hayao Miyazaki, and Laura “Bob-omb” Bell reminds us of the best (and worst) films about school.

Music sees Rebekah “Goat Scream” Rennick talk to the very

foreign Local Natives. Poliça, Newton Faulkner and Oh Boland also stopped by for a chat. The latter are a part of our new column “Radar”, in which we look at the best of upcoming Irish talent. If you know of anyone as hip (or even hipper) do give us a bell/bat signal.

Games, meanwhile, sees Niall “the Terminator” Gosker go all indie nation by examining the relationship between the behemoth Sony and all the amazing indie developers Otwo loves so very much. Fashion sees Emily “#kantkope” Mullen show us all how to preppy properly, while Michael “O no he didn’t” Sullivan explains what is #Winning and #Binning.

Overhill and Underhill, Jack & Steven

This sounds like what it’d be if Jesus remixed Four Tet, but better. James Murphy has just fabricated ten full minutes of audio nudity from Bowie’s Love is Lost, and it’ll blow your unassuming mammalian brain. If you’ve ever wanted to get your auld pair into groovin’ synthin’ electronica, but didn’t know where to start, this is your jam.

Reopening of IMMA

Like the coming of St. Patrick to uphold social order in Ireland by banishing snakes and stealing hay, the Irish Museum of Modern Art has re-opened to restore a cultural voice of reason to an art-yearning city.

Exhibitions of note are the Eileen Gray and Leonora Carrington displays, on until January. Leonora Carrington is a good exhibit if you like Celtic Surrealism, being the only artist ever to exist in that genre.

Bad Harry Styles Art

A crock of gold has been found at twitter.com/ BadHarryArt, where a plethora of the worst depictions of Harry Styles on the earth have been compiled for your visual displeasure. Don’t hope to see any real semblance of Harry Styles, but instead play the Guess the Celebrity Game with each picture. Expect to see lots of incarnations of Steve Buschemi, Macy Gray and that lad from Razorlight.

We appreciate that the ∞-year plan for campus improvement caters for slightly lawsuit-inducing cycle paths, but until UCD 2.0 is complete, every student cyclist finds themselves inadvertently challenging every other cyclist to the death while trying to transport themselves. If a Cycle Jousting Society were to be set up this year (watch this space) they’d find themselves with the best sports facilities on campus.

The Death of the English Language

Modern life is slowly killing everything that’s good and pure in language, and Miley Cyrus.

At least English wasn’t the master of its own spandex-clad demise. Instead, the masses of telly-educated, Buzzfeed-dwelling language misusers have caused words like ‘literally’ to be given a new meaning in online dictionaries for its use in figurative contexts. If you find yourself mixing up ‘srsly’ and ‘literally’, you should consider giving up on life.

The smell of every campus soap

Somehow, there is now a campus-wide initiative to produce the most nauseatingly bad smelling liquid soap ever, with each scent offending the user in a unique and special way. It’s like Berty Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, but instead of candy surprises, it’s formaldehyde and brie. Maybe it’s part of The Man’s effort to stop us smoking, or touching each other, or something. ‘Cos that’s totally something that a square like The Man would want.

mystic mittens Aries

Leo

Sagittarius

While cycling, you’ll be hit by a vague Breaking Bad reference.

Better call Saul!

Your love of the halflings leaf will slow your mind. You better move to New Zealand and sell fireworks to small children.

Chop off your shins and forearms.

Become Rayman. Profit?

Virgo

Getting a tattoo of your own sexy, sexy face will result in some sexy, sexy hepatitis

Taurus Striking a kung fu pose will definitely not hinder your chances of financial well being.

Gemini

You will start a hawkery society to protest against the hack life, only to become super popular and be reduced to sending club invites to all your non mates. How HAWKward.

Pretending to be Ashley Olsen will not sort out your relationship problems.

Libra Pretending to be Mary-Kate Olsen will mean you will have to sort out pretend Ashley Olsen’s relationship problems.

Cancer Whilst forming a professional wrestling tag team, you’ll realise you have no real friends and will have to walk home in the rain in your spandex. Your finishing move will be dubbed “Crippling loneliness”.

2 otwo

saucers of milk will not save you

Scorpio Taking steroids will increase your body and mind. I ain’t a doctor though… or am I?

Capricorn

Aquarius You will inadvertently cause a mild glitch in this magazine’s printing pr

Pisces Train yourself for the torture of essay season with repeated listens to Pure Shores by All Saints.

It’s lyrical waterboarding. Or you could actually waterboard yourself. Your call, big man.

index 2 Regulars

——————————————— Your bi-monthly source of happiness comes in the form of letter from the Eds. Your bi-monthly source of misery comes in the form of Mystic Mittens. Misery does love company (fun, alt company mind you), as we teach everyone and anyone what’s hot and what’s not this fortnight.

3

4 5 6 8

Regulars

Soapbox—judging book covers

12

Centre

14

music

——————————————— Contents is on this page, Sherlock.

Also Soapbox sees Michael O’Sullivan battle the pedantic nature of the literary world.

——————————————— Steven Balbirnie enjoys the privilege of talking to the wonderful Martin Freeman about solving crimes and epic adventures; neither of which were fictional occurrences.

——————————————— Local Natives (who are neither native, nor local) feature in Music this week, as do Poliça and Newton Faulkner. In our new column, Rebekah Rennick’s Radar, Oh Boland are the first of the young, cool and beautiful young Irish bands to be discovered. Album reviews include Nelly, O Emperor, John Newman and Agnes Obel.

columns

——————————————— Foil Arms and Hog present a dangerously useful guide to college, whilst @tila gets all sorts of fourth century on your uncultured asses.

19

Travel & Drink

——————————————— Malaysia’s Penang is the exotic destination for travel this week, while beer of the fortnight takes a break so you can get some adequate soakage with the Pizza of the Fortnight.

fashion

——————————————— In Fashion, Emily Mullen reveals the key to the preppy look so you can finally understand what AC Slater kept calling Zach Morris in Saved by the Bell all those years ago. Also, if you didn’t get enough of Michael’s unbridled rage in Soapbox, he also takes on #Winning or #Binning this week.

Games

——————————————— Eva Griffin reviews Experiment 12, while Darragh O’Connor experiences a severe case of Amnesia … Niall Gosker also offers you a multitude of interviews for the price of one as he gets the lowdown on what indie developers think of Sony’s policies.

Film & TV

——————————————— Adam Scorgie from The Union: The Business Behind Getting High chats to Jack Walsh about boxing and marijuana legalisation. Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement has spurred Ellen Murray to defend and explain his legendary status. Laura Bell tells us all about the best fictional schools in Film’s Top Ten, while Captain Phillips, Love Marilyn and Escape Plan are put under the microscope.

22 23

Waxing on and off about people messing with his booky wooks, Michael O’Sullivan has a bone to pick with publishers

culture

——————————————— The Culture Woulfe is back and this issue Laura has a look at the National Library’s Yeats exhibit. Meanwhile, Kevin Beirne talks to the organiser of the thirteenth World Ghost Convention about the great beyond.

fatal Fourway

——————————————— The team run around in circles while a whopper soundtrack plays in the background, all the while arguing what the best Danny Boyle film is.

We all know book publishers exist for a reason, and that reason is the accumulation of money for make better glorious wallet of CEO, but for a market that is becoming increasingly more niche, it should be the prerogative of publishing companies to produce a product that is enticing and alluring to their consumer base.

Why, then, do publishing companies insist on changing the design on the covers of certain books mid-series? Take Artemis Fowl, for example.

A series now on its third iteration.

After the publication of book four, Viking Press decided the book needed a newer, fresher look, and so ruined the original cover art by replacing it with silhouettes of the titular character with the odd fairy/ goblin/monster truck in the background.

Now, perhaps a suit with a marketing degree convinced the publishers that such a shift would be a good idea, however, avid readers across the globe were united in horror.

How on earth would book collectors everywhere be able to stack their books now? The clear shift in design ruins the symmetry of an entire bookshelf, simply by making it look like the collector in question cares not for the book itself, but only for its contents.

Such is the folly of book publishers everywhere, they seem completely oblivious to the fact that the cover art is as much a part of the book as the book itself. Case in point: Harry Potter.

Shortly before the last film hit cinemas worldwide, the books underwent a redesign, sporting a new minimalist cover with sparing illustrations. What happened to the glorious dragon of the Goblet of Fire, the flames of the Order of the Phoenix?

Book enthusiasts everywhere collapsed into inconsolable sorrow as their favourite manuscripts were slapped in between two sheets of cardboard that held no relevance to them.

As book enthusiasts ourselves, Otwo were inconsolable after Artemis Fowl was altered for the third time. What could the readers possibly have done to induce such a response? They went and decided what the books really needed was a white cover with nothing other than a cartoon head emblazoned upon it.

Such a universal ‘What the hell?’ response has never been exhibited upon the unveiling of any other product ever; a fact that still holds true even after the recent reveal of a bobble head featuring Miley Cyrus’ rear as the major gyrating component.

So we get on our knees to beg. We can no longer handle this constant switching of style and shape. O two very nearly died of fright when the long awaited final book in Anthony Horowitz’s Power of Five series hit shelves with a complete redesign to go along with some smartphone gimmick.

Our hearts can’t take anymore. Our souls are damaged beyond repair and that stupid font on the spine of book four looks completely out of sync now.

otwo

3

Foil, Arms & Hog— Starting Real College

After explaining the trouble with foreigners and the ins and outs of

In their brand spanking (but let’s hope not too violently being a food bastard, Foil Arms and Hog get all super serious by spanking) new column, Irish sketch comedy trio helping you start real college… in week six Foil, Arms & Hog present “The Problem with Foreigners”

So the honeymoon period is well and truly over and as you wring the excess beer and shame from your ‘Legendsoc!’ t-shirt you make a vow to only ever wear that monstrosity again to bed, when everything else is in the wash, or if you’ve actually joined Legendsoc. Every day, every single smelly day.

As a fresher, now is around the time you wave goodbye to that friend you made at the first lecture that you thought would be a great mate for all your college years. Soon you’ll struggle to remember each other’s names, next year you’ll nod occasionally in the corridors and then, in final year, you’ll just ignore each other. C’est la UCD. There’s no point in pretending you’re not a fresher either, honestly, you might as well still be wearing your school uniform. You’re the only ones still dressing up for college, while the rest of the campus lets their hair grow until all facial features are obscured. Also, just listen to what’s coming out of your mouth!

Things Fresher’s Say: Jaysus, dere’s gurrrls everywhere!

Where the fuck is E 112!?

How much does that tutorial actually count for?

Alright, just let me finish drinking it, then I’ll put it in the bin Let’s find the secret tunnels!

Where the fuck is the Classics Department?

Yes, beginners Spanish please….

No, I’ve NEVER done Spanish before…

Dere’s a schwimmin pool bai?!

But don’t worry, September is a mulligan, everyone knows college only actually starts in October. It is now that you must make those vital discoveries.

Like, what are the classes you actually need to go to? What is the bare minimum you can do to placate the university and your parents? And most importantly, what is the highest percentage beer at the lowest price in Higgins’ off-licence and where

can you drink it for the longest time as you can before campus security arrives?

4. As the lecturer and entire class College is hard brain work. But what look to the source of the distursort of ex-UCD students would we be if bance, quickly exit the theatre we didn’t offer you something to ease and hold the door shut behind the pain of starting real college life? you. Thus locking your friend So here’s a nice prank for the start of inside the semester. As a former victim, Arms 5. Cackle with laughter through the is going to run you through this one: little pane of glass in the door

Even go to a random lecture, or play hide and seek in the library, or go to a play, a debate, a gig or do any host of random shit that you can do because you don’t have a job, kids, or any real responsibilities other than writing some stupid essay that you ripped from Wikipedia anyway.

COLLEGE IS AWESOME.

The Late for Lecture Prank: 1. Arrive late with a friend to a packed lecture theatre 2. Make sure they are just in front of you as you walk in the door 3. Scream: “Sorry I’m Late!” as loud

Check out our videos on YouTube, and/or join us on Facebook and Twitter @foilarmsandhog.

We also have a fancy website with UPCOMING GIGS and things at foilarmsandhog.ie

It’s a cliché, but it’s true; college is what you make of it. So why not do this prank, or make up your own prank, or go find the tunnels, or skip lectures for a swim in the lake, or go to the bar at 1pm for no other reason than it’s a Tuesday?

@tila_da_hun u ok

Story Hun, On freshers’ week I saw this scorcher of hun? a lad in the freshers’ tent, he was definitely out for the hole cos he was chattin’ me up about the light within and all this, but when I asked him to come out to Bruce Willis with me and the girlos he wasn’t interested. He said something about moral standards of Christianity, which is when I remembered that copy of the New Testament he gave me, I just used it as a statement necklace, but now I’m wondering if I’ll have to start wearing more crucifixprint leggings to get his attention or what’s his story??

Franciana xox

Been dealing with da huns problems since 445AD… Ur resident agony aunt & Hunnic Emperor lol! Don’t mess wit my girlos or I’ll wreck u like I wrecked da city of Aquileia . xoxo. Tweet me!

4 otwo

Love, I’m in a hoop over the smoking ban that just got approved… Firstly, who are all these bogeys who don’t like smoking? Science shows that smoking increases the incidence of your being a hotzer, so they’re lying to themselves by voting against it. The spas. But also, smoking is part of my image, it’s intimidating and uninviting, which is good cos I hate people. How can I replace shmokes in a way that’ll successfully get bogeys to fuck off away from me?

Palermo xxx

Hey hun, I completely agree, anyone who voted against smoking Howiye hun! should be shot in the tits, cos they’re after taking away It’s always a downer when you fancy someone who gives a everything good and pure about UCD. Sure like, if I had a shit about ethics, that kind of craic is only fun in roleplay. smoke while I was decking Singidunum, I’ll have a smoke Yer man sounds like he’s wet for faith, and there’s outside the Newman building. In fact, John Henry Newonly so much accessorising that’ll catch his attention man was mad for Malboro red anyways, the shly dog. (although TopShop have the most glam Christ-y things If you wanna get away with it better, try going for a in at the moment so there’s no harm in investing in shneaky shmoke under the fume hoods in the science some, ye can never have too many studded crosses) buildings, or the stairwells in Newman, they’re both but in the long term he’ll probably notice your rampant built to hold toxic bilge, and you can have a lash of disregard for like, God, and all that racket. inhaling solvents or stealing a fresher’s satchel in both I was never religious myself, but it didn’t stop me from respectively. hoppin’ on the Romans for being religious anti-bants in You could use electronic cigarettes, but like, I can tell the 4th Century. Just be who you are, and burn his gaff you’re not a complete tool so that’s a last resource, try it to the ground if he gets too intense. after an attempt to burn the university to the ground fails.

‘Tila xoxo ‘Tila xoxo

Penang—The Dos & Don’ts

The Pearl of the Orient is a wholesome Malaysian experience packaged in an island, so says Esther Shan Lin Hor as she recounts both the good and the bad

Don’t

expect punctuality from tour guides and the public transport system. Malaysians somewhat subscribe to the ‘Malaysian time.’ “On the way” can mean anything from a person is just getting out of bed to they are stuck in a traffic jam.

Do

find out suitable travel times to avoid getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic jams during school dismissal and after work hours.

Also, remember to look at the sky; dark puffy clouds indicate imminent downpour that will drench you to the core. When raining, do what the Malaysians do, run into the nearest shopping mall and indulge in retail therapy to counter the stormy mood. Fret not, for in a couple of hours, the sunny warmth will return.

The Penang War Museum

Do

hike in Penang, where a network of jungle trails concentrated around Penang Hill is easily accessible from various starting points in the Botanical Garden, Youth Park and Air Itam Dam. Varying in length, difficulty, and scenery proffered, the interconnecting tracks are numbered according to rest stations.

Fitness enthusiasts should not miss a three-hour hike to the peak of Penang Hill for a spectacular view of the island and the Straits of Malacca. The peak is also accessible by train and road.

Don’t

miss Penang’s famed street food. Dubbed Asia’s Food Paradise, eating in Penang is a 24-hour experience. Culinary fares are multicultural, ranging from the aromatic, must-try char kuey teow (wok-fried flat rice noodles with eggs, juicy prawns and cockles), assam laksa (chewy white noodles in thick gravy that is truly an explosive fusion of tastes) to the perennial nasi kandar (a dish of Indian Muslim origin). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Do

immerse yourself in the cultural and religious atmosphere by strolling through Penang’s capital, Georgetown, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Dotted with idiosyncratic Chinese shop houses

and clan houses, old-styled mansions, little India bazaars, and temples, Georgetown truly reflects its colonial past and gives visitors an overload of cultural infusion on any regular day. Some of the well-known attractions in this area are the Cheong Fatt Sze mansion, Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple, and the Kapitan Keling Mosque.

Don’t

display expensive belongings, as Penang is notorious for its pickpockets and snatch thieves. Save yourself from the trouble of having to negotiate with incompetent policemen by simply being cautious at all times.

maps further complicate this matter when a wrong turn could render you helplessly lost.

Do

visit one of National Geographic Channel’s Top 10 Most Haunted Sites in Asia. The Penang War Museum is a sprawling historical complex containing bunkers, tunnels, secret pathways, and war paraphernalia used during the Second World War. Night tours and stays are offered for the bravest of souls.

Don’t

miss the Penang National Park. Although it is Malaysia’s youngest and smallest national park, it is the only national park with a beach coastline and is home to South-East Asia’s only meromictic lake; where saltwater meets fresh water. Plus, eight of Penang’s best beaches, some with nesting turtles, are hidden in this secret enclave. The trails are well maintained with an interspersed view of the sea, tropical forest, and mangroves.

Do

check out Penang’s uninterrupted stretch of sandy beaches in Batu Ferringhi that’s teeming with water sport activities and sun-bathers all year round. Lined with a myriad of hotels ranging from budget hotels to the opulent Hard Rock Hotel and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, beachgoers are spoilt for the choice.

Don’t

rely wholly on asking locals for directions. Although most Malaysians are able to hold a conversation in English, many are ignorant of lesser-known attractions, especially those of heritage and cultural fame. Penang’s maze of a road system and outdated

pizza of the

Fortnight Priding themselves on the fact that they “put the base in pizza base,” Base Wood Fired Pizza is a pizzeria that caters for the customer who want their pizza to have a touch of... je ne sais quoi.

The Bridgestone awardwinning pizza joint specialise in delivering artisan style pizza to your door and offer a host of different signature pizzas, including four separate vegetarian options.

Prices for their range of 9.5 inch pizzas start at €9.50, while their larger 13 inch size pizzas range between €13.50 and €16.50.

Deals are available from Base Wood Fired Pizza for group booking (more than three orders) and you can even grab one of their affordable deals that allows you to bundle together any 9.5 inch pizza, one side and a drink for €12.50.

Their Bridgestone Award separates this pizzeria from the rest of the pack, with the company winning the prestigious award for four consecutive years due to their commitment to sourcing ingredients from an Italian co-op to bring that extra level of authenticity. They also provide the option of wine delivery from their store in Terenure as late as 9pm.

So if you want trustworthy restaurant quality pizza, and maybe a glass of vino, but don’t quite fancy leaving the house on a cold wintery evening, Otwo recommends that you try Base Wood Fired Pizza. And don’t forget to flash that student card for a 10% discount.

On the 30th of October, Base Wood Fired Pizza are having a free coffee day, details of which can be found on their Facebook page Killian Woods

Air Itam Dam

Looking for a quick and tasty recipe? Check out Amy Cortney's Mug Brownie on www.universityobserver.ie

otwo

5

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Frictional Games have gained a great pedigree as of late. Their 2007 debut, Penumbra: Overture, was a rather gripping title despite the technical limitations of its presentation and a minimalist plot.

This was followed by 2010’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which deservedly earned the reputation of being one of the best horror games of all time. With that said, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs wasn’t made by Frictional but rather published by them instead.

This indirect sequel to The Dark Descent was actually created by The Chinese Room, known for the eerie and atmospheric exploration piece Dear Esther. This switch in developer will be obvious to fans of the original and might be off-putting throughout the six to eight hours of gameplay.

The plot is rather straightforward. Set in London on New Year’s Eve 1899, the focus of the story is the character of Oswald Mandus.

This wealthy industrialist and butcher is hit by fever and falls ill shortly afterwards. He wakes a few months later to the sound of a mysterious machine starting up. It’s then up to the player to put the pieces together and figure out exactly what’s going on.

A Machine for Pigs is driven more by plot rather than the sheer terror that made up almost every aspect of Dark Descent. The narrative is pushed forward by the player discovering and reading journal entries and listening to audio recordings.

These shed light on some of the last few missing months, as well as referring to Mandus’ writings in his journal. This will remind horror fans of a similar approach seen in Slender: The Arrival, which perhaps took its inspiration in this regard from the original Amnesia.

Unfortunately, this sequel has lost some of the survival horror elements found in its predecessor. No longer do oil levels for the lamp, often the single source of illumination, have to be managed, and likewise the sanity meter has been removed too.

These losses are unfortunate, especially the latter, as the sanity system’s ability to distort reality and allow the player to directly experience the madness was a creepy and highly immersive element of the original game.

As a terrifying experience, the game definitely succeeds. Under the appropriate conditions, late at night, with a good set of headphones, it’s a genuinely unsettling affair. This is in great part due to its very effective sound design, with the distance noises, suspenseful music, laughter of children, and the squeals of man-pigs all contributing impressively to the atmosphere.

For fans of Amnesia: The Dark Descent this is a must play. For newcomers, it’s recommended to experience the stellar original first and then come back to this worthy sequel at a later date.

Darragh O’Connor

Publisher Frictional Games Platforms Microsoft Developer The Chinese Room Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

6 otwo

Experiment 12

Experiment 12 is, as the name suggests, experimental in nature. As a ‘chain’ game, it’s the result of a collaboration between twelve indie developers, including Super Hexagon’s Terry Cavanagh and Lone Survivor’s Jasper Byrne. Each has crafted their own chapter in the series, creating a sequence of short games that piece together a dark and brilliant puzzle.

At the helm of this supergroup is Cavanagh, the organising force behind the project and the first link in the chain. From the outset, the atmosphere is discerning, and the immediate theme of mental illness is unsettling. The status indicator declares that you, a pixelated protagonist, are unwell and the obstacles you encounter in this side-scroller only serve to increase the severity of this sickness.

Who are you? This is for the eleven remaining developers to decide, as they each take inspiration from the preceding level, while continuing the plot as they choose.

This disjointed narrative continues in a fragmented manner as you progress through a bizarre tale. Insights into the protagonist are brief and ambivalent. Shifting viewpoints introduce various other characters, and the player is often uncertain as to who they are controlling.

Platforms Windows Developer Michael Brough, Jasper Byrne, Terry Cavanagh, Jake Clover, Alan Hazelden, Jack KingSpooner, Richard Perrin, Benn Powell, Ian Snyder, TheBlackMask, Robert Yang and Zaratustra

Any chapter can be played at the onset.

It’s suggested, however, to experience them in chronological order, to help pick out the thin narrative thread, which weaves in different directions as it is manipulated by the various developers.

Despite the clear connections one can make, the game refuses to be completely coherent; choosing instead to keep the player guessing as if we are the experiment. Any meaning is hidden behind a veil of inconsistent and disjointed monologue, with some levels seemingly devoid of significance.

The myriad of various aesthetics renders each chapter a showcase of creativity. The graphics are usually abstract and minimalistic, with the approach ranging from hand-drawn to strong pixel work. Most levels are visually hallucinatory, adding to the overwhelming sense of disorientation.

Given the time constraints, each level was made in 72 hours or less, the result is sometimes flawed, with Chapter 7 being particularly disappointing. Some moments are downright baffling, and the ending, though climactic, leaves much to question.

Oddly enough, the loose ends and lack of polish add to the raw charm and fascinating experience Experiment 12 provides. There are plenty of contradictions and an almost frustrating level of mystery shrouding the narrative, but the obvious lack of answers renders the game even more brilliant.

The very nature of it is to be puzzling, with concrete meaning beyond the grasp of anyone; even the twelve creators.

Eva Griffin

Pieces of the Whole The independent developers spearheading Sony’s push on the indie games front talk to Niall Gosker on why PlayStation is the place to be

It would be difficult for even the most diehard fan not to concede that Sony lost a lot of ground throughout this past console generation. While they did manage to salvage the situation eventually, so much time was needlessly wasted playing catch up. This is an error they can’t afford to repeat.

At recent press events, the company has appeared revitalised, with the wave of arrogance the PlayStation 3 rode in on replaced by much more humble approach. Many of the big studios have already praised the change in philosophy and manner, but the real war for hearts and minds in the next generation may be won or lost on the indie battlefield.

At Gamescom this year, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) CEO Jim Ryan expressed a desire to return to the whacky, unpredictable Sony of old, which was responsible for the likes of PaRappa the Rapper, Vib Ribbon, and other oddities. Their big play for indies, viewed in this context, makes a whole lot of sense.

Why are so many independent developers flocking to Sony specifically? It surely leads back to their recently instated PlayStation Developer program, which, above all else, seems to be grounded in common sense. It allows for self-publishing and all the benefits one would expect to come with this, such as the price and release date being decided by the developer.

These might seem like no-brainers, but such things never existed with Microsoft who were, for much of the generation, the go-to platform for indie developers until one horror story too many.

Only very recently, when they unveiled their ID@Xbox initiative, did Microsoft begin to regain credibility. For now though, the spotlight is Sony’s, with their transparency and willingness to trust indies as important pieces of the whole entity paying off, with unanimous praise being sent in their direction.

Supergiant Games, creators of the award-winning Bastion, are hard at work on their next title, Transistor, which will make its console debut on the PlayStation 4. Greg Kasavin, designer and writer, explains, “We announced the game at PAX East earlier this year, and the guys from Sony came and played it there along with many other people. They really liked the game.”

He adds, “These are guys who go home and play games for fun still and aren’t just a bunch of suits so their enthusiasm came off as

dear esther

Bastion

genuine, and they wanted to talk to us after the show.

“The more we learned about the PS4 and Sony’s open stance about letting us self-publish on the platform and not forcing us to be exclusive or anything like that, the more it made a lot of sense for us to make it happen.”

To solidify the relationship, Sony put them centre stage at gaming’s biggest press event. “Sony made their faith in us very apparent by having us up there as part of their E3 press conference along with a number of other small studios.”

They did something similar at Gamescom too, giving The Chinese Room’s new PS4 exclusive, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a grand unveiling. Creative Director on the project, Dan Pinchbeck, echoes Kasavin’s positivity saying, “They are incredibly protective of the creative vision of the developers they work with, and very much driven by similar ideas to us.

“Immersion, emotional journey, player experience; we really share these values, and they place a great emphasis on enabling us to explore and pursue that, so it’s been terrific.”

Speaking about the exclusive sta-

These might seem like nobrainers, but such things never existed with Microsoft who were, for much of the generation, the go-to platform for indie developers until one horror story too many

octodad fan art by Sara Gross

tus of the game, Pinchbeck explains, “To make a game like Rapture, you need a team of a certain size and that costs a lot of money. You also need production expertise, and we felt we needed more support there.

“Sony Santa Monica was the only logical choice in terms of protecting that vision. I still definitely hope we will get the title onto PC at some point, but I have to say, PS4 is a hugely exciting platform to be working on so we’re very happy with that decision.”

Phil Tibitoski, President and Community Manager at Young Horses, the team behind the surreal Octodad, which is currently in development, believes Sony’s thinking lies in a desire for diversity.

Tibitoski explains, “I think what they’re looking to do is bring variety to their platforms and, as far as I can tell, the best way to do that is with the independent community where there’s little fear of creating something far off the beaten path.”

If there were any doubts that the

Sony seen in public recently is contrary to the image behind the scenes, Kasavin dispels this notion. “The attitude Sony has cultivated publicly, that they love smaller development teams and their original games, and really want to work with those teams and get their games featured on their platforms, is very much consistent with the way they’ve conducted themselves with us directly.”

It isn’t just the PlayStation 4 that will benefit from this new direction.

PS Vita is already feeling its effects, being kept relevant in large part thanks to these smaller releases, ideally suited to the handheld device.

If Sony really do intend on reclaiming the glory of their heritage, they seem to be going about in the best way possible way by providing a reasonably priced console that is easy to develop for, catering for the good will of the larger community, and of course, prime indie support.

Taking all this into account, it’s hard to imagine them ending up in third place again.

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The height of culture Having returned from the Edmonton International Film Festival, indie producer Adam Scorgie talks to Jack Walsh about boxing, going to Parliament Hill and the changing nature of cannabis legalisation

The Good Son­—The Life of Ray Boom Boom Mancini

The Union—the Business Behind Getting High

“His life plays like a Shakespearean tragedy,” is how documentary film producer Adam Scorgie describes the subject of his recently released The Good Son: The Life of Ray Boom Boom Mancini, detailing the tragic story of Ray Mancini, a former WBC Lightweight Boxing World Champion.

Mancini’s father was drafted into the Second World War prior to fighting for the belt, as Scorgie explains, “Ray made a promise at twelve that ‘I will win the world title for you.’ At twenty-one, he won the world title and gave it to his father.

“His reason to get into boxing was for moral and righteous reasons. In his third title defence, he fights a fighter named Duk Koo Kim, and in the fourteenth round drops Kim, and Kim dies of injuries sustained in the fight. Kim had found out three months earlier that he had a baby on the way. Ray gets into boxing for righteous reasons to win a world title for his father, and takes the life of one in the process.”

This is the type of film Scorgie thought he would be making following the release of his 2006 documentary The Union: The Business Behind Getting High.

Documenting the British Columbia

8 otwo

We’ve interviewed a former drug czar, people in parliament, ex-DEA, police officers, five of the most recognised medical professionals in the world

marijuana trade, the film explored Union’s success. “The internet the many views of those in the know created a demand and that demand of the drug war, from the players to spoke to us. We raised a quarter the play makers. million dollars in 40 days from “The Union did so well because Kickstarter.” we went in blind and we were three Titled The Culture High, the film guys in a basement suite wanting follows as a sequel to The Union to make an entertaining film on the seven years on, exploring the new subject matter because it seems to arguments, the new heroes and be in the news every other day. Then villains, and the many reactions to we looked at the macro and micro the changing nature of cannabis economics and how policies change legalisation. “We’re looking at what’s and how this business has grown up changed since we left off. around current policies and grew “We’re also looking at the global into something else.” shift in the way that people are Having made the festival circuit viewing drug laws, particularly in Canada and the U.S., the film was the cannabis laws. Cannabis laws leaked online, receiving millions of always seem to be the citadel for views. The film gained a cult following, all the drug laws because it is the and Scorgie would eventually be invited most widely used illegal substance to present the film to Parliament Hill, to bar none. There is no other illegal further educate Canadian ministers on substance that comes close to it, drug legislation. so it remains a focal point of the “There was a really healthy argument.” discussion afterwards and policies Interviews have ranged from in Canada that they were looking Richard Branson to Snoop Dogg, to put through were rethought after Howard Marks to Lester Grinspoon. watching The Union and seeing it All seem to be relaying back the from that perspective, even though same message. “We’ve interviewed it’s six years old.” a former drug czar, people in Scorgie never thought of making parliament, ex-DEA, police officers, a follow up, but his decisions were five of the most recognised medical not based around his needs, moreso professionals in the world. of the community built out of The “They have studied its effects on

the brain, on addiction, and all of them will tell you that behind closed doors even the biggest people think there needs to be a major change, but none of them will go out and admit it. One of the reasons is that politicians don’t like to admit they made a mistake. That’s the biggest thing. Not for anything else.”

Regarding the ultimate aims of The Culture High, Scorgie related it as wanting “to inspire people to make their own research. The best kind of movies keep your mind spinning. What separates us from our competition is that we don’t go out and say were going to establish this or try and get this in before the next vote. We want to make something great, and something entertaining too.”

Scorgie always will consider himself a filmmaker and a journalist.

He is not pushing one particular side, merely providing a way for those sides to meet. He believes that he’s merely relaying the information, for no other reason than pure understanding, “We set out to do a true journalistic look at the situation and that’s why The Union has that line at the end: ‘the only thing that makes sense is that none of this makes any sense.’”

Check out the website to see the first of this year’s Boxing Clevers in which Aaron Murphy extols the virtues of Arrested Development

Hayao-Maker This year will mark the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, only this time, as Ellen Murray writes, he means it

Hayao Miyazaki by lxoivaeh

Few filmmakers can lay claim to such a vast and astounding body of work as one Hayao Miyazaki. Best known for films like My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away (2001), Miyazaki managed to transcend national boarders by bringing Japanese animation to the world’s attention with the formation of Studio Ghibli in 1985.

In a career spanning a jawdropping 50 years, the animator has moved millions across the globe with his unique artistic style and an ability to make his animated characters emote as sincerely as any human being. It is perhaps unsurprising that, at 72-years-old, the man called Walt Disney of the East has decided to retire for good.

Not that he will be coming to a complete standstill. Old age won’t stop Miyazaki from doing what he loves. In Tokyo, on September 6th, following Studio Ghibli’s initial announcement, Miyazaki claimed that the reasons behind his retirement are practical. He acknowledged that he had claimed to be retiring in the past, but insisted that, “I’m really serious this time… my era of animation is over.

“Those physical issues that occur with age, there’s nothing you can do about them, and hating them doesn’t make a difference.” He said, but making peace with the inevitability of old age did not impinge on the reality of running a successful animation studio.

As the intervals between his feature-length films grew longer, Miyazaki realised the trend could not continue as “the studio can’t survive.” His passion for animation, however, has not been in any way diminished.

Born in Tokyo in 1941, to Katsuji Miyazaki and his wife Dola, the chaos of the Second World War and his father’s occupation as a designer of battle aircrafts would prove to have a profound impact on the young soon-to-be animator. As he grew up, Miyazaki displayed a talent for drawing, with a particular fondness for Manga, the emerging art style in a post-war Japan.

It was not until his final year in Gakushuin University, Tokyo,

Being an animator, animating a cut that barely even matters, drawing the wind well, doing the water well, and making sure the light shines right; just from that you can be happy for two or three days

however, that he would realise his love of animation. Despite graduating in 1963 with degrees in political science and economics, Miyazaki decided to follow his passion and was hired as an in-between animator for Toei Animation.

He was assigned to work on various projects, such as the 1965 production of Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon. It was a small, but important step towards forming the individual artistic style that would later make him a world-renowned animator.

Over the next few years, Miyazaki’s reputation as a storyteller began to grow with the release of successes such as Hols: Prince of the Sun (1968), on which he was appointed chief animator. The film also marked the directorial debut of Isao Takahata, who was set to collaborate with Miyazaki over the next three decades and to be a co-founder of Studio Ghibli.

In 1971, both Miyazaki and Takahata left Toei Animation.

For a while, it seemed the pair were destined to make their mark on television, directing widely acclaimed anime series like Lupin III (1977-1980) and Future Boy Conan (1978). It is in this anime that we can see the motifs of love, friendship and fantasy that would later define Miyazaki’s feature-length works begin to form.

By the early eighties, Miyazaki had begun directing anime features, but it would be 1984’s adaption of the series Nausica of the Valley of the Wind that proved to be a game changer in Miyazaki’s career. The film was a refreshingly unique blend of fairy-tale, with a strong anti-war and environmental message, paired with stunning animation.

Its success would ensure Miyazaki’s fame in his native Japan and win him multiple national awards, spurring him to create his own animation studio in the summer of 1985. Studio Ghibli was born.

Studio Ghibli is a testament to the seemingly never ending limits of Miyazaki’s imagination. The late eighties and early nineties would mark a string of successes for Miyazaki, including Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) and Porco Rosso (1992).

Miyazaki claimed that Princess Mononoke (1995) was to be his last feature-length film but, in reality, his greatest works were yet to come. Spirited Away was to be the animator’s biggest commercial and critical success, sky-rocketing him to international fame and winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film proved to be an introduction for millions across the world to the untapped wonder of Japanese animation.

Though produced primarily for children, the films of Miyazaki contained much darker themes and reach emotional depths beyond western animated features. Miyazaki’s power seems to lie in his ability to provoke a feeling of childlike wonder in his audience, while, at the same, time forcing them to realise the darker aspects of humankind.

Miyazaki’s works in the 2000’s solidified him as one of the world’s top animation directors.

His last feature-length film, The Wind Rises, due for international release in February 2014, tells the fictionalised biography of real-life aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi.

Remembering Miyazaki’s early beginnings as a child drawing airplanes and admiring his aeronautical engineer father, it seems that the animator’s career has come full circle.

Miyazaki admits that he still gains his greatest happiness from his first love: animation. “Being an animator, animating a cut that barely even matters, drawing the wind well, doing the water well, and making sure the light shines right; just from that you can be happy for two or three days.”

It is easy to see from Miyazaki’s films that every frame was created with dedication and love. Hayao Miyazaki is a man who has paid his dues to the profession he helped define and Otwo gratefully wishes to thank him for the works he has given the world.

my neighbour totoro

In World Cinema on universityobserver.ie Eva Griffin takes a look at Claude Miller’s Thérèse Desqueyroux

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captain phillips

Director Paul Greengrass Starring Tom Hanks, Barhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman Release Date 18th October This biopic comes in slightly under the radar, which is surprising considering that Tom Hanks stars as the titular protagonist, Captain Richard Phillips, with Paul Greengrass directing; adding to an impressive resumé which includes Green Zone, two instalments of the Bourne franchise and the 9/11-centric United 93.

Like United 93, this film is based on a true story; that of Richard Phillips, the captain of a cargo ship taken hostage

by Somali pirates seeking millions in ransom money.

The plot is gripping and excellently translated to the screen by Billy Ray, who also co-wrote The Hunger Games. Greengrass’ shaky camera style combined with the fact that this was filmed on the open seas means that the sense of veracity, and of being in the midst of the action is carried through from beginning to end.

In the opening moment, we see Hanks apprehensively board the cargo vessel.

Set against the Somali pirates boarding two skiffs, this establishes the two forces on a collision course of which the resulting impact is both riveting and grim.

As indicated by the movie’s title, the bulk of the story focuses on Tom Hanks’ character, Captain Phillips. The story is plot driven, but Hanks draws us emotionally into the story in a scene with his wife at the beginning and with the film’s

powerful final scene; pristine examples of the double Oscar winner’s acting range, for which an additional Oscar nomination is surely on the cards.

Unfortunately, due to this fast-paced style of storytelling, we are left with only a small glimpse into the lives and circumstances of both Captain Phillips and the pirates. This is highlighted at an early stage, but then falls to the wayside in favour of the plot.

The film is enhanced by supporting actor Barhad Abdi, playing the leader of the pirates, Muse. Something of a tragic figure, he mentions briefly his hope of giving up his lifestyle by going to America.

While some may find Greengrass’ camera motion a little excessive at times, this is a minor criticism of an otherwise stellar film about an ordinary man’s gruelling story of survival. Considering the calibre of acting from the entire cast, but particularly from veteran actor Tom Hanks and breakout star Barhad Abdi, Captain Phillips is sure to be a box office hit and award show staple.

In a nutshell Edge-of-your-seat suspense, stunning performances and high-octane action sequences make Captain Phillips a film well worth viewing.

Matthew Hanrahan

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escape plan

Director Mikael Håfström Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, 50 Cent, Amy Ryan Release Date 18th October When it comes to ‘80s action movies, you usually have to take them with a grain of salt. Everything on display is ridiculous, but that can be forgiven if you’re along for the ride.

Still, these kinds of films have to toe the line between being stupid and being stupidly fun.

Escape Plan realises this distinction and at times it figures out to how to stay on the correct side. Take the setup for instance. We have a structural engineer (Stallone) who is employed to try break out of maximum security prisons, due to his incredible talent for escapology.

Following a call from a CIA agent, he and his motley crew of helpers, one of whom is played by Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, are assigned to aid him in breaking out of the most fortified prison ever built that is based upon an engineering book written by Stallone’s own character. Yes, it sure is silly.

This is all before we even meet Schwarzenegger’s character (Rottmayer), as well as Jim Cazviezel as the evil prison warden. It’s hardly the work of Lars Von Trier, but it is actually fun.

Schwarzenegger is in fine form, pumping out his trademark one-liners like nobody’s business. The film itself has a decent sense of humour, particularly with some near-satirical sequences by the end. On top of that, the opening prison break is an interesting sequence and the action ranges from solid to enjoyable throughout.

However, Escape Plan does keep up this feeling throughout the two hour running time. Some of the dialogue is unintentionally hilarious, with some indecipherable dialogue mumbled from the mouth of Stallone.

The characters may be cut from the comic book cloth, but anything involving Stallone’s work mates, particularly the nonsense from 50 Cent’s character, is pretty bad.

It’s clear that director Mikael Håfström set out to re-create the action movies pumped out in the prime of Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s career, especially when the film essentially turns into a remake of the Steven Seagal classic Under Siege.

Nevertheless, it never quite reaches the height set by action gems such as Commando or First Blood, but depending on your view of the genre, it puts in an admirable effort.

If you’re happy to revel in the stupidity and bravado, you’ll have fun. There are many things wrong with the movie; poor dialogue and nonsensical plot points, for example. However, if you are willing to buy into crazy antics, like Stallone being a structural engineer, you may just have a good time.

In a nutshell A silly homage to the golden age of camp action, Escape Plan’s ridiculousness can be fun if you leave reason at the door.

Martin Healy

love, marilyn

Top 10— Top Ten Movie Schools

Rydell High Grease

The constant threat of a musical number breaking out on campus like an STI during freshers’ week must be massively ageing, because Rydell’s student body are all at least a decade past the appropriate age for matriculation.

Horace Green School of Rock

Director Liz Garbus Starring Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Banks Release Date 18th October “I would like very much to be a fine actress. I would like to be happy. But trying to be happy is almost as difficult as trying to be a good actress.”

Fifty years after her death, two boxes of Marilyn Monroe’s writings, diaries, poems and letters were discovered in the home of Lee Strasberg, her acting coach.

Love, Marilyn is a documentary film that gives the audience an insight into these writings.

It’s expected that a film about the life of this star would be slightly morbid, but this film is filled with haunting and emotional footage of the actress. While these clips and quotes humanise Marilyn as an idol, a definite gloom hangs over the documentary because of them.

“Life is to be lived, and since it is comparatively short, maybe too long, the only thing I know for sure, it isn’t easy.”

Indeed, for Monroe, life was anything but easy. Through Monroe’s own words we get a wonderful insight into her life, which was very much a tragedy in an extremely intriguing fashion.

The use of actors such as Glenn Close, Uma Thurman and Lindsay Lohan to voice some of Monroe’s most personal writings was powerful, as the actors added character and life to the film. Glenn Close and Marisa Tomei, in particular, gave wonderfully emotive performances that can and will bring the audience to tears.

Although the diction of these actors added some gravitase to the read-

ings, it cannot be denied that they are practically incomparable to the clips of Marilyn. She truly was a very beautiful, yet tormented, person. The clips of her capture that essence exquisitely.

Her voice, which was so sultry and husky, resonates around the room and her walk and her mannerisms are captivating. It is only when you watch Garbus’ video montages of her that you realise what was so great about Marilyn; she had an inexplicable something, a certain charm and grace.

If you are a fan of Monroe, you will love this documentary, and even if you aren’t, it is still a work to be enjoyed. In this film, we watch her create her own persona, we watch as the girl who once was Norma Jeane Mortenson becomes Marilyn Monroe.

The audience witnesses her struggle to establish herself, her achievement of the sex symbol status. Observe as she rockets to fame and gasp as she plummets into a downward spiral of depression. As Gloria Steinem said, “One simple reason for her life story’s endurance is the premature end of it. When the past dies, there is mourning, but when the future dies, our imaginations are compelled to carry it on.”

In a nutshell A moving insight into the troubled life of Hollywood’s most notorious sex symbol.

Hills High taught Cher and her friends the importance of democracy, debate, and shamelessly manipulating those around you in order to take home better grades. What else?

Rushmore Academy Rushmore

Wes Anderson’s Rushmore Academy indisputably provides everything an If the events of School of Rock took place in individual could ever require in order real life, you would undoubtedly be deeply to achieve self-actualisation. Namely, repulsed by Jack Black’s actions. In fact, a kite flying club and the semi-regular you’re relatively repulsed by them anyway, presence of Bill Murray. but you still can’t deny that School of Rock is a damn good movie.

Polly Fector Elementary Billy Madison

While Billy Madison is, entirely unironically, one of the most insanely idiotic movies ever made, you’ve really got to admire a school that has absolutely no qualms about assimilating a grown man as disturbing as Adam Sandler into their student body.

St Francis School Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

If there was an award for the school most recommended to Otwo to include in the top 10 movie schools, the hallowed turf that is St Francis School would win outright. They sing hymns about Jesus in a hip-hop way.

What’s more cool than that? What, indeed.

Hogwarts Hill Valley High School The Harry Potter Series You could almost forgive Hogwarts its Back to the Future There are few things more reassuring than knowing that no matter what kind of crazy time travel you’ve been getting up to, a fine academic institution like Hill Valley will simply accept the fact that you’ve decided to just show up and learn some things. Just avoid your mother, okay.

massive number of student fatalities if it weren’t for the fact that no one ever kicks the bucket until that annoying part of the school year that’s just after the final exams and just before Voldemort being a welltimed failure gets Gryffindor just enough points to poach the House Cup.

Starfleet Academy star Trek IX

Mr Ray’s School Finding Nemo

Expand your mind at the school of the future, where great starship captains rub shoulders with brilliant students, and those in red shirts are systematically annihilated.

Follow in the footsteps of the great Captain Kirk and you could find yourself bedding sexy alien chicks and conferencing with the worm people in no time.

Beverly Hills High Clueless

Attending Mr Ray’s school is a lot like being at college, if you think about it.

You’ve developed a lazy fin, your parents are visibly worried, and your living situation would make the inside of a sea anemone look like a tentacled penthouse.

When you factor in your total lack of supervision, it looks likely that you’re going to have to repeat SEA10010: Not Touching the Butt. Again.

A school so progressive it effectively served Laura Bell as a microcosm for an ideal world, Beverly

Orla McEvoy

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“Well, I didn’t really have a lot of experience acting opposite the dragon …”

In UCD to accept an honorary L&H fellowship, Martin Freeman chats with Steven Balbirnie about hobbits, detectives and finding time for the things that you love

12 otwo

Martin Freeman has been proving himself to be an acting powerhouse of late, not only with starring roles in The Hobbit trilogy and the BBC’s modern interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, but also by finding the time to act in The World’s End, as well as the forthcoming films Svengali and Saving Santa.

The only thing more impressive than his acting CV is that for such a busy man, he is possibly the most polite and amiable person you could hope to meet.

He is swift to dismiss the assertion that this current abundance of releases is due to some kind of superhuman acting feat, pointing out that “sometimes, as you probably know, you can be filming these things at various times and it just kind of depends on when they all elide and come out.

“It’s just that if they come out at a similar kind of time it’s like you’ve all done it in ten minutes kind of thing, but actually it’s the result of work of over a year,” he explains.

Freeman is also quick to counter the suggestion that there has been a massive increase in his acting output. “It honestly doesn’t feel like an increased workload as I’ve always worked a lot. I mean when I was 23, 24 I worked a lot, but obviously not in things that were ever famous. At the moment I’m lucky enough to have Sherlock and The Hobbit going on, and to have those things sort of dually going on, that’s a big gig, that’s a great combination.”

Indeed, with The Desolation of Smaug set to be one of the top grossing films of this year, Freeman has achieved great success with his portrayal of the titular hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Many actors would’ve found the idea of stepping into the world of Middle Earth, which has been so intricately defined by the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to be a daunting prospect, but not Freeman.

“I think from my point of view I was starting from scratch, because

You’re contractually obliged to please the director, but really you’re morally and artistically obliged to please yourself as well it was a new part for me and that version of Bilbo was a new version, albeit you know one that was started

by Ian Holm, started very well by Ian Holm, but that’s Bilbo in fifty years’ time. So I felt like it was kind of a blank canvas for me.

“I didn’t feel in anyway, which was partly down to my foolhardiness and partly down to the way that they operate, I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I didn’t feel like I had to sort of live up to anything. They cast me, they had absolute trust and faith in casting me and I had absolute faith in doing it.”

In light of the success the franchise has already enjoyed, it is incredible to think how close Freeman came to turning down the part of Bilbo Baggins. “I was in a position with a very heavy heart where I kind of had to because of commitments to Sherlock, because Sherlock had gone out and been a huge success for BBC and they wanted to strike while the iron was hot and do a second series.

“To be fair, Sherlock wasn’t really budging, the BBC weren’t really budging so Peter Jackson budged and rearranged the entire shooting schedule of The Hobbit so I could do both. Which is very flattering and very lucky for me. So it meant that I could film some of The Hobbit and have downtime to go and do Sherlock series two and come back to The Hobbit. It’s amazing that I got to do both.”

Such a gesture by Jackson shows how firmly committed he was to get Freeman on board for the role, and the actor has nothing but praise for the New Zealand-born director. “I like the way he tells stories and he’s just easy you know, he’s just easy.

He’s not precious. He’s not difficult.

“He’s a big believer, as I am, in not making life more difficult than it needs to be. We’re all just there to tell a story, him most of all. He’s not satisfied until he gets absolutely what he sees as the right thing and so as always it’s a negotiation between you and any director you’re working with between what you think is the right thing and what they think is the right thing.

“Hopefully those things are going to come together and be the same, because the last thing you want to do as an actor is go home thinking, ‘Well I gave him what I wanted but I hated it.’ So you have to please yourself before anybody. I mean, you’re contractually obliged to please the director, but really you’re morally and artistically obliged to please yourself as well. But I enjoyed those negotiations with Peter.”

While his role as Bilbo Baggins will be dominating cinemas this December, the role which has gained him the most acclaim has been his performance as Dr. John Watson alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock. The massively popular series has seen the duo of Holmes and Watson reimagined for a 21st Century audience while remaining faithful to the original vision of Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal detective stories.

Freeman is very conscious of this remarkable balance that the show has managed to maintain. “The danger was that it would just go way away from the original source material in spirit as well as iPhones and cars and all that, but it’s been really nice actually to know that we can have our cake and eat it.

“It’s very much our thing, but as far as the spirit and the dynamic goes between those two characters, which is after all, really is the success of the show, it’s written that way, it’s made that way, that you want to know about the dynamic of these two characters and that I think is true to Conan Doyle.

“Watson is the way in in those stories because he’s the narrator in those stories, and my John is the first person you see in this programme.

He introduces us to Sherlock.”

Freeman relishes his role as Watson and exhibits an insightful understanding of the character’s inner workings. “John is still, he’s stoical, he’s very watchful, he’s very very strong-willed, a strong-minded person, he’s not easily flappable.

“You know he’s an alpha male, he saves lives and can kill people; like if it wasn’t for Sherlock he’d be the most impressive man in the room, you know because he’s knocking about with someone who’s even more fucking alpha than he is. All of which is interesting to play because you’re playing someone who is very much their own man, they’re very strong.”

Freeman also has a certain sense of admiration for his fictional counterpart. “He doesn’t do a lot of vocal flourishes, he doesn’t do a lot of showing off, it’s just he’s still in a way that I envy about some men.

He’s got a real strength to him.”

Freeman is evidently very proud of the show, saying, “If awards are an indicator of something, we’ve won a fuck load of awards already and I’ve never been in anything as successful in those terms as that, you know. I mean, even The Office didn’t win that many things. It’s done amazingly well, and all over the world.

We’re very very proud of it. It’s a good show.”

Freeman is consistently very open about attributing the show’s success to the calibre of the writing team behind it. “Most things by their very nature, most paintings aren’t great and most scripts aren’t great, most footballers aren’t great, because we notice the great ones and the Sherlock stuff is a different class script-wise.”

With a new series of Sherlock in the pipeline for 2014, Freeman believes that the writing team have upped their game once again. “The scripts this year are fantastic. We’ve put ourselves in a hard position where we have to up our game from an already high standard, and that’s no mean feat for the writers, but you know they’ve done it, they’ve outdone themselves.”

Despite such high profile roles, Freeman clearly has his feet still on the ground and is modest about his fame. “There are still plenty of people who don’t know who I am.

That hasn’t changed in that way, really. It’s not like everywhere I go I’m mobbed, you know, certainly not in non-English speaking places.”

Freeman sees this as positive, however, reflecting that, “I think your world changes as much as you want it to change. I think if you go out there and court everything, it depends on how much you embrace, how much you want it and there are

some things I don’t particularly want.

I want work and I want to be doing good work but I don’t necessarily need everything that goes with it.

“I want my life to stay pretty much as it is, because I’ve got the important things in my life, which is my family, my house and all that stuff.

So, I don’t want that to change. I don’t want to not be able to get on the tube ever; do you know what I mean?

I quite like it staying to a certain extent how it is.”

When asked about how he manages to juggle his commitments to such demanding acting roles, his answer is straightforward. “I think any actor or any self-employed person knows that if you’re lucky enough to have choice in things that you say no to, and then things that you say yes to are such a pleasure to do; that’s how you find time.”

When choosing what projects to say yes and no to, Freeman reveals that it all comes down to good writing. “You know I just like it if it’s good, if it’s something that someone’s made up yesterday and the first thing is a screenplay and I love it then I’m in.

“If it’s an adaptation of something that I like then I’m also in. It’s always just about what that screenplay is like, because you could’ve had a terrible adaptation of any of those things, I mean you could’ve had a terrible adaptation of any of those beloved books and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it.”

In keeping with his strong work ethic, Freeman isn’t resting on his laurels; he’s crossing the Atlantic for his next major project that will see him tackling his greatest challenge yet, the Minnesotan accent.

“Well my next thing I’m doing is an American TV series of Fargo, the Coen brothers’ film, and that is a ten part series for American telly.

“I start the pilot of that in November and then we do the series of that up until April. It’s beautifully written and very very exciting. It’s a great part, it’s a great world. I love that world; it’s sort of a darkly comic, odd world that the Coen brothers created.

I’m dead excited about that.”

No doubt Freeman’s fans will also be dead excited to see him taking on a role in yet another iconic production, but between eagerly awaiting a new season of Sherlock and the concluding instalments of The Hobbit saga, they should have enough to whet their appetite.

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Keeping it local

I was yelling at everybody to keep cutting up stickers to make demo CDs If given access to rewrite the definition of the word ‘delight’ in the Oxford English Dictionary, Otwo would simply put a link to Local Natives’ video for their shiver-inducing tune ‘Who Knows, Who Cares’ shot through the echoing vestibule of a French side street.

It’s an oozing, delicious piece of auricular stimulation. This mesmerising effect Local Natives have is one many bands attempt to capture, but chatting to keyboardist/percussionist Kelcey Ayer, one soon discovers that they’ve shared the same rocky start as many aspiring musicians.

Speaking about their debut appearance at SXSW, Ayer reflects on their wide-eyed, inexperienced, and manager-less past. “I was yelling at everybody to keep cutting up stickers to make demo CDs,” chuckles Ayer.

“I was like a slave driver. I think early on, we’d been trying to write music and be a band since high school, and between then and Local Natives starting, we learnt that if you’re going to get anywhere you can’t rely on anyone, you have to do everything yourself.”

These humble beginnings were certainly not without a nauseating sense of pressure. “It can be hard

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Neither native nor local, Kelcey Ayer of LA’s Local Natives chats to Rebekah Rennick about sticky beginnings

with brand new bands that haven’t had a lot of exposure. That’s a difficult thing because you’re not really prepared. Every mistake you’re making, or show you have in front of all these people who want you to be as good as huge rock stars; they want you to be perfect. It’s got to suck ‘cause it’s almost set up for failure.”

Failure is certainly not something the LA quartet have succumbed to.

Following their appearance at the Texan Cultural Festival, they soon began making ripples in the melting pot of talent that is Silver Lake.

This diverse and ebullient environment is tangible on their debut album Gorilla Manor, mirroring much of the feelings that were bubbling within themselves. Ayer openly admits that he feels most artists are affected somewhat by their surroundings.

“I think everyone’s environment seeps into their writing. I found that I wrote about driving a lot. I guess I don’t have a lot of me time so when

I’m in the car it’s the only time I can actually reflect. I end up coming up with a lot of lyrics. That is one very specific way that environment effects who you are.”

Ayer concludes, yet with an earnest reproach, “It’s hard. In the past couple of years, I feel like I haven’t been able to spend hardly any time in LA, which is a shame. It’s difficult to say now; I feel my environment and where I’ve been has just been kind of on the road in a million different places. It almost gives you a lost feeling.”

Influenced by The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and predominantly by his folk-loving father, their unwavering penchant for layered harmonies is what makes Local Natives so organically elating.

Waves of crashing percussion, harmonies that have you gawping at their varicosity and lyrics that tug firmly on your consciousness are the elements that comprise this band.

Yet, new album Hummingbird sees

them exploring a darker aspect of life.

Hummingbird, Ayer explains, “is much more of a reflective record, about sustaining and trying to figure out what we’re trying to say as songwriters and what our next step is now that we’ve gotten our foot in the door.

“We just went through so many things, between records that must have dealt themselves to making a heavier record. We’re always going to be writing from a personal point of view, and whatever is going to happen to us is really going to dictate the tone of whatever records we make.”

While Gorilla Manor was the jovial, free-spirited toddler, Hum-

mingbird is the emotional teenager with a heavy heart. The personal element reaching through their new tracks is also an addition, catalyzed by their own life experiences “Personally, I do enjoy when an artist lets people in, showing themselves more in a vulnerable state. A closer connection I can make with somebody is better for a million reasons. That’s a really beautiful thing and I’m definitely pro-sharing.”

This projection of personal entity is heard predominantly in track ‘Colombia’, a haunting track of questioning that squeezes your limbic system so ferociously that you will be reaching surreptitiously for those tissues and calling your mother just to ask how she’s doing.

With audience connection at the forefront of their performance criteria, Local Natives’ growing repertoire and downright delightful demeanour make them irresistible once you’ve had a taste. Ayer conclusively assures that he is “very happy that we went through a lot shitty times and played a lot of shitty shows, before anyone actually gave a shit.” Either way, Otwo still wants to rewrite that definition.

Calling the Poliça As a singer, and the bass player too would say this, when you don’t have a lot of melody lead instruments, the singers are free to just wind all around. I get to do the guitar solos

As a band that relies mainly on its rhythm section, Poliça are a band for whom beats count for a lot. Their 2012 debut, Give You The Ghost, pulses with a lithe and dynamic funk, over which singer Channy Leaneagh’s otherworldly vocals are added in evocative, weirdly altered layers. If your tastes tend more towards B.B. King, you might be pleasantly surprised by this flagrant delight.

Leaneagh puts the band’s R’n’B nous down to their birthplace.

“Where we come from in Minneapolis there’s a lot of history. Even though it’s a northern state, kind of like Ireland, on the top of the American map. Prince is from there, and Mint Condition, The Time, and there’s a history of R’n’B and hip-hop.”

This isn’t a band that honed a cover of Purple Rain. Poliça is concerned, first and foremost, with originality. An idea that is simple for Leaneagh. “You don’t want to get the Poliça sound, that’d be a dumb idea.

You want to get your own sound.”

This independent-mindedness certainly brings rewards. Eschewing electric guitar left Leaneagh and producer/synth wizard Ryan Olson with an entire sonic midrange to

On the cusp of the release of their new album, Declan Moran chats with Channy Leanagh of Poliça to discuss double drummers, autotune, and Jay-Z

fill with an intricate texture. “As a singer, and the bass player too would say this, when you don’t have a lot of melody lead instruments, the singers are free to just wind all around. I get to do the guitar solos.”

Leaneagh does this sort of vocal extemporisation well, with a bit more mystery than the ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ approach. With a band comprising of two drummers, the opportunities for improvisation become more complicated. “It’s like you’re pretty much playing off of rhythm all the time. So then the leads are kind of syncopation, more dub-influenced singing and delays and all those kind of things.”

The topic of vocals brings up another intriguing part of Poliça’s sound. The artistic use of vocal processing. Leaneagh uses voice alteration to create ethereal harmonies and echoes.

This began with the TC Helicon voice processor, during Leaneagh’s tenure with Midwestern critical darlings Gayngs. “All the singers were using this vocal effect. So I started using that, and when Ryan and I started working on Poliça songs I just automatically turned it on. It was just carrying on what we were excited about, and I was excited

about at the time.”

It was a bold move; Leaneagh is an accomplished singer without any gadgetry. Before the band, she fronted the delightful Roma di Luna, playing sweet and airy Americana.

If Poliça is the soundtrack to some ominous futuristic cityscape, Roma di Luna is more the sound of Appalachian mountain streams.

She shares that she feels her change in style is a result in her maturation as a vocalist. “I definitely sing a lot differently now than I used to. Even in folk music, because I’m old and the years have been hard on me.”

The shift in register prompted Leaneagh to change her singing technique. Singing through effects is “trying to create a wave that’ll react to the hardware that you’re using. So you’re singing in a different way, and you need to be in tune for both.

“You can be a little bit more out of tune when you’re not using hardware.

You can kind of fly around the notes a little bit, and when you’re using hardware you need to be a little more precise.”

Certainly, their distinctive sound is garnering praise in high places.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver described them to Rolling Stone magazine

as “the best band I’ve ever heard”, while Jay-Z posted the video to their single ‘Lay Your Cards Out’ on his blog. An appearance at SXSW last year even had the Guardian calling them “the band of the festival.”

Leaneagh is wary about all this praise from different corners of the music industry. “I try to ignore it, I guess. I don’t really know. You don’t want to let it go to your head, nor do you want to take it too seriously or let it guide your career.” Again, there’s a touch of the musical maverick.

“Compliments come and go, and you don’t want to follow them.”

Unassuming about her music and describing why Poliça’s tracks have been used to soundtrack fashion shows, Leaneagh casually and swiftly interjects that it’s “something girls can walk down a runway to I guess.”

Leaneagh’s level-headedness is refreshing in a genre where artists get carried away appealing to fans who desire an apathetic star to idolise. There’s no need to worry about Poliça getting carried away with themselves any time soon.

Poliça’s second album, Shulamith, is to be released in autumn of 2013 by Memphis Industries

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On display

English singer/songwriter Newton Faulkner takes a few minutes from his busy schedule to chat to Jack Walsh about wrists, Dookie and the digital age of the industry

I remember thinking I can put in endless hours trying to get better than everyone else at playing normally, or you can just play really weird and everyone’s really impressed

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Raised in Reigate, Surrey in the late 1980s, Sam “Newton” Faulkner believes that within the environment he was raised, only “two things were held in high esteem by [his] parents; music and comedy.” These were both two mediums that Faulkner really identifies with due to the passion his parents had for music evident by their large record collection and making music a very big aspect of everyday life.

Learning to play and understand the use of the guitar when he entered his teens, Faulkner found himself in the social rut that every bassist the world-over can relate to. “When I was about thirteen, all my friends were in a band. They had a drummer and two guitarists, so if I wanted friends, I had to play the bass. It was kind of prerequisite. I got a bass and started having lessons and moved to the guitar later on.”

Within these awkward years, Faulkner and friends utilised all available resources from which to learn and draw inspiration. His first band “wasn’t officially a Green Day cover band, but then we did the whole of Dookie from start to finish, literally with the book on the floor in the middle… That kind of crossed

the line for me; that’s when I decided it was probably a tribute band.”

Such choices may have been economical, yet Faulkner fondly remembers these wild sessions as being the fulcrum point of his artistic temperament. “As I got into playing as a thing unto itself, that’s when things started shifting. I think that still influences my writing.

Faulkner explains “[That style was] engrained into my head from a very early age. It was when I first heard Thomas Leeb and I had started messing around with moving bass techniques onto guitar, so I had started doing slap-acoustic stuff, just for fun.

“It was people’s reactions to it that I found really interesting. I remember thinking I can put in endless hours trying to get better than everyone else at playing normally, or you can just play really weird and everyone’s really impressed.”

Faulkner is renowned as a guitarist with a unique style, often utilising his guitar as a percussive instrument. His second album, Rebuilt by Humans, was affectionately named following an accident that required a surgically repaired wrist.

With such an injury, Faulkner saw in himself an ability to push through, and ensure his style remained. “I was back on tour within three months. I kept playing in little pockets, just feeling how it was working. There were quite a few nights on tour when I didn’t want anyone to panic and I didn’t want anyone to pull any gigs, so I’d be like ‘Guys, I’m really tired.

I’m going to get an early night; I’m going to go bed now.’ and sneak off to my bunk and just hold my wrist, just curled up in a ball.”

Initial critical and commercial success can come as a shock to a developing artist. Expectation can burn creativity. Still, Faulkner displayed an astute level of insularity following the release of Hand Built by Robots, for the sake of productivity. “I had no idea what was going on. I still don’t really know what happened…

I’ve just moved from album to album for ages. I’ve either been touring or I’ve been making a record. I haven’t spent a lot of time just sitting a thinking of what had actually happened.”

Faulkner’s decision to video the process of his latest studio work Studio Zoo “started out as a really

small idea. It was just going to be one camera with no audio… It just shows how I do it, and I do just sit and try and play from start to finish and do as little editing as possible.”

He is aware of the uniqueness of his style, describing it as “a visual style of music.” He knows well that “hearing it is one thing… but it’s only if you actually see it being done that you go ‘oh, shit’.”

Questions surrounded Faulkner over the validity of allowing the public see his creativity in its barest bones, but the 28-year-old claims that it allowed him to function on a different level.

“I worked about ten million times harder than usual… It was a whole album in five weeks, which is pretty hard work… I’m glad it was that intense because that made it much easier for me to interact with people and be more relaxed.”

Whether it is working to strict deadlines while recording his album or persevering through pain, Newton Faulkner is one of those artists whose passion for music will always means his fans will never miss out.

Newton Faulkner’s new album Studio Zoo is out now

album reviews

Agnes Obel Aventine

O Emperor Virtuous

Nelly

John Newman

M.O. is Nelly’s seventh installment in his flailing repertoire of similarly lacklustre tunes since his facial plasterdoning days. It’s clear that Nelly has introduced some big names on this album in order to grab the listener’s attention, including Nicki Minaj, Pharrell, 2 Chainz and Nelly Furtado.

However, instead of enhancing each individual track, Nelly appears to be using these collaborations as a cover, hiding behind these artists, almost completely lost in some of the tracks.

Heaven is the newest single, and it’s a song you’ll definitely catch yourself humming whilst alone in your car. Similarly, it’s Nelly’s exasperated attempt at female empowerment with reference to 2Pac’s line, “Never hate the ladies that make the babies.” Great to see misogyny is not a prominent theme throughout the album.

Songs like ‘100K’ and ‘IDGAF’ have the potential to become popular with disc jockeys in Dublin’s nightclub scene, yet this album makes it feel as though Nelly really should have yielded at the cusp of his success with ‘Hot in Here’.

The simplicity of ‘Ride Wit Me’ is what Nelly should have honed in on instead of putting layer upon layer of vocal and backclapping synth with this record.

In terms of catchy music and easy lyrics, this album is forced and Nelly comes across as an aged musician trying to recapture his former throne in the hip-hop world of today.

As far as debut albums go, John Newman’s Tribute ticks all the boxes. This British singer hit the charts in July 2013 with his fabulous single ‘Love Me Again’ and a voice that was oozing with soul.

Newman just seems to have a talent for making modern music with a retro twist, resulting in an exceptionally appealing sound that reaches out to more than one generation; a difficult task in today’s age.

One particular song that showcases Newman’s talent for musical infusion is ‘Cheating.’

This song has got the beat, the passion and the kick-ass brass section we all need in our lives, that will have everyone and their mother up and dancing.

The swooping chorus has already become a radio sensation, making it tremendously more difficult to resist its enticing melodic effect on your dance motives. Other standouts include ‘Try’ and ‘Running’; both memorable and emotive in their composition.

As a matter of fact, most of the album is set in a darker tone.

Despite its deceptive, optimistic sound, the lyrics themselves are on the further side of the spectrum; evoking deeper and more profound feelings then their light melodic partner.

Having said that, there is no doubt that John Newman is an exceptionally talented artist and this album is a strong one.

It is sombre, but powerful and memorable nonetheless. This is certainly the beginning of a kicking career.

In A Nutshell Perfect listening for a dark autumnal evening

In A Nutshell Short, ambient and thriving; the listener is immersed in their kaleidoscopic artistry from start to finish

In A Nutshell A forgettable album that Nelly should take as indicative of his sell by date

In A Nutshell A decent debut with quite a unique sound with a healthy dose of catchy tunes

Stephen Heffernan

Eva Griffin

Sara Holbrook

Orla McEvoy

For her sophomore effort Aventine, the critically acclaimed Danish singer and composer, Agnes Obel, continues effortlessly from her debut album.

Her newest installement sees this songstress mix well-crafted songs with instrumental pieces of piano across eleven aesthetically beautiful tracks.

Musically, Obel creates a rather sparse sound, based primarily around her vocals and piano playing, ornamented with violin and cello accompaniment.

The second track, ‘Fuel to Fire’, sticks out as a special highlight; with moody multi-tracked verses giving way to a haunting cresendo in the chorus.

The sense of restraint that underpins the album is key to its success. It is neither too long nor too short, and she has resisted any temptation to make the arrangements overpoweringly lush. For anyone who finds Joanna Newsom too left-of-centre or the later work of Regina Spektor too poppy, Aventine strikes the balance well.

The title track has a distinctively stately feel to it, with Downton Abbey-esque pizzicato strings intertwining with the vocals, while ‘Run Cried The Crawling’ will have to win a prize for the most intriguing song title of the year. ‘Pass Them By’ is reminiscent of a traditional ballad, and ‘Words Are Dead’, despite the title, sounds slightly more upbeat than the rest of album.

Aventine is not for those of us seeking a high-spirited adrenaline ride, but for those who seek music that is austere, beautiful and haunting, it is a surprisingly perfect fit.

Riding on the coattails of their acclaimed, Choice Music Prize nominated debut album, Waterford five-piece O Emperor have come storming back with Virtuous.

Self-recorded and produced in their own humble studio, the result is a mirror-image of their surroundings; charmingly rough and raw.

Opening track, ‘Grandmother Mountain’ is delightfully deary from the outset. Beginning with a twinkling piano, aided by a smattering of drums, what follows is a crescendo of contrasting filthy guitars and delicate strings.

The dichotomy is striking, and O Emperor immediately succeed in gracing us with a worthy follow-up to 2010’s Hither Thither.

During the following eight shortbut-satisfying tracks, the listener is swept along a swirling tide of psychedelic rock with frequent beautifully hushed moments.

‘Whitener’ introduces syrupy synths that mesh with a pleasing falsetto, while ‘Brainchild’ is undoubtedly trippy with its unusual ambiance dictated by soothing backing vocals.

Choosing one definitive moment is a hefty task, but the sublime swell of closing track ‘This Is It’ encapsulates the overall frustration that is palpable throughout.

Virtuous is bursting with originality, though the musical approach is reminiscent of Radiohead’s sonic experimentation and ‘Minuet’ is akin to The National’s understated style.

O Emperor’s aggressive stance of self-assurance is precisely what a band with such a successful debut requires. Taking ownership of their aesthetic identity, they’ve coupled the style of Hither Thither with a confident sense of direction.

M.O.

Tribute

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Gartlandia— London via Dublin In her latest column, Orla Gartland gets to grips with the etiquette of the tube as she settles into London

Radar—

Irish Bands To Watch Young, cool and most importantly Irish, Oh Boland chats to Rebekah Rennick about their ninja kicks, space travel and being Henry Rollins

photo Erica Coburn

London is a lonely place.

In such a fast-paced environment it’s easy to just feel like a single dot in a vast sea of dots just moving around, going about their day

London is the scariest and most exciting place I know. Through a twist of musical fate, I spent the most part of my summer in London, and gathered quite a few thoughts about the place along the way.

I’ve never felt so drawn to a place before. Now, don’t get me wrong; Dublin is big, but London is colossal. A quick glance at the iconic map of the London underground gives a fleeting insight into the sheer span of the beast. It has sprawled out, swallowing the land that touches its borders. ‘Overwhelming’ would be an understatement.

Ridiculously affluent areas lie side-by-side with seriously grim ones. You can step off the tube and be greeted with quaint markets or stunning Georgian architecture, or you can step off and instantly fear for your own safety and the safety of every expensive thing you’ve ever owned.

Sometimes the streets are paved with gold, other times just paved with plastic bags and chewing gum.

This is typical of quite a few cities I’ve visited, but the extent of the contrast in this particular one never fails to shock me. It’s fair to say that Made in Chelsea gave me a very

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oh Boland

warped view of what London life would be like.

London is inspiring; I find it difficult to warrant a lazy day in such a young, competitive, productive city. The difference in pace between Oxford Street and Grafton Street is nuts. Everyone is constantly rushing, and it’s every man for himself at rush hour where careless footing could very easily leave your cheek pressed to the inside of the bus window.

Dublin seems to be full of warm people; being a clumsy native I get lost in town a fair bit and have often been offered help by people who have simply noticed me looking a little lost. That sort of approach seems rare in London, but I must admit that every time I have actually mustered up the confidence to seek help the strangers have been keen.

Londoners love to give directions in their own city. They burst with pride as they show you how they know the tube lines and bus routes like the back of their hand. Basically, they won’t approach you, but when approached they’re generally helpful, friendly creatures.

As a complete foreigner I definitely find the social norms of the underground baffling; so many people in such a cosy space, but not a single

conversation! People with sweaty brows face each other and mess about on their phones, ambitiously trying to avoid eye contact and awkward hand touches; game on.

I can’t say I’ve made any friends for life on Dublin buses but I’ve definitely had a couple enjoyable conversations over the years. If we had an underground in Dublin, I imagine it’d be a right laugh.

London is a lonely place. In such a fast-paced environment it’s easy to just feel like a single dot in a vast sea of dots just moving around, going about their day. The city feels like a conveyor belt for its millions of characters and it’s always public transport that makes me feel that way.

I think to myself ‘Those buses or trains will run regardless of whether I’m on them or not.’ It’s a strange thought being in the city and feeling so small and insignificant, but on a good night it’s an incredible buzz to feel a part of such a beautiful glowing machine.

I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I’ll be sure to keep one eye open as my love-hate relationship with the city continues to grow. Oh well; home is always just one grotty Ryanair flight away.

Galway-based trio Oh Boland are not your usual mix of musicians.

Describing their sound as “garage punk or garage pop,” lead vocalist Niall Murphy challenges audiences to “think 1960’s pop music all rattled up in a food blender with the left overs from last nights kebab.”

They sound nothing less than delicious, don’t they?

School friends brought together by an unwavering passion for writing and performing, it was only a matter of time before a band materialised.

Speaking to Murphy, the energy and rawness of their musicianship, which attacks you aurally from the get-go, is tangible as he discloses the band’s humble beginnings.

“We played in a community hall in the middle of nowhere, and the band before us decided to close the curtains on the stage before we were finished. That provoked our lead singer to go out after the guy mid-set and perform a sort of ninja roll/kick thing. We all felt like Henry Rollins,” he laughs nostalgically.

With all members having previous musical experiences, Murphy, who “got sick of the anxieties of being a mopey singer talking to noisey audiences and wished to get back to the electric guitar and punk music,” the he used to play as an adolescent, soon rounded up Éanna Mac Donnchadha (bass) & Simon McDonagh (drums) fresh from their indie-pop project as Young Kodiaks.

Their influences range from Ty Segall to Yo La Tengo, but it’s their kaleidoscope of tastes and interests that give Oh Boland their enticing element. “We’re a totally eclectic assortment when it comes to taste, definitely. I started the group by myself under the pretence of starting a garage band and was wholly committed to that.”

Murphy continued, “At the time, I listened to nothing but garage rock. Simon and Eanna were really into more indie pop stuff. The group they played in before Oh Boland was really into that electro indie stuff.

We feed off each other and our tastes. Of course, we all listen to an eclectic enough mix of styles anyway, individually speaking, and that shows I think.”

Dedicating their band name to Dave Boland of The Deprevations, and the face behind the elusive-yet-electric evenings in Citog at the heart of Galway City, Oh Boland are an infectious, itching combination of scratchy guitars and swooping tunes. “I work quiet hours in a bar in a small town and have a lot of time to think and wait. There’s a lot of waiting involved. I can’t sit down to write a song. It always seems to creep up on you. It’s really just a matter of knowing whether it’s good or not when it comes,” says Murphy.

The future is bright for this three-piece, with a plethora of gigs under their belts thus far and many more to come, so catch them quick and “expect discussions on space travel and why Richard Gere will rot in hell.” Oh but why not.

Download Oh Boland’s EP Oh! at: ohboland.bandcamp.com Or find them on facebook www.facebook.com/OhBoland

street style Thoa Do Studying: Marketing Wearing: Shoes – Bershka, Jeans – Sps Jumper – Newlook, Jacket – Owned By A Friend Fashion Influence: Olivia Palermo

Charles Clarke Studying: Science Wearing: Shoes – F&F Tesco Shorts – Superior Denim, Jumper – Penneys T-Shirt – Surplus, Jacket – HellyHansen Fashion Influence: Looks to the streets

Jamie Mann Studying Sociology & Economics Wearing: Shirt – Vintage shop, Shoes – Nike, trousers – Penneys, Knitted Jumper – River Island, bag – bought at a reggae festival in California.

Style Inspiration: London street style.

Biggest bargain: An oversized shirt from Fresh Temple Bar for €15.

Most expensive purchase: Barber jacket €200.

Fiachra Fallen Verbruggen Studying: Economics Wearing: Shoes – Penneys, Jeans – Charity Shop T-Shirt – Topshop, Shirt – H&M Jacket – Stolen from an American friend Fashion Influences: Russell Brand

Denise Helly Studying: History & Philosophy Wearing: Shoes – Barratts, Leggings – Topshop Top – Urban Outfitters, Knitted Top – Vintage Market Bag – Forever21, Bracelets – eBay Fashion Influences: Rachel Bilson & Alexa Chung

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Getting preppy with it

Rachael Tights – Penneys – €2 Tartan skirt – Vintage store – €15 Knitted Jumper – Shotsy – €24.50 Boots – River Island – €80 Bag – River Island – €95 Earrings – Topshop – €6.50 Luise Brogues – River Island – €33 White shirt – Zara – €34.99 Pinafore – Topshop – €64 Tartan blazer – Shotsy – €35 Earrings – Asos.com – €6

Fashion Editor Emily Mullen Chief Stylist Christin McWeeney Models Luise O’Dwyer, Rachael Kennedy Make-up artist Alex Valentine Location Richview

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Can the cliché get any more… clichéed? A college newspaper printing a shoot about preppy style.

But cast those assertions into the stinky lake in front of the library, and read on. Preppy is a style that we college-goers have perfected; clean, utilitarian and functional. It’s a student’s bread and butter.

It gives the illusion of being a presentable, fully-functioning adult when, let’s face it, your mother still does your washing. Nothing screams put-me-on-a-graduate-programmeplease more than the preppy style does.

It’s simple, subtle, and it does its best not to offend anyone, in sharp contrast with many current trends. Beginning in the late 1940s, ubiquitous as an Ivy League college’s form of dress, it quickly spread throughout America.

Heavily influenced by the various pursuits of the upper classes who attended these colleges, motifs such

as sports stripes, equestrian details, and nautical-themed accessories began to merge with mainstream fashion and formed the preppy style.

This mode of apparel is surprisingly simple to create, but choosing simple, well-made pieces is key to creating this clean nononsense look. Picking up a classiccut skirt, that can be worn with tights and socks during the winter, or a pair of tartan print skinny cut trousers are equally manageable.

Wear a plain white shirt with an oversized jacket to keep the look current. The oversized jumper still remains a winter staple for many, choose one with a crewneck in an Aran or mohair knit, and team it with a crisp white button down shirt with the collar peeping out.

An easy piece to incorporate into your wardrobe this season is the pinafore, worn underneath shirts or roll neck jumpers, with knee socks or woollen tights, it is an easy way to

update your wardrobe to this latest trend.

Colour-wise, it’s best to keep the look monochrome, possibly with a shock of contrasting colours, and the incorporation of a simple tartan print to maintain this unassuming look.

Choose a good bag that can be used every day; a material like highquality leather, which is extremely durable and looks even better with age, is key.

A simple leather bag, combined with vintage headbands and simple gold accessories can be worn alongside all of these outfits.

Brogues are the ubiquitous preppy shoe, but it is also good to change seemingly preppy outfits up with a high boot or a slip on shoe with some detailing.

The high street is ablaze with preppy pieces, from the simple pinafore to tartan skirts and trousers, which can all be interchanged and styled up or down very simply.

Rachael Tartan skirt – Vintage store – €15 Cream Top – Topshop – €33 Boots – River Island – €80 Bag – River Island – €95 Boyfriend Coat – Topshop – €75 Earrings – H&M – €3.95

#winning #binning

/

or

Not sure how to win? Not sure what a # even is?

Michael O’Sullivan is on hand this fortnight to teach you lovely readers what is #Winning and what is oh so #Binning.

#winning

#binning

Degree Programme Jumpers

Eos lip balm

Naffness? Check. Terrible pun?

Check. Eye-watering colour?

Check. Warmness? Triple check.

It’s not summer anymore peeps.

Time to replace fashionable seminudity with warmth and cosiness #butthejokeisolderthanthatprofessor

Evolution of smooth? If you need an egg that Miley Cyrus abused with her face to feel like your lips are smooth, you need help. And a list of the stuffs ingredients #fullytraceablemearse Off the shoulder jumpers

The bed sheet was the attire of Ancient Rome. Stop trying to resurrect dead trends. They’re dead for a reason. #Romosexual

Boilersuits

Luise Trousers – River Island – €40 White shirt – Zara – €34.99 Mohair Jumper – Shotsy – €25 Flats – River Island – €33 Earrings – Asos – €7 Silk headscarf – Vintage shop – €3

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman have started a trend. Get yourself kitted out with a full length, baggy ensemble before they head out of fashion #dontforgetthegasmask Halloween decorations

Netting

There once was a time when a fisherman draped his nets over his shoulder after a hard day’s work, and a young indie kid spotted him from afar and decided he was hip.

So now it’s “cool” to wear nets. Are you going fishing? No? Then change #nobodywantstoseeyournips

Gals how have you not spotted this yet? Dangly neon skeleton earrings are ALL the rage right now. Don’t get left behind and end up in D|two’s on All Hallow’s Eve wearing studs Buns #scarlehforyergrannyforhavinyerma It is impossible to see the lecture slides with your enormous hairdo.

Buns exist to be eaten, nothing Boots more #onegirlhadapineapple Break out your inner pornstar with #justwashyourdamnhair those thigh highs you found in the bargain bin in Guineys #thosearewellieshon #agriculturalbasedeconomiesmehole MBTs

So comfy. So stylish. Look at those elegantly designed curves and overlarge soles. No wardrobe is complete without them #getwiththeprogramme Blocky Eyebrows

What part of this is good? Looking like you had a fight with permanent marker makes you come across like a junkie from South William Street on a Tuesday night #lostfromsocietyorwha

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Culture Woulfe

the works that are on display, but the four room-like partitions which are used to provide information on the life, influences and legacy of the renowned poet. Each room is equipped with screens that continually play documentaries and each room mirrors one of his four innermost influences.

The short documentaries are categorised to explore different aspects of Yeats’ life. Affairs of the Heart contemplates the influences of the women in Yeats’ life, including his renowned muse Maud Gonne and wife Georgie Hyde Lees, while Players and the Painted Stage is informative of Yeats’ involvement in the establishment of the Abbey Theatre.

The Other World is another insightful looks into the famous writer’s spiritual beliefs and The Mask considers the poet’s role in the politics of Ireland in the turbulent years of the early 20th century.

Each of these rooms are beautifully designed to mirror the subject of relevant documentary, which makes Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats more than just a passive exhibition, with which the National Library of Ireland invites the visitor to journey through every aspect of the iconic W.B. Yeats’ life.

National Library of Ireland— Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats With winter approaching and the return of curl-up-with-a-good-book weather, Laura Woulfe examines the National Library of Ireland’s dedicated exhibition to Ireland’s most influential writer, W.B. Yeats

Despite this magnificent exhibition not only being free to visit, but also being located on Kildare Street close to a convenient 39A bus stop, it is shameful to admit that I have only just recently set aside time to visit the Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats exhibition.

Apprehensive at first that a literary exhibition might be disappointing after years of visiting displays of visual culture, I discovered the curators have imbued the exhibition space with a wonderfully mystical other-worldly atmosphere. This, combined with the array of early twentieth century photographs and hand-written poetry on yellowed paper, is reminiscent of the office of Albus Dumbledore.

Upon entering the exhibition, you are encouraged to begin with an octagonal seating area while

famous voices, including W.B. Yeats himself, recite some of his best known poetry, which any former leaving cert student will recognise, such as Wild Swans at Coole, Easter 1916 and Sailing to Byzantium. This clever addition immediately allows the visitor to establish a familiarity with the exhibition and the work of one of Ireland’s leading poets.

While walking through the exhibition, you are invited to view various objects from throughout the poet’s life. School reports, letters to his sisters and friends, portraits painted of him by his father, a vast display of notebooks with poetry passionately scribbled, many of which are recognisable as some of his greatest works, and even his prized Nobel medal and last pair of spectacles are all on display.

Arguably however, the defining attributes of this exhibition are not

Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats is a permanent exhibition at the National Library of Ireland and admission is free

Spirited Away (to Cork) With Cork playing host to the 13th World Ghost Convention later this month, Kevin Beirne talks to Catherine Courtney about organising an out-of-this-world event

Throughout history, humans have always been fascinated with the idea that there is some sort of life after death. It is not uncommon to believe that after we die, we are not necessarily gone. After our physical body dies, what happens to the non-physical aspect of what makes it who we are?

Call it a soul, a consciousness, or whatever; is it possible for this part of you to stay connected to what we know as reality after you die?

Catherine Courtney, the organiser of the 13th World Ghost Convention, certainly believes so.

Courtney is not alone in believing that we’re not alone, as people from all over the world flock to Cork each year to attend the World Ghost Convention.

She says that one of the main aims of the event is “to help those who have had supernatural experiences by raising public awareness and highlighting the fact that they’re not alone in having these experiences.”

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The Convention itself takes place just before Halloween, a time of year in which the public’s interest in the supernatural is certainly piqued. According to Courtney, the amount of publicly reported sightings of supernatural beings are “only the tip of the iceberg, because many people who have had supernatural experiences would be afraid or ashamed or embarrassed to share them for fear of not being taken seriously.”

At the World Ghost Convention, any experiences people share will be taken “very seriously.” The venue itself, the old Cork City Gaol, is believed to be haunted due to the fact it was used as a prison from 1824 until 1923. Courtney describes it as “an ideal setting” for such an event.

There have been many reported sightings of spirits at the convention itself, which does not surprise Courtney, as the building has

“its own resident ghost, which has been seen by the members of the audience and the speakers,” although Courtney admits that she has never seen it for herself.

Interestingly enough, Courtney had never seen any ghosts or spirits with her own eyes before, but is quick to add that she is keeping an open mind and that she believes it is only a matter of time before she has her first supernatural experience.

In the meantime, she will keep herself busy with organising what looks like an interesting event, with speakers from the UK and US stopping by, including Lucia Read, a psychic medium who is also the host of The Third Eye, an American TV series that sets out to observe spirits.

Other guests include Terese Collins, a Reiki master, Catherine B. Lowry, a spiritual healer and

registered nurse, and Drew Cali, a psychic medium and healer.

Besides the human guests, it is entirely possible that the patrons will be able to enjoy a sighting of a spirit or two.

The 13th World Ghost Convention takes place on Friday, 25th October in Cork City Gaol, Co. Cork. Tickets are €20 and available to order by phone by calling (021) 427 1659

Fatal Fourway Best Danny Boyle film/opening ceremony

Having decapitated and dismembered Sean Bean for the sake of humour, the fourway are back this week to argue the Best Thing Danny Boyle has ever made, with all the blood, guts and snide remarks uncensored for your reading pleasure

Trainspotting

28 Days Later

The Beach

Olympics Opening Ceremony

Jack Walsh

Steven Balbirnie

Laura Bell

Emily Longworth

Choose to not go to your lectures.

Choose to avoid talking to your mates.

Choose to sit quietly in an abandoned part of the science block. Choose to open this magazine onto this page.

Choose my column first. Choose Trainspotting. Choose an actual film.

Apparently you need no reasons to live when you have heroin. That could be an idea when you’re stuck in semester X. Don’t do heroin, but do watch this movie; then thank me later for not making you do heroin.

Trainspotting, or Danny Boyle’s “Why the fuck did I have to be Scottish?” diary entry, has everything you could need in a first date movie. Dead babies climbing walls, the worst toilet in Scotland, and the practicing of safe sex. Don’t do heroin, do use contraceptives, we following so far kids?

Featuring the sexiest look of Ewan McGregor outside of a galaxy far far away, our protagonist is literally the embodiment of all of us. Just look at his mates Psycho, skinny man number one, Blondie, Girl, skinny man number two. Great bunch of lads, easy to relate to. Definitely appeals to a wide demographic of voters.

If you haven’t seen Trainspotting, get ready for some bangin’ choons, some wacked out Sean Connery knowledge and some tight skinny jeans that’ll make your mother cry.

Choose Trainspotting.

Best Danny Boyle film you ask?

Why there’s only one thing that could possibly be, 28 Days Later.

Not only is this the film that resurrected the zombie genre by replacing the shambling undead with the rage-infected living, but it also turned Cillian Murphy into an international star by having him wake up stark naked in an abandoned hospital.

Brendan Gleeson, Naomie Harris and Christopher Eccleston, while considerably more clothed, all put in great performances as well. If it weren’t for this film we wouldn’t have John Murphy’s magnificent ‘In The House in a Heartbeat’ either.

Nor does any other film here have as great an alternate ending as 28 Days Later, where Danny Boyle directed it shot for shot with Cillian Murphy replaced by a chicken. How could you think that’s anything other than amazing?

Laura is overdue a defeat, while voting for Jack will only endorse his ambitions to grow a Begbie ‘stache and Emily has illustrated this week that she doesn’t understand what a film is. So please vote for this humble cautionary tale about why it’s not a clever idea to hug any old chimps that you just happen to find in a laboratory.

What does the word “best” mean anyway? Sure, you could take it to mean excellence, but isn’t that incredibly reductive? The Beach, Danny Boyle’s ode to getting tan and fucked up, is so much more than the sum of it’s many, many mediocre parts.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as an American in Thailand seeking a level of danger and intrigue far beyond the traditional western practice of soliciting a hooker of indeterminate gender and hoping for the best.

Discovering the beach, a secret community of clichés run by Tilda Swinton, he gets straight to acting them out. DiCaprio and love-interest Francoise engage in Hollywood sex salvaged only by the raw musical power of ‘Pure Shores’ by All Saints, everyone calls marijuana “dope” like Mitt Romney wrote the screenplay, and Leo splashes around with a spare prop from Jaws.

While DiCaprio actually getting eaten by a shark would have presumably saved a lot of lingerie models a lot of effort by now, ‘Porcelain’ by Moby had not yet backed an underwater montage, so there was really nothing Boyle could do.

If you don’t think I’ve made my case for The Beach very well, you’ve obviously never had a completely false memory of it being good that drove you to volunteer it as a candidate for best Danny Boyle film, and there’s nothing more I can do for you.

When I sat down to watch all 239 minutes of Danny Boyle’s fire-throwing, Tolkien-inspired, industrialrevolution-lamenting, living diorama that was the London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony, so packed full of whimsical, cinematic magic was the display that YouTube and every other online video host failed to even play it.

This has absolutely nothing to do with my laptop’s slow and inconvenient crawl towards death, and is definitely the result of too much braindazzling spectacularity by Sir Danny Boyle.

Some might argue that the Olympics opening ceremony wasn’t a film, but then, if that’s true, how come I can buy it on DVD? And why did Danny Boyle direct it, not Jonny Olympiad?

Because it’s the finest slice of celluloid you’ll ever taste is why, I can’t even remember any of the postceremony events. Was there, like, sports or something?

It’s I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow. Oh, Danny Boyle, oh, Danny Boyle, I love you so.

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The Back Page “When I heard that the BBC wanted to carry on but make it ninety minutes, I thought ‘that’ll never work’. Ninety minutes?

Why the fuck are they doing that?”

Martin Freeman on shooting Sherlock as a 90 minute show

“I remember carrying a thirty foot inflatable frog across a field with Mumford and Sons and then re-inflating in the car-park” Newton Faulkner talks about Oxegen hijinks

“Well, we’re always radical” uCD SWP Auditor, Freddie Hoskin, on 90s lingo/political ideology

Photograph of the week: my fish by Laura Feely

Here is my fish. Clearly from his expression he is accustomed to the camera. He’s a natural model; a stunner

To submit photos to the University Observer photograph of the week contest email design @ universityobserver.ie

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