I was interviewed by Aoife Nic Canna on Near FM there on Tuesday. They're a community radio station based in Coolock, and they can be found on 90.3 FM or http://www.near.ie/.
Aoife interviewed me first in English, for her music programme, "Club Cheol", which focuses on Irish electronic music, and then in Irish for her weekly slot, "Ar mhuin na muice".
Nov 17, 2010
Nov 5, 2010
Nov 3, 2010
Mildly Peeved
It's all about to kick off... Finally, the people who got the country in the mess it's in are going to be brought to book. For too long, the financial health of Ireland has been threatened by those sick and/or in hospital, by students, by school-children (especially those with special needs), not to mention people with families earning princely wages that have kept them in Sunday supplements and budget airfare for far too long. Apologies for the clunky rhetorical mallet...
Tomorrow (3rd of November) at 12.30 p.m., The National Student March takes place. I'd make an educated guess (hweh!) that the words on everyone's lips are, "Don't cut education, you bloody idiots, how the hell will anything ever change if you do???" It begins at the Ambassador Theatre at the top of O'Connell St in Dublin. The following day (4th of November), all day, outside the Department of Health and Children (Hawkins St, Dublin, behind the Screen Cinema), there's a protest against health spending cuts. Obviously the daddy of them all will take place on the 7th of December (B-B-B-Budget Day!!!); starts from the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin at 7 p.m.
Now, I'm no firebrand, and I'm no disgruntled Greek citizen, but now the time has come that I feel obliged to be present at these events. Sorry, by the way, for a Dublin-centric slant to this post, but eeehhh, that's where I live and that's where most of the limos do be driving and most of the vol-au-vents do be hurtling down ministerial gullets.
Tomorrow (3rd of November) at 12.30 p.m., The National Student March takes place. I'd make an educated guess (hweh!) that the words on everyone's lips are, "Don't cut education, you bloody idiots, how the hell will anything ever change if you do???" It begins at the Ambassador Theatre at the top of O'Connell St in Dublin. The following day (4th of November), all day, outside the Department of Health and Children (Hawkins St, Dublin, behind the Screen Cinema), there's a protest against health spending cuts. Obviously the daddy of them all will take place on the 7th of December (B-B-B-Budget Day!!!); starts from the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin at 7 p.m.
Now, I'm no firebrand, and I'm no disgruntled Greek citizen, but now the time has come that I feel obliged to be present at these events. Sorry, by the way, for a Dublin-centric slant to this post, but eeehhh, that's where I live and that's where most of the limos do be driving and most of the vol-au-vents do be hurtling down ministerial gullets.
Oct 27, 2010
Machinedrum-dum-dum
And still, she will not shut up about it...! The Elektron Machinedrum is just savage. Savage savage savage. So intuitive, so fast to work with, so diverse-sounding. There are limitations, of course (a two bar loop length, for one, on the model that I have), but limitations make you work imaginatively. I'm just delighted that I have a means of making (proper) beats without having to fiddle with a mouse.
I'd attempted other ways before, using the mad bass of the cello and sharp filter cuts to get a nice sub sound, but definition was always a problem and a lot of the time the vague rumble produced was more in the way than an element in its own right. Likewise, heavily treating a vocal channel, and (very not properly) beatboxing produced interesting effects but it just wasn't enough.
I listen to a lot of dance music (the good stuff, obviously. Obviously, as well, what I say is good is good. Obviously!), but that wasn't represented really before. "Oh look, it's a winsome gerl singing nice songs, we'd better sit down the better to gaze up at her."
I'd attempted other ways before, using the mad bass of the cello and sharp filter cuts to get a nice sub sound, but definition was always a problem and a lot of the time the vague rumble produced was more in the way than an element in its own right. Likewise, heavily treating a vocal channel, and (very not properly) beatboxing produced interesting effects but it just wasn't enough.
I listen to a lot of dance music (the good stuff, obviously. Obviously, as well, what I say is good is good. Obviously!), but that wasn't represented really before. "Oh look, it's a winsome gerl singing nice songs, we'd better sit down the better to gaze up at her."
Oct 19, 2010
Out with the old
On Friday, I had my first taste of what Ed called "the curse of playing last". Sitting around denying myself pints that I can't afford isn't that much of a hardship, but, having my set lopped off three songs before the end, is. We were only allowed play until 1 a.m., so there was nothing to be done about it, but I didn't get a chance to play the new songs (avec Machinedrum), or "Dwell" my current favourite.
Of course, this was also caused by having some dead wood in the form of older songs. I read a lovely article yesterday in a Sunday supplement (it just fell open! After all my bitching about Sunday supplements too!) about felling trees, clearing and managing woodland. It seemed quite apt given what I'd spent most of Saturday thinking about. Much as I love the songs off the EP, enough already! They came about last summer from having to write stuff under time pressure for upcoming gigs, whereas recently I was a bit easier on myself in that regard. Surfing on old waves. So, for the gig in Block T on the 30th (Melodica Deathship's album launch), I'll try for a (mostly) new(-ish) set. I can't churn it out that quickly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/17/tobias-jones-a-life-less-ordinary
Of course, this was also caused by having some dead wood in the form of older songs. I read a lovely article yesterday in a Sunday supplement (it just fell open! After all my bitching about Sunday supplements too!) about felling trees, clearing and managing woodland. It seemed quite apt given what I'd spent most of Saturday thinking about. Much as I love the songs off the EP, enough already! They came about last summer from having to write stuff under time pressure for upcoming gigs, whereas recently I was a bit easier on myself in that regard. Surfing on old waves. So, for the gig in Block T on the 30th (Melodica Deathship's album launch), I'll try for a (mostly) new(-ish) set. I can't churn it out that quickly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/17/tobias-jones-a-life-less-ordinary
Oct 15, 2010
Gig Tonight in the Stables
I've been a bit lax with the posting of late. Spent the last few month farting around with My New MACHINEDRUM which is frightfully exciting altogether. Not massively interesting to talk about though. Weeeellll, talking about "I'm doing this" and "I'm doing this" (as she talks about that she's doing) maybe isn't massively interesting. But hey, whatcha gonna do??
So, playing tonight in the Stables in Mullingar with FYED, Fuzzy Hell!! and Aidan O'Brien. Last night I decided to give myself a hangover today, the logic being that I'd be less nervous and jumpy. I questioned the wisdom of that this morning, but what's done is done.
My driving test looms as well, watch yer grannies! Following last night's rationale, I'll probably drink a bottle of poteen on Monday to prepare for the test on Tuesday. Yeow!
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