Summer in the City

It's mid summer (well, technically just past it) in Dublin's fair city and it's overcast and drizzling. We've had four (count em') four days of sunny weather since the end of June. I found this song.....I think it sums it up..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtIxDfBOmUs&feature=related

And in a related matter. This guy is nuts.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oGMR9irekY

I have an addictive personality........

I'm currently hooked on this........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iSG6U2YcQ0&feature=related

Great buzz all together.

K

Only in a world this shitty...

I work for a large American multinational computer manufacturer here in Dublin.I just asked one my managers a simple question which could have been answered with a simple yes or no. I could tell immediately that he didnt have a clue. Instead of acknowledging this he said ' lets take this offline and do a deep dive on it ' . He's not alone , they all speak like this. There's loads of them too , even the bulk of the younger guys are in on it. Fridays is 'casual dress' day .Most of them arrive looking like a variation of this chap to the right.....young go-getters...

And Jesus wept....

Bren

Guitaret.

Hey folks,

If anyone finds our site and has one of these fella's let us know. We'll haggle.

Analog Festival , Dublin

Last weekend saw the return of the annual Analog festival to Dublin. The roster this year included an evening of pirate songs and sea shanties on the Friday in the rather very nice surroundings of Grand Canal Square. Performers included the ever chirpy Lou Reed , Tim Robbins , Shane McGowan and Neil Hannon among others . I didnt make it down on Friday night , but by all accounts the place was half empty. I guess an evening of pirate songs wasn't as big a draw as the organisers envisaged , despite the performers. Id say Lou was delighted...

Saturday saw a triple bill that included noise rockers Liars , Danish experimantalists Efterklang and jazz rock Legends Tortoise. Liars came on stage at 7.30 with people still coming in in dribs and drabs. Try as they might their brand of agit-rock just didnt come off in the daylight - I wont be harsh and say they bombed , just that Id imagine they'd have been better suited to a dingy club type affair. Next up were Efterklang.I had seen these guys in a small club in Brighton a few months back when we were over recording our own record and was absolutely blown away. My main reason for going along was to see if they could pull it off twice. They didnt dissapoint. Numbering 8 members ( 5 core members and 3 additional live musicians ) , there music is a blend of choral harmonies , glitch electronica and postrock. They make music that come only come from that part of the world but they have the crowd in the palm of their hand within about 10 mins.. check them out at www.myspace.com/efterklang Tortosie followed and it waas clear by the reaction of the crowd that they were held in high esteem . That whole jazz fusion thing isnt really for me , but I enjoyed their set from a performance point of view I guess. the trade offs between the two drummers were particularly great..... right, thats me for now , better get back to work , my boss is giving me the evils... Bren

Album notes.....

Hello all,

My names Ken and I'm one of the members of 8Ball. After a long sabbatical we've emerged from hiding with a new album under our belts. We're all very proud of the record 'With all your friends' and we plan to have it released in the near future. You can check out some of the tracks on our myspace page www.myspace.com/8balltheband.

We recorded the album with Mr. Ian Caple in the sleepy surroundings of East Sussex. We had two weeks and a tight budget but I think we achieved what we set out to do. Along the way we discovered some new sounds and toys. Chief among these was a discontinued instrument known as a guitaret. You'll be able to hear it on Rooftops and Soulsaver. If anyone has one for sale please do get in touch.

For those of you who don't know us we've been compared to SFA - OK!, Yo La Tengo, Crosby Stills and Nash and even DJ Shadow. The new album has elements of Soul, Techno, Pop and even Lo-Fi Rock. I would really like to know who invents these terminology's. They're always so wrong. Probably best to leave it up to you, the listener.

Hope you enjoy
K