Stardom beckons for IMELDA MAY. The Dublin rockabilly queen has packed The O2 and dazzled on the BBC’s Later...With Jools Holland. Now she’s about to release her major label debut, a record that looks set to confirm her as one of the outstanding new talents in Irish music. With the countdown underway she weighs in on such diverse subjects as Jedward, the suspected suicide of a concert goer at a Swell Season show and tells us about snuggling in between Quentin Tarantino and Alice Cooper at the Grammys.
They’re the dyed-in-the-heather folk troupe who aren’t all that they seem. Though named after a remote Scottish isle, neo-folkies Stornaway actually hail from the windswept reaches of England’s Home Counties. They talk about catching the trad bug and explain that, though Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling would have you think otherwise, there’s nothing zeitgeisty about English folk at the moment.
“Haunting”, “spectral” and “ethereal” were all placed on the Prohibited Journalistic Words List in 1991 after being attached to the point of parody to every shoegaze outfit that floppy-fringed their way into the lower reaches of the indie chart.
Armed with a sense of humour and a willingness to take the kind of risks other bands shy away from – check our cover shoot if evidence is needed – Fight Like Apes are among the few Irish bands who seem to go looking for trouble. In addition to wrestling with their fans, dissing their mates and merrily using the word ‘cunt’ in a song, the title of their new album alone might just land them in jail. With a bit of luck, that is.
Celina Murphy meets the biggest enigma in Irish rock to talk bust-ups, break downs and the assorted mechanical creatures that grace their wonderful second album...
They're a cut above. The sharpest blade in the drawer. A dagger straight to the heart of rock mediocrity. Sorry for all the knife puns... but then Adebisi Shank are our favourite post-rock crew named after a form of slashing weapon popular among prison inmates...
In the middle of the noughties, Scissor Sisters were the biggest, gayest thing in pop. Then they came down with writer’s block and vanished for five years. Now they return to a music scene that has changed utterly...
Ahead of his forthcoming appearance at the NCH, revered film composer Michel Legrand joins Jackie Hayden for a tete-a-tete about his approach to writing for the big screen.
Two years ago, it seemed the game was up for Welsh noiseniks FEEDER. But they've bounced back spectacularly with an album which returns to their heavy rock roots with a vengeance.
With two day-glo hits under his belt, you might have pegged Professor Green as a purveyor of dumbed-down hip-hop for the Skins generation. Beneath the shiny exterior, however, is an artist who has clawed his way up from the mean streets of working-class Britain.
When glam popsters Slade released a movie in 1974, they were widely assumed to have made a Hard Days Night-style lark. In fact Slade In Flame was an acid-bath satire of the music industry. Singer Noddy Holder looks back at the controversy.
A bout of writer's block saw Mercury Prize winner Damon Gough - aka Badly Drawn Boy - disappear for three years. But now he’s back and can’t wait to reclaim his place as the beanie hat wearing laureate of Mancunian miserabalism.
Flying in the face of convention, Foo Fighters sticksman Taylor Hawkins has cut a doozy of a second LP. He talks about tapping the spirit of the seventies and working with members of his favourite band, Queen.
Since fortune first began to smile on The Script, the band has been plunged into an extraordinary saga of injury, death, personal loss and heartbreak...
Soaking in the sun on an implausibily balmy summer afternoon in Dublin, BAND OF HORSES discuss line-up changes, charges of "selling out" and how their new record is influenced by Rod Stewart's The Faces.
It took a national ad campaign to make the nation see that there's something very special about Dubliners Ellie and Lousie MacNamara. Now that their outstanding 2008 album Here, Not There has topped the Irish indie charts, Celina Murphy catches up with HEATHERS.
Surf rockers THE DRUMS have been just about everywhere over the last six months but are they the coolest band on the planet or just a bunch of beach-bound copycats?
Recent Heineken Green Spheres stars Foals talk to Peter Murphy about the splendid isolation in which their remarkable new album, Total Life Forever, was made.
The irrepresible Mark E. Smith is back with one of the strongest Fall albums in years. The post-punk legend talks to Craig Fitzsimons about the song he’s written for the World Cup, the soulless nature of the Manchester derby and Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time. Oh, and why he doesn’t shoot squirrels as a hobby.
Back at the top of their game after 2009’s split and well on their way to album number three, DELORENTOS are one of nine acts to contribute to the Sound Training Centre’s newest charity project, Behind Closed Doors.
Dublin-bound this fortnight for a show in in the Olympia, Tegan and Sara have had to battle hard to overcome prejudice about their sexuality and their music.
Twelve months ago, Herefordshire lass Ellie Goulding had little more than a few ravey blog posts to mark her success yet somehow, by the end of 2009, fame had put her in the hospital. Celina Murphy sits down with the most sought after woman in pop to talk reviews, hype and the day it all got too much
Jogging was born when Dublin indie-pop outfit Coldspoon Conspiracy finally called it a day.
"We looked for new musicians for the bones of three years," Ronan Jackson remembers. "We auditioned about 14 people and nothing was clicking. It got to the stage where it was ridiculous. We either had to split up altogether or do something, do some gigs. Myself and Darren (Craig, guitarist) decided we'd start singing to get things back on the road again. It was a last resort at that stage. Neither of us can sing a melody. We had to kind of change things around to suit our barking! We wouldn't be 'Do Re Me' kind of singers and be able to hit a lot of notes. We're fairly rough and ready."
He's received admiring glances from Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and the artist currently known as Prince. But a flirtation with a military career meant SIMON FAGAN very nearly missed out on his calling as a songwriter. Now, with his debut album hitting the shelves, the Co Meath lad is putting a decade of classical training to good use.
Ahead of his visit to Dublin, the legendary Booker T discusses songwriting techniques and his encounters with such iconic figures as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and The Beatles.
Celebrating the release of her Twenty-five Years – Twenty-five Songs compilation, Mary Black returns for three nights at Dublin's Olympia. She talks to Jackie Hayden about singing with Joan Baez, juggling music and motherhood and her ambitions and fears for her own children as they follow her into the shark-infested entertainment industry.
Having swapped her Dublin home of more than a decade for a new life in Cardiff, Katell Keineg is back with a belated fourth album, At The Mermaid Parade. She explains why sometimes good things are worth the wait.
Having bagged the prestigious Best Band award at Indie Week Canada, Leitrim/Limerick collective WALTER MITTY AND THE REALISTS wasted no time getting into the studio. Celina Murphy meets front boy Niall McTeigue to talk beat boxing, bromance and mistaken identity.
In 1990, Liam Mackey conducted an extensive interview for a cover story of Hot Press, which ran in two parts in successive issues of the magazine. Here is a short but illuminating exchange on the origins of modern Irish radio!
She’s a famous actress and style icon, but Zooey Deschanel would rather be known as one half of country-pop duo She And Him. She talks about juggling cinema and music and turns a bit nervous when conversation turns to famous lookalike Katy Perry.
Ireland’s favourite singer-songwriter Tom Baxter is one of the musical highlights of this year’s Sea Sessions festival. Kicking off our in-depth coverage of the event, he tells Peter Murphy what he’s been doing with his time off and speaks about his plans for the future.
Shoegazey fireballs like 'Always Like This' and 'Magnet' made them the hottest Londoners on the block last year, so why have Bombay Bicycle Club gone all downbeat on us?
Bloc Party's Kele Okereke is going solo. He talks about his forthcoming debut album and burgeoning interest in cutting-edge electronica. But he’s rather less forthcoming about his recent exiting of the closet.
Their dapper keyboard-player has departed, but The Hold Steady reckon they still qualify as the best bar band in America. Frontman Craig Finn talks religion, Bruce Springsteen and helping the Rolling Stones conquer Slane.
As his band gear up for their 20th anniversary celebrations, The Charaltans' TIM BURGESS reflects on past achievements and future ambitions – and talks about his work with up and coming bands
After years of thankless toil, Josh Ritter finally had the world at his feet. And then, just as he should have been at his happiest, he suffered a sudden crisis of confidence. Sick of the sound of his own voice, the Idaho bard felt trapped in an artistic prison he himself had devised. His struggle for freedom is chronicled on his wrenching new album, perhaps the finest of his career. Hot Press meets him in New York to discuss the long road to redemption.
We travel to London for an exclusive audience with the crown princes of absurdist glam-pop Kiss. Ringmaster-in-chief Gene Simmons talks about the business end of being the world’s most preposterous heavy rock outfit and the importance of giving the punters more bang for their buck.
He didn't lack for enemies when alive, but the death of MALCOLM McLAREN from cancer saw former antagonists such as the Sex Pistols' John Lydon lining up to praise his contribution to music, in particular his role in helping foment the punk scene in ‘70s Britain. To mark the passing of the man who helped create the stereotype of the media-manipulating rock Svengali, we revisit an interview conducted with the sly old maestro in 1994. In it, he talks about the Pistols, the New York Dolls, Kurt Cobain, the British Royals and Naomi Campbell.
Ireland's favourite post-rockers are back with their first record in more than half a decade. Redneck Manifesto talk about their long lay-off, their origins in the heady days of the Celtic Tiger, the story behind their soft and cuddly new album title - and more besides.
They may have been one of the electro-pop sensations of the past few years, with some serious hit singles to their name. But with their second album, Congratulations, MGMT have flipped controversially into another dimension. So how come they’re so intent on leaving pop behind? And can they bring their audience with them?
They’re the hottest new band from the UK but, get this, they play folk music. With banjos and everything. Patrick Freyne interviews Mumford & Sons, the trad group that don’t call themselves a trad group.
You know him as Turn's tortured frontman. But for Oliver Cole the breakup of his band was just the start of his woes. He talks about heartache, his slow-burn solo career and why he's determined to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, the bright new thing of Irish acoustica, James Vincent McMorrow, discusses hype, train schedules and chasing his muse.
You know him as the humungously bearded guitarist from TV On The Radio, but his new Rain Machine project sees Kyp Malone trying something completely different. And no, David Bowie isn’t involved!
Edwin McFee catches up with Doves’ Jez Williams ahead of the release of their new Best Of collection to talk about their career so far and why they’re planning on taking an “indefinite hiatus” once they’ve finished their touring commitments.
Despite shifting three million copies of her debut, Scottish singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald has refused to let fame go to her head. This month she releases her follow-up A Curious Thing and chats to Edwin McFee about her relationship with her fans, meeting U2 and controversial lyrics
Their first gig was just four weeks ago and they’re barely together five months, so why is it so important you hear The Cast Of Cheers? Celina Murphy meets the Dublin foursome whose unconventional route makes them the most exciting new things in Irish rock.
He was one of the leading lights in punk, helped create the template of the British mod and was unofficial father figure to Oasis and the britpop generation. Now Paul Weller has written perhaps his finest solo album since Stanley Road. Kicking back in London, he talks about the death of his father, his adventures with the Gallagher brothers and his roping in My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields to play guitar on the new LP
Australian stadium rockers-in-waiting The Temper Trap talk about swapping Melbourne for rainy London, their love of Radiohead and confirm that, unlike some transplanted Australians of yore, they have no immediate plans to become crack-heads.
They’ve insired a Duke Special song, shared a stage with The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon and supported Snow Patrol. So how come Lowly Knights aren’t better known?
When she began work on Leave Your Sleep in 2005, Natalie Merchant had never had a project so big on her hands. Celina Murphy meets the former 10,000 Maniacs front woman to discuss her epic fifth solo album.
Behind their disembodied indie-pop, GIRLS are a band with a truly strange back story. Frontman Christopher Owens talks about meds, cults and Elvis Costello.
On the one hand, they’ve sold out some of the biggest venues in the UK. On the other, you probably can’t remember the names of any of their songs. Celina Murphy talks to front man Liam Fray about the paradox of The Courteeners.
With a breezy mix of Americana and folk, Keith Mullins is a singer-songwriter with serious chops. Celina Murphy talks to the Galway man about fate, astronauts and the great Atlantic.
At the end of a victory lap of just about every major music industry awards show going, Hot Press manages to buttonhole the Oxegen-bound Florence Welch backstage at the Meteors. Tired but jubilant, the Amazonian belle of the ball spills the beans on collaborations with Dizzee Rascal and David Byrne, her adoration of Courtney Love and My Bloody Valentine, and reveals that all she ever wanted was to appear in an Andrew Lloyd-Webber production.
Frontman with Newbridge duo King Modo Paul Keogh explains how two bessie mates came up trumps on their self-titled debut LP by turning to stripped-back melodic rock.
Evoking an early hybrid of The Police and The Jam, Clane rockers Planet Parade have rustled themselves up some extraordinary support slots in their short career, including opening for the almighty Passion Pit in Cork’s Savoy this very month. Celina Murphy meets mainman Michael Hopkins.
For nearly a decade he was one of the leading lights of Irish folk. And then Paul Brady turned away from the trad scene and reinvented himself as a contemporary singer-songwriter, penning songs for stars such as Tina Turner along the way. Now, with a new album under his belt, he reflects on his long journey from the pub session to the rock stage, the price of fame and talks about his burgeoning friendship with artists such as Glen Hansard, Fionn Regan and Ronan Keating.
She’s best known as Damien Rice’s cello player. Now Vyvienne Long is staking her claim as a solo star. She talks about caterpillars, success with Damo and baring her soul in public.
Suddenly it’s safe to listen to Irish ballads again. The once-moribund genre has been rejuvenated by The High Kings who are currently playing to full houses and their second album Memory Lane is nestling in the charts. Jackie Hayden gets the how and the why from the band’s Martin Furey.
From the mean streets of Brooklyn to the not quite so mean streets of Drogheda, it’s been a long strange journey for AMASIS singer Nofe Liberty. But the former Miss Africa Ireland and her band are poised to take the pop world by storm with a crackling electro sound. Here Nofe talks about life in the ‘hood, her Nigerian pop star father and burning up the red carpet at the Meteors.
Their spiky dancefloor hit ‘I Can Talk’ is fast becoming this year’s ‘A-Punk’ and they’re about to take their extraordinary live show Stateside, piggybacking with the almighty Phoenix. Given that Kanye West, Daft Punk and Wayne Coyne are already fans, where do Bangor trio Two Door Cinema Club go from here? Celina Murphy catches up with the local boys done good.
The little-known tale of a group of Irish troops who switched side in the American-Mexican war of the nineteenth century is the inspiration for a unique collaboration between THE CHIEFTAINS and Ry Cooder (with Liam Neeson roped in for good measure). The Chieftains' Paddy Maloney explains the inspiration behind this fascinating project.
They used to be droney and mysterious but now MGMT’s best mates YEASAYER have gone all pop. With a bit of luck, they might even be giving Rihanna a run for her money on the dancefloor.
He's known as the king of trance. Now TIESTO is making a foray into old-fashioned pop music. He explains why he's embarked on a change of scenery, and gushingly explains why U2 are one of his favourite bands (even if he hasn't heard all their albums).
Armed with an album that channels the spirit of Studio 54 and superheroes, Australia’s Gabriella Cilmi returns to the music world this month, and Edwin McFee talks to her about her love for Dizzee Rascal, her desire to have super powers and what it was like having a leak beside Pharrell Williams in the portaloos at Glastonbury.
Selected as the Best Irish Male singer at the Meteor Awards 2010, CHRISTY MOORE first emerged as a performer towards the end of the 1960s. Since then, he has become one of the most distinctive and influential voices in Irish music. A magnetic performer, his work variously with Planxty, Moving Hearts and as a solo artist, has been widely acclaimed and he is regarded among his international peers as one of the pre-eminent folk singers.
Louth-based alternative fivesome TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN may call to mind a bunch of musical fugitives, but there’s no tracking down a band that mixes Vocoder distortion with banjo strumming.
She is the brightest pop star of the moment. But Marina Diamandis – who records as Marina and the Diamonds – doesn’t want to be a blink-and-she’s-gone starlet. As her debut album is released she tells Paul Nolan why she’s in it for the long haul, why celebrity culture has spun out of control and why she’s putting romance on hold to build her career.
In this era of iTunes and illicit downloads, it takes a great deal of chutzpah to release a triple album – much less one inspired by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Paul Auster. Duke Special explains how his most idiosyncratic LP yet came to pass.
Northern Irish DJ Fergie had an eventful noughties, winning support from such luminaries as Carl Cox, James Lavelle, Dubfire, Miss Kittin and Laurent Garnier, and also hosting his own BBC Radio 1 show for six years. What have been the highlights for him over the past ten years?
Currently readying herself for a tour with Laura Marling, 19-year-old Alessi Laurent-Marke, aka ALESSI’S ARK, spills the beans on how founding her own ’zine resulted in her recording with Bright Eyes man Mike Mogis.
From humble origins, a singer-songwriter night has grown into a fertile breeding ground for up-and-coming talent, including Glen Hansard, Damien Dempsey and Gemma Hayes. David Gray even popped along one night to check things out. The man behind the music, Dave Murphy, looks back over 20 years of unearthing exciting new artists
From international superstar DJ and soundtrack co-ordinator to curator of Belfast’s cultural past and – who’d have guessed it? – sensitive songwriter, David Holmes has flitted between multiple identities this decade. He leads us on a trip down memory lane.
